To The Editor:
It's one thing never to veer from the straight and narrow and the Journal's ultra-conservative take on everything, but another to just trample on old-fashioned common decency. The point in question: why the smiling, friendly face here of Ahmadinejad, and the terrible, altogether unflattering photo of the weary Hillary Clinton? This just could not have been unintentional on your part. Shame!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
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Subject: U.S. Reveals Size of Nuclear Arsenal - WSJ.com
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Thursday, May 13, 2010
letter to wsj--may 11, 2010--baseball
To The Editor:
With all due regard to Mr Futterman, including a well-deserved salute for the examples cited, still, I must ask: How in heaven's name did he not include mention of that World Series October 15, 1988 (for A's fans) day of infamy, when Tommy Lasorda--no doubt rosary beads in hand-- brought the crippled Curt Gibson out of the training room to pinch hit? Whether or not God had a hand in all that, it was a day when so many of His faithful bade farewell to organized religion of any sort. It was a cruel, inhuman moment, and the single cause-in my own case and surely for countless others-- of the years and money spent in therapy!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
With all due regard to Mr Futterman, including a well-deserved salute for the examples cited, still, I must ask: How in heaven's name did he not include mention of that World Series October 15, 1988 (for A's fans) day of infamy, when Tommy Lasorda--no doubt rosary beads in hand-- brought the crippled Curt Gibson out of the training room to pinch hit? Whether or not God had a hand in all that, it was a day when so many of His faithful bade farewell to organized religion of any sort. It was a cruel, inhuman moment, and the single cause-in my own case and surely for countless others-- of the years and money spent in therapy!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to observer--may 7, 2010--mario moreno
To The Editor:
How dare someone with the name Mario Moreno--whose outrageous letter appeared in the Observer Forum today--have the audacity to ridicule the poor immigrant who makes his or her way to America seeking work and a better life? The name Mario Moreno doesn't suggest to me at all someone whose relatives arrived here on the Mayflower.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
How dare someone with the name Mario Moreno--whose outrageous letter appeared in the Observer Forum today--have the audacity to ridicule the poor immigrant who makes his or her way to America seeking work and a better life? The name Mario Moreno doesn't suggest to me at all someone whose relatives arrived here on the Mayflower.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to taylor batten--apr 28, 2010--about m jordan and james
Hello Taylor--You've probably seen this already but just in case not.....this conceivably could be one of The Most Important sports columns in Charlotte's history. If James were to buy into Rhoden's pitch, well, sky's the limit. After Wachovia's demise--(see Sub-Prime Mortgage Debacle and that dubious acquiistion in California)---it's time Charlotte caught a break. Will The Observer be able to run this column? Hope so. Best regards, Bernie
-----Original Message-----
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To: bhargadon@aol.com
Sent: Wed, Apr 28, 2010 8:55 am
Subject: NYTimes.com: Want to Make an Impact? Join Jordan
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SPORTS | April 28, 2010
Sports of The Times: Want to Make an Impact? Join Jordan
By WILLIAM C. RHODEN
LeBron James could make his biggest impact by choosing to play in Charlotte for Michael Jordan, the first former N.B.A. player to become a majority owner in the league.
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Just Wright - Starring Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton, Phylicia Rashad, & Pam Grier.
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Sent: Wed, Apr 28, 2010 8:55 am
Subject: NYTimes.com: Want to Make an Impact? Join Jordan
This page was sent to you by: bhargadon@aol.com
SPORTS | April 28, 2010
Sports of The Times: Want to Make an Impact? Join Jordan
By WILLIAM C. RHODEN
LeBron James could make his biggest impact by choosing to play in Charlotte for Michael Jordan, the first former N.B.A. player to become a majority owner in the league.
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Just Wright - Starring Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton, Phylicia Rashad, & Pam Grier.
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letter to jennifer foster--wdav--apr, 2010
Dear Jennifer---You must know by now of my out-sized esteem for you and all you do and stand for, nonetheless I need to jump in here with a complaint. I do believe WDAV is programming too much of the kind of music which just left off--that is, in the closing minutes of the 10 o'clock hour. You announced who it was but I didn't cath it. It was period music, going back probably to the 18th or 17 th century when royalty and their various nobles sat around in ornate salons, admiring one another and eating grapes while these chamber groups and small orchestras were playing stuff which anesthetized half of them--al the while the rest of humanity was out in the fields bringing in the crops for their dinners. It is the music which I have to believe led in part tp the French revolution. beheadings and the like.. I am not saying that it should be all Richard Strauss, or Wagner, or Berlioz or the like but anything you play which is replete with trills, should go. yes, I think that should be the test--how many trills per minute---more than 7 and I would get rid of it. Otherwise I think the world of WDAV, of you, of Ben, and everyone there! xoxo Bernie
letter to observer--apr 21, 2010--governor's prposed cuts
To The Editor:
It is understandable and in fact appropriate that UNC president Erskine Bowles should decry the significant cuts to be borne by the UNC system, in Governor Perdue's proposed 2010-11 state budget. At the same time, Mr. Bowles acknowledges that these are "budget cuts which the governor was forced by economic circumstances to recommend."
Surely no one can quarrel with Mr. Bowles's dismay but in reacting to the proposed budget, his remarks would have carried greater gravitas had he told us what he thought the governor should have done instead. No such reference was made and thus we can only assume that Mr. Bowles had concluded that there were none.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
It is understandable and in fact appropriate that UNC president Erskine Bowles should decry the significant cuts to be borne by the UNC system, in Governor Perdue's proposed 2010-11 state budget. At the same time, Mr. Bowles acknowledges that these are "budget cuts which the governor was forced by economic circumstances to recommend."
Surely no one can quarrel with Mr. Bowles's dismay but in reacting to the proposed budget, his remarks would have carried greater gravitas had he told us what he thought the governor should have done instead. No such reference was made and thus we can only assume that Mr. Bowles had concluded that there were none.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to observer--apr 20, 2010--char krauthammer again
To The Editor:
The Charlotte Observer must stand for many different things to its various readers, but for those out there who loathe our President, its Saturday edition never disappoints. There it is, every single Saturday, Charles Krauthammers's single-track vitriol about Barack Obama. His latest rant is about Obama's "persistent nuclear posturing."
Previous efforts of mine to dissuade the Observer from partnering with Krauthammer in this dark,obsessed journey of his, have gotten me nowhere, and I have no illusion that this fresh appeal will result in anything different. Therefore, and short of canceling our subscription, I'd like to inquire if our daily delivery could continue as at present, but without the Saturday edition. The Krauthammer column spoils all else in that edition and besides, we find it fouls the air in our home. How about it--can this be arranged--same price as now but just no Saturday delivery? Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
The Charlotte Observer must stand for many different things to its various readers, but for those out there who loathe our President, its Saturday edition never disappoints. There it is, every single Saturday, Charles Krauthammers's single-track vitriol about Barack Obama. His latest rant is about Obama's "persistent nuclear posturing."
Previous efforts of mine to dissuade the Observer from partnering with Krauthammer in this dark,obsessed journey of his, have gotten me nowhere, and I have no illusion that this fresh appeal will result in anything different. Therefore, and short of canceling our subscription, I'd like to inquire if our daily delivery could continue as at present, but without the Saturday edition. The Krauthammer column spoils all else in that edition and besides, we find it fouls the air in our home. How about it--can this be arranged--same price as now but just no Saturday delivery? Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to observer--april 20, 2010--burr the clear pick?
To the Editor:
It sure didn't go down easily with this reader to have to swallow the endorsement of yours for anything, save possibly retirement, for Senator Burr. Yes, I realize that it was for the GOP nomination, but even for that, seems to me that abstaining might have been the more forgivable path. What has this Senator done--for now going on six years-- for the betterment and benefit of this country and/or for the State of North Carolina? Can you think of a single thing?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
It sure didn't go down easily with this reader to have to swallow the endorsement of yours for anything, save possibly retirement, for Senator Burr. Yes, I realize that it was for the GOP nomination, but even for that, seems to me that abstaining might have been the more forgivable path. What has this Senator done--for now going on six years-- for the betterment and benefit of this country and/or for the State of North Carolina? Can you think of a single thing?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to nyt--april 12, 2010,, polish pres plane crash
To The Editor:
We will have to wait to find out, but my hunch is that the cause of this horrific tragedy is explained--and could have been foretold--in Malcolm Gladwell's "The Ethnic Theory of Place Crashes," which forms part of his book Outliers.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
We will have to wait to find out, but my hunch is that the cause of this horrific tragedy is explained--and could have been foretold--in Malcolm Gladwell's "The Ethnic Theory of Place Crashes," which forms part of his book Outliers.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to nyt--april 4, 2010--hedge fund pay
To The Editor:
Is there someone out there who can explain to me why these fat cats are not being taxed until it hurts a little bit? How about 90%? No, wait, how about 95%? Take, for example, David Tepper whose compensation last year was $4 billion. Taxed at 95% he's still left with a measly $200 million. Surely he can find a way to make do with that. I have to think even his Mother would agree on that. What do you say, David?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 2802
704 377 5305
Is there someone out there who can explain to me why these fat cats are not being taxed until it hurts a little bit? How about 90%? No, wait, how about 95%? Take, for example, David Tepper whose compensation last year was $4 billion. Taxed at 95% he's still left with a measly $200 million. Surely he can find a way to make do with that. I have to think even his Mother would agree on that. What do you say, David?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 2802
704 377 5305
letter to nyt--april 4--taliban
To The Editor:
Hold it....let me see if I have this right. While being steadily reminded that our tax returns are due to be filed just ten days from now, we read today that "hundreds of thousands of dollars a week" are being doled out to the people of Marja, Afghanistan, and that our Marine strategy there "depends on sowing this community with buckets of cash."
