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Mermaids: Fact or fish tale?
It has come to my attention that some people will accept anything they see on television as fact without question, no matter how far-fetched it may seem. Some folks even mistakenly believe that certain content can’t be posted on the Internet or shown on television unless it is true. Now I don’t know about you, I haven’t seen a rule book regarding content posted the Internet. Case in point: Recently Animal Planet, a channel that is dedicat...
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When man bites dog, that’s the real story
A reporter friend of mine told me many years ago that he never wanted to be an editor because, “too often, editors are former reporters who have lost their guts.” This very same reporter is now in hot water with the readers and police in Albany, N.Y., because of a story he wrote recently — and I can sympathize with his position. It happened late one night, while my friend was working the police beat. It had been a relatively quiet night o...
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Uncivil disobedience
Recently, 17 people were arrested inside the N.C. Statehouse in Raleigh during a protest. That protest, aimed squarely at the Republican agenda, was led by the state’s NAACP president, the Rev. William Barber. Before lowering the hammer on Barber, we will first emphasize that protests are an important part of our society. Without that right, this country may not have overcome such necessary advances as women’s rights, desegregation and othe...
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Remembering the Merritts of Merritt’s Store
If you mention Merritt’s Store anywhere around Chapel Hill, most often you will hear something like, “Oh yes. Best BLTs I’ve ever tasted.” And it is true. A bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich at Merritt’s Store, together with sweet iced tea flavored with the fresh mint growing in a box beside the store, is one of the great taste treats in my world, right up there with the peach cobbler at Stamey’s Barbecue in Greensboro or a small chopped ...
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Past time for commonsense regulatory reform
North Carolina businesses have struggled mightily against the 15,000+ new regulations, amendments and rules that have been implemented in our state over the past decade. Our high unemployment rate and stagnant growth are proof that you cannot regulate an economy into riches. However, relief is on the horizon. The recent Senate bipartisan passage of SB612, the Regulatory Reform Act (RRA) of 2013, offers hope to struggling job-creators ...
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Bladen Journal time capsule …
— May 10, 1967: The Elizabethtown Yellow Jackets track team, led by Jerry Cashwell, wins their first-ever Waccamaw Athletic Association track and field championship. The team is coached by Doug Henderson. *** — May 10, 1978: Bladen County Library staff members prepare to move into their new home on Cypress Street in Elizabethtown. *** — May 11, 1987: Wayne Jackson, host of the “Carolina In The Morning” television show, takes a b...
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Bladen County time capsule …
— May 17, 1967: Miss North Carolina Nannette Jackson Minor will perform at the first-ever N.C. Blueberry Festival Beauty pageant at Elizabethtown High School, as well as ride in the festival’s parade. *** — May 17, 1978: Waccamaw Bank representatives officially open the new branch office in Tar Heel with a ribbon-cutting by Miss Bladen County Denise Kinlaw. *** — May 18, 1987: Frank Ceruzzi is hired as the interim administrator ...
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People’s choice
Council members in Bladenboro diverted what could easily have become a divisive and disruptive debate by tabling an agenda item focusing on the potential change in its form of government from council-manager to mayor-council. The vote not to discuss the issue passed by a 4-2 margin, and the item has been pushed back to the board’s June meeting. But we would be highly surprised if it gets discussed then, either. Perhaps the 800-pound gor...
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Snubbed at a small-town medical facility
Had I not personally experienced the event I’m about to share with you, I might not have believed it. But sadly, I did experience it. I’d been sick for a few days with a headache and a fever. However it wasn’t until my fever reached 103.0 degrees that I decided to seek medical attention. Other than going to a gynecologist last year, I’d not been to a doctor in years. So the first thing I decided to do was to search the yellow pages for an u...
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A peek at the invisible lawmakers
Want to know what’s causing a lot of people in Washington to work long hours right now? Here’s a hint: it’s not immigration reform or gun control or, for that matter, any other legislation coming down the pike. Instead, it’s a pair of three-year-old laws. The Affordable Care Act (known to most Americans as Obamacare) and the Wall Street reform act known as “Dodd-Frank” both became law in 2010. Most people consider these major pieces of legis...
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Full of flaws
A North Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee is taking a look at a proposed bill titled the “N.C. Commerce Protection Act of 2013” that, in essence, will criminalize whistleblowing employees who expose animal cruelty, food safety violations and human rights issues on industrial factory farms. The bill, SB648, is being vehemently opposed by the ASPCA — and we join that opposition. The bill, we think has a number of flaws: — It does not si...
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TV has changed, tradition has not
The other day I was channel surfing on my television when I noticed an episode of “Days of Our Lives” playing on one of the channels. I have to admit I don’t watch the “stories” or soap operas anymore. Yes, in my younger college years and even in high school I would religiously record them on our VCR (no, the DVR button on the remote was not invented yet and satellite systems were not even thought of, either) to watch when I got home from sch...
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Sex trafficking puts on a human face
A human face was put on sex trafficking in a recent Senate Judiciary 1 committee meeting. Anna, a young lady who was the victim of sex trafficking when she was a teenager, gave powerful testimony before the committee. Thankfully, Anna’s story is one of redemption. She was treated and cared for by an out-of-state Christian group who helps the victims of sex trafficking. Sadly, at the time of Anna’s abuse, no such group existed in North C...
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I’ll miss my bowling buddy
I knew Tiana Tapia of Red Springs for exactly 32 weeks. That’s just a small portion of her 18 years of life, but not only did those 32 weeks center around a winter bowling league in Lumberton, but they were the last 32 weeks of her young existence. For reasons only she and God know for sure, Tiana took her life last week — less than 48 hours after the Alley Cats League concluded with an awards ceremony, during which she was presented with...
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Celebrating the end of the Charlotte curse
What is one thing we can do for Charlotte now that that former Mayor Pat McCrory has been elected governor of North Carolina and his successor, Anthony Foxx, has been nominated for U.S Secretary of Transportation? We can stop referring to the Charlotte mayor’s job as a dead end or curse for politicians aspiring to statewide or national office. It might take some getting used to. The previous three Charlotte mayors who tried for statewide...
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Society’s blemish
Jason Collins’ supporters, not Collins himself, shows just how far our society has plummeted away from a God-fearing nation. Recently, Collins, an NBA bench player, publicly announced in Sports Illustrated that he is a homosexual. Almost immediately, social media blew up through Facebook and Twitter as one supporter after another gushed their attawaytogos toward Collins. We see absolutely no reason Collins’ announcement should cast him ...
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Looking for realism in all the wrong places
At this point the economic case for austerity — for slashing government spending even in the face of a weak economy — has collapsed. Claims that spending cuts would actually boost employment by promoting confidence have fallen apart. Claims that there is some kind of red line of debt that countries dare not cross have turned out to rest on fuzzy and to some extent just plain erroneous math. Predictions of fiscal crisis keep not coming tru...
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A peaceful visit
Thursday morning, as I arrived at work, I spotted a lone mourning dove casually pecking away at the ground behind the office. I carefully maneuvered my trusty Jeep into its parking space all the while keeping a sharp eye out for this dove. I fully expected it to take to the sky the minute my Jeep began to back into the space alongside where it was hunting for food. Instead, the bird paid little heed to my truck. On Friday morning as I whe...
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Time to increase competition in health insurance
As the uncertainty of ObamaCare looms on the horizon, state lawmakers have not been content to sit around and wait on the coming storm. Instead, the General Assembly recently passed legislation that will help take a bite out of spiraling healthcare costs. MFN clauses can require health care providers to offer services to large, “favored” insurance companies at rates equal to or lower than those extended to any other competing insurers. ...
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