Bernie's Views

letter to wsj--may 12, 2010--about hillary clinton

2010-05-13T08:44:00.000-04:00

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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letter to wsj--may 11, 2010--baseball

2010-05-13T08:43:00.000-04:00

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

letter to observer--may 7, 2010--mario moreno

2010-05-13T08:42:00.001-04:00

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

letter to taylor batten--apr 28, 2010--about m jordan and james

2010-05-13T08:39:00.000-04:00

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

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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letter to jennifer foster--wdav--apr, 2010

2010-05-13T08:38:00.001-04:00

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

2010-05-13T08:36:00.000-04:00

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

letter to observer--apr 20, 2010--char krauthammer again

2010-05-13T08:35:00.001-04:00

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

letter to observer--april 20, 2010--burr the clear pick?

2010-05-13T08:34:00.001-04:00

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

letter to nyt--april 12, 2010,, polish pres plane crash

2010-05-13T08:32:00.000-04:00

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

letter to nyt--april 4, 2010--hedge fund pay

2010-05-13T08:31:00.001-04:00

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

letter to nyt--april 4--taliban

2010-05-13T08:30:00.001-04:00

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

letter to post and couruer--april, 2010--health care reform

2010-05-13T08:28:00.000-04:00

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

letter to observer--mar 30, 2010--Opposing Views

2010-05-13T08:27:00.000-04:00

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

letter to observer--mar 23, 2010--you edit for accuracy??

2010-05-13T08:26:00.000-04:00

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

letter to observer--the census--mar 20, 2010

2010-05-13T08:24:00.000-04:00

letter to oberver--kudos--editorial--mar 2010

2010-05-13T08:23:00.000-04:00

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

letter to observer--richard burr--feb 23, 2010

2010-05-13T08:13:00.000-04:00

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

letter to nyt--feb 22, 2010--alessandra stanley

2010-05-13T08:12:00.000-04:00

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

letfer to WSJ--John Yoo--Feb 22, 2010

2010-05-13T08:11:00.001-04:00

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

letter to observer-Thomas Friedman--Feb 21, 2010

2010-05-13T08:09:00.000-04:00

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

Unfettered Capitalism--Feb 20, 2010

2010-05-13T08:08:00.001-04:00

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

Obama will negotiate--and other nonsense--Feb 15, 2010

2010-05-13T08:06:00.001-04:00

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

Charles Krauthammer--Feb 7, 2010

2010-05-13T08:04:00.000-04:00

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

Where's Bev--some place warm?--Jan 28, 2010

2010-05-13T08:03:00.000-04:00

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.

Chuck Porter

2010-05-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

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

Response to BJH from Taylor Batten--2/8/10

2010-02-09T07:48:00.000-05:00

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

2010-02-09T07:46:00.000-05:00

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

2010-02-09T07:37:00.003-05:00

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.

Great Peasant Revolt-2/6/10--Krauthammer

2010-02-09T07:30:00.002-05:00

Great Peasant Revolt of 2010
By Charles KrauthammerNational Columnist
Posted: Saturday, Feb. 06, 2010
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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

2010-02-09T07:24:00.002-05:00

Letter to Mr. Funk--Religion Editor--Observer-1/30/10

2010-02-09T07:22:00.001-05:00

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

letter to Observer--Jan 28, 2010--re "Where's Bev?"

2010-01-29T11:24:00.001-05:00

Charlotte Observer Editorial

2010-01-29T11:16:00.002-05:00

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.

Chuck Porter--Charlotte's Man of the Year

2010-01-24T15:08:00.000-05:00

Jill Dinwiddie named ED of NC Council for Women

2010-01-23T14:34:00.002-05:00

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

Charlotte Magazine--Power Couple--Dec, 09

2010-01-23T14:23:00.001-05:00

_SKMBT_C45009112413120.pdf

letter to nyt--please retract

2010-01-23T14:01:00.003-05:00

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

letter to nyt--Haiti--what to do?

2010-01-23T13:59:00.000-05:00

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 observer--PLEASE!