Can all this possibly be true? Is this a joke, and is it supposed to be funny? What, I ask, gives?
Yours perplexed,
Bernie Hargadon
45 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
Hold it....let me see if I have this right. While being steadily reminded that our tax returns are due to be filed just ten days from now, we read today that "hundreds of thousands of dollars a week" are being doled out to the people of Marja, Afghanistan, and that our Marine strategy there "depends on sowing this community with buckets of cash."
Can all this possibly be true? Is this a joke, and is it supposed to be funny? What, I ask, gives?
Yours perplexed,
Bernie Hargadon
45 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
letter to post and couruer--april, 2010--health care reform
To The Editor:
As critical and timely as anything I've read about the new health care bill is Mr. Brinson's alert this morning to the effect that America will soon be facing a serious shortage of doctors and nurses, and that it is anything but too soon to be planning remedies for that. One, of course, is to expand the number of places in medicals schools and hospitals for those aspiring to these professions. But another, not so obvious, is to open up immigration opportunities for those many professionals in other countries who--given the chance--would move heaven and earth to be able to move here to practice their profession. And in this regard, it is well past time to bury the myth that ours is the only country in the world with well-trained, knowledgeable, experienced, capable doctors and nurses--because fact is, they abound throughout the world, even in some so-called third world countries.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
As critical and timely as anything I've read about the new health care bill is Mr. Brinson's alert this morning to the effect that America will soon be facing a serious shortage of doctors and nurses, and that it is anything but too soon to be planning remedies for that. One, of course, is to expand the number of places in medicals schools and hospitals for those aspiring to these professions. But another, not so obvious, is to open up immigration opportunities for those many professionals in other countries who--given the chance--would move heaven and earth to be able to move here to practice their profession. And in this regard, it is well past time to bury the myth that ours is the only country in the world with well-trained, knowledgeable, experienced, capable doctors and nurses--because fact is, they abound throughout the world, even in some so-called third world countries.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to observer--mar 30, 2010--Opposing Views
To The Editor:
It is one thing for a newspaper to present reasoned, opposing views on important, controversial topics of the day, but in doing so, quite another to subject readers to unmitigated ranting on a subject, such as those voiced by Rep. John Shadegg in his 400-word "critique" of the health care bill which just became law. Besides offending a reader's intelligence, it denotes pure editorial laziness simply to pull up and publish this sort of trash, only so as to feature an "opposing view." It is ironic and especially regrettable that this had to appear the very same day of Karen Garloch's superb page-one story about the new law's effect on Jim Lewis and the countless others like him. .
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
It is one thing for a newspaper to present reasoned, opposing views on important, controversial topics of the day, but in doing so, quite another to subject readers to unmitigated ranting on a subject, such as those voiced by Rep. John Shadegg in his 400-word "critique" of the health care bill which just became law. Besides offending a reader's intelligence, it denotes pure editorial laziness simply to pull up and publish this sort of trash, only so as to feature an "opposing view." It is ironic and especially regrettable that this had to appear the very same day of Karen Garloch's superb page-one story about the new law's effect on Jim Lewis and the countless others like him. .
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to observer--mar 23, 2010--you edit for accuracy??
To The Editor:
Think of this as an alert to all you men out there. Before you touch that pen to complete the 2010 Census Form, how about considering--even for a brief moment-- that you may not necessarily be the Person 1 in your household that the form talks about. Tough as it may be to swallow, what makes you and not the missus, Numero Uno? Why not her? Or,if that's too much to take in at one reading, how about flipping a coin?
These thoughts struck me as I was starting this process but I came to my senses and handed the pen over to my new No.1! Result? Big smile. And "What took you so long, darling?" And also, lots of new sunshine pouring into our marriage!
Think about it, all you heretofore No.1's out there!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Think of this as an alert to all you men out there. Before you touch that pen to complete the 2010 Census Form, how about considering--even for a brief moment-- that you may not necessarily be the Person 1 in your household that the form talks about. Tough as it may be to swallow, what makes you and not the missus, Numero Uno? Why not her? Or,if that's too much to take in at one reading, how about flipping a coin?
These thoughts struck me as I was starting this process but I came to my senses and handed the pen over to my new No.1! Result? Big smile. And "What took you so long, darling?" And also, lots of new sunshine pouring into our marriage!
Think about it, all you heretofore No.1's out there!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to observer--the census--mar 20, 2010
To The Editor:
Think of this as an alert to all you men out there. Before you touch that pen to complete the 2010 Census Form, how about considering--even for a brief moment-- that you may not necessarily be the Person 1 in your household that the form talks about. Tough as it may be to swallow, what makes you and not the missus, Numero Uno? Why not her? Or,if that's too much to take in at one reading, how about flipping a coin?
These thoughts struck me as I was starting this process but I came to my senses and handed the pen over to my new No.1! Result? Big smile. And "What took you so long, darling?" And also, lots of new sunshine pouring into our marriage!
Think about it, all you heretofore No.1's out there!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Think of this as an alert to all you men out there. Before you touch that pen to complete the 2010 Census Form, how about considering--even for a brief moment-- that you may not necessarily be the Person 1 in your household that the form talks about. Tough as it may be to swallow, what makes you and not the missus, Numero Uno? Why not her? Or,if that's too much to take in at one reading, how about flipping a coin?
These thoughts struck me as I was starting this process but I came to my senses and handed the pen over to my new No.1! Result? Big smile. And "What took you so long, darling?" And also, lots of new sunshine pouring into our marriage!
Think about it, all you heretofore No.1's out there!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to oberver--kudos--editorial--mar 2010
To The Editor:
As all of you there well know, there are times when The Charlotte Observer finds ways to give a reader, like myself, a stiff dose of apoplexy, but then there are days when I have those "I take it all back" moments! Today is one of those days. Your editorial about the health care fight is the best, by far, that I've read on the subject. I hope it gets wide, national circulation....and surely it will if the McClatchy people are on their toes. Nice work!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
As all of you there well know, there are times when The Charlotte Observer finds ways to give a reader, like myself, a stiff dose of apoplexy, but then there are days when I have those "I take it all back" moments! Today is one of those days. Your editorial about the health care fight is the best, by far, that I've read on the subject. I hope it gets wide, national circulation....and surely it will if the McClatchy people are on their toes. Nice work!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to observer--richard burr--feb 23, 2010
To The Editor:
We read today that Senator Burr has announced that he will seek reelection, even though weary of the disgraceful, interminable obstruction of Senate Democrats, as directed by Harry Reid. How do these guys get away with statements like this anyhow--doesn't anyone ever challenge them? Well, I do. And as a constituent of the State her serves as Senator, I think he could have better spent yesterday in Washington, voting for the Jobs bill--other Republican Senators did. How come, Senator Burr? Jobs not a big issue with you?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
We read today that Senator Burr has announced that he will seek reelection, even though weary of the disgraceful, interminable obstruction of Senate Democrats, as directed by Harry Reid. How do these guys get away with statements like this anyhow--doesn't anyone ever challenge them? Well, I do. And as a constituent of the State her serves as Senator, I think he could have better spent yesterday in Washington, voting for the Jobs bill--other Republican Senators did. How come, Senator Burr? Jobs not a big issue with you?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to nyt--feb 22, 2010--alessandra stanley
To The Editor:
Hooray for Alessandra Stanley! Finally, finally, American television coverage of the Olympics is taken to the wood shed fir its shameless, interminable, childish championing of and for the successes of American athletes.
What is all that about, anyhow? Isn't it just more of this "We're No.1" malarkey? Or could it be the reverse--a malignent inferioroty complex? It's way past time for the networks, and for all we Americans, to grow up. The Olympics are held to showcase the performances of the best athletes in the world, as they compete with one another; the Olympics are not held for the benefit of nations--no matter how anxious any one of them might be to exhibit its unadorned conceit.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Hooray for Alessandra Stanley! Finally, finally, American television coverage of the Olympics is taken to the wood shed fir its shameless, interminable, childish championing of and for the successes of American athletes.
