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An Associated Press story published Tuesday quoted an East Chapel Hill High School teacher offering this familiar lament:

"What we're noticing with kids more and more is an attitude that if it's not on the test, they don't want to learn it. Testing has taken the spontaneity out of learning."

You know, I noticed that, too -- back in the 1960s when I began to figure out how things worked in elementary school.

And then in high school and even at college in the 1970s. ...

Today's article by Rob Daniels about A&T's baseball team is interesting. One thing I wonder is when we'll start seeing a lot more Latino players on college baseball teams.

When it comes to athletics, race usually blends into the background. What matters is performance.

I noticed something that struck me as odd when I recently reviewed my tape of the 1993 NCAA championship basketball game between Carolina and Michigan.

Now, there's been plenty of talk about the striking similarities between the 1993 and 2005 championship Tar Heel teams. But here's a difference that I hadn't thought about before:

In 1993, 10 of the 14 Carolina players who saw action in the title game were white.

In 2005, all nine were black.

Does that surprise anyone else?

Maybe true Tar Heel fans just see Carolina Blue.

A proposed bill to adopt the cougar as the state cat of North Carolina combines wishful thinking and misinformation. ...

Today's weather getting you down? Just imagine if you were in Scotland and it was like this all the time.

The temperature of 15 C in Edinburgh as I post this converts to 59 F.

I have a relative there who says you can experience all four seasons in a single day. But I've been there twice -- once in February and once in May -- and the weather was pretty much the same both times.

Dreary.

Not that I really minded. Scotland is a beautiful and fascinating country, and I look forward to my next visit.

But, no matter when you go, you'd better bring warm clothes and a raincoat.

San Francisco is the country's most unfriendly city to families with children?

How could that be in the Left Coast Liberal Utopia?

Is it San Francisco's taxes?

Its overall cost of living?

Its crime rate?

Its large and mostly out-of-control population of panhandlers?

Its culture?

The City by the Bay actually has a Department of Children, Youth and Their Families -- and families with kids are still fleeing as fast as they can.

This should cause some liberal angst. But then, aren't a lot of liberals trying to make the rest of the country more like San Francisco?

We think Ian Perkins should be granted a pardon of forgiveness by Gov. Easley 20 years after he unwittingly aided Fritz Klenner in committing three "Bitter Blood" murders.

What's your opinion?

What are your recollections of this sensational event in Greensboro's history?

News reports say some states have used Medicaid funds to purchase Viagra for sex offenders.

Disgusting.

That's not like handing out needles to drug addicts at taxpayer expense, is it?

No, of course not. So, a better analogy might be giving out condoms to sex offenders. If they're going to do it anyway, might as well make it as safe as possible ...

With the sun breaking through the clouds this afternoon, it seemed like a good time for a drive to Westbend Vineyards near Lewisville. What a delicious idea, as it turned out.

Westbend, begun in 1972, is the oldest of the Yadkin Valley wineries. Surely, it's one of the best.

And it's certainly visitor-friendly. Our group of three couples was greeted warmly by Nick Kroustalis, brother of owner and founder Jack Kroustalis. Nick also served as dispenser of our complimentary samples and tour guide -- all for no charge. You don't have to spend a dime here, Nick informed us.

We didn't go with the idea of returning empty-handed. Westbend has been one of our favorite North Carolina labels for years, along with Shelton. It offers a nice selection of reds and whites, which range in price from about $7 to almost $30.

Nick was an excellent host, giving us an overview of the winery's beginnings -- Jack's initial wines, which he made himself, were "terrible," prompting him to hire professional winemakers -- and explaining the process of turning different varieties of grape into finished products to suit any taste. All grapes that go into Westbend wines are grown on the 60 rolling acres bordering the Yadkin River. The grounds, and especially the vines, are carefully tended, making this a beautiful place to enjoy for a couple of hours.

After our tour, we sat on the shaded courtyard sharing a bottle of Pioneer Red. It all made for a grand afternoon.

