The Phil Gramm Debating Society
A Truly Serious Whiner. No Flag for Helms.
| newsobserver.com | He quit rather than lower flag for Helms
Monday, July 14, 2008 Monday, July 14, 2008
Ryan Teague Beckwith, Staff Writer
RALEIGH - L.F. Eason III gave up the only job he'd ever had rather than lower a flag 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 North Carolina flags at half-staff Monday, defying a directive sent 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. After several hours' delay, one of Eason's employees hung the flags at half-staff.
The brouhaha began late Sunday night, when Eason e-mailed eight of his employees in the state standards lab, which calibrates measuring equipment used on things as widely varied 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-mail messages 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.
Eason said in an interview Tuesday that he did not typically lower the flag himself, but that, as head of the lab, he supervised the technician who did. He also trained new employees on proper flag etiquette, including a one-person folding technique he learned in Boy Scouts.
When the lab opened Monday morning, the flags were not out at all. An employee called Eason's boss, Stephen Benjamin, who worked in another building in Raleigh. About 10:45 a.m., Benjamin told one of Eason's co-workers to put the flags at half-staff.
Another of Eason's superiors later drove by the lab to make sure the flags were up properly.
No one in the Governor's Office was aware of any time 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.
"We've never had any conversations like that," he said.
An ultimatum
In a string of e-mail messages with his superiors, Eason was told he could either lower the flags or retire effective immediately.
Though he's only 51, Eason chose to retire, although he pleaded several times to be allowed to stay at the lab. Eason, who had worked for the Agriculture Department since graduating from college, was paid $65,235 a year as the laboratory manager.
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 on weights and measures.
He then worked to get funding for it in the state budget, and he recently helped snag state money to study building another lab.
"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 frequently votes a split ticket, he said he had no problems lowering the flag for former Sen. Terry Sanford or President Reagan. But he remembers wondering whether he would be willing to lower the flag after President Nixon's death.
He never had to make that decision, since it rained both days.
Monday was sunny. And Eason was out of a job.
ryan.teague.beckwith@newsobserver.com or (919) 836-4944
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Posted by: jyhinton 2008-07-14 10:43:36
Rated: 0 by 0 users.
Eason
I stand 100% behind Mr. Eason. He shouldnt have had to sacrafice his job for his beliefs.Where is it wriiten that if you dont agree, you lose your job? I hope you sue.
*
Posted by: trose2225 2008-07-14 10:35:17
Rated: 1 by 1 users.
99% of us do not have the corage of Mr. Eason.
I am bursting with admiration for Mr. Eason. My goodness what courage this man has. I wish I knew him. I'm older than Mr. Eason by 10 years and I was always repulsed by Jessie Helms. When he was a commentator on Channel 5, my children knew as soon as they heard his worbly voice to turn the station immediately. I am a caucasian and life long citizen of NC who had one hatred growing up and that was for bigots and persons who did not see the racial injustice which surrounded us or who in fact supported racial injustice, like Senator Helms. I grew up in a family where the N word was not tolerated. I wonder who among us would have the courage to do what Mr. Eason did. My hat is off to this great North Carolinian, Mr. L.F. Eason III.
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Posted by: ebetz 2008-07-13 15:07:08
Rated: 0 by 0 users.
Demorat Racists
Lester Maddox took an ax, threatened would be diners with some whacks, when the rednecks saw what he;d done they made him Georgias number one! (Demorat Governeor of Georgia who couldn't get elected demorat dog catcher until he proved his demorat racial prejudice. This is still manifested in Demorat politics by appealing to specific "ethnic" voting blocks instead of appealing to the American populace as a whole.
*
Posted by: Real_Americans_Think 2008-07-13 10:09:15
Rated: 0 by 0 users.
Differences matter
The difference with Byrd is that he has repudiated and repented. Helms never did. The difference with Clinton is that he was villified by hypocrical Republicans for a personal matter, not something that actually had to do with the substance of his office. Sure, it was embarassing, but to waste taxpayer resources on a witch hunt over a blow job is at the height of absurdity. Having to listen to that hypocrite Henry Hyde (who had an affair years ago, but somehow his affair was irrelevant?) and his sanctimony was punishment enough. Helms went to his a grave an unrepetent bigot and homophobe. Byrd and Clinton have admitted to their failings. There is a difference.
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Posted by: bgarver 2008-07-13 09:08:09
Rated: 0 by 0 users.
Why not?
Would yoiu lower the flag for Robert Byrd (former KKK) or Bill Clinton (impeached and disrespect of the Oval Office)? I'll be glad to leave the flag up for Sen. Helms if you will leave it up for your democrats with a questionable past.
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Monday, July 14, 2008 Monday, July 14, 2008
Ryan Teague Beckwith, Staff Writer
RALEIGH - L.F. Eason III gave up the only job he'd ever had rather than lower a flag 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 North Carolina flags at half-staff Monday, defying a directive sent 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. After several hours' delay, one of Eason's employees hung the flags at half-staff.
The brouhaha began late Sunday night, when Eason e-mailed eight of his employees in the state standards lab, which calibrates measuring equipment used on things as widely varied 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-mail messages 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.
Eason said in an interview Tuesday that he did not typically lower the flag himself, but that, as head of the lab, he supervised the technician who did. He also trained new employees on proper flag etiquette, including a one-person folding technique he learned in Boy Scouts.