2010-01-23T13:56:00.001-05:00

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

letter to observer--Jim DeMint...neanderthal

2010-01-23T13:51:00.001-05:00

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

letter to observer--requiring an iron constitution

2010-01-23T13:47:00.000-05:00

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

letter to observer--asheville councilman--12/10/09

2010-01-23T13:44:00.000-05:00

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

letter to nyt--capitalism vs socialism--12/8/09

2010-01-23T13:35:00.002-05:00

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

Letter/Observer--NRA--Elephant in Room-11/30/09

2010-01-23T13:24:00.003-05:00

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

Letter-Observer--Obama "degrades" USA--11/19/09

2010-01-23T13:16:00.003-05:00

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

Letter to Observer--Senator DeMint--11/09

2010-01-22T17:24:00.002-05:00

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

Letter to NYT--Baseball...and Spitting--11/6/09

2010-01-22T17:12:00.003-05:00

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

Letter to Observer--Krauthammer again--11/1/09

2010-01-22T17:05:00.003-05:00

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

Letter to NYT--The C.I.A. Again--10/28/09

2010-01-22T16:55:00.003-05:00

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

letter ti NYT--Bloomberg and NYC..-10/24/09

2010-01-22T16:49:00.002-05:00

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

Letter to Observer--Great Editorial--10/18/09

2010-01-22T16:41:00.004-05:00

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

Black man to the rescue....again!

2009-10-02T16:24:00.003-04:00

Once again, and for the nth time, thinking about the disaster President Obama inhereited--two wars, a devastated ecomomy, unemployment near record levels, financial system in total disarry, dozens of bank failures throughout the country, a nation no longer respected anywhere in the world....all of this and more--it occurs to me that in some ways this is an old story: Black man cleaning up the white man's mess. This is what it;s about, this is what is happening. And....white man not happy about this at all.

BJH--Oct 2, 2009

M. Dowd--makes the call--letter to NYT

2009-09-13T20:31:00.002-04:00

To The Editor:

After all this time, and all the many clues, signs and signals, why did it have to be left for Maureen Dowd to make the call and the diagnosis: much of the country cannot stomach even the thought that a black man is now President. Everything else, all the other noise, is filler. The problem is race. How sad, how very sad, all of this is. Shame on all of us.

Yours truly,

Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305

J. Osteen--Elmer Gantry--letter to observer

2009-09-13T20:29:00.004-04:00

To The Editor:

What has happened to our beloved Queen City? Is it something in the water? First it was Wachovia and the disastrous purchase of Golden West. Next came B of A and the acquisition of Merrill. And now Tim Funk reports (Sat., Sept 12) that Joel Osteen arrived in town and delivered his spiel on Friday to thousands of unsuspecting souls at the Time Warner Cable Arena!

No slur on Mr. Funk intended, but had Sinclair Lewis been reporting the event, Osteen would have been skewered. He is your latter-day Elmer Gantry--a total charlatan, nothing less. How else to explain this guy, who has the audacity to stand up there and with a straight face tell his adoring audience that God is just waiting for the right moment to come to their rescue, etc.,and so be patient......but in the meantime, we're passing the hat, folks, and would you please let me have all your spare change? He then finishes off with an I thank you for that, God thanks you, and God bless you!

Folks, if this is advertised as a winning ticket, I say consider the lottery as a very attractive alternative.

Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305

letter to observer--steven brown review--9/12

2009-09-12T17:15:00.001-04:00

To The Editor:

Looking for that reporter who can file an A to Z story with a "take-no-prisoners" deadline? Then look no further than your own Steven Brown. It is baffling to pick up Saturday morning's Observer and be able to read all about last night's Charlotte Symphony concert, which had ended only a few hours earlier. And, it was an excellent review, I thought! Kudos and three cheers for Mr. Brown.

Yours truly,

Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305

Dump Carlos Krauthammer

2009-09-07T09:18:00.001-04:00

To The Editor:

My thanks for your lead editorial yesterday (Take a deep breath..." ), which while mild, nonetheless was timely and very much in order. Nonetheless, it hardly compensates for the tirade offered readers on the following page--yet another hateful column of bile and repetitive ranting, by Charles Krauthammer. He loathes President Obama, as all of us have learned weeks, if not months ago. He writes of nothing else of late! We understand now, we get it...Obama is evil, a loser and already a failed President. We don't need to be told this any more! Away with you, Carlos!