What is all that about, anyhow? Isn't it just more of this "We're No.1" malarkey? Or could it be the reverse--a malignent inferioroty complex? It's way past time for the networks, and for all we Americans, to grow up. The Olympics are held to showcase the performances of the best athletes in the world, as they compete with one another; the Olympics are not held for the benefit of nations--no matter how anxious any one of them might be to exhibit its unadorned conceit.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letfer to WSJ--John Yoo--Feb 22, 2010
To The Editor:
Notwithstanding the general excellence of your news reporting, we readers are reminded once again that the Journal's editorial staff just can't help themselves. In your lead editorial today, you lavish praise on John Yoo and Jay Bybee, and decry their having been so outrageously condemned for the legal opinions they rendered on interrogating terror suspects.
All of this because of the opinion handed down last week that while they committed no professional misconduct, their actions nonettheless reflected "poor judgment." That the Journal should get so pumped up about all this is, in my opinion, yet another example of poor judgment. Yoo and Bybee may have been vindicated here in America on some purely technical grounds, yet the renderings handed down by these men have disgraced our country, and in every other part of the world, they are considered war criminals. Doesn't the Journal understand or care at all about any of that?
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Notwithstanding the general excellence of your news reporting, we readers are reminded once again that the Journal's editorial staff just can't help themselves. In your lead editorial today, you lavish praise on John Yoo and Jay Bybee, and decry their having been so outrageously condemned for the legal opinions they rendered on interrogating terror suspects.
All of this because of the opinion handed down last week that while they committed no professional misconduct, their actions nonettheless reflected "poor judgment." That the Journal should get so pumped up about all this is, in my opinion, yet another example of poor judgment. Yoo and Bybee may have been vindicated here in America on some purely technical grounds, yet the renderings handed down by these men have disgraced our country, and in every other part of the world, they are considered war criminals. Doesn't the Journal understand or care at all about any of that?
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to observer-Thomas Friedman--Feb 21, 2010
To The Editor:
Anyone there remember the time when you could pick up the phone, call your favorite radio station and request they play your favorite song? Well, that's sorta what I'm doing now, but instead of a song it's a newspaper column: how about running Mr.Friedman's "The Fat Lady Has Sung" which appears in today's NYTimes? You'd be doing a huge favor to the community you serve. Thank you!!
Gratefully,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Anyone there remember the time when you could pick up the phone, call your favorite radio station and request they play your favorite song? Well, that's sorta what I'm doing now, but instead of a song it's a newspaper column: how about running Mr.Friedman's "The Fat Lady Has Sung" which appears in today's NYTimes? You'd be doing a huge favor to the community you serve. Thank you!!
Gratefully,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Unfettered Capitalism--Feb 20, 2010
To The Editor:
Those folks out there who champion unfettered capitalism, can't be happy this morning to read Jim Morrill's story about Tim D'Annunzio. How else to explain that a person as clearly deranged as this one, has been able to accumulate the sums of money he will be spending, in order to run for public office?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Those folks out there who champion unfettered capitalism, can't be happy this morning to read Jim Morrill's story about Tim D'Annunzio. How else to explain that a person as clearly deranged as this one, has been able to accumulate the sums of money he will be spending, in order to run for public office?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Obama will negotiate--and other nonsense--Feb 15, 2010
To The Editor:
The title given to Mr. DeGeorge's letter today ("Obama will negotiate with U.S. enemies, but not with GOP") is a show-stopper for sure, but the letter itself has no business being printed. It's nonsense, and ugly nonsense at that. Is there no longer any minimum Credibility Test for letters to make it into The Observer Forum, or is it now simply Anything Goes?
Yours truly.
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
The title given to Mr. DeGeorge's letter today ("Obama will negotiate with U.S. enemies, but not with GOP") is a show-stopper for sure, but the letter itself has no business being printed. It's nonsense, and ugly nonsense at that. Is there no longer any minimum Credibility Test for letters to make it into The Observer Forum, or is it now simply Anything Goes?
Yours truly.
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Charles Krauthammer--Feb 7, 2010
To The Editor:
Tell me it ain't so--can I be the only Observer subscriber who finds it revolting that every single Saturday edition-- week after week--continues to print Charles Krauthammer's column and his relentless, never-varying attack on President Obama? Forgive me, but I need to ask: Why? Why do you do this? For what gain? On what grounds can you possibly defend doing this? Early on I was angered by it all but no longer--now it's just pure dismay and bewilderment.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlottfe, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Tell me it ain't so--can I be the only Observer subscriber who finds it revolting that every single Saturday edition-- week after week--continues to print Charles Krauthammer's column and his relentless, never-varying attack on President Obama? Forgive me, but I need to ask: Why? Why do you do this? For what gain? On what grounds can you possibly defend doing this? Early on I was angered by it all but no longer--now it's just pure dismay and bewilderment.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlottfe, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Where's Bev--some place warm?--Jan 28, 2010
To The Editor:
About your editorial today entitled "Where's Bev?"....on reflection, wouldn't you agree that what you've written here--and written about here--is unworthy of a place on the editorial page of any newspaper, let alone your own? What's the the point anyhow--that the governor should be back in Raleigh rounding up jobs for the unemployed, instead of taking a week off to vacation? Or is it because she vacationed in someplace warm? It's silly, is what is; it is also, simply, a cheap shot, and pretty darned unbecoming as well.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305.
About your editorial today entitled "Where's Bev?"....on reflection, wouldn't you agree that what you've written here--and written about here--is unworthy of a place on the editorial page of any newspaper, let alone your own? What's the the point anyhow--that the governor should be back in Raleigh rounding up jobs for the unemployed, instead of taking a week off to vacation? Or is it because she vacationed in someplace warm? It's silly, is what is; it is also, simply, a cheap shot, and pretty darned unbecoming as well.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305.
Chuck Porter
To The Editor:
Granted, it's early in the year to start the process but still, I've just cast my vote for Chuck Porter as Charlotte's Man of The Year 2010. I've met and gotten to know Chuck a little bit, and can attest that he is everything Elizabeth Leland has written about him, and then some! What an uplifting story for this Sunday's edition!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
Jan 24, 2010
Granted, it's early in the year to start the process but still, I've just cast my vote for Chuck Porter as Charlotte's Man of The Year 2010. I've met and gotten to know Chuck a little bit, and can attest that he is everything Elizabeth Leland has written about him, and then some! What an uplifting story for this Sunday's edition!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
Jan 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Response to BJH from Taylor Batten--2/8/10
Thanks, Bernie. I'm catching hell from our less-tolerant readers this morning, so it's nice to hear from a supporter! ... Thanks for the letter about Krauthammer. I'll make sure our letters editor is aware of it. We run Krauthammer, and other conservative columnists, because we think that page should carry a wide breadth of opinions from all across the political spectrum. Conservative readers love Krauthammer, and we hope he at least makes more liberal readers think about why they believe what they do.
BJH Letter to Taylor Batten--Feb 8, 2010
Taylor---You're on a roll! Another great piece of writing in yesterday's Observer. Congratulations, Taylor, and especially for having the cojones to take on Bill James. Best wishes, Bernie PS I filed another Letter to the (Observer) Editor there over the weekend, again taking strong exception to carrying the poisoned messages of this guy Charles Krauthammer every Saturday morning. My letters on this same subject (there have been several) may not come across this way, but I'd like to here clarify that they are not at all intended to be, meant to be, personal attacks on real people (like you, for example) there at the Observer.
Taylor Batten--Editor--Ch Observer--op-ed peice-2/7/10
Taylor Batten is the editor of The Charlotte Observer's editorial pages.
"Crossing the Latest Civil Rights Frontier"
Months before Charlotte made national news for its intolerance of homosexuals in 1997, the most bigoted Mecklenburg County commissioners were already laying the groundwork for their assault into people's bedrooms.
It was late 1996, and Republican commissioner Bill James forced a vote on eliminating county funding to any group that provided information about homosexuality and other "crimes against nature."
I caught up with Democratic commissioner Hoyle Martin in the hallway behind the meeting chamber during a break. He called homosexuality "a problem in this society," then dropped this bombshell:
"If I had my way, we'd shove these people off the face of the earth," Martin told me. There is "an aggressive tendency of some (homosexuals) to try to indoctrinate other people, particularly youth, into this lifestyle."
Martin ultimately voted against the measure that night, killing it. But he would be the key swing vote in the infamous 1997 move to defund the Arts & Science Council of $2.5 million in retribution for the Charlotte Repertory Theatre putting on a play with gay themes.
