Jessie Helms

[Irvine511]

he died on the fourth of July at the age of 86.

let's hope the author of so much hateful legislation finds the peace in death that he spent his political career authoring legislation designed to deny just that to so many others -- racial minorities, gays, victims of HIV/AIDS -- while they were alive.

[deep]

I was really hoping we could get by without a thread to this person.


We (100 % of the human race) will all die.

I think it is note worthy if it is an untimely death.

Such as, Heath Ledger, or even Anna Nicole Smith.

But 86 years.

btw, heaven and hell are both here on earth.
but, that is a different discussion.

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by deep

I was really hoping we could get by without a thread to this person.

and yet, you were the first to respond ...

[indra]

I have to admit I always got Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond mixed up so when I saw the headline that Helms had died I thought "hasn't he been dead for years?"

I'm sure someone somewhere loved him though so my condolences to that person/people.

[yolland]

Well, you could call it the end of an era in American politics...or perhaps more correctly, the end of a particular sort of American politician.

But yes, my condolences to his family and friends.

[martha]

I won't miss him.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Yes he behaved like such a hateful, hate filled person. Hopefully he truly realized the error of his ways before he died-even once would be better than nothing.

[U2democrat]

Bono managed to get the man to cry, there had to be some heart left in him before he died.

I wish death upon nobody, I just wish he could have acted more positively toward his fellow humans in his life.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Originally Posted by U2democrat

I wish death upon nobody, I just wish he could have acted more positively toward his fellow humans in his life.

Exactly. And I feel sorry for his friends and family.

All humans could and should act more positively towards others, and we all have prejudice and hate in us. His was just completely visible on a public stage.

[Irvine511]

seems a conspiracy is brewing.

some blogs are saying that Helms may have died on July 3, not on July 4.

[deep]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

he died on the fourth of July at the age of 86.

Originally Posted by Irvine511

Helms may have died on July 3, .

a flip-flop ?



or are you just refining your original statement?

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by deep

a flip-flop ?



or are you just refining your original statement?

i'm responding to new facts as they come to light from operatives on the ground at the Mayview Convalescent Center in Raleigh.

[maycocksean]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

i'm responding to new facts as they come to light from operatives on the ground at the Mayview Convalescent Center in Raleigh.

That exchange between you a deep was pretty funny. Witty guys!

[MrsSpringsteen]

charlotte.com

Posted on Wed, Jul. 09, 2008

Man retires rather than honor Helms
By Ryan Teague Beckwith

L.F. Eason III gave up the only job he'd ever had rather than lower a flag this week to honor former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.

Eason, a 29-year veteran of the state Department of Agriculture, instructed his staff at a small Raleigh lab not to fly the U.S. or N.C. flags at half staff Monday as called for in a directive to all state agencies by Gov. Mike Easley.

When a superior ordered the lab to follow the directive, Eason decided to retire rather than pay tribute to Helms.

“I … understand that my decision is not acceptable. You cannot ignore that fact. There is the law, but there is also a higher law I must follow as a matter of conscience,” he wrote to Easley and Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.

The brouhaha began late Sunday night, when Eason e-mailed nine of his employees in the state Metrology Lab, which calibrates measuring equipment used on such things as gasoline and hamburgers.

“Regardless of any executive proclamation, I do not want the flags at the North Carolina Standards Laboratory flown at half staff to honor Jesse Helms any time this week,” Eason wrote just after midnight, according to e-mails released in response to a public records request.

He told his staff that he did not think it was appropriate to honor Helms because of his “doctrine of negativity, hate and prejudice” and his opposition to civil rights bills and the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

When the lab opened Monday morning, the flags were not put out at all, but an employee called Eason's boss, Stephen Benjamin. Around 10:45 a.m., Benjamin told one of Eason's co-workers to put the flags at half staff.

No one in the governor's office was aware of any times in recent memory when a state employee refused to lower a flag. Brian Long, a spokesman for the Agriculture department, said Eason's refusal was unexpected since he has not had similar problems in the past.

In a string of e-mails with his superiors, Eason, 51, was told he could either lower the flags or retire immediately.

He pleaded to be allowed to stay.

Eason, who had worked for the agriculture department since graduating from college, was paid $65,235.

Several people, including his wife, argued to Eason that the flags belonged to the state, as did the lab.

But Eason said he felt a strong sense of ownership.

Eason and a previous boss had sketched out the building's rough design on a napkin at the Atlanta airport in 1984 after attending a national conference.

He then worked to get state funding for it.

“I designed and built that lab,” he said. “Even though technically the bricks and mortar belong to the state of North Carolina, I feel very strongly that everything that comes out of there is my responsibility.”

It was not the first time Eason felt uneasy about lowering the flag.