Yours truly,

Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305

Letter to Charlotte Observer--Time's 'Awastin'

2009-09-02T17:58:00.000-04:00

To The Editor:

Time's awastin'--someone has to come out and say it and I figure it might as well be me: Republicans want no part of health care reform, let alone universal health care. Protestations to the contrary are balderdash.

Thus, if these (more or less) United States of America are ever to have anything resembling universal health care, Democrat lawmakers must bring it about. There will never be another time and so, Democrat lawmakers: On Your Mark, Get Set. Go!

Sincerely,

Bernie Hargadon

Letter to WSJ--Senator Kennedy

2009-09-02T17:57:00.000-04:00

To The Editor:

One can have hoped that the Journal might set aside just one day to lay off Democrats, but no, "Rules Eased on Bank Buyouts" is your day's lead story and headline--and not the passing of Senator Kennedy. The Journal must be the single newspaper in the country able to make this case. You have accomplished nothing by this, save to dishonor this man and, in so doing, embarrass and further cheapen an otherwise pretty good newspaper.

Sincerely,

Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704

Letter to Taylor Batten--Editor--Charlotte Observer

2009-09-02T17:56:00.000-04:00

Taylor--Should you be looking for material for your next op-ed piece, this would be a worthy one. Brother Fred has been pounding on this for a long time. He served as Dean of Admissions at Stanford U for many years and afterwards at Princeton until retirement a few years ago. (Both he and I served in the military long before entering college--in fact, that was the only way the two of us, like many thousands of others, were able to go to college (GI Bill)).The topic --universal military (or other kind of civic) service--only gets an occasional airing any more, and rarely by an newspaper's editor. Anyhow--for what it's worth. Regards, Bernie -----Original Message-----From: Fred Hargadon <hargadon@Princeton.EDU>To: Bernie Hargadon <bhargadon@aol.com>Sent: Tue, Aug 25, 2009 11:32 pmSubject: NYT op-ed: The Ultimate Burden
Bernie,That I couldn't agree more with this op-ed is obvious from my Letter to the Editor in the NYT four years ago.FredTo the Editor: Allowing college deferments during the Vietnam War and then subsequently doing away with the draft altogether was terrible public policy. The result has been not only to exacerbate the socioeconomic inequities of our society but also to render political decision-making about the uses of our military completely untethered from any broad national consensus on which objectives are worth our making what kinds of sacrifices - including, if necessary, our own lives or the lives of our children or fellow citizens. No law passed by Congress could more effectively democratize this nation of ours than one requiring some sort of universal military service. Fred Hargadon Princeton, N.J., Aug. 18, 2005 OPINION August 25, 2009 Op-Ed Columnist: The Ultimate Burden By BOB HERBERT If the war in Afghanistan is fundamental to our defense, as President Obama stated, then we shouldn't be leaving the entire monumental task to a tiny portion of the population.

Letter to NYT--Obama and Michelle

2009-09-02T17:55:00.001-04:00

To The Editor:

This "debate" about health care has gone on too long. Much as I think the world of President Obama, it seems clear now that he's just too nice a guy to be leading this charge.. We need to get this wrapped up--how about his turning the job over to Michelle for a few weeks?

Yours truly,

Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305

Letter to Charlotte Observer--What Has Happened?

2009-09-02T17:53:00.000-04:00

To The Editor:

This reader is in very bad humor and again anxious to try to find out just what in the world President Obama has done to the Charlotte Observer to deserve the harsh treatment, the terrible pounding he is subjected to several times every single week, when you feature, front and center, the writings of Charles Krauthammer and Cal Thomas--both of whom have a serious, if not pathological obsession about the President. They seem now incapable of producing a single column which in one form or another, does not deprecate, demonize and denigrate yours and my President. Does no one at the Observer ever read these columns? Is there anyone at the Observer able to successfully argue that there is any longer ANY redeeming value to be found in these columns? Yes, I think you owe your readers a full-fledged ecditorial, explaining why you continue to do this.

Sincerely,

Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305

Letter to Charlotte Observer--Don't Fall for the Lies

2009-09-02T17:51:00.001-04:00

To The Editor:

Your lead editorial today is a noble example of why responsible newspapers serve as the bedrock lifeline of civil societies. The editorial pulls no punches. With regard to the words and outrageous behavior of those who will stop at nothing to bring about defeat of efforts to cure our dismal, pathetic "health care" system, the editorial in effect says Enough! One wonders why, after all that we have allowed to happen to this great country these past eight years, why we continue to bring yet more shame on ourselves? Some of the photos from town hall meetings this past week in these United States of America, are nothing short of hideous.

