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Lex,

Thanks for undertaking this, as there are some on the News and Record's payroll who would rather see this report stuffed into the wall as insulation than actually give it some credence.

Politically speaking, those who would shelve it only because of some of the language used are simply acting out of prejudice (pre-judging) than out of a sense of fairness and balance.

Yes, Let's get to it.

Thanks for the kind words, Bruce. Apparently the people on the N&R payroll who want the report stuffed into the wall aren't in my chain of command. :-)

well, bruce pretty much summed up my sentiments. i'm looking forward to your top-notch deconstruction.

-sean

Eh. I don't think there'll be time for a line-by-line deconstruction. It would have been nice, though.

well, you'll add value to the discussion; that was the point i wanted to make.

Ah. Gotcha. Well, I hope so.

I'd like to see an in-depth examination of the role in this debacle played by Nelson Johnson.
Though mentioned numerous times in the report, I believe Johnson had a far more important role in the planning and the outcome than has been generally portrayed.
Of all the players, Nelson's the only main character that was really active in our community, and he remains so today. The rest of the participants on both sides were mostly out-of-towners.

Hey that's the spirit John. Draw a conclusion and then look for facts to support it. And by in-depth, would that include actually reading the report for yourself, or do you need others to do the heavy lifting.

It's easy to pass off innuendo and suspicion when you don't have to prove it. If you've got something tangible, anything at all, bring it on. What exactly are you accusing him of, specifically? In twenty something years if there was something on Nelson Johnson that could be proven, with all of his detractors out there, don't you think it would have come out? But, like I said if you've got something, prove it, if not, then you're just blowing smoke.

At least you are up front about not having an open mind about the report.

Hey John,

Then do it.

Regards,

Bruce

I will state here also that John, you had plenty of opportunity to testify before the commission to make your feelings known.

Did you?

Actually, John, were you on the force at the time? If so, I'd like to talk with you.

Whoa, Jeff, I was not making accusations or insinuating anything. I'd just like to know if Johnson had more to do with it than has been publicized over the years. After all, Johnson is a high profile personality and still active in local affairs, and is one of the few participants that actually lived here. The rest of the Communists were from out of town. Isn't that what reporters do, find out facts for the rest of us? Lex asked for topic suggestions, and I gave him one.
Mr. Burch, I'm not sure what you're urging me to "do". I just posed a question and line of inquiry for Lex in response to his request. I surely had nothing to "testify" about at the TRC hearings, I assure you! I didn't even live in Greensboro at the time.

Bruce and Sean, if you're going to accuse some of us at the paper of stuffing the report in the wall, please specify what you're talking about.

I won't speak for Bruce and Sean, but I've heard from a couple of people who cited Doug Clark's Wednesday column as an example of something similar. I presumed that's what they were talking about, which is why I didn't raise this same question JR raises. But, guys, if I'm wrong, by all means fill me in.

Thanks.

And, John Appel, that answers my question. Thanks.

John,

I was referring to the post that Doug Clark wrote on the subject.

Thanks, Bruce. That's not the way I read Doug's column, which I'd point out was published on the "second" opinion page. I think he was voicing a personal view about the commission's findings -- which many others have done -- and not suggesting the report be buried.

But the real point I'd like to reinforce is Lex's: the N&R, as a newspaper, isn't shelving coverage of the report.