I listened to her speak today in Raleigh. Among other things, she said her four favorite words are "Made in North Carolina". Well, that may be, but I have a lot of problems with that at least as the idea is presented today. What a hodgepodge of stuff we produce! Look around any store selling anything and point out the NC products. Try it; it's depressing. Are we really proud of all this? I think we are the second biggest growers of turkeys, but I've never noticed an NC label on any bird for sale. Why? But what really got me upset was her saying that in negotiations on a Pacific Rim trade zone, she is fighting to be sure that North Carolina tobacco farmers are not injured by any agreement. How can we possibly square helping the rest of the world when we are sending them a product "Made in North Carolina" that makes people addicts and stands a pretty good chance of killing them?
Monday, November 25, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Fighting Hearing Loss From the Crowd's Roar - NYTimes.com
There is no excuse for allowing this to happen.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
150th anniversary of Gettysburg Address « The Progressive Pulse
It remains an amazing testament to the power of words, well-chosen.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Hotels, a Place to Lay Your Head, or Bury It in a Book - NYTimes.com
I'd sure consider staying at one of these places!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
The Inequality of Climate Change - NYTimes.com
Another reason why the critics very much speak for themselves.
NC Congress Members Lobby USDA To Not Sequester Tobacco Buyout Money | WUNC
There is no moral basis for supporting the growing of tobacco. Period.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Share And Share Alike: A Time Of Collaborative Consumption : All Tech Considered : NPR
This has its limits, I think, at least for me.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Where the Money Goes: By County
What would this amount have been if all of the money spent on lottery tickets had been distributed?
Saturday, November 09, 2013
In Massachusetts, Health Care Prices Remain Hard To Get : Shots - Health News : NPR
I think making us better consumers or medical care, and health insurance, is nowhere near as important as I think it should be.
Era Fades for Helping Hand at the Washroom Sink - NYTimes.com
It is interesting to think of so many services and civilities that have gone into history for better or worse.
Friday, November 08, 2013
Monday, November 04, 2013
Friday, November 01, 2013
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Protests Halt Kelly’s Speech at Brown University - NYTimes.com
I share the embarrassment of the Brown President. Protest is a good thing, but it crosses the line when it prevents voices from being heard. Only when we hear from all sides can we ever hope to get close to the truth on any and every matter.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Sharpton threatens store boycott over racial profile suit - CBS News
Racism sits just beneath the skin of far too many people.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Gunman surrenders in North Carolina drugstore standoff after releasing hostages | Fox News
Let's get rid of all these guns.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
California boy with replica gun fatally shot by deputies: report | Reuters
My God, we have to end this gun culture.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
The Factions in the House of Representatives - Interactive Map - NYTimes.com
I am going to make a conscious effort to avoid visiting or purchasing anything that comes from either of the two NC districts where the US Representative voted against ending the shutdown in the final tally.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Police: NBA legend Bill Russell arrested with gun at airport - CNN.com
He is going to have to work very hard to make up the damage he has caused. What a very bad example to set for those many people who admire him.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Behind Flurry of Killing, Potency of Hate - NYTimes.com
The Irish story is such a complicated one, yet so simple.
Friday, October 11, 2013
The Company You Keep (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I was struck by how this film showed some very distinguishing characteristics of newspapers and dogged reporting. If you see or have seen this film, imagine the reporter in the story cast as a part time blogger. It is hard to imagine it happening.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Four Square Blocks: Philadelphia - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com
Newspapers should do these kinds of stories everywhere.
Saturday, October 05, 2013
WASHINGTON: U.S. tobacco growers fear loss of cigarette sales in Europe | Economy | NewsObserver.com
Makes me proud to be a European citizen!
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Tuesday, October 01, 2013
Guns Allowed at Bars and on Campuses - Chapelboro.com
How to explain to someone overseas that NC is a civilized place and not a playground for macho minds?
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Children and Guns - The Hidden Toll - NYTimes.com
If you feel you have to "shoot" at something, for heaven's sake, so buy a set of golf clubs or a baseball bat!
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Mumbai is world`s second most honest city
What an interesting experiment. It would be nice for someone else to do the same thing and see if they get similar results.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Honoring Navy Yard Victims, Obama Asks - ‘Do We Care Enough’ to Change? - NYTimes.com
I think we start street-by-street in America. I want to know - I demand to know - who has a gun on the street where we live, and I want to discuss with that neighbor why. If we all do this, calmly and compassionately, perhaps we can convince the ignorant and the forlorn that the right thing to do is to get rid of those weapons, safely and securely.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Obama urges people to push stalled gun legislation
The lack of action brings great shame to the US and to all US citizens. If that shame is not felt, I can only assume that it is borne of ignorance.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Gold Coast Mansions - Historic Long Island - Events Calendar
My late father was a part of the "downstairs" on the long journey.
Infografis Senjata Andalan Baru Koran Hadapi Persaingan | Jambiekspresnews.com
The quotes here attributed to me bear no relationship that I can recall with what I said at the meeting.
Sunday, September 08, 2013
With the World Watching, Syria Amassed Nerve Gas - NYTimes.com
Why have not the media of the Mediterranean already reported this?
With the World Watching, Syria Amassed Nerve Gas - NYTimes.com
What good newspaper reporting is supposed to be.