Sincerely,

Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305

Letter to Charlotte Observer--Cal Thomas and Charles Krauthammer

2009-09-02T17:49:00.000-04:00

To The Editor:

The decisions a newspaper makes regarding what op-ed columns to carry are, or should be, some of the most responsible ones editors are required to make each day. The very act of printing a given column invites the reader's attention, and awards the column at least some measure of worth.

Op-ed pieces which convey well- thought-out and various contrary views, add value, and help to inform the reading public. Columns which spew hatred, poison and falsehoods, have no business appearing in any responsible newspaper. The writings of Charles Krauthammer and Cal Thomas--those particularly of late and about health care issues--are just such op-ed pieces. These do not inform but rather infect the community,

The Charlotte Observer should not ask permission--it should simply notify the McClatchy organization that it will no longer publish either of these two columns. More than anything else, they bring disgrace to the newspaper, and to the newspaper's community..

Sincerely,

Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305

Letter to NYTimes--GM Chairman Vows to Defend Market Share

2009-09-02T17:47:00.001-04:00

To The Editor:What a difference in just a half-century: your story today took me back to 1956 when, as a representative of General Motors working their dealerships in the Delaware Valley Region of Philadelphia, I was called to a meeting in New York City to get the latest update on G.M. from an executive dispatched from its home office in Detroit. Along with other reps on the Eastern seaboard, the first words we heard were these: General Motors today enjoys a U.S.-auto market share of 52%, with Chevrolet alone accounting for 30%! The spokesman went on to say that while this was an enviable achievement, management had nonetheless decided that it should not take market share any higher!--so as not to (further) antagonize the anti-trust boys in Washington! It's not possible to read anything about the company's condition today and not reflect back to that meeting in New York City!Sincerely,Bernie Hargadon435 S. Tryon St. #606Charlotte, NC 28202704 377 5305

Letter to Charlotte Observer--Charles Krauthammer

2009-09-02T17:44:00.001-04:00

To The Editor:

Chalk it up to being overly sensitive or protective if you will, but the two (not one, but two!) Krauthammer columns you carried in the past week had no place on your pages. Both were dripping with scorn, disdain and ridicule for President Obama and reached far beyond limits which a civil society would find acceptable. I found the columns to be an embarrassment, and a discredit to the newspaper as well as the community whose name appears in your masthead.

Sincerely,

Bernie Hargadon
435 S. Tryon St. #606
Charlotte, NC 28202
704 377 5305

A heated exchange regarding Palin, Bob Herbert, Bob McNamara

2009-07-20T16:53:00.003-04:00

Hard to believe something like this could happen in this sleepy town but....here you go anyhow:

Sun, Jul 12, 2009 5:06 pmSubject: Bob Herbert/Sarah PalinIn the Charlotte Observer:-This Letters-to-the-Editor exchange took place right here in River City, USA July 9, 10, and 12:July 9:

In response to “If loopiness qualifies, Palin's ahead of the curve (July 7 Opinion) and “McNamara's legacy: needless deaths” (July 8 Viewpoint):

Palin, McNamara columns proof Observer becoming irrelevantBy following Maureen Dowd's drivel on Sarah Palin with Bob Herbert's sophomoric hate-filled rant on Robert McNamara, you continue your inevitable march toward irrelevance.H. Gene Lockab yCharlotte

July 10:In response to “Palin, McNamara columns proof Observer becoming irrelevant” (July 9 Forum) and “McNamara legacy: needless deaths” (July 8 Viewpoint) and related columns:

Hard to imagine some people still defend the Vietnam War. Forum writer H. Gene Lockaby should be gratified that the Observer still carries an occasional Bob Herbert column.The column taking former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara to task may well be Herbert's best, most courageous one yet.That there are still people out there who defend the Vietnam War is stupefying.As for Maureen Dowd teeing off on Sarah Palin, I say: Bring it on. Let us all celebrate having dodged this bullet that John McCain and the Republican Party came so close to inflicting on all America.Bernie Hargadon Charlotte