I remain forever in awe of the brave Americans who landed in Normandy 61 years ago today and all those who fought and died for freedom.

Our editorial board has not decided yet whether to support or oppose the Central America (and Dominican Republic) Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA.

That's not so bad. Most of North Carolina's congressional delegation is still on the fence, too.

We've met with a group from the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, which strongly opposes CAFTA.

We've had a teleconference call with Shaun Donnelly, principal deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, and other officials voicing the administration's pro-CAFTA line.

We regularly receive information from groups on both sides.

Interestingly enough, I consider our congressmen valuable sources of insight on this issue -- even truth-seekers, if you will.

Why? I think they want to do what's best for the people they represent. They're trying to figure out whether CAFTA will help or hurt.

I spoke with Howard Coble and Mel Watt last week. Neither has made up his mind. Normally, Coble and Watt come down on opposite sides of issues. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up agreeing on this one.

Coble is trying to count jobs: how many would the 6th District lose, how many might it gain, if CAFTA is enacted. I get the feeling he thinks the numbers line up against the deal.

Watt is looking at it from an interesting angle: jobs today vs. jobs tomorrow.

Assume for a moment that CAFTA will cost North Carolina jobs in the textile and apparel industry today. That hurts, but do those jobs represent our economic future?

On the other hand, if the Triad is building its economic future on transportation/distribution, along with fast-turnaround manufacturing, maybe anything that increases both exports AND imports is beneficial. Imagine new markets in Central America for Dell computers made in the Triad and flown out on FedEx planes from PTIA. And then inexpensive clothing, fruit or other goods returning for distribution throughout the Middle Atlantic area.

Granted, Central America may not be a big market for computers yet -- but it will be a growing market. CAFTA also eventually could increase opportunities for banking services in Central America, added Watt, whose district runs from Charlotte to Greensboro.

Although Watt is thinking along those lines, that doesn't mean he's tilting toward CAFTA. He's concerned about other issues, including labor and environmental standards.

However, when he voted against NAFTA, he told me, the decision was so much of a "slam dunk" that not even a personal appeal from President Clinton could move him. This time, it's a much tougher call.

Congress may vote before its Fourth of July recess. We'll make up our minds and write an editorial before then.

What do you think about CAFTA? Yes or no?

A letter writer today contends that everyone who supports the war in Iraq is a coward or hypocrite unless he or she volunteers to fight.

That idea would have shut up Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and those other cowardly hypocrites in Philadelphia back in 1776. Their Declaration of Independence was full of fighting words, but those three called on others to back them up on the battlefield.

Today's editorial about judges and politics only touched on a small controversy involving N.C. Supreme Court Justices Paul Newby and Ed Brady.

The question is whether they were involved with a rally outside the Legislative Building last month held by proponents of a state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage.

They were reported to be there, and castigated for it by News & Observer columnist Ruth Sheehan.

Was the criticism fair?

They didn't have an active role in the rally, and attending would not violate the Code of Judicial Conduct.

Their attendance could appear to be improper, however, if it was seen to imply endorsement of the proposed legislation. After all, same-sex marriage is an issue that's likely to come before the N.C. Supreme Court sooner or later.

But what if they weren't really at the rally at all, but were just passing by? The day in question was also NASCAR Day at the General Assembly, the day Gov. Easley wrecked another race car. A lot of people were out and about. What if the justices were just strolling by and maybe stopped for a moment to see what was going on?

I asked Newby about it yesterday. (I didn't get a return call from Brady.)

Newby told me I was the first person from the media to ask him about it. That's amazing considering the episode has been written about in the N&O at least twice.

So, he was happy to clear it all up for me, right?

Well, no. After explaining "off the record," he declined to give me an answer for the record.

My take is that the justice, who's already declared his candidacy for re-election in 2012, is in a bit of a corner. He doesn't want to upset anyone on either side of the contentious same-sex marriage debate by confirming whether he was or wasn't at the rally.

That reinforces the point of the editorial: Our election system turns judges into politicians.

