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Opinion
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Our View: Discovering success
For those of us in the newspaper business — including our transition to the web — success can be measured in the number of eyeballs we attract. For a venue like Rockingham Speedway, it’s the number of fannies in the seats. For Discovery Place KIDS–Rockingham, success can be measured in the number of children’s hands being kept busy by the fascinating displays and exhibits. And from the looks of ticket sales since its grand opening earlier...
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It’s a crying shame
Dear Editor, I read in Saturday’s Weekender about these sorry dead beat dads that refuse to pay child support. In my opinion, the judicial system should make these men be fixed so they can’t have more children that they’re not going to support anyway. I grew up in a Godly home with family first. My parents loved me and my sisters and brother. It’s a crying shame that these men take this so lightly about responsibility. I hope the peop...
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In the absence of argument
“People generally quarrel,” G.K. Chesterton once wryly observed, “because they cannot argue.” To the extent North Carolina politics looks increasingly quarrelsome at the moment, it is because of a breakdown of argument — of constructive debate among people of good faith who happen to disagree on public policy. Instead, traditional and online media alike are filled with venom, personal attacks, conspiracy theories, and overall boorishness. ...
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Tar Heel View: On loosening state’s gun laws
It is absolutely mind-boggling. At a time when public opinion poll after public opinion poll shows Americans even in the gun-happy South are in favor of stronger laws on guns, particularly on background checks, the Republicans in the North Carolina House are setting their sails against the wind, and against common sense. They’re now pushing a measure, acting as obedient servants of the gun lobby, to make it possible for people to carry guns...
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My Spin: What have you got to lose?
North Carolina’s official toast boldly proclaims that ours is a state where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great. But we can never be that great state as long as so many of us are so unhealthy. According to the non-profit United Health Foundation North Carolina ranks 33rd in overall health, continually among the bottom third of states. One in three children is overweight or obese while 26.5 percent of white, 42.9 percent of black ...
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For the sake of our children
As the General Assembly considers Governor McCrory’s budget and we move closer to their goal of a budget finalized in June, it would seem our state and our community colleges are at a tipping point. Should we follow the Governor’s plan, with its combination of budget cuts and new funding resulting in a net reduction of $10 million? Or should we begin to reinvest in our colleges, our students, our businesses and our future? On April 8, Dr. S...
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Keep our grandfather’s fire burning
“Everybody in North Carolina should have heard that speech.” Someone had just heard Tom Lambeth’s recent remarks to the North Caroliniana Society, which was presenting him with its annual award for service to our state. Lambeth, longtime former executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, used the occasion to talk about some of the people and some of the stories that help define North Carolina and its history for him. Lambeth...
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Tired of budget shenanigans?
With the formal release of President Obama’s budget, the pieces are finally in place for a reprise of the Washington drama we’ve all come to know. There will be high-stakes negotiations, lines in the sand, and enough intrigue to keep Beltway insiders riveted by every piece of breaking news. The rest of us, though, are already worn out. Ordinary Americans are tired of brinksmanship and weary of a government that appears addicted to crisis. W...
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To serve and protect
Dear Editor, I want to thank a police officer for a wonderful job he did on April 25, 2013. He had to stop the busy traffic on Rockingham Road across from the old Winn Dixie, to help a family of geese get safely to the other side of the road. There was a mama, daddy and four tiny little babies. It was truly a beautiful sight to see the police officer protect this little family. Thank you Rockingham Police Officer Dustin Johnson. Su...
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Our View: A good lesson
When we talk about a winning school, a dynamic school, we talk about a very special place that works to prepare youngsters to succeed in life. Life beyond the classroom. We are proud to say that one of those very special places — one of those very special schools — is Hamlet Middle School. Hundreds of students gathered together recently as Hamlet Middle School received its official designation as a North Carolina “School to Watch” for the...
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This Week in Washington for April 27, 2013
In 2010, President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act, and asserted that “it will take four years to implement fully many of these reforms, because we need to implement them responsibly. We need to get this right”. Far from getting it right, Obamacare has turned out to be the abysmal mess that so many warned it would be. Not only does it increase costs at a time when every dollar matters, but it has actually terminated American job...
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From Entitlement Road to Poverty Road
Entitlement Road. It’s a wonderful place to visit, but it is a horrible place to live after a time. The visit is great at a time when you are in need, no one would disagree with this statement. But reality is just around the corner. Entitlement Road is paved with illusions, no matter how real the illusions appearance is, it is still an illusion. An illusion that after a time makes one think that this is a great way of life. Think about it, ...
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Governor should be Mr. Fix-It
Now that Pat McCrory has passed the oh-so-important mark of 100 days in office, the political class in Raleigh feels obligated to offer a critique of his administration. The most common one is that Gov. McCrory is playing “small ball.” That is, the critics say that because the governor didn’t propose a major spending program in his 2013-15 budget plan, he’s not really doing anything of consequence. Even the reform initiatives McCrory has an...
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Tar Heel View: On praising first responders
The city of Boston and the town of West, Texas, could hardly be more dissimilar. One is a massive metropolitan center, with a combined residential population of more than 7 million, that also serves as the state’s capital, while the other is a rural crossroads of only 2,800 people that, until last week, was easily overlooked on a drive along I-35 between Austin and Dallas. However, these two communities share one thing in common — the brave...
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Tar Heel View: On reworking lobbying rules
Robert Brawley, Republican North Carolina House member from Iredell County, meet your governor, Pat McCrory. The governor rode to victory by campaigning against evil Democrats loading up on campaign dollars and doing favors for their friends and hobnobbing with lobbyists. Oh, they were bad, said then-candidate and now-Gov. McCrory. Gotta clean things up. Yessiree Bob. So why, then, having been around politics long enough to have seen form...
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