July 12:In response to “Liberal media perplexed by strong, conservative woman” (July 10 Forum):

Kudos for presenting both sides of the issue on Gov. Sarah PalinIt's been a puzzle for me to understand the ferocity of the vitriolic attacks against Sarah Palin by the likes of Forum writer Bernie Hargadon, who suggests we “celebrate having dodged” the Palin “bullet.”Sherwood Page's letter suggesting Palin knows exactly what she's doing, hit the nail on the head.The Observer has been helpful in presenting both sides of this issue.David P. HaganHuntersville

letter to NYTimes--July 21--Honduras/Catholic Church

2009-07-20T11:09:00.003-04:00

On July 16, The New York Times published a story reporting that the Catholic Church in Honduras had supported the ouster of President Zelaya and urged that he not be allowed to return. In response to that article, I had this to say in a letter dated July 21:

To The Editor:As someone who has lived and worked in Latin America most of his adult life, I realized when your article appeared that I could have written the same piece days before, in fact that very moment Zelaya was booted out. From time immemorial, the Catholic Church and Latin America's oligarchs, virtually everywhere, remain the same bosom buddies they've always been. The poor campesino? For these wretched souls the Church could care less as long as they continue to propagate. Yours truly,Bernie Hargadon435 S. Tryon St. #606Charlotte, NC 28202 704 377 5305

July 20 letter to Observer--Palin/Sanford

2009-07-20T11:04:00.001-04:00

To The Editor:I'm not saying we readers don't deserve an occasional spanking, but two in one week seems a bit much. Just a couple of days ago, at least in the edition I got at home, who should appear with an op-ed piece, but the one and only Sarah Palin! And then today we are treated to the latest installment in the life of Mark Sanford, this time learning that God has come to his rescue, and so leave the guy alone, wouldja?If this is the way it is going to be there at The Charlotte Observer, please be advised that this reader surrenders. This reader has seen the light; bring back those daily Billy Graham columns instead!Yours truly,Bernie Hargadon435 S. Tryon St #606Charlotte, NC 28202704 377 5305

Letter to the Charlotte Observer

2009-06-11T08:57:00.002-04:00

This letter was filed this morning with the Observer:

Maybe someone there can clarify: your story today announcing that National Right to Life will be holding its annual convention here in Charlotte next week, is for some reason classified under Faith and Values in your online edition.Two questions about this: what is the connection here with the word faith--faith in what? and what about values--what sort of values are we talking about here? Please elaborate.

Yours truly, Bernie Hargadon 435 S. Tryon St. #606 Charlotte, NC 28202 704 377 5305

Granddaughter Savannah Garrett

2009-06-09T15:32:00.003-04:00

My granddaughter Savannah, aged 11, visited here some weeks ago, and upon her return to Dallas made some notes about what she did when she was visiting us in Charlotte, and her grandfather Frank in Holden Beach, NC. Here are the notes, transcribed:

Saw Harlem Globetrotters; went to 5 Guys; walked a lot; saw the governor (editor's note--Bev Perdue); saw Uncle Mark; saw Aunt Penni; saw Will and Sam; saw Granny and Pa;went to the parade; went to Holden Beach; went to Charlotte; went to VFW; went to grocery store; went to Chicago Dog; watched the St Patrick's Day parade; played a lot w/Will and Sam; Austin loved me; "mico" is still alive; Jeff Gordon doesn't live here anymore; saw Hall of Colors; went to Chinese Restaurant; raced Will and Sam a lot; Will beat me "every time." Grannny laughed at.....Watched North Carolina basketball game; drew pictures; Pa never played the trumpet! Pa "supposely" went to the opera (who knows where he went!) End. (Nice work, Savannah!...Pa)

Letter to the Charlotte Observer--Symphony Orchestra

2009-06-05T17:20:00.002-04:00

The letter presented below was submitted to the Observer on May 10. 2009:

To the Editor:

For citizens of all stripes who work hard to build and sustain a community to be proud of, a community to try to have be, the model if not the envy of other like communities, nothing can poison the water more than citizen attitudes such as expressed in a letter appearing in the Forum today, a letter which in effect "disses" the very notion of a city and its citizenry lending financial support to its symphony orchestra.No symphony orchestra, no opera company, no arts organization of a any kind, anywhere in the world, can be sustained though ticket revenue alone. It has been tried, over and over again, and it just can't be done. Every one of them must rely to some extent on philanthropy, and on the community at large--and not just on those who attend the concerts and visit the museums. The Rolling Stones themselves, mentioned by the writer, understand the economics of what they do and what arts organizations do, and would be the first to reject and laugh at the suggestion that they, or any group like them, be thought of as similar to or a suitable substitute for, a community's symphony orchestra.

