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It’s time to talk about death and dying – let our experts explain

It’s a fact – we are all one day, going to die.  For doctors and frontline health care providers death is just part of the job.  However, talking about death with patients, care givers colleagues and families of patients – is another thing. Bed side manner is one area, but for most doctors the concept of diverging from fact-based conversations beyond treatment, diagnosis and prevention are sometimes foreign territory. The good news is times are changing.  As our populations age and as we all become more familiar with the journey towards end of life, comfort levels are easing, and more and more clinicians are becoming familiar with how to talk about dying. Those conversations are never easy, and neither is covering such topics in the news – but that’s where our experts are here to help. Dr. Dennis Sullivan serves as professor of pharmacy practice and director of the Center for Bioethics. His research and writing interests include biomedical ethics, moral philosophy, and end of life issues. Contact him today for your story! Simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.

Is Wall Street hedging on a Trump win in 2020? Let our experts tell you why.

“The economy, stupid!” It’s a famous quote that Bill Clinton campaigner James Carville used in 1992. And the Ragin’ Cajun was right – odds are, when it comes to Americans casting a vote in presidential elections – the economy calls the shots on how they vote. And despite the scandals, the Tweets, the gaffes and the indictments – the economy under President Donald Trump is booming. So, while convention and traditional politics would likely write of the presidency of Donald Trump as a one term wonder - an article about a recent report commissioned by Goldman Sachs says Democrats and pundits shouldn’t be so sure to write him off. ‘In a comprehensive report released late Saturday, the investment bank gave its preliminary thoughts on a general election that’s still more than a year away. While Trump re-election is far from assured, Goldman’s economists believe the president is bolstered by “the advantage of first-term incumbency and the relatively strong economic performance,” in what is sure to be a “close call” election.’ - Yahoo! Finance Are you covering the race for 2020? Should Democrats change their focus away from the scandals and the Mueller Report and focus on economics? If not, what are the issues that will sway undecideds next year? And what will a potential run by an Independent candidate mean for the race? There are so many storylines already at play and a long way to go before November 2020 – but the election is already daily news and that’s where our experts can help. Dr. Marc Clauson is a professor of history and law at Cedarville. Marc is an expert in the fields of political and economic philosophy Dr. Clauson is available to speak with media – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.

Essays for sale – our experts weigh in with ABC news

As the college admissions scandal is becoming the story that just won’t end for some of the leading schools in the country – recently Good Morning America opened another chapter in the book that revealed just how easily college entrance essays are being offered and acquired by prospective students. From ghost writing, to essays up for grabs online at a steep price - It’s a multi-million-dollar industry and it’s growing. A leading expert from UMW was recently interviews by Good Morning America about the problem. “Contract cheating has grown a great deal over the past ten years, “said Professor David Rettinger of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Rettinger is president of the International Center for Academic Integrity, an organization that promotes integrity in academia throughout the world. "Students are willing to use internet sites, family members, friends and other technology to get contractors to do their work.” Are you covering this topic?  We can help. Dr. David Rettinger is available to speak with media regarding this scandal as well as the importance of education in America.  Simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.

The amazing story of General Casimir Pulaski and the secret the war hero took to the grave

He’s a person who has intrigued Americans for centuries and will be the subject of a documentary airing Monday.  Scientists have confirmed that legendary Revolutionary War hero and famed General Casimir Pulaski took a secret to the grave. The General was intersex. News of this was enough to inspire an episode in Smithsonian Channel's "America's Hidden Stories" documentary series. Georgia Southern University’s Virginia Hutton Estabrook, Ph.D., assistant professor of anthropology, was recently contacted by media for expert perspective and comment. In the documentary — “The General Was Female?” — which premieres Monday, scientists use skeletal remains and DNA testing to make a case that the skeleton was Pulaski’s and that the Polish-born general was intersex, or what used to be known as a hermaphrodite.“That’s pretty much the only way to explain the combination of features that we see,” said Estabrook, who participated in the most recent effort to identify the bones, and appears in the documentary.“He was so important as a touchstone for the Polish community. And it’s kind of cool that in the 21st century, Pulaski can be a touchstone for a different group of people: That, hey, there were intersex people in history, too, and here’s this one who had this really amazing life: heroic, resourceful, all of the features in the American narrative that we value and treasure.” – Chicago Tribune This discovery unearths questions about what this might mean as we all look back at history and the real people who helped write it. Are you covering this story and need to expert perspective, insight and information? That’s where the experts from Georgia Southern University can help. Virginia Hutton Estabrook is an assistant professor of anthropology and played an integral role in this discovery. She is available to speak with media – simply click on her icon to arrange an interview.