Friday, September 06, 2013
Remote-Controlled Model Helicopter Fatally Strikes Its Operator - NYTimes.com
This certainly ought to give us some pause about these "toys".
Friday, August 30, 2013
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Obama Willing to Pursue Solo Syria Strikes, Aides Say - NYTimes.com
Frankly, he's been drinking out of too many old George BUSH mugs at the White House. Get him a clean glass, please!
White House announces new gun restrictions - CBS News
Keep going, Mr. President. We have far, far too many guns in America.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
InciWeb the Incident Information System: Rim Fire
Looks like an important reference now and in the future.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Americans See Racial Equality as a Work in Progress, Pew Poll Finds - NYTimes.com
We all need to work so much harder.
Welcome to the Age of Denial - NYTimes.com
This is a huge problem that demands a much bigger response.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Seized Guns Offer Look at Pipeline From South - NYTimes.com
I am apoplectic over this news and the excitement of our Governor to see a new gun factory open near Greensboro.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Friday, August 16, 2013
RALEIGH: NSA establishes $60 million data analytics lab at NC State | Education | NewsObserver.com
NC is really stepping out - a new gun factory in Greensboro and this big spy initiative in Raleigh. Ugh.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
North Carolinians Fear the End of a Middle Way - NYTimes.com
I'd like to see a much more detailed analysis of what has changed, is changing, and will change here. So far, the changes have not had many discernible effects, and that may simply be a question of delayed impact. In any case, I think we all need to understand this from our heads and not our knees.
Friday, August 09, 2013
A surprising map of the countries that are most and least welcoming to foreigners
I am not sure I accept these findings and need to learn more.
Monday, August 05, 2013
Born Again in a Second Language - NYTimes.com
I want to think more about how switching back and forth between English and French affects me. It is surely positive, but I want to try to articulate in what ways.
Friday, August 02, 2013
New York Times Rebrands International Herald Tribune | Global News - Advertising Age
Like so many, I hold the IHT very close to my sentimental newspaper heart!
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Thursday, July 04, 2013
Monday, July 01, 2013
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
Friday, June 14, 2013
Getting it wrong
My wife and I have had three experiences in recent days where reporters covering stories have simply gotten far too much wrong in what they wrote. It's a cause for journalistic concern.
One was an article in the Triangle Business Journal that identified my wife's organization as based in Durham when it is located, and always has been, in Chapel Hill.
A second, also concerning that organization, was in the Chapel Hill News. This time, very important issues of geography and statistics simply were wrong in the story.
Finally, a story in the Herald-Sun referring to the Obey Creek property in Chapel Hill made factual errors of considerable importance.
None of these three had been corrected at last check.
One was an article in the Triangle Business Journal that identified my wife's organization as based in Durham when it is located, and always has been, in Chapel Hill.
A second, also concerning that organization, was in the Chapel Hill News. This time, very important issues of geography and statistics simply were wrong in the story.
Finally, a story in the Herald-Sun referring to the Obey Creek property in Chapel Hill made factual errors of considerable importance.
None of these three had been corrected at last check.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Poll Finds Disapproval of Record Collection, but Little Personal Concern - NYTimes.com
"Suspects" and "people living in foreign countries", eh? They don't count as much as non-suspects and people living in the US?
"However, three-quarters said they approved of the government’s tracking phone records of Americans suspected of terrorist activity. Nearly the same number approved of the United States’ monitoring the Internet activities of people living in foreign countries."
"However, three-quarters said they approved of the government’s tracking phone records of Americans suspected of terrorist activity. Nearly the same number approved of the United States’ monitoring the Internet activities of people living in foreign countries."
Measure to Curb Sexual Assault in Military to Be Cut From Bill - NYTimes.com
It's time for Sen. LEVIN to be cut free from the Senate; I hope Michigan voters will oblige. This is a very bad decision he has made, and it undermines my previous support for him.
How many "foreigners" does it take to make an "American" or US citizen?
The frequent assurances to us US citizens that none of the surveillance is really aimed at us, or at least the most intrusive elements, bothers me for a special reason. I cannot abide by the notion that somehow "we" "Americans" (is that citizens of the US or citizens of any American country which extends all the way to the southern tips of Argentina and Chile?) are deserving of greater legal protection than are the "lesser washed" who do do not enjoy US citizenship.
Why should we view the world as having two classes of people in it - US citizens and all the rest? We get protected and, for the rest, they just wind up in holding cells, jails and prisons - or worse - with few of the safeguards that "we" enjoy.
How can anyone who believes in equality buy that argument? I cannot.
And then consider my situation. I am a US citizen, resident in the US, but am also an Irish citizen with part-time residency in France. I am not just one or the other - "foreigner" or "American"; I am both.
Why should we view the world as having two classes of people in it - US citizens and all the rest? We get protected and, for the rest, they just wind up in holding cells, jails and prisons - or worse - with few of the safeguards that "we" enjoy.
How can anyone who believes in equality buy that argument? I cannot.
And then consider my situation. I am a US citizen, resident in the US, but am also an Irish citizen with part-time residency in France. I am not just one or the other - "foreigner" or "American"; I am both.
Saturday, June 08, 2013
Friday, June 07, 2013
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