The McClatchey chain, which bought The News & Observer from the Daniels family some years back, now has bought the entire Knight-Ridder chain. Knight-Ridder’s biggest paper in North Carolina is The Charlotte Observer. As they always do, the corporate execs promise that this will mean nothing less than a golden age for readers. Bull. The…
Read More“The Democratic Party is focused on filling the void of moral leadership in America.” – John EdwardsNews and Observer The question, when a politician starts talking about morality, should be – is his real interest morality or politics? If the answer is he discovered “morality” through a poll, there’s not much more you need to…
Read MoreIf you haven’t seen the hilariously clumsy censorship job that the North Carolina Department of Labor tried to do on a newspaper story, click here to read about it. Not long ago, my daughter’s seventh-grade class read George Orwell’s 1984. After she told me about it, I borrowed her copy and reread it. Winston’s job…
Read MoreApparently we Democrats have lost our best hope of beating Congressman Robin Hayes. Iraq war vet Tim Dunn has withdrawn from the field of battle. So the odds are that – once again – 100 percent of North Carolina’s congressional delegation will return to Washington next year. Just as – nationally – some 98 percent…
Read MoreThere are two words that strike fear in a politician’s heart: Grand Jury. Especially when they appear in a newspaper headline like this: ‘Top Black Aide Appears before Grand Jury’ (News and Observer, March 15). Which is what happened last Wednesday in Raleigh. Why were two of Democratic Speaker Jim Black’s aides testifying before a…
Read MoreNot too long ago, Morrisville gave Chinese computer giant Lenovo a million dollar tax subsidy to get it to move its plant there from the Research Triangle Park. The theory was the jobs were worth the million dollars. Guess what? The News and Observer reported (March 17), “Lenovo, the Chinese company that bought IBM’s PC…
Read MoreRaleigh City Councilman Thomas Crowder – like Barney Fife – wants to nip it in the bud. He’s targeting a problem that “is drastically affecting the quality of life” in the Capital City. Gangs? Drugs? Overcrowded schools? Traffic congestion? No. Trash cans that – in Crowder’s opinion – are being left on curbsides too long.…
Read MoreRaleigh City Councilman Thomas Crowder – like Barney Fife – wants to nip it in the bud. He’s targeting a problem that “is drastically affecting the quality of life” in the Capital City. Gangs? Drugs? Overcrowded schools? Traffic congestion? No. Trash cans that – in Crowder’s opinion – are being left on curbsides too long.…
Read MoreThe Wake County school bond issue is dead. Done. Over. Stick a fork in it. That’s the only conclusion I can reach after reading the Chamber of Commerce poll released this week. To me, the killer is the third question in the poll. It’s a standard polling question: Do you think the Wake County schools…
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