Recent editorials from North Carolina newspapers:
Feb. 17
News and Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, on cybersecurity:
Cyberspace, one of a host of once-exotic words now in the everyday vocabulary, isn’t the mysterious sort of “Star Wars” frontier it used to be. But its further development and exploration demand closer scrutiny, and the possibilities that some could travel around in it and continue hacking, another word that’s now too common, have caused President Obama to act.
He has signed an executive order, the only way the president can get things done these days with a recalcitrant Congress, to promote information-sharing among private businesses and with the government. A cyberattack, Obama rightly says, demands quick action. Hackers can do great damage to personal financial records and thus the finances of average Americans and to businesses.
Cyberattacks have hit most notably, or infamously, Sony Pictures, Home Depot and Anthem. When retail businesses are involved, the damage ultimately harms consumers.
It is in everyone’s interest, including the government’s, for companies to share pertinent information with one another and the government to find out how attacks happen and what measures can stop them. Cooperation among all those groups isn’t easy to achieve - unless, of course, it has the words “self interest” attached to it, which in the case of patrolling cyberspace, it most emphatically does.
Republicans in Congress, of course, want to go their own way with regulation and are criticizing the president every time he goes to the drawer in the Oval Office with the “executive order” forms in it. But Darrell West, a technology specialist with the respected Brookings Institution, rightly notes that Congress hasn’t been able to “pass cybersecurity due to partisanship and different views between the parties about the role of government.”
Precisely. Would Congress simply prefer for the president of the United States to do nothing except issue an occasional veto until his second term runs out? Sadly, and wrongly, that’s what too many Republicans really would want.
Online:
https://www.newsobserver.com
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Feb. 14
Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal on measles vaccinations:
State health officials are right to urge North Carolina parents to get their children vaccinated for measles - even if there have been no cases reported in the state this year so far. Considering the severity of the disease and the ease with which it spreads, depriving children of vaccinations is not a risk worth taking.
It’s a sign of the times that measles vaccinations, like so many other things, have become politicized, with pockets in the left and the right waiving them for their children.
It’s also a sign of the times that the disease was once thought to be eliminated, but is now making a comeback.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that a combined 102 individuals in 14 states have contracted measles this year, the Journal’s Richard Craver reported recently, though none in North Carolina so far. That could change easily and quickly. In 2013, 19 cases were reported in Stokes County, and in 2014, one case elsewhere in North Carolina.
“Measles remains endemic in many countries around the world, which means the importation of measles virus into the United States will continue to occur,” Dr. Robin Cummings, the state’s interim health director, said in a press release. “Measles is one of the most highly contagious diseases there is and it spreads quickly in children and adults who are not vaccinated.”
Like the flu - which is also a public health danger - measles is spread by coughing and sneezing, or by contact with infected nasal secretions. Initial symptoms may include fever, runny nose, watery red eyes, sensitivity to light and cough, and is followed by a rash that can spread over the entire body. Though many Baby Boomers remind us that they survived the disease, it is sometimes fatal. And pregnant women who contract measles risk miscarriage and premature birth.
In North Carolina, two inoculations are required before children enter school - generally at 12 months of age with a booster at 4 to 6 years of age. Parents can, however, receive a medical or religious exemption for their children.
These exemptions are valid, but may lead to suspension to help prevent its spread; in September, the school system suspended 89 sixth-graders and 211 kindergarteners for not obtaining state-mandated vaccinations.
Neither of these exemptions should be abused to excuse children from vaccination.
Taking precautions to ensure the health of children, especially when there’s so much scientific evidence to validate it, should not be controversial.
Online:
https://www.journalnow.com
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Feb. 17
Charlotte Observer on overreach on immigration:
A federal judge gave Republicans a victory Tuesday when he temporarily put a halt to President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. The injunction from U.S. District judge Andrew Hanen of Texas stops the administration - for now, at least - from launching two new programs that would protect millions more immigrants from deportation.
The ruling is a signal that the president’s executive actions face a bumpy road, at least in Hanen’s court. But can the judge also save Republicans from themselves?
Conservatives are pushing House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to shut down the Department of Homeland Security over the immigration fight. They want to pass a funding measure for DHS with policy riders that would stop the president from implementing the two programs they believe are unconstitutional.
If Senate Democrats filibuster that measure - or if the president vetoes it - Republicans are convinced the American public would blame Democrats for DHS subsequently being shut down.
Most everyone knows how this choreography will go. Republicans will puff their chests and lead us to the edge of a shutdown - or over it. The public will condemn government operations being held hostage by a dispute over policy. Republicans will back down, wondering where they possibly went wrong.
That’s what happened in October 2013 when the public largely blamed Republicans for shutting down the federal government over the Affordable Care Act. It’s what happened last December when Republicans brought us to the brink of another shutdown - this one over immigration - before passing a spending bill.
Now, Judge Hanen has given them a smarter path: Let the courts, not Congress, determine if the president’s executive actions are constitutional.
Hanen hasn’t come to that conclusion yet. His ruling Tuesday merely signals that he feels there’s a good chance he’ll decide against the administration in this case. That wouldn’t be unexpected, given Hanen’s history of rigid rulings on immigration. (It’s why Republicans steered the case toward his district.) But appeals are certain to follow, and both sides are professing confidence.
We’ve expressed uneasiness in this space about the president’s executive actions, which disregard the critical role of Congress in crafting important policy. But we hold out hope that if the courts ultimately rule for the president, Republicans will be compelled to do what they should have done all along - help pass comprehensive immigration reform.
For now, Republicans should back away from the shutdown. It’s possible that on immigration, the president has overstepped the authority of the executive branch. But Republicans don’t have the authority to make that determination. Let the courts do their job.
Online:
https://www.charlotteobserver.com
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