Same Ole’ Song, Different Chorus

Within the President’s 2020 education budget request, Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos gave testimony to a House appropriations subcommittee last week in Washington DC. Within a short back and forth between Devos and Katherine Clark, United States Representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district, DeVos unapologetically stood behind non-black research used within a recent report justifying the removal of Obama-era school discipline guidance. The Obama guidance was beseeched to not only inhibit the national disproportionate Black v. White suspension rate, but it also attempted to curtail the school-to-prison pipeline countless education researchers, such as myself, have studied. The report DeVos submitted is nothing but a product that essentially is a reproduction of systemic racism. In order for a reproduction of systemic racism to transpire, and “subsequent measures of control to be not only in place but legitimized, an entrenchment of inferiority directed toward the marginalized is needed.” The use of systemic reproduction of racism is what created and maintains the establishment of two separate worlds—one White and one deemed Black. DeVos and the research she used as the foundation for her misguided justification for the removal of said guidance dates back much further than DeVos can count. During the late 19th and early 20th century, White so-called intellectuals William Shockley to Charles Murray have attempted to depict Blacks as less intelligent, more violent, immoral, sexual monsters, and on and on. DeVos and her findings are nothing but 21st-century scientific racism. https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2019-04-01/rep-katherine-clark-calls-for-betsy-devos-to-resign-citing-racist-research

2019 Federal Budget Commentary

In brief, the 2019 Budget includes $22.8 billion in new spending over the next five years. The government expects revenues to steadily increase by nearly $60 billion in 2023 and projects program spending to increase by $40 billion that year. Debt payments are projected to increase by $7 billion. Based on these growth and spending assumptions, the government expects the federal deficit to increase to nearly $20 billion in 2019–2020 and 2020–21 and then decline to $9.8 billion at the end of the next five years. Cleo Melanson, Tax Partner, and Rick Bouffard, Principal & Tax Advisory, at Freelandt Caldwell Reilly LLP practice in the areas of tax and owner-managed businesses. You can contact Cleo by clicking here or Rick by clicking here to arrange an appointment regarding this topic. Articles:

Justice is Not Only Bought, it's Racist!

After reading pieces in the Guardian and other news outlets, I find the assumption many news analysts, reporters, and commentators are making regarding Paul Manafort's sentence tone deaf. Yes, we all know money talks. And we also know that money has the ability to influence the legal outcomes within the U.S. justice system. But what people are not talking about, and should, is that his final sentence handed down by Judge TS Ellis, was rooted in racialized bias. Ok, let's just say, it had racist undertones. I know what many will say, "Race has nothing to do with the case." Well, it actually does. First, Paul Manafort has been essentially convicted of lying to federal officials, obstruction of justice, excessive felonies. And one can not forget about the morally reprehensible acts regarding collaborating with foreign governments bent on toppling the United States. He received 47 months. On the other hand, Judge TS Ellis, in 2009, was the presiding judge in the Representative William J. Jefferson of Louisiana case. Jefferson was indicted on 16 charges of corruption and later convicted. Judge Ellis did not give him 47 months. Jefferson was initially sentenced to 13 years for bribery. At the time, it was considered the longest sentence ever handed down to a member of Congress. This includes not only for the charge of bribery but any other crime. Looking through Ellis' convictions, a trail is visible. This is an old trail that is aligned to nothing but systemic racism.

Expert: Why do entrepreneurs fail? They choose the wrong idea.

The importance of having a sound business idea for a startup is essential, but identifying the ideas most likely to go from concept to venture is challenging. Statistics show that about 34 percent of startups fail within the first two years and 56% within the first four years. Most failures are due, in part, to the pursuit of ideas that are poorly selected and/or tested. “Inexperienced entrepreneurs have improved odds of succeeding over the long run if their first idea is sound,” says Dan Cohen, director of Wake Forest University’s Center for Entrepreneurship. “A key to that success is to generate 100 ideas and then evaluate and select the best one. That first win builds confidence for the next.” - Dan Cohen Cohen’s new teaching method, IDEATE, has been proven to help develop higher-quality, more innovative ideas. He is available to discuss ways fledgling entrepreneurs can refine their ideas — from product or service development to customer testing to securing investors to marketing and sales. He can also discuss why starting a business is easier today than it has ever been and what characteristics people share who are drawn to opportunities, innovation and entrepreneurship. Dan Cohen and Wake Forest’s Center for Entrepreneurship were prominently featured in the Winston-Salem Journal’s Business & Innovation section Spotting valuable ideas. IDEATE was one of four finalists for the 2018 Excellence in Entrepreneurship Teaching and Pedagogical Innovation Award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers — winning recognition from among more than 100 submissions. Most recently, Wake Forest University was a finalist for the Model Emerging Entrepreneurship Program Award at the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) Conference focused on entrepreneurship education. Broadcast Television and Radio Studio Information Wake Forest operates a fully-equipped, professional television and radio studio to connect experts with global news media. Video interviews can be coordinated through LTN Global Communications’ Smartcloud IP video transport service that provides regular high-quality video transport connections to most major broadcast networks. Audio interviews are coordinated through ipDTL, an IP codec used for remote radio broadcasts as well as voice-overs. ipDTL replaces classic ISDN audio codecs and has backward compatibility. Details available here.