Yours truly, Bernie Hargadon

Letter to the New York Times-- David Brooks

2009-06-05T17:16:00.002-04:00

The letter below was submitted to the Times on May 19, 2009:

To The Editor:

In his "In Praise of Dullness" Mr. Brooks takes us through his analysis of what it takes to be a successful corporate C.E.O., and then suddenly ends the column with a thud, warning that nothing good can come of Washington "interposing itself in the management culture of industry after industry." And so I ask, just what point is he trying to make? Surely Mr Brooks understands that the only reason politicians have gotten involved is because of the massive failure of much of corporate America and its C.E.O. leadership.

Yours truly,
Bernie Hargadon

Letter to the New York Times--General Motors

2009-06-05T17:10:00.002-04:00

The letter below was sent to the Times on Tuesday, June 2, 2009:

To The Editor:

In the mid-1950's, I was employed as a G.M. representative to dealerships in the Delaware Valley region and one day was called to a meeting in New York City for an announcement by someone from Detroit. The gist of the announcement was this: General Motors has attained a 52% market share, with Chevrolet alone at 30%, and management (i.e., Harlow Curtis) has decided not to pursue any further gains in market share, such is their fear of anti-trust action! It is painful, and in a way surreal, to think back to that meeting in New York, as I read today of G.M.'s bankruptcy.

Sincerely, Bernie Hargadon

A letter in the Charlotte Observer

2009-06-05T16:54:00.004-04:00

This letter of mine appeared in the Charlotte Observer yesterday (June 4, 2009). It refers to an op-ed piece which appeared on May 30, 2009. I have been unable to copy the article itself so as to print it here. (6/5/09)

To The Editor:Every once in a while, readers get lucky when their newspaper features something which meets the uncommon "Required Reading" standard. Such an article appeared this morning in Mary Newsom's "Just who is really the "illegal scum"? It deserves national circulation and the attention of the entire nation. I hope for that to happen and hope also that this community's religious leaders--of all denominations,--will have seen the article and will hammer home its message to their respective congregations. Congratulations and thanks, Mary Newsom!Sincerely,Bernie Hargadon435 S. Tryon St. #606charlotte, NC 28202704 377 5305.

latest jokes from Cecil Taylor, my barber

2009-06-05T16:14:00.003-04:00

Cowboy rides into town, pulls up in front of the saloon. Dismounts, walks back to the rear of the horse, lifts the tail, and kisses the horse's arse. Walks into the saloon. Saloonkeeper has been peering out, has taken this all in. Cowboy asks for a double whiskey. Saloonkeeper offers cowboy the drink on the house if he will explain what he was doing behind the horse. Cowboy says simply, "Chapped lips." Saloonkeeper asks, you mean that prevents chapped lips? No, says the cowboy, it just keeeps me from licking my lips.

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A guy who been a flasher all his life confides to a friend that he is thinking about giving that up. Friend asks why, reminds the flasher that he has gotten a lot of pleasure from doing that, has never reallly harmed anyone, and so why give it up now? Flasher mulls it over, and says yeah, maybe you have a point....I think maybe I'll stick it out.

*****************************************************************

Flasher walks past a park bench where three elderly women are seated. He does his thing (flashes)...the lady on the end has a stroke, the one in the middle does also, third woman unable to....she can't reach it.

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Two five-year olds are in the men's room, peeing. One looks at the other's peepee, and exclaims, yours looks a lot different than mine does. The other kid says yes, mine was circumcised right after I was born. The other kid asks "did it hurt a lot?" "You bet it did," said the other kid, "I couldn't walk for almost a year."

