Thursday, March 31, 2005
Collar color: Some crooks may get an advantage over others
If a man got caught breaking into a produce market at night to steal something to feed his hungry children, the record of his larceny would follow him forever. On the other hand, if a well-heeled lawyer juggled the books...Published: Mar 31, 2005 11:48 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Jets and churches: There is no harm in a little competition
The Goldsboro Planning Commission says people should be allowed to build churches in the noisy areas around Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. That’s good. The fewer church-free zones, the better. Besides, Sabbaths are relatively quiet. On most Sundays, Air Force...Published: Mar 30, 2005 10:20 AM Full Editorial
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Tarnished Halos: Food industry group announces its ‘winners’
The Center for Consumer Freedom has announced its Tarnished Halo Awards for this year. Now, the Center for Consumer Freedom is as much an organization to sanitize the image of the food industry as it is to promote the interests...Published: Mar 29, 2005 11:06 AM Full Editorial
Monday, March 28, 2005
Let them take turns: Legislative leaders have too much power
The North Carolina Legislature could save the state a heap of money just by getting new leadership. New leaders wouldn’t have the muscle to get so many of their pet projects approved. The leaders in office now are fine people,...Published: Mar 28, 2005 10:28 AM Full Editorial
Saturday, March 26, 2005
'I'll be with you...'
After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God’s angel came down from...Published: Mar 26, 2005 11:58 PM Full Editorial
Friday, March 25, 2005
Go for it! Oil drilling in refuge would be harmless and helpful
The U.S. Senate has approved a measure allowing for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It was a close vote — 51 to 49 — and largely along party lines. The vote came as Americans were paying more...Published: Mar 25, 2005 11:17 AM Full Editorial
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Consensus: Nearly everybody wants lobbying bill to be passed
When Art Pope and Wib Gulley were in the Legislature, they found little more to agree on than an N.C. State fan and a Duke fan during March Madness. Pope is a conservative Republican from Raleigh, and Gulley is a...Published: Mar 24, 2005 11:55 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Stop suits: Build or buy at your own risk?
Some property owners and public officials up in Chesapeake, Va., are considering an idea that would help developers and protect the Navy from lawsuits stemming from noisy aircraft. At this writing, 2,000 lawsuits have been filed against the government by...Published: Mar 23, 2005 11:29 AM Full Editorial
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Terri Schiavo: This is not a matter for the federal government
The members of Congress who passed a law that may extend Terri Schiavo’s life most likely were well intentioned. They believe it would be wrong to remove her feeding tube and allow her to starve. But Congress should not have...Published: Mar 22, 2005 10:28 AM Full Editorial
Monday, March 21, 2005
Free speech: A privilege of certain approved academicians
A university is a marketplace for ideas. So says an essay in a University of Michigan newspaper. But, says the writer, academic speech is being discouraged by politics. As an example, the essay cites the Ward Churchill controversy. Churchill is...Published: Mar 21, 2005 12:37 PM Full Editorial
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Passing time: A fascinating Tar Heel from that great generation
Passing time A fascinating Tar Heel from that great generation Are you in a contemplative mood? If so, the news of Lyne Starling Few’s death may be of interest. It is noteworthy as a sidelight to a fleeting bit of...Published: Mar 20, 2005 1:38 AM Full Editorial
Friday, March 18, 2005
Favoritism: Legislative leaders get authority over $20 million
Legislative leaders are talking about raising state taxes and putting the state in the gambling business to make money because state government just doesn’t have enough to get by. That’s poppycock. If the members of the Legislature wanted to find...Published: Mar 18, 2005 11:24 AM Full Editorial
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Carl Fox: A native son has done well
Wayne County can take great pride in the recent appointment of one of its native sons to a Superior Court judgeship. He is Carl Fox, who grew up in Mount Olive and graduated from Southern Wayne High School. Son of...Published: Mar 17, 2005 10:45 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Discrimination: Among law enforcement agencies, it is needed
With all deference to the good female law enforcement officers — and there are some fine ones right here in Wayne County — there is a vital lesson to be learned from the Atlanta courthouse case. It is a lesson...Published: Mar 16, 2005 11:49 AM Full Editorial