This Valentine’s Day, give the gift of great conversation

When is the last time you and your partner made time to talk? Or, more important, made time to really listen to one another. The newness of getting to know our partner – that interest we had in the beginning of a relationship – begins to take a back seat to the everyday busyness of life. And while the days, months and years pass by, it is easy to assume that the one we love is essentially the same person with the same needs, interests, values and goals. "People think that ‘change is the only constant’ doesn’t apply to our relationships. We forget that we are always growing and learning new things about ourselves and so is our partner,” says Wake Forest University communication professor Jennifer Priem. “As we and our partners grow, we need to learn how to best make adjustments in our relationship so that our relationships grow with us. That happens when we listen.” Priem studies relationships and conducts research that explores the connection between supportive conversations and physiological signs of stress reduction. She recently launched a blog on Psychology Today, Stressing Communication, and is sharing a series of posts called, “Conversations That Will Save Your Relationship.” Priem offers these tips to help set the stage for meaningful conversation. Ask your partner if it’s a good time talk. “After work or when your partner is tired is usually not the best time to talk,” says Priem. “If your partner says ‘no’ it doesn’t mean forever. Rather than force a conversation because you’re ready, wait for a time that will be good for you both to engage.” When it is time to talk, listen first. Be a supportive listener. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by your cell phone, other things happening around the conversation, or tangential thoughts that pop into your mind. Listen to understand, rather than to respond.  Try not to interrupt your partner. Wait to respond until your partner has completed his or her thought. It may be that by waiting to respond, you will learn something new that will change how you respond. Conversations don’t require “work,” says Priem, but they do require that we recognize how we maintain our relationships, assess if it is in line with what is best for us and our partner, and adjust our strategies to create the best possible relationship over time.  Priem is available for phone, email and broadcast interviews. Broadcast Television and Radio Studio Information Wake Forest operates a fully-equipped, professional television and radio studio to connect experts with global news media. Video interviews can be coordinated through LTN Global Communications’ Smartcloud IP video transport service that provides regular high-quality video transport connections to most major broadcast networks. Audio interviews are coordinated through ipDTL, an IP codec used for remote radio broadcasts as well as voice-overs. ipDTL replaces classic ISDN audio codecs and has backward compatibility. Details available here.

Expert on Virginia Constitution available to comment on gubernatorial removal, succession issues

John Dinan, a Wake Forest University politics and international affairs professor who specializes in the study of state constitutions and is the author of the book The Virginia State Constitution, can answer questions about the process in Virginia for removing a governor from office and what happens if a governor is removed or resigns. Removing a governor from office The Virginia Constitution provides two pathways for removing a governor from office. First, the Virginia Constitution allows for impeachment in cases of "malfeasance in office, corruption, neglect of duty, or other high crime or misdemeanor." Similar to the process in place at the national level, it takes a majority vote in the house to impeach an official and a two-thirds vote in the senate for conviction and removal from office. Second, in a provision that roughly tracks the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and was intended to apply to cases of physical or mental disability, a governor can be deemed "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” as determined either by the attorney general, senate president pro tem, and house speaker acting together or by a majority vote of all members of the legislature. Such a determination triggers a process that ultimately requires a three-fourths vote in the house and senate to remove a governor on the ground of inability to discharge the powers and duties of the office. Succession to the office of governor When a governor leaves office before the end of the term, he is succeeded by the lieutenant governor. In case the lieutenant governor’s office is vacant, the attorney general would become governor. In case the office of attorney general is vacant, the house speaker would become governor. In any of these situations, someone assuming the office of governor mid-term would not be prohibited from running for and serving another full term in office, despite Virginia’s prohibition on a governor serving consecutive terms. Succession to the office of lieutenant governor In the event the lieutenant governor succeeds the governor and therefore the lieutenant governor’s office becomes vacant, the senate president pro tem would discharge the duties of the lieutenant governor, while continuing to serve in the senate. The governor is then permitted to appoint someone to fill the vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office, with this appointee serving until the next scheduled general election (November 2019), when an election would be held to fill out the remainder of the original term. Succession to the office of attorney general In the event of a vacancy in the office of attorney general, the position would be filled by a person selected by a majority vote of all members of the legislature, as long as the legislature is in session, and that person would then serve the remainder of the original term. If the legislature is in recess, then the position would be filled temporarily by an appointee of the governor and that person would serve until the legislature is next in session and would select someone to fill out the term. Broadcast Television and Radio Studio Information Wake Forest operates a fully-equipped, professional television and radio studio to connect experts with global news media. Video interviews can be coordinated through LTN Global Communications’ Smartcloud IP video transport service that provides regular high-quality video transport connections to most major broadcast networks. Audio interviews are coordinated through ipDTL, an IP codec used for remote radio broadcasts as well as voice-overs. ipDTL replaces classic ISDN audio codecs and has backward compatibility. Details available here.