Thirteen years later, Martin's views seem even more antiquated, at least to some of us. But our community and our nation, incredibly, are still hung up on people's sexuality and what they do in their private lives. There are still those who would prefer to shove these people off the face of the earth, those who would rather judge people on their genetic makeup than on the content of their character.
The nation's persistent division on this question was evident again last week. Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate panel that Congress should repeal the twisted "Don't ask, don't tell" policy that has made gay soldiers - regardless of their bravery and heroism - second-class citizens since 1994. Mullen's call ended decades of military brass opposing gays serving openly in the military.
For Mullen, it's simply about doing the right thing. "No matter how I look at the issue," he said, "I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."
The policy was wrong from the start, a compromise based on nothing more than politics. Those political motivations linger. Sen. John McCain is among many who continue to balk at what America's highest-ranking military officer says is best for the military.
The day Mullen testified, Americans were telling pollsters that homosexuality is inappropriate. HCD Research found that 55 percent of respondents said CBS was right to pull a gay dating Web site's Super Bowl ad that showed two men kissing. About two-thirds said the ad would have been less inappropriate if it showed a man and a woman kissing.
Discrimination against gays lives on at Mecklenburg commissioner meetings as well. Bill James, the lone remaining commissioner from the 1997 vote, unapologetically called a fellow commissioner's dead son "a homo" at a meeting in December.
Get over it, folks. Homosexuals do not choose their sexual orientation any more than heterosexuals choose theirs. Given the venomous treatment they receive, why would they? America was founded on the premise that all men (and women) are created equal and that among our unalienable rights are liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution guarantees equality under the law, including the 14th Amendment's guarantee of due process.
It's a matter of time before this latest civil rights frontier is crossed. Five states permit gay marriage. Ten permit civil unions or domestic partnerships. Houston just elected a lesbian mayor, and there are almost 10 times as many openly gay elected officials as there were in 1993. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 said states can't criminalize homosexual acts. Virtually all polls show a growing acceptance of gay marriage and gay civil unions.
Even Ted Olson, the lifelong conservative Republican who served George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, is on board. He is the lead lawyer trying to overturn California's gay marriage ban. In a Newsweek cover story last month, Olson, the U.S. solicitor general under Bush, argued convincingly that liberals and conservatives alike should value equality, strong, loving marriages and a government that stays out of our private lives.
If Ted Olson is convinced, maybe everyone should ask themselves: What's the big threat?
Reach me at tbatten@charlotteobserver.com.
"Crossing the Latest Civil Rights Frontier"
Months before Charlotte made national news for its intolerance of homosexuals in 1997, the most bigoted Mecklenburg County commissioners were already laying the groundwork for their assault into people's bedrooms.
It was late 1996, and Republican commissioner Bill James forced a vote on eliminating county funding to any group that provided information about homosexuality and other "crimes against nature."
I caught up with Democratic commissioner Hoyle Martin in the hallway behind the meeting chamber during a break. He called homosexuality "a problem in this society," then dropped this bombshell:
"If I had my way, we'd shove these people off the face of the earth," Martin told me. There is "an aggressive tendency of some (homosexuals) to try to indoctrinate other people, particularly youth, into this lifestyle."
Martin ultimately voted against the measure that night, killing it. But he would be the key swing vote in the infamous 1997 move to defund the Arts & Science Council of $2.5 million in retribution for the Charlotte Repertory Theatre putting on a play with gay themes.
Thirteen years later, Martin's views seem even more antiquated, at least to some of us. But our community and our nation, incredibly, are still hung up on people's sexuality and what they do in their private lives. There are still those who would prefer to shove these people off the face of the earth, those who would rather judge people on their genetic makeup than on the content of their character.
The nation's persistent division on this question was evident again last week. Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate panel that Congress should repeal the twisted "Don't ask, don't tell" policy that has made gay soldiers - regardless of their bravery and heroism - second-class citizens since 1994. Mullen's call ended decades of military brass opposing gays serving openly in the military.
For Mullen, it's simply about doing the right thing. "No matter how I look at the issue," he said, "I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."
The policy was wrong from the start, a compromise based on nothing more than politics. Those political motivations linger. Sen. John McCain is among many who continue to balk at what America's highest-ranking military officer says is best for the military.
The day Mullen testified, Americans were telling pollsters that homosexuality is inappropriate. HCD Research found that 55 percent of respondents said CBS was right to pull a gay dating Web site's Super Bowl ad that showed two men kissing. About two-thirds said the ad would have been less inappropriate if it showed a man and a woman kissing.
Discrimination against gays lives on at Mecklenburg commissioner meetings as well. Bill James, the lone remaining commissioner from the 1997 vote, unapologetically called a fellow commissioner's dead son "a homo" at a meeting in December.
Get over it, folks. Homosexuals do not choose their sexual orientation any more than heterosexuals choose theirs. Given the venomous treatment they receive, why would they? America was founded on the premise that all men (and women) are created equal and that among our unalienable rights are liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution guarantees equality under the law, including the 14th Amendment's guarantee of due process.
It's a matter of time before this latest civil rights frontier is crossed. Five states permit gay marriage. Ten permit civil unions or domestic partnerships. Houston just elected a lesbian mayor, and there are almost 10 times as many openly gay elected officials as there were in 1993. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 said states can't criminalize homosexual acts. Virtually all polls show a growing acceptance of gay marriage and gay civil unions.
Even Ted Olson, the lifelong conservative Republican who served George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, is on board. He is the lead lawyer trying to overturn California's gay marriage ban. In a Newsweek cover story last month, Olson, the U.S. solicitor general under Bush, argued convincingly that liberals and conservatives alike should value equality, strong, loving marriages and a government that stays out of our private lives.
If Ted Olson is convinced, maybe everyone should ask themselves: What's the big threat?
Reach me at tbatten@charlotteobserver.com.
Great Peasant Revolt-2/6/10--Krauthammer
Great Peasant Revolt of 2010
By Charles KrauthammerNational Columnist
Posted: Saturday, Feb. 06, 2010
'GETTY IMAGES',
false_format=>'Pool' -->
President Barack Obama needs to start paying attention to the concerns of plain folks, the ankle-dwelling mob. GETTY IMAGES
WASHINGTON "I am not an ideologue," protested President Obama at a gathering with Republican House members last week. Perhaps, but he does have a tenacious commitment to a set of political convictions.
Compare his 2010 State of the Union to his first address to Congress a year earlier. The consistency is remarkable. In 2009, after passing a $787 billion (now $862 billion) stimulus package, the largest spending bill in galactic history, he unveiled a manifesto for fundamentally restructuring the commanding heights of American society - health care, education and energy.
A year later, after stunning Democratic setbacks in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts, Obama gave a stay-the-course State of the Union address (a) pledging not to walk away from health care reform, (b) seeking to turn college education increasingly into a federal entitlement, and (c) asking again for cap-and-trade energy legislation. Plus, of course, another stimulus package, this time renamed a "jobs bill."
Walking over a cliff
This being a democracy, don't the Democrats see that clinging to this agenda will march them over a cliff? Don't they understand Massachusetts?
Well, they understand it through a prism of two cherished axioms: (1) The people are stupid and (2) Republicans are bad. Result? The dim, led by the malicious, vote incorrectly.
Liberal expressions of disdain for the intelligence and emotional maturity of the electorate have been, post-Massachusetts, remarkably unguarded. New York Times columnist Charles Blow chided Obama for not understanding the necessity of speaking "in the plain words of plain folks," because the people are "suspicious of complexity." Counseled Blow: "The next time he gives a speech, someone should tap him on the ankle and say, 'Mr. President, we're down here.'"
A Time magazine blogger was even more blunt about the ankle-dwelling mob, explaining that we are "a nation of dodos" that is "too dumb to thrive."
Obama joined the parade in the State of the Union address when, with supercilious modesty, he chided himself "for not explaining it (health care) more clearly to the American people." The subject, he noted, was "complex." The subject, it might also be noted, was one to which the master of complexity had devoted 29 speeches. Perhaps he did not speak slowly enough.
Then there are the emotional deficiencies of the masses. Nearly every Democratic apologist lamented the people's anger and anxiety, a free-floating agitation that prevented them from appreciating the beneficence of the social agenda the Democrats are so determined to foist upon them.
Liberal conceit, Part 2
That brings us to Part 2 of the liberal conceit: Liberals act in the public interest, while conservatives think only of power, elections, self-aggrandizement and self-interest.
It is an old liberal theme that conservative ideas, being red in tooth and claw, cannot possibly emerge from any notion of the public good. A 2002 New York Times obituary for philosopher Robert Nozick explained that the strongly libertarian implications of Nozick's masterwork, "Anarchy, State, and Utopia," "proved comforting to the right, which was grateful for what it embraced as philosophical justification." The right, you see, is grateful when a bright intellectual can graft some philosophical rationalization onto its thoroughly base and self-regarding politics.
