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.
Friday, January 29, 2010
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