A registered Democrat who said he frequently votes a split ticket, Eason said he had no problems lowering the flag for former Sen. Terry Sanford or President Ronald Reagan. But he remembers wondering whether he would be able to lower the flag after President Richard Nixon's funeral.

He never had to make that decision, since it rained both days.

But it was sunny Monday. And Eason is now out of a job.

[maycocksean]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

charlotte.com

Posted on Wed, Jul. 09, 2008

Man retires rather than honor Helms
By Ryan Teague Beckwith

L.F. Eason III gave up the only job he'd ever had rather than lower a flag this week to honor former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.

Eason, a 29-year veteran of the state Department of Agriculture, instructed his staff at a small Raleigh lab not to fly the U.S. or N.C. flags at half staff Monday as called for in a directive to all state agencies by Gov. Mike Easley.

When a superior ordered the lab to follow the directive, Eason decided to retire rather than pay tribute to Helms.

“I … understand that my decision is not acceptable. You cannot ignore that fact. There is the law, but there is also a higher law I must follow as a matter of conscience,” he wrote to Easley and Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.

The brouhaha began late Sunday night, when Eason e-mailed nine of his employees in the state Metrology Lab, which calibrates measuring equipment used on such things as gasoline and hamburgers.

“Regardless of any executive proclamation, I do not want the flags at the North Carolina Standards Laboratory flown at half staff to honor Jesse Helms any time this week,” Eason wrote just after midnight, according to e-mails released in response to a public records request.

He told his staff that he did not think it was appropriate to honor Helms because of his “doctrine of negativity, hate and prejudice” and his opposition to civil rights bills and the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

When the lab opened Monday morning, the flags were not put out at all, but an employee called Eason's boss, Stephen Benjamin. Around 10:45 a.m., Benjamin told one of Eason's co-workers to put the flags at half staff.

No one in the governor's office was aware of any times in recent memory when a state employee refused to lower a flag. Brian Long, a spokesman for the Agriculture department, said Eason's refusal was unexpected since he has not had similar problems in the past.

In a string of e-mails with his superiors, Eason, 51, was told he could either lower the flags or retire immediately.

He pleaded to be allowed to stay.

Eason, who had worked for the agriculture department since graduating from college, was paid $65,235.

Several people, including his wife, argued to Eason that the flags belonged to the state, as did the lab.

But Eason said he felt a strong sense of ownership.

Eason and a previous boss had sketched out the building's rough design on a napkin at the Atlanta airport in 1984 after attending a national conference.

He then worked to get state funding for it.

“I designed and built that lab,” he said. “Even though technically the bricks and mortar belong to the state of North Carolina, I feel very strongly that everything that comes out of there is my responsibility.”

It was not the first time Eason felt uneasy about lowering the flag.

A registered Democrat who said he frequently votes a split ticket, Eason said he had no problems lowering the flag for former Sen. Terry Sanford or President Ronald Reagan. But he remembers wondering whether he would be able to lower the flag after President Richard Nixon's funeral.

He never had to make that decision, since it rained both days.

But it was sunny Monday. And Eason is now out of a job.

Do what you gotta do, Eason. :raisedfistofsolidarity:

Whether he was "right" or not is debatable I suppose, but he followed his conscience and accepted the consequences. I respect that.

[joyfulgirl]

Originally Posted by maycocksean

Do what you gotta do, Eason. :raisedfistofsolidarity:

Whether he was "right" or not is debatable I suppose, but he followed his conscience and accepted the consequences. I respect that.

I grew up near the NC state line and grew up watching Helms' hateful "commentaries" on the local news. When a person like Helms doesn't respect a good percentage of the living, it's hard to show respect for him when he's dead. While I have no problem speaking ill of the dead who spoke ill of the living, I will restrain myself from listing some of his more vile quotes since some people seem to have a problem with that.

[martha]

Originally Posted by joyfulgirl

I will restrain myself from listing some of his more vile quotes since some people seem to have a problem with that.

Restraint can be over-rated.

[joyfulgirl]

Wicked woman.

[deep]

L.F. Eason III gave up the only job he'd ever had rather than lower a flag this week to honor former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.

Eason, a 29-year veteran of the state Department of Agriculture, instructed his staff at a small Raleigh lab not to fly the U.S. or N.C. flags at half staff Monday as called for in a directive to all state agencies by Gov. Mike Easley.

Even in death
Helms is putting people "out of work".

[Dalton]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

let's hope the author of so much hateful legislation finds the peace in death that he spent his political career authoring legislation designed to deny just that to so many others -- racial minorities, gays, victims of HIV/AIDS -- while they were alive.

That is probably the most convoluted sentence I have ever tried to read.