Gold medal mob

If you've ever visited Ireland you may remember the pretty seaside town of Bray. It's about 12 miles south of Dublin, straddling the border of County Wicklow. Population: just under 32,000.

Ireland is a small country that lags far behind the USA in Olympic medals. Obviously, wins are huge there. 

Still, get a load of the crowd that turned out this week in Bray - under threatening skies, no less  - to watch hometown Olympian Katie Taylor win a gold in boxing.

http://www.thejournal.ie/video-crowds-in-bray-reacts-to-katies-win-552833-Aug2012/

Virginia Beach, you've been challenged.

With more than 10 times the population of Bray, surely The Resort City ought to be able to draw many more screaming supporters for Gabby Douglas when our local gold medalist comes home. 

Offend other cultures? What about grammarians?

Wacky tales of political correctness-gone-berserk make for great headlines.

So the outrage over a NYC elementary school principal's decision this week to scrap Lee Greenwood's patriotic anthem, "God Bless the USA" at a kindergarten graduation and replace it with the inane "Baby" by Justin Bieber should come as no surprise.

Expecially since Principal Greta Hawkins reportedly worried that the song would offend other cultures.

Sheesh.

(Update: "Baby" has now also been scrapped, according to news reports.)

But this dust-up raises other vexing questions - such as why do we celebrate graduation from kindergarten? No offense to all those exhausted 5-year-olds, but mastering the alphabet and primary colors really it isn't much of a milestone in the grand scheme of things. Let's give the kids a cookie and move on.

But there is a reason - and a good one - to rethink Lee Greenwood's catchy song in school settings.

 Fact is, his lyrics contain one huge honking example of lousy grammar. If you've never noticed it before, you will now:

 I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.

Memo to Lee Greenwood: American isn't a place, hence, "where" doesn't work. 

"I'm proud to live in America, where at least I know I'm free" would fix the problem. So would "I'm proud to be an American because at least I know I'm free."

Take your pick, but please fix the grammar so that writers and English teachers can enjoy the song as much as everyone else.

Except NYC public school principals. There's no pleasing them.

Mea culpa

Don't bother calling or writing to tell me what an idiot I am. I already know. My daughter's boyfriend was quick to inform me this morning.

If you read my column today and noticed a glaring historical blunder, I apologize. If you didn't notice it, perhaps, like me, you don't know your World War I history.

I wrote about my great uncle who shot himself after World War I. HIs Army discharge papers don't say where he served in Europe. I wrote that my father always said it was Dunkirk. That means one of two things: Either I misunderstood my dad, or he was as clueless about history as I am.

Our visiting history buff pointed out that there was no way my great uncle fought at Dunkirk during World War I since that battle began on May 26, 1940. Oh, and no American troops were involved.

Every else in my column today is accurate. I hope.

Got lice? Want advice?

I'm not one of those people who wonders if the letters to Dear Abby, Ann Landers or Carolyn Hax are authentic.

Live long enough and you'll believe almost any bizarre thing about your fellow man. Or woman.

But today's Pilot contains a query to an advice column that stretches even my limits of credulity. It's a question posed to Dr. Anthony Komaroff - a professor of medicine at Harvard - and it deals with head lice.

"Dear Dr. K: My daughter was sent home from school with head lice. I'm embarrassed and worried. What should I do?"

Yep, that's the letter in all its glory.

Let's think about this one for a second, shall we? Your kid's been banished from school because her head is crawling with bugs. You're worried, not to mention embarrassed.

So what do you do?

Do you speed to the nearest CVS, burst through the doors screaming "Point me to your delousing stuff"?

Do you phone your doctor and ask what's the best course of action?

Do you hysterically call the school nurse or your best friend?

Nope. None of the above.

Instead you, oh most patient person, sit down and pen a letter to a syndicated advice columnist, stick it in the mail to an address in Kansas City and wait for an answer to appear in your local newspaper.

Meanwhile, the lice are colonizing on all the heads in your family including the dog's and your daughter's being homeschooled because the principal is not letting her back until she's certified bug free.

Really?

Sorry. Not buying it.

High price of hate

Neo-Nazi William A. White was just dealt a major blow in his attempt to set aside a $545,000 civil verdict against him.

The Virginia Lawyers Weekly reports that a panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied his appeal.

Good. The First Amendment doesn't protect speech that attempts to intimidate Americans who have turned to the courts to protect their civil rights.

White, of Roanoke, was a member of a neo-Nazi organization when he wrote threatening, virtiolic letters to five Virginia Beach women who had sued their landlord for discrimination.