This belief in the moral hollowness of conservatism animates the current liberal mantra that Republican opposition to Obama's social democratic agenda - which couldn't get through even a Democratic Congress and powered major Democratic losses in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts - is nothing but blind and cynical obstructionism.
Dissent and patriotism
By contrast, Democratic opposition to George W. Bush - from Iraq to Social Security reform - constituted dissent. And dissent, we were told at the time, including by candidate Obama, is "one of the truest expressions of patriotism."
No more. Today, dissent from the governing orthodoxy is nihilistic malice. "They made a decision," explained David Axelrod, "they were going to sit it out and hope that we failed, that the country failed" - a perfect expression of liberals' conviction that their aspirations are necessarily the country's, that their idea of the public good is the public's, that their failure is therefore the nation's.
Then comes Massachusetts, an election Obama himself helped nationalize, to shatter this most self-congratulatory of illusions.
Common sense prevails
For liberals, the observation that "the peasants are revolting" is a pun. For conservatives, it is cause for uncharacteristic optimism. No matter how far the ideological pendulum swings in the short term, in the end the bedrock common sense of the American people will prevail.
The ankle-dwelling populace pushes back. It re-centers. It renormalizes. Even in Massachusetts.
Charles Krauthammer is a columnist for the Washington Post Writers Group. Write him at letters@charleskrauthammer.com.
By Charles KrauthammerNational Columnist
Posted: Saturday, Feb. 06, 2010
'GETTY IMAGES',
false_format=>'Pool' -->
President Barack Obama needs to start paying attention to the concerns of plain folks, the ankle-dwelling mob. GETTY IMAGES
WASHINGTON "I am not an ideologue," protested President Obama at a gathering with Republican House members last week. Perhaps, but he does have a tenacious commitment to a set of political convictions.
Compare his 2010 State of the Union to his first address to Congress a year earlier. The consistency is remarkable. In 2009, after passing a $787 billion (now $862 billion) stimulus package, the largest spending bill in galactic history, he unveiled a manifesto for fundamentally restructuring the commanding heights of American society - health care, education and energy.
A year later, after stunning Democratic setbacks in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts, Obama gave a stay-the-course State of the Union address (a) pledging not to walk away from health care reform, (b) seeking to turn college education increasingly into a federal entitlement, and (c) asking again for cap-and-trade energy legislation. Plus, of course, another stimulus package, this time renamed a "jobs bill."
Walking over a cliff
This being a democracy, don't the Democrats see that clinging to this agenda will march them over a cliff? Don't they understand Massachusetts?
Well, they understand it through a prism of two cherished axioms: (1) The people are stupid and (2) Republicans are bad. Result? The dim, led by the malicious, vote incorrectly.
Liberal expressions of disdain for the intelligence and emotional maturity of the electorate have been, post-Massachusetts, remarkably unguarded. New York Times columnist Charles Blow chided Obama for not understanding the necessity of speaking "in the plain words of plain folks," because the people are "suspicious of complexity." Counseled Blow: "The next time he gives a speech, someone should tap him on the ankle and say, 'Mr. President, we're down here.'"
A Time magazine blogger was even more blunt about the ankle-dwelling mob, explaining that we are "a nation of dodos" that is "too dumb to thrive."
Obama joined the parade in the State of the Union address when, with supercilious modesty, he chided himself "for not explaining it (health care) more clearly to the American people." The subject, he noted, was "complex." The subject, it might also be noted, was one to which the master of complexity had devoted 29 speeches. Perhaps he did not speak slowly enough.
Then there are the emotional deficiencies of the masses. Nearly every Democratic apologist lamented the people's anger and anxiety, a free-floating agitation that prevented them from appreciating the beneficence of the social agenda the Democrats are so determined to foist upon them.
Liberal conceit, Part 2
That brings us to Part 2 of the liberal conceit: Liberals act in the public interest, while conservatives think only of power, elections, self-aggrandizement and self-interest.
It is an old liberal theme that conservative ideas, being red in tooth and claw, cannot possibly emerge from any notion of the public good. A 2002 New York Times obituary for philosopher Robert Nozick explained that the strongly libertarian implications of Nozick's masterwork, "Anarchy, State, and Utopia," "proved comforting to the right, which was grateful for what it embraced as philosophical justification." The right, you see, is grateful when a bright intellectual can graft some philosophical rationalization onto its thoroughly base and self-regarding politics.
This belief in the moral hollowness of conservatism animates the current liberal mantra that Republican opposition to Obama's social democratic agenda - which couldn't get through even a Democratic Congress and powered major Democratic losses in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts - is nothing but blind and cynical obstructionism.
Dissent and patriotism
By contrast, Democratic opposition to George W. Bush - from Iraq to Social Security reform - constituted dissent. And dissent, we were told at the time, including by candidate Obama, is "one of the truest expressions of patriotism."
No more. Today, dissent from the governing orthodoxy is nihilistic malice. "They made a decision," explained David Axelrod, "they were going to sit it out and hope that we failed, that the country failed" - a perfect expression of liberals' conviction that their aspirations are necessarily the country's, that their idea of the public good is the public's, that their failure is therefore the nation's.
Then comes Massachusetts, an election Obama himself helped nationalize, to shatter this most self-congratulatory of illusions.
Common sense prevails
For liberals, the observation that "the peasants are revolting" is a pun. For conservatives, it is cause for uncharacteristic optimism. No matter how far the ideological pendulum swings in the short term, in the end the bedrock common sense of the American people will prevail.
The ankle-dwelling populace pushes back. It re-centers. It renormalizes. Even in Massachusetts.
Charles Krauthammer is a columnist for the Washington Post Writers Group. Write him at letters@charleskrauthammer.com.
Letter to Ch Observer--Charkes Krauthammer--2/6/10
To The Editor:
Tell me it ain't so--can I be the only Observer subscriber who finds it revolting that every single Saturday edition-- week after week--continues to print Charles Krauthammer's column and his relentless, never-varying attack on President Obama? Forgive me, but I need to ask: Why? Why do you do this? For what gain? On what grounds can you possibly defend doing this? Early on I was angered by it all but no longer--now it's just pure dismay and bewilderment.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlottfe, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Tell me it ain't so--can I be the only Observer subscriber who finds it revolting that every single Saturday edition-- week after week--continues to print Charles Krauthammer's column and his relentless, never-varying attack on President Obama? Forgive me, but I need to ask: Why? Why do you do this? For what gain? On what grounds can you possibly defend doing this? Early on I was angered by it all but no longer--now it's just pure dismay and bewilderment.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlottfe, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Letter to Mr. Funk--Religion Editor--Observer-1/30/10
Mr. Funk:
I read with some interest today your column about the new pastor at Northside, Brian Boyles. I was caught up short reading that "Northside is not only for a literal reading of the Bible...." Your column doesn't say but I'm curious to know: What did you make of that? Did you question it at all, as in, for example, "Did I hear you right"? Assuming that what you ascribe to his having said is correct, it strikes me as absurd and I would have thought this to be your reaction as well. Was it?
Thank you and regards,
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
Charlotte, NC
I read with some interest today your column about the new pastor at Northside, Brian Boyles. I was caught up short reading that "Northside is not only for a literal reading of the Bible...." Your column doesn't say but I'm curious to know: What did you make of that? Did you question it at all, as in, for example, "Did I hear you right"? Assuming that what you ascribe to his having said is correct, it strikes me as absurd and I would have thought this to be your reaction as well. Was it?
Thank you and regards,
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
Charlotte, NC
Friday, January 29, 2010
letter to Observer--Jan 28, 2010--re "Where's Bev?"
To The Editor:
About your editorial today entitled "Where's Bev?"....on reflection, wouldn't you agree that what you've written here--and written about here--is unworthy of a place on the editorial page of any newspaper, let alone your own? What's the the point anyhow--that the governor should be back in Raleigh rounding up jobs for the unemployed, instead of taking a week off to vacation? Or is it because she vacationed in someplace warm? It's silly, is what is; it is also, simply, a cheap shot, and pretty darned unbecoming as well.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305.
About your editorial today entitled "Where's Bev?"....on reflection, wouldn't you agree that what you've written here--and written about here--is unworthy of a place on the editorial page of any newspaper, let alone your own? What's the the point anyhow--that the governor should be back in Raleigh rounding up jobs for the unemployed, instead of taking a week off to vacation? Or is it because she vacationed in someplace warm? It's silly, is what is; it is also, simply, a cheap shot, and pretty darned unbecoming as well.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305.
Charlotte Observer Editorial
Where’s Bev? All we can say is it’s someplace warm
Last week’s 'jobs governor' is this week’s vacation governor.
Posted: Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010
Gov. Bev Perdue has run off and we don’t blame her a bit. Who wouldn’t want to get away from a growing list of problems – including a worsening state unemployment rate of 11.2 percent, worst in three decades, a projected $250 million hole in Medicaid funding and some festering ethical problems that don’t seem to improve.