****************************************************************

The Galloping Horse of History

2009-03-28T16:38:00.002-04:00

Some (one) time in your life, the galloping horse of history rides by. Are you going to jump on it? Huh?
(Someone's quote which Chris Matthews used the other night.) 'Caught my attention. BJH

Cash for your Warhol

2009-03-27T20:04:00.002-04:00

Burn The Floor--the Most Fabulous Show

2009-03-27T18:03:00.001-04:00

Jill and I took this show in the other night and the following day sent this email blast to one and all:

Dear Friends---This is a blanket blast/alert so that, if nothing else, you can never charge me with the crime of "Why Didn't You Tell Me?" Jill and I had tickets to this show last night (at the Belk), really knew nothing about it and came THIS CLOSE to bagging it.....but then we didn't. We went, and are SO GLAD WE DID. IT IS A SUPERB SHOW, FRONT TO BACK. Three more nights! It's an Aussie owned/promoted show, arrived here earlier in the week from a fabulous run in San Francisco, and I can understand why. For pure enjoyment, I rate it right up there with Mama Mia and Phantom. Anyhow.....just letting you know which, after all, is what friends are for. Isn't it?xo Bernie

A Tribute to John Hope Franklin--letter to Observer

2009-03-27T17:47:00.002-04:00

To The Editor:

No matter how you plan to cover whatever ceremonies will be be held for John Hope Franklin, understand at the outset that it won't be enough, so be content with that. Given who this man was, all you can do is the best you can do.

This irreplaceable mountain of a man will not be along again. He has left us. Those of us privileged to have read his works and to have met and spoken with him, are the better for it, but still, he leaves us without due notice, and in the lurch. Courage? He was what all of us aspire to be and can never be and so, fellow men, accept that. I asked him one evening how could it be. ..how was he able to manage his life and all that he had accomplished, and not be an angry man. He smiled kindly and responded simply "How, you ask? With difficulty."

Yours truly,

Bernie Hargadon 435 S, Tryon St. #606Charlotte, NC 28202704 377 5305

Sue Myrick--let's end all taxes--letter to Observer

2009-03-27T17:44:00.001-04:00

To The Editor:

Representative Myrick's political adviser has done her no favor at all, standing by while she makes a fool of herself with an op-ed piece like the one the Observer published over her name this morning. That guy-whoever he or she is--should get the boot. Ms.Myrick should stay with that tried and true message which has gotten her re-elected so often, that simple, uncomplicated one that lambastes immigrants, particularly the dastardly illegal ones. Lou Dobbs has made a name and a fortune for himself at the expense of these same unfortunate people and he is relentless in his pursuit of this cause. Representative Myrick should continue to do the same, and never get off message. Bernie Hargadon435 S. Tryon #606Charlotte, NC 28202704 377 5305www.berniehargadon.blogspot.com

David Brooks and the Winnable War--to NYTmes

2009-03-27T17:41:00.001-04:00

To The Editor:

So.....David Brooks decides to find out for himself and takes off for Afghanistan to look around, talk with people, and settle the issue once and for all. He writes to tell us that it's going to be OK after all, and that we should "win" this thing. It is all very inspiring and it is also surprising--he's been around enough to know better. The poor guy has been seduced again (see Iraq). Somebody please do him and all of us a favor and snatch his passport.Yours truly, Bernie Hargadon435 S. Tryon St. #606Charlotte, NC 28202704 377 5305www.berniehargadon.blogspot.com

2009-03-27T06:04:00.002-04:00

Sam and Will Reynolds are our twin grandsons (sons of Penni and Mark Reynolds) and they constitute a sizeable part of the reason why we departed Orinda and moved to Charlotte. We are in Charlotte now 5 and a half years and that is their age as well. Their language and in general the way they interact with each other will never cease to captivate me and I find myself from time to time writing down (so as not to forget) some of what they say. That which follows is a sampling.

Additional Jewels from Sam and Will
March 27, 2009

They spent two weekends ago with us (Fri, Sat, Sun). On Sat night, Sam says to Jill (Meme to them): “I think we should relax, not go to church tomorrow. When we’re with Mommy, sometimes we don’t.”

Will: After a bit of whining, asking for help putting together a model airplane and looking for a certain piece for it for some time: “Actually, I have just found what I needed.” NOTE—“Actually” was his principal new word that day—we heard it all the time.