Imagine that. Five citizens used the courts exactly as they are meant to be used - to peacefully solve disputes - and they wound up being the target of a vicious hatemonger.

For more details about the case, read this chilling 2010 story from The Roanoke Times.

Here's a highlight: "We have to send a message to all the Bill Whites of the world, and to Bill White himself, that we will not allow citizens to take the judicial process into their own hands," said Tony Troy, who represented the women.

Importance of a free press

Hmmm.

Wonder what Thomas Jefferson would have to say about School Board members in Portsmouth who seem to think the press should act as a cheerleader for local government, even when it makes dubious or costly decisions.

Wait. Here's TJ himself:

Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. Thomas Jefferson

Hang ups

Some say there hasn't been a lot to love in the current session of the General Assembly.

I disagree.

There's HB39, which passed the House of Delegates without a single nay vote and got through the Senate by a 24-15 margin.

If Gov. Bob McDonnell signs it - and let's hope he does - it means anyone who places two or more harassing phoncalls can be locked up.

Jail time? For harassing someone by phone? If you're scratching your head over this one, you haven't been the target of one of these nuts.

Me, I can't wait for it to become law. Never mind why. I just hope he's reading this.

On Sunday I wrote about another worthwhile measure working it's way through the General Assembly: SB464, which will allow Virginia's breweries to sell beer on their premises.

In typical smart-aleck fashion, I declared that it was a bill only teetotalers and beer distributors could oppose.

Turns out, I was only half right.

I talked today to Jim Babb, spokesman for the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association.

Turns out beer distributors strongly support the legislation. Here's why: Virginia is home to scores of "craft brewers" or microbreweries. Many of these small outfits have correspondingly small inventories - compared to Anheuser-Busch and the other big boys, anyway. So, if the law allows these mini-breweries to sell their own products, demand will likely grow for their tasty brews.

If and when that happens, the beer distributors will be happy to truck their stuff to all corners of the commonwealth.

Babb gave me fresh hope that this measure will pass the House of Delegates. With this powerful lobby pushing the bill - which was co-patroned by Virginia Beach's State Sen. Jeff McWaters - how can it lose?

Waiting now to hear from Virginia's teetotalers... 

The $40 million question

What is it about $40 million and Virginia Beach?

As I went to sleep last night I was haunted by that number. After all, that's the approximate amount of money the city's schools need to slash from next year's budget.

When I got up this morning and Googled "$40 million" and "Virginia Beach" I stumbled on an amazing coincidence.

It was just three years ago that the Resort City spent - you guessed it - $40 million to buy a 10.6 mile right-of-way from Norfolk Southern, for a light rail system that the voters said no to more than a decade ago. (Here's a thought: Sell the right-of-way. School funding problem solved.)

That's not all. One of the city's self-promoting websites claims its Open Space Acquisition Program has saved 1,922.5 acres valued at - wait for it - $40 million.

And back in October The Pilot reported that the cost of the Laskin Road Gateway project - you know the improvements a local developer stomped his feet and demanded - had blossomed to, yep, $40 million.

Wait. There's more.

Guess how much money city politicians have taken back from school funds over the past three years to pay for "critical" projects like an animal shelter and another rec center for Bayside? Nope, not $40 million. It's actually more - $41.4 million. (Here's an idea: Give the money back. School funding problem solved.)

Look, any municipality that just tried to shake down taxpayers for more than $60 million for a hotel ought to be embarrassed to see headlines about teacher layoffs and the abolition of junior varsity sports and summer programs. Do you suppose they think we forgot already?

Even the bean counters at City Hall should understand that quality schools are a better investment than hotels, underground utilities and light rail.

Tax hikes? No thanks. Put a "For Sale" sign on the right-of-way instead.

RIP Uncle Pete

I'm trying to imagine the world without Pete Decker in it. Sorry, can't do it.

This Norfolk lawyer - who seemed to be on a first-name basis with the world - literally raised untold millions for charity. His smile, his generous spirit, his infectuous laugh and, of course, his singing will be missed by everyone who knew him and millions who never had the privilege.

Long-distance lady

What is it about Sandra Smith-Jones?

After she was shamed into resigning from the Virginia Beach School Board - because she'd accepted a job 7,000 miles away, in Saudi Arabia - she finds herself now on the governor's Council on the Status of Women. A state advisory board. Emphasis on "advisory."

According to news reports, that 19-member volunteer group meets about five times a year to deal with matters important to women.

Right.

If they did anything of actual importance, do you think the governor would plop a woman on there who lives half a world away?

The only redeeming aspect of this appointment is that it comes with no pay. No expense account .

It's a resume enhancer, though. And a blunder by Bob McDonnell.