Perdue is on a week’s vacation, the News & Observer’s Sarah Ovaska reports, but Perdue wouldn’t say where she was going. All Perdue would say is that she’s “going on a vacation to a nice warm place.”
But Raleigh still might qualify as a nice warm place, given how Republicans have roasted the Democratic governor over the verbal coals over the latest ethical meltdowns for Democrats.
U.S. Attorney George Holding’s office last week released a 51-count indictment of Ruffin Poole, a former key aide to former Gov. Mike Easley. In it, Perdue contributor Lanny Wilson of Wilmington was cited as a key player in the financing of the Cannonsgate development that Poole was an investor in after having shepherded Cannonsgate environmental permits through the Easley administration. Until he resigned in the past few days, Wilson was a member of the State Board of Transportation and the N.C. Turnpike Authority.
But Republicans were raking Perdue over the fires for it nonetheless, driving home the point that for all her attempts to clean up politics in Raleigh and raise ethical standards, Democrats keep getting indicted, cited, or derided for one kind of appalling behavior or another.
The governor recently claimed that she was known as, and would continue to be known as, the “jobs governor.” Maybe so, but we wonder. Her decision to take a week off in a nice warm place in the midst of one of the state’s shakier weeks in modern economic and political history may have been a relief to the governor. But it has more potential to define her image than overwrought claims about jobs. She might want to hurry on back to the hot seat.
Last week’s 'jobs governor' is this week’s vacation governor.
Posted: Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010
Gov. Bev Perdue has run off and we don’t blame her a bit. Who wouldn’t want to get away from a growing list of problems – including a worsening state unemployment rate of 11.2 percent, worst in three decades, a projected $250 million hole in Medicaid funding and some festering ethical problems that don’t seem to improve.
Perdue is on a week’s vacation, the News & Observer’s Sarah Ovaska reports, but Perdue wouldn’t say where she was going. All Perdue would say is that she’s “going on a vacation to a nice warm place.”
But Raleigh still might qualify as a nice warm place, given how Republicans have roasted the Democratic governor over the verbal coals over the latest ethical meltdowns for Democrats.
U.S. Attorney George Holding’s office last week released a 51-count indictment of Ruffin Poole, a former key aide to former Gov. Mike Easley. In it, Perdue contributor Lanny Wilson of Wilmington was cited as a key player in the financing of the Cannonsgate development that Poole was an investor in after having shepherded Cannonsgate environmental permits through the Easley administration. Until he resigned in the past few days, Wilson was a member of the State Board of Transportation and the N.C. Turnpike Authority.
But Republicans were raking Perdue over the fires for it nonetheless, driving home the point that for all her attempts to clean up politics in Raleigh and raise ethical standards, Democrats keep getting indicted, cited, or derided for one kind of appalling behavior or another.
The governor recently claimed that she was known as, and would continue to be known as, the “jobs governor.” Maybe so, but we wonder. Her decision to take a week off in a nice warm place in the midst of one of the state’s shakier weeks in modern economic and political history may have been a relief to the governor. But it has more potential to define her image than overwrought claims about jobs. She might want to hurry on back to the hot seat.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Chuck Porter--Charlotte's Man of the Year
To The Editor:
Granted, it's early in the year to start the process but still, I've just cast my vote for Chuck Porter as Charlotte's Man of The Year 2010. I've met and gotten to know Chuck a little bit, and can attest that he is everything Elizabeth Leland has written about him, and then some! What an uplifting story for this Sunday's edition!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Granted, it's early in the year to start the process but still, I've just cast my vote for Chuck Porter as Charlotte's Man of The Year 2010. I've met and gotten to know Chuck a little bit, and can attest that he is everything Elizabeth Leland has written about him, and then some! What an uplifting story for this Sunday's edition!
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Jill Dinwiddie named ED of NC Council for Women
Jim Morrill Political writer The Charlotte Observer jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com 704-358-5059 (o) 704-302-6359 (c)
From: Lucas, Jill [mailto:jill.lucas@doa.nc.gov] Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:14 PMTo: newsreleases@lists.ncmail.netSubject: JILL DINWIDDIE NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF N.C. COUNCIL FORWOMEN/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COMMISSION
JILL DINWIDDIE NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF N.C. COUNCIL FOR WOMEN/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COMMISSION
RALEIGH – Secretary Britt Cobb today announced his appointment of Jill Dinwiddie of Charlotte as Executive Director of the N.C. Council for Women/Domestic Violence Commission.
“Jill brings a wealth of leadership experience and energy to the Council for Women/Domestic Violence Commission (CFW/DVC),” Cobb said. “As a former member of the DV Commission, she is familiar with its mission and will work hard to improve services and resources available to women in need.”
The CFW/DVC provides advocacy services for women and grant resources through Displaced Homemaker, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault programs. While new on the job, Dinwiddie already has plans for redefining the agency’s role and services.
“My goal is to make the Council for Women/Domestic Violence Commission known around the state as the repository for information on issues, programs and services for women and girls in North Carolina,” she said. “Changing the perspective to include girls, mostly middle- and high-school girls, is the right thing to do.”
Grants for domestic violence services will remain a cornerstone of the agency and Dinwiddie hopes to expand programs to provide education and employment opportunities. “We need to do more to help women help themselves,” she said.
Dinwiddie’s professional experience includes being a partner in an executive search consultancy, serving as director of California Senator Dianne Feinstein’s San Francisco and Fresno offices, and working 17 years at UNC-Chapel Hill as an administrator. She is a current or former member of the Board of Directors of numerous influential organizations in North Carolina and California, several of which advocate for women. Among her current memberships are the N.C. Arts Council, the Levine Museum of the New South and Planned Parenthood Health Systems.
Dinwiddie will participate in her first meeting of the N.C. Council for Women at 10 a.m. Friday. It will be held at 3739 National Dr., Suite 100, Raleigh.
###
Jill Warren Lucas
Communications Director
NC Department of Administration
919-807-2496
Nov 17,2009
From: Lucas, Jill [mailto:jill.lucas@doa.nc.gov] Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:14 PMTo: newsreleases@lists.ncmail.netSubject: JILL DINWIDDIE NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF N.C. COUNCIL FORWOMEN/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COMMISSION
JILL DINWIDDIE NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF N.C. COUNCIL FOR WOMEN/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COMMISSION
RALEIGH – Secretary Britt Cobb today announced his appointment of Jill Dinwiddie of Charlotte as Executive Director of the N.C. Council for Women/Domestic Violence Commission.
“Jill brings a wealth of leadership experience and energy to the Council for Women/Domestic Violence Commission (CFW/DVC),” Cobb said. “As a former member of the DV Commission, she is familiar with its mission and will work hard to improve services and resources available to women in need.”
The CFW/DVC provides advocacy services for women and grant resources through Displaced Homemaker, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault programs. While new on the job, Dinwiddie already has plans for redefining the agency’s role and services.
“My goal is to make the Council for Women/Domestic Violence Commission known around the state as the repository for information on issues, programs and services for women and girls in North Carolina,” she said. “Changing the perspective to include girls, mostly middle- and high-school girls, is the right thing to do.”
Grants for domestic violence services will remain a cornerstone of the agency and Dinwiddie hopes to expand programs to provide education and employment opportunities. “We need to do more to help women help themselves,” she said.
Dinwiddie’s professional experience includes being a partner in an executive search consultancy, serving as director of California Senator Dianne Feinstein’s San Francisco and Fresno offices, and working 17 years at UNC-Chapel Hill as an administrator. She is a current or former member of the Board of Directors of numerous influential organizations in North Carolina and California, several of which advocate for women. Among her current memberships are the N.C. Arts Council, the Levine Museum of the New South and Planned Parenthood Health Systems.
Dinwiddie will participate in her first meeting of the N.C. Council for Women at 10 a.m. Friday. It will be held at 3739 National Dr., Suite 100, Raleigh.
###
Jill Warren Lucas
Communications Director
NC Department of Administration
919-807-2496
Nov 17,2009
letter to nyt--please retract
Dear Editor: I submitted the letter below earlier today, and even though I did so very much doubting that it would get printed, there is that possibility I suppose and so I am writing again to ask that it be retracted. A family member of mine has read it and interpreted the letter as making light of the Haitian tragedy. If others were to read the letter the same way, it would totally miss the mark and be a huge embarrassment. And so, I ask that the letter be retracted and NOT be considered for publication. (The country of Haiti has been all but totally ignored by the U.S. (and everyone else) for years, as it gradually goes to seed. Now this has happened, not very far from our shores, and whether we proceed as in my letter or some other way, these poor souls will be wards of the U.S. for years and years to come. That's what I think. And if that should be the case, then my thinking said to me, why dance around it?....better to do something along the lines of what my letter suggested. Be all that as it may, I regret having submitted the letter. Thank you.)