When the lab opened Monday morning, the flags were not out at all. An employee called Eason's boss, Stephen Benjamin, who worked in another building in Raleigh. About 10:45 a.m., Benjamin told one of Eason's co-workers to put the flags at half-staff.
Another of Eason's superiors later drove by the lab to make sure the flags were up properly.
No one in the Governor's Office was aware of any time 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.
"We've never had any conversations like that," he said.
An ultimatum
In a string of e-mail messages with his superiors, Eason was told he could either lower the flags or retire effective immediately.
Though he's only 51, Eason chose to retire, although he pleaded several times to be allowed to stay at the lab. Eason, who had worked for the Agriculture Department since graduating from college, was paid $65,235 a year as the laboratory manager.
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 on weights and measures.
He then worked to get funding for it in the state budget, and he recently helped snag state money to study building another lab.
"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 frequently votes a split ticket, he said he had no problems lowering the flag for former Sen. Terry Sanford or President Reagan. But he remembers wondering whether he would be willing to lower the flag after President Nixon's death.
He never had to make that decision, since it rained both days.
Monday was sunny. And Eason was out of a job.
ryan.teague.beckwith@newsobserver.com or (919) 836-4944
* Comments
* Add Comment
* Disclaimer
*
Posted by: jyhinton 2008-07-14 10:43:36
Rated: 0 by 0 users.
Eason
I stand 100% behind Mr. Eason. He shouldnt have had to sacrafice his job for his beliefs.Where is it wriiten that if you dont agree, you lose your job? I hope you sue.
*
Posted by: trose2225 2008-07-14 10:35:17
Rated: 1 by 1 users.
99% of us do not have the corage of Mr. Eason.
I am bursting with admiration for Mr. Eason. My goodness what courage this man has. I wish I knew him. I'm older than Mr. Eason by 10 years and I was always repulsed by Jessie Helms. When he was a commentator on Channel 5, my children knew as soon as they heard his worbly voice to turn the station immediately. I am a caucasian and life long citizen of NC who had one hatred growing up and that was for bigots and persons who did not see the racial injustice which surrounded us or who in fact supported racial injustice, like Senator Helms. I grew up in a family where the N word was not tolerated. I wonder who among us would have the courage to do what Mr. Eason did. My hat is off to this great North Carolinian, Mr. L.F. Eason III.
*
Posted by: ebetz 2008-07-13 15:07:08
Rated: 0 by 0 users.
Demorat Racists
Lester Maddox took an ax, threatened would be diners with some whacks, when the rednecks saw what he;d done they made him Georgias number one! (Demorat Governeor of Georgia who couldn't get elected demorat dog catcher until he proved his demorat racial prejudice. This is still manifested in Demorat politics by appealing to specific "ethnic" voting blocks instead of appealing to the American populace as a whole.
*
Posted by: Real_Americans_Think 2008-07-13 10:09:15
Rated: 0 by 0 users.
Differences matter
The difference with Byrd is that he has repudiated and repented. Helms never did. The difference with Clinton is that he was villified by hypocrical Republicans for a personal matter, not something that actually had to do with the substance of his office. Sure, it was embarassing, but to waste taxpayer resources on a witch hunt over a blow job is at the height of absurdity. Having to listen to that hypocrite Henry Hyde (who had an affair years ago, but somehow his affair was irrelevant?) and his sanctimony was punishment enough. Helms went to his a grave an unrepetent bigot and homophobe. Byrd and Clinton have admitted to their failings. There is a difference.
*
Posted by: bgarver 2008-07-13 09:08:09
Rated: 0 by 0 users.
Why not?
Would yoiu lower the flag for Robert Byrd (former KKK) or Bill Clinton (impeached and disrespect of the Oval Office)? I'll be glad to leave the flag up for Sen. Helms if you will leave it up for your democrats with a questionable past.
Please login to add a comment
The News & Observer is pleased to be able to offer its users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online. However, the interactive nature of the internet makes it impracticable for our staff to monitor each and every posting.
Since The News & Observer does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted on our website. In addition, we remind anyone interested in making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The News and Observer.
If you find a comment offensive, clicking on the exclamation icon will flag the comment for review by the administrators, we are counting on the good judgment of all our readers to help us.
Click here to view more comments...
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View All » Top Jobs
Associate Accountant
QUALITY EQUIPMENT, LLC
Apartment Manager
Elders Peak Apartment
Program Registered Nurse
Learning Services Corporation
Advanced Search » Quick Job Search
Keyword(s):
View All » Hot Deals
* 2005 Ford Escape2005 Ford Escape$14,995Alliance Supercenter Inc
* 2007 Toyota Highlander2007 Toyota Highlander$18,991David O’Neal Chrysler Jeep Dodge at Westgate
* 2005 Nissan Armada2005 Nissan Armada$19,995Alliance Supercenter Inc
* 2005 Infiniti QX562005 Infiniti QX56$29,995Alliance Supercenter Inc
* 2005 Chrysler 300C2005 Chrysler 300C David O’Neal Chrysler Jeep Dodge at Westgate
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Comment
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Comment by Braised Cod on July 15, 2008 at 2:13am - No one enjoys a good White Whine more than Jesse Helms: http://youtube.com/watch?v=KIyewCdXMzk
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