We went out for pizza….Will ordered pepperoni—when it came he asked the waiter for “ranch dressing, please.” Mark anyone?

Will one morning--as related to us by Penni: he woke up, went in to wake Penni up grinning all the while, singing, “Penis is puffy! Penis is puffy!”

Sam to Meme: “Do I look cool with my sunglasses and hat on backwards and my surfer shirt on?”

Sam to Meme, both of them out on our balcony as Jill tended to the flowers planted out there: “Meme, I didn’t know that you grew rosemary. Do you cut these flowers and take them inside?”

The other day in their backyard replying to Mommy when asking what they were doing: “We’re making a girl destroyer.”

Sam was given a toy battery-powered forklift. He explains to us” This forklift can generate its own power.”

Sam with the same forklift, shortly after getting started with it: “Meme, this tag on the forklift is frustrating me.” Mimi took scissors and cut it off. Sam: “Now I don’t have to deal with that.”

Out in their yard, while Mark is doing the first mowing of the season, the boys are cleaning up the cuttings left in the driveway. Jill pulls up, asks Sam what he is doing and why he has that bag over his shoulder. He explains to Jill that the bag won’t fall, that it is tethered to his belt. (Yes, that’s what he said….tethered.)

Letter in The New York Times

2009-03-16T12:44:00.007-04:00

Bernie's letter appeared today...read on.

---------------------

To the Editor:

Re “As Jobs Vanish, Motel Rooms Become Home” (front page, March 11):

This story is enough to make a grown man cry. I know it is, because I just did.

My life growing up in the Great Depression was no picnic, and many of those memories leave me embittered even to this day. But never did our family, at least, experience anything like what your article depicts.

Help those of us who have read this story: tell us where we can send money to help these down-and-out people.

Bernie Hargadon
Charlotte, N.C.
March 11, 2009

Cuban Baseball--The Best, The Very Best

2009-03-13T11:56:00.007-04:00

Cuba's Pastime Beating Foreign Competition
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/sports/baseball/13cuba.html?scp=1&sq=Cuba

How I loved reading this and what Dan Rosenheck has discovered! Why? Well, for years now, Cuba is where the best baseball is played, where the best players are planted and grown. Not USA. Not the D.R. Not Venezuela. Cuba. Clinton should have done it....now it's up to Obama. Done what? Scrapped this idiotic embargo and reestablish full diplomatic relations with Cuba. That's what. Along with lots else, it would turn major league baseball on its head.

Vanishing Jobs

2009-03-12T10:56:00.003-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/us/11motel.html?emc=eta1

To The Editor (NYTimes):

This story is enough to make a grown man cry. I know it is, because I just did. My life growing up in the Great Depression was no picnic and many of those memories leave me embittered even to this day. But never did our family, at least, experience anything like what your story here depicts. Help those of us who have read this story: tell us where we can send money to help these down-and-out people.

A belated thanks to my son Geoff

2009-03-12T10:21:00.003-04:00

For it is Geoff whose idea it was for me to have this "Bernie's Views" blog and for that, I'm grateful. I think. It was also Geoff who set the whole thing up. We shall have to see how it goes. My "blog" public, such as it might turn out to be, may find itself not to be even close to "grateful" at all...but such, as they say, is life. So with that, onward and upward and again, thanks, Geoff. Dad

Overheard today

2009-03-07T18:23:00.002-05:00

Overheard this afternoon....Jill and Sam walking through the girl's toy section in one of Charlotte's Walmarts. (sorry Geoff,....suck it up)..........

Jill: Let's get out of here--this stuff is all for girls.
Sam: Yeah, I really don't like girls except for you and Mommy.

Madoff

2009-03-07T10:33:00.000-05:00

To The Editor (of the Charlotte Oberver):

The photo you published this morning of Bernard Madoff (p. 3D) has an unbelievably striking similarity to the traditional photo of the father of our country, i.e., the one on your and my dollar bill. Immediately the thought occurred to me that finally, with this photo of Madoff, the Treasury Department has the perfect reason, at long last, to issue the $3 dollar bill!

The Citadel

2009-03-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

This is the best strory. If you haven't read The Citadel or The Great Santini, what have you been doing with your lives?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/sports/ncaabasketball/03citadel.html?_r=1&emc=eta1