-----Original Message-----From: bhargadon@aol.comTo: letters@nytimes.comSent: Thu, Jan 14, 2010 9:06 amSubject: Haiti--What To Do
To The Editor:
Given what has just happened to Haiti, the most heroic, inexpensive, expeditious and humane action the United States could take right now is to acquire it. Work it out with the people there and the rest of the world, and take it over. Demolish most everything standing in Haiti, and build anew. Feed, clothe, house the people, and find the best way to govern. Get the country on its feet, educate them, and then sell it back for $1 when they are ready to take it back. How long? No doubt two generations at least. But wait...you don't like this? Well then, stand back and prepare yourselves for the dreadful consequences of not taking some action of this sort.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S,. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Jan 14,2010
-----Original Message-----From: bhargadon@aol.comTo: letters@nytimes.comSent: Thu, Jan 14, 2010 9:06 amSubject: Haiti--What To Do
To The Editor:
Given what has just happened to Haiti, the most heroic, inexpensive, expeditious and humane action the United States could take right now is to acquire it. Work it out with the people there and the rest of the world, and take it over. Demolish most everything standing in Haiti, and build anew. Feed, clothe, house the people, and find the best way to govern. Get the country on its feet, educate them, and then sell it back for $1 when they are ready to take it back. How long? No doubt two generations at least. But wait...you don't like this? Well then, stand back and prepare yourselves for the dreadful consequences of not taking some action of this sort.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S,. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Jan 14,2010
letter to nyt--Haiti--what to do?
To The Editor:
Given what has just happened to Haiti, the most heroic, inexpensive, expeditious and humane action the United States could take right now is to acquire it. Work it out with the people there and the rest of the world, and take it over. Demolish most everything standing in Haiti, and build anew. Feed, clothe, house the people, and find the best way to govern. Get the country on its feet, educate them, and then sell it back for $1 when they are ready to take it back. How long? No doubt two generations at least. But wait...you don't like this? Well then, stand back and prepare yourselves for the dreadful consequences of not taking some action of this sort.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S,. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Jan 14, 2010
Given what has just happened to Haiti, the most heroic, inexpensive, expeditious and humane action the United States could take right now is to acquire it. Work it out with the people there and the rest of the world, and take it over. Demolish most everything standing in Haiti, and build anew. Feed, clothe, house the people, and find the best way to govern. Get the country on its feet, educate them, and then sell it back for $1 when they are ready to take it back. How long? No doubt two generations at least. But wait...you don't like this? Well then, stand back and prepare yourselves for the dreadful consequences of not taking some action of this sort.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S,. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Jan 14, 2010
letter to observer--PLEASE!
To The Editor:
Considering everything else going on in the world, including the two wars our country is still fighting and the possibility, God forbid, of a third, (Yemen, Somalia), I wonder if it would be out of order to ask The Observer to impose a temporary moratorium on more articles and editorials, and letters of any kind, which deal with "The Dinner"and the Mecklenburg ABC Board. We all of us are beginning to look like fools. Why is it that so many of us seem to have the perpetual need for whipping boys? With people like the despicable Rush Limbaugh and Charles Krauthammer leading the charge, it's been President Obama filling that role for what seems like forever, and now thrown into the mix is this guy Parks Helms. Let's grow up, people, and begin to think about those many, dead- serious matters out there, which are begging for our attention. How about it?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Jan 8, 2010
Considering everything else going on in the world, including the two wars our country is still fighting and the possibility, God forbid, of a third, (Yemen, Somalia), I wonder if it would be out of order to ask The Observer to impose a temporary moratorium on more articles and editorials, and letters of any kind, which deal with "The Dinner"and the Mecklenburg ABC Board. We all of us are beginning to look like fools. Why is it that so many of us seem to have the perpetual need for whipping boys? With people like the despicable Rush Limbaugh and Charles Krauthammer leading the charge, it's been President Obama filling that role for what seems like forever, and now thrown into the mix is this guy Parks Helms. Let's grow up, people, and begin to think about those many, dead- serious matters out there, which are begging for our attention. How about it?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Jan 8, 2010
letter to observer--Jim DeMint...neanderthal
To The Editor:
This latest obstruction by Senator DeMint yet again begs the question about what all of us others in the country have done to so offend the people of State of South Carolina, that they would send this angry, lightweight mediocrity to Washington, to hold a position there enabling him--this single individual-- to take all of us hostage once again. If nothing else, this should forever lay to rest any objections to our getting down to business and performing the major surgery our Constitution has been badly in need of, for many years now. And while we're at it, let's forever mothball the fiction that "The Founding Fathers" is a concept related at all to today. It isn't. That was all then. This is now, centuries later, a very different time.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
12/29/09
This latest obstruction by Senator DeMint yet again begs the question about what all of us others in the country have done to so offend the people of State of South Carolina, that they would send this angry, lightweight mediocrity to Washington, to hold a position there enabling him--this single individual-- to take all of us hostage once again. If nothing else, this should forever lay to rest any objections to our getting down to business and performing the major surgery our Constitution has been badly in need of, for many years now. And while we're at it, let's forever mothball the fiction that "The Founding Fathers" is a concept related at all to today. It isn't. That was all then. This is now, centuries later, a very different time.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
12/29/09
letter to observer--requiring an iron constitution
To the Editor:
It sometimes requires an iron constitution to make one's way through your Forum letters....such as today which features still more Stone Age samples. We have Thomas Ashcroft blasting homosexuals (whose behavior goes "against deeply held moral traditions...") which is bad enough, but then we bump into Herb Corday who instructs President Obama to demand the release of the three Americans held in Iran "within 72 hours or else" ....send in the troops to bring them out. What? Huh? 'Makes one wonder what sort of misfortune has been dealt these people. How can they be helped?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
12/21/09
It sometimes requires an iron constitution to make one's way through your Forum letters....such as today which features still more Stone Age samples. We have Thomas Ashcroft blasting homosexuals (whose behavior goes "against deeply held moral traditions...") which is bad enough, but then we bump into Herb Corday who instructs President Obama to demand the release of the three Americans held in Iran "within 72 hours or else" ....send in the troops to bring them out. What? Huh? 'Makes one wonder what sort of misfortune has been dealt these people. How can they be helped?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
12/21/09
letter to observer--asheville councilman--12/10/09
To The Editor:
As relative newcomers to the state of North Carolina, my family found this story a bit frightening, and got us to thinking about our own beliefs and how they may or may not conform to State laws. For example, all of us have long since abandoned any belief whatsoever in Santa Claus. Can someone there research this, and tell us where matters stand on that subject? Thank you.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
As relative newcomers to the state of North Carolina, my family found this story a bit frightening, and got us to thinking about our own beliefs and how they may or may not conform to State laws. For example, all of us have long since abandoned any belief whatsoever in Santa Claus. Can someone there research this, and tell us where matters stand on that subject? Thank you.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
letter to nyt--capitalism vs socialism--12/8/09
To The Editor:
It was inevitable that Mr. Scharff's thoughtful, reasoned letter which appeared yesterday, which argued for acceptance of a sensible combination of modified capitalism and modified socialism, would strike a nerve such as evidenced by the less reasoned response by Mr.Tasker which appeared today. The unadulterated worship of raw capitalism has long since been discredited, just as has been the knee-jerk demonization of anything even bordering on socialism.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
It was inevitable that Mr. Scharff's thoughtful, reasoned letter which appeared yesterday, which argued for acceptance of a sensible combination of modified capitalism and modified socialism, would strike a nerve such as evidenced by the less reasoned response by Mr.Tasker which appeared today. The unadulterated worship of raw capitalism has long since been discredited, just as has been the knee-jerk demonization of anything even bordering on socialism.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Letter/Observer--NRA--Elephant in Room-11/30/09
To The Editor:
I'm at a loss to understand how this no doubt well-intentioned editorial could have been written while in doing so you totally ignore the elephant in the room, which is the obscene proliferation of guns in this country in the first place and the relentless campaign by the National Rifle Association to have it be no other way. Citing the NRA in the editorual as you do, with their "safety tops," just makes a mockery of your message. ..Or wait a minute, a tthought just occurred to me: was this editorial paid for by the NRA?
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
I'm at a loss to understand how this no doubt well-intentioned editorial could have been written while in doing so you totally ignore the elephant in the room, which is the obscene proliferation of guns in this country in the first place and the relentless campaign by the National Rifle Association to have it be no other way. Citing the NRA in the editorual as you do, with their "safety tops," just makes a mockery of your message. ..Or wait a minute, a tthought just occurred to me: was this editorial paid for by the NRA?