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Bad logic: Wherever you stand on executions, Supreme Court’s ruling was strange
You might think juveniles shouldn’t be executed for capital crimes, and that is a reasonable position, perhaps even the correct one. What is absolutely wrong, however, is the U.S. Supreme Court’s logic for outlawing the executions. The court’s vote in...Published: Mar 15, 2005 11:15 AM Full Editorial
Monday, March 14, 2005
Guest Editorial: Incentives are a way of showing favoritism
Many are the sins committed in the name of economic development. Most of them involve the practice of giving incentives to private companies to locate or expand in North Carolina. Take the recent instance in Wilson where the city gave...Published: Mar 14, 2005 9:06 AM Full Editorial
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Astute teckies weigh in on electioneering law
Folks can get buried in their own ways of thinking if they’re not careful. So much so that sometimes they are blinded to the obvious. This newspaper is guilty. Several times it has railed against the McCain-Feingold Act. Now, right...Published: Mar 12, 2005 9:59 PM Full Editorial
Friday, March 11, 2005
Basnight: Greatest champion of natural resources
“When we leave this earth, let’s hope folks won’t say that we left the environment just a little bit worse than we found it ...” Who said that? Perhaps the greatest friend the recreational and commercial fishermen, and the wild...Published: Mar 11, 2005 10:31 AM Full Editorial
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Poor solution: Transportation Department looks at U.S. Highway 70
Admittedly, the problem of U.S. 70 is a perplexing one. The road gets busier every year, and the busier it gets, the more dangerous it is. But a solution recommended by the state Department of Transportation would cause too much...Published: Mar 10, 2005 11:18 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
A crisis
Upwards of 700 people showed up at a meeting in Swansboro recently to urge public officials to “save our inlets.” Theirs was a good cause demanding urgent attention from our delegations serving in Washington and in Raleigh. The federal budget...Published: Mar 9, 2005 10:45 AM Full Editorial
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Same mold: Tough-talking Bush picks tough-talking ambassador
It figures that President Bush and Secretary of State Rice would pick someone like John Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations. He is a blunt, tireless fighter for the American cause. Bolton, as undersecretary of state, has been...Published: Mar 8, 2005 9:06 AM Full Editorial
Monday, March 7, 2005
Good bills: Proposals would help tighten state budget
Soon we will be able to better judge just how seriously our state legislators take their duty to look after our tax money. It will depend on their reaction to two bills that were introduced in the General Assembly last...Published: Mar 7, 2005 10:10 AM Full Editorial
Saturday, March 5, 2005
Do it in English: Official-language bill should become law
You can’t legislate love, but a proposed law would at least help unify the people of this country. It was introduced by Rep. Steve King of Iowa, and it is called the English Unity Act of 2005. It proposes that...Published: Mar 5, 2005 11:38 PM Full Editorial
Friday, March 4, 2005
Wake-up call: On science and math, we’ve lost the edge
The industrial and military might of the United States must be attributed in great measure to its engineering genius. It gave us the “smart bombs,” unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, superior tactical and strategic planes, tanks and surface and underwater Navy vessels....Published: Mar 4, 2005 11:38 AM Full Editorial
Thursday, March 3, 2005
Ethnic problem: Churchill not qualified for university position
If you stretched the point, really stretched it a lot, you might see how Ward Churchill, as an American Indian, could feel a little resentment toward mainstream America. That’s if you really stretched the point. Churchill claims Cherokee blood, so...Published: Mar 3, 2005 10:51 AM Full Editorial
Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Happy stuff: Don’t overlook news from the positive side
Woo-hooo! There’s good news from the Middle East. Look at some of the things that have happened during the last few days: •The rogue nation of Syria, apparently seeing some advantage in warming up to the United States, captured the...Published: Mar 2, 2005 9:40 AM Full Editorial
Tuesday, March 1, 2005
Gum crisis: A sticky issue plagues Britain
Things obviously are getting better on the international scene. Well, at least in Great Britain. Big in the news from London on a recent day wasn’t Iraq or Iran or North Korea’s nukes. It was gum — chewing gum. Specifically,...Published: Mar 1, 2005 10:56 AM Full Editorial