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
Letter-Observer--Obama "degrades" USA--11/19/09
To The Editor:
Mr. Howerton's letter which appeared today ("Obama degraded America when he bowed to Japanese emperor") is yet another timely reminder for all of us, to try to travel as much as we can to other lands, and experience the many, rich, honored customs and cultures which so often are quite different than our own. If more Americans were to do this, all kinds of benefits would accrue for everyone, and letters such as Mr. Howerton's would in time become extinct.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
Mr. Howerton's letter which appeared today ("Obama degraded America when he bowed to Japanese emperor") is yet another timely reminder for all of us, to try to travel as much as we can to other lands, and experience the many, rich, honored customs and cultures which so often are quite different than our own. If more Americans were to do this, all kinds of benefits would accrue for everyone, and letters such as Mr. Howerton's would in time become extinct.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
Friday, January 22, 2010
Letter to Observer--Senator DeMint--11/09
To The Editor:
This latest obstruction by Senator DeMint yet again begs the question about what all of us others in the country have done to so offend the people of South Carolina, that they would send this angry, lightweight mediocrity to Washinton, to hold a position there enabling him--this single individual--to take all of us hostage once again. If nothing else this should forever lay to rest any objection to our getting down to business and performing the major surgery our Constitution has been badly in need of for many years now. And while we're at it, let's forever mothball the fiction thaat "The Founding Fathers" is a concept related aat all to today. It isn't. That was all then. This is now, centuries later, a very different time.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
This latest obstruction by Senator DeMint yet again begs the question about what all of us others in the country have done to so offend the people of South Carolina, that they would send this angry, lightweight mediocrity to Washinton, to hold a position there enabling him--this single individual--to take all of us hostage once again. If nothing else this should forever lay to rest any objection to our getting down to business and performing the major surgery our Constitution has been badly in need of for many years now. And while we're at it, let's forever mothball the fiction thaat "The Founding Fathers" is a concept related aat all to today. It isn't. That was all then. This is now, centuries later, a very different time.
Sincerely,
Bernie Hargadon
Letter to NYT--Baseball...and Spitting--11/6/09
Lots of letters appeared in the New York Times November 6, most of them celebrating the Yankees on their Series win but one letter, while complimentary about baseball in general, had some things to say about a side exercise which goes on, relentlessly, throughout every major league baseball game-- Spitting. Here's Tom Franken's letter:
To the Editor:
I love baseball. I love the World Series. I love to watch the Yankees win. But I hate the constant spitting by most of the players. This is not a necessary part of the game and should not be tolerated.
In New York City and many other cities it is unlawful to spit in public places. It is also unhealthy, especially in this era of the H1N1 flu epidemic. The message it sends to the millions of children and adults watching the game is that this affectation is normal and acceptable behavior.
It would be easy to rid the leagues of this awful habit. A spit could be ruled a strike. A batter steps up to the plate, spits. Strike 1. The batter steps off the plate, spits. Strike 2. Three spits you’re out.
Tom FrankenNew York, Nov. 5, 2009
*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Mr. Franken's letter in turn inspired one for me to follow up with; here is the letter I submitted to the Times later the same day:
To The Editor:
First off, kudos to Tom Franken for his letter today about the Series and the torrent of constant spitting in all of its glorious varieties.
For those who may have turned away, early in the game last night, and after a called-first strike which seemed to have offended him, Alex Rodriguez stepped out and let go again, this time with a veritable 3-streamer, a beauty it was, with great velocity, a marvel to behold. Somehow I knew then that the Yankees would take the game and the Series.
There certainly was a superabundance of expectorating during that final game and it made me wonder again why the the Series was being telecast on the Fox Network. The spitting alone--which actually constituted a good bit of the activity on the field--would have made all of it altogether appropriate for the Discovery Channel because if nothing else, it was a constant reminder of where we all came from a long time ago. Our ancestors, those prehistoric apes, were spitting up a storm the very same way, as they ran around with their clubs, chewing on leaves.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
To the Editor:
I love baseball. I love the World Series. I love to watch the Yankees win. But I hate the constant spitting by most of the players. This is not a necessary part of the game and should not be tolerated.
In New York City and many other cities it is unlawful to spit in public places. It is also unhealthy, especially in this era of the H1N1 flu epidemic. The message it sends to the millions of children and adults watching the game is that this affectation is normal and acceptable behavior.
It would be easy to rid the leagues of this awful habit. A spit could be ruled a strike. A batter steps up to the plate, spits. Strike 1. The batter steps off the plate, spits. Strike 2. Three spits you’re out.
Tom FrankenNew York, Nov. 5, 2009
*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Mr. Franken's letter in turn inspired one for me to follow up with; here is the letter I submitted to the Times later the same day:
To The Editor:
First off, kudos to Tom Franken for his letter today about the Series and the torrent of constant spitting in all of its glorious varieties.
For those who may have turned away, early in the game last night, and after a called-first strike which seemed to have offended him, Alex Rodriguez stepped out and let go again, this time with a veritable 3-streamer, a beauty it was, with great velocity, a marvel to behold. Somehow I knew then that the Yankees would take the game and the Series.
There certainly was a superabundance of expectorating during that final game and it made me wonder again why the the Series was being telecast on the Fox Network. The spitting alone--which actually constituted a good bit of the activity on the field--would have made all of it altogether appropriate for the Discovery Channel because if nothing else, it was a constant reminder of where we all came from a long time ago. Our ancestors, those prehistoric apes, were spitting up a storm the very same way, as they ran around with their clubs, chewing on leaves.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305
Letter to Observer--Krauthammer again--11/1/09
To The Editor:
For just the briefest moment, I thought maybe we could get through a whole week without your exposing us readers yet again, to the poisoned offerings of Charles Krauthammer. But there he was, in all his glory again this morning, treating of the only topic he knows, the pillaging,ridiculing, demeaning of President Obama. Why do you do this? It should be clear to everyone now that he can't help himself--he's certifiably, clinically paranoid. But you, the editors of the Charlotte Observer, what about you? What gives?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
For just the briefest moment, I thought maybe we could get through a whole week without your exposing us readers yet again, to the poisoned offerings of Charles Krauthammer. But there he was, in all his glory again this morning, treating of the only topic he knows, the pillaging,ridiculing, demeaning of President Obama. Why do you do this? It should be clear to everyone now that he can't help himself--he's certifiably, clinically paranoid. But you, the editors of the Charlotte Observer, what about you? What gives?
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
Letter to NYT--The C.I.A. Again--10/28/09
To The Editor:
We read today thaat Karzai's brother is on the C.I.A. payroll. So what else is new, is all I can think to ask. This sort of thing has been standard practice for the C.I.A. for years. Just one example is Panama's General Manuel Noriega, who was on the dole for years, right up until his behavior became intolerable and President Bush The Elder decided to invade Panama and take him out.
Yoyurs truly,
Bernie Hargadon
We read today thaat Karzai's brother is on the C.I.A. payroll. So what else is new, is all I can think to ask. This sort of thing has been standard practice for the C.I.A. for years. Just one example is Panama's General Manuel Noriega, who was on the dole for years, right up until his behavior became intolerable and President Bush The Elder decided to invade Panama and take him out.
Yoyurs truly,
Bernie Hargadon
letter ti NYT--Bloomberg and NYC..-10/24/09
To The Editor:
It is astonishing to read that this very smart businessman will have spent what he has (well over $250 million) just to be mayor of New York City. Has he not at least considered simply buying New York City and be done with it? He'd be the CEO for as long as he wanted the job--and no more of this silly business of elections. Given the size of the debt now on the City's books, surely Mayor Bloomberg has the wherewithal--and then some--to make an offer that New York City could ill afford to reject.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
It is astonishing to read that this very smart businessman will have spent what he has (well over $250 million) just to be mayor of New York City. Has he not at least considered simply buying New York City and be done with it? He'd be the CEO for as long as he wanted the job--and no more of this silly business of elections. Given the size of the debt now on the City's books, surely Mayor Bloomberg has the wherewithal--and then some--to make an offer that New York City could ill afford to reject.
Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon
Letter to Observer--Great Editorial--10/18/09
To The Editor:
Your lead editorial today ("With two strong choices, we give Foxx the edge") is as beautifully crafted a political endorsement as any I've ever read. It is thoughtful, careful, reasoned and as clear as the proverbial bell....kudos and my personal thanks to those who deliberated this matter and shared their conclusions so incisively. This editorial will surely stand as a textbook example for taking on a very difficult asignment The Right Way.
Sincerley,
Bernie Hargadon
Your lead editorial today ("With two strong choices, we give Foxx the edge") is as beautifully crafted a political endorsement as any I've ever read. It is thoughtful, careful, reasoned and as clear as the proverbial bell....kudos and my personal thanks to those who deliberated this matter and shared their conclusions so incisively. This editorial will surely stand as a textbook example for taking on a very difficult asignment The Right Way.
Sincerley,
Bernie Hargadon
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