This is a sad day for Thomasville.

For all of Davidson County, which has lost so many jobs in the furniture industry, the bad news just keeps coming.

Thomasville has been battered by cheaper imported furniture, an increasing amount of it coming from China.

But there's an unpleasant twist to the story. Thomasville Furniture Industries' parent company, Furniture Brands International of St. Louis, is contributing to the problem through its strategy of "blending" domestic and foreign production. While it still maintains most of its manufacturing in the U.S., more and more is going overseas.

To the extent that strengthens FBI's financial outlook, I suppose the strategy makes sense. But the company is starting to lose its balance as more jobs are lost in Thomasville and other furniture towns in North Carolina.

They just can't absorb this punishment.

My heart goes out to those TFI employees and their families.

My column today:

You wouldn't expect Jesse Helms' new autobiography, "Here's Where I Stand," to offer any surprises ...

Yesterday evening's budget presentation by school board chairman Alan Duncan didn't draw many tough questions from county commissioners. (Please see today's news story. Nice writing touch about the thunder outside but not inside, Jen.)

Duncan is an outstanding point man for the schools. He can explain policies, programs and nickel-and-dime details so clearly and forthrightly that it all makes sense.

Still, he got off easy.

It would have been a lot different if he were making the same pitch to Howard Manning, the judge overseeing the Leandro case. As I noted in an earlier post, Manning is focusing on poor high school performance -- and Guilford County has several high schools where test scores indicate lots of trouble.

Manning would have demanded to know what new ideas the board of education has to fix those problems.

Other than adding a few ninth-grade teachers at Smith, Dudley, Andrews and High Point Central, a new middle college program in High Point and hopes to open a second SCALES site there, the answer would be not many.

Manning would not be pleased.

Of course, if commissioners asked the tough questions about our high schools, the answers might compel them to come up with more money to pay for drastic improvements. No one wants to go there.

High Point ranks 28th nationally is Salary.com's salary value index.

I guess that means we're living high on the hog in the Furniture Capital of the World.

Or at least we can stretch our paychecks a little further than most other Americans.

Greensboro came in at No. 78, ahead of Winston-Salem at 109, Charlotte at 126 and Raleigh-Durham at 145.

Unfortunately, our would-be furniture market rival, Las Vegas, has us beaten as No. 10. Maybe that doesn't figure in gambling losses -- although I suppose residents of Sin City probably stay out of the casinos except to work. Plus, Elvis is still on the payroll.

My thanks to John Hood for making note of this ranking in his Carolina Journal column today.

I'm going to miss Tom Friedman, too, but let's be fair.

The New York Times doesn't carry any Greensboro columnists.

Just think what they're missing.

The survey of Greensboro Police Officers Association members, which we editorialized about today, looks very much like a questionnaire completed earlier this year by members of the River City Fraternal Order of Police in Louisville, Ky.

In fact, many of the questions are identical.

The chief in Louisville happens to be Robert White, who held the same position here until 2003.

His successor in Greensboro, David Wray, might hope he fares better on his "evaluation" by the union.

Here's the bad news on White, according to the FOP report.

I wonder if Greensboro and Louisville officers are talking.

In Russellville, Ala., Stephanie Yarber gave birth to a baby girl Monday night. Not unusual, except Stephanie became pregnant after an ovary transplant from her identical twin sister, Melanie Morgan.

So, biologically, is the baby Stephanie's or Melanie's?

Or, because they are identical twins, is there any difference?

It's a miracle, no matter what.

Last time it was younger son Kenny and friends touring Major League Baseball cities.
Now older son Andrew and buddies are attending Formula One races in Montreal and Indianapolis.

Both borrowed our new car.

Yes, Margaret and I do plan a trip of our own later this summer -- if the car comes back in one piece.

By the way, one of Kenny's friends provided a link to baseball tour photos.

The minister at my cousin Gregg's wedding Saturday was trying to be funny. He should have stuck to the book.

He started out with a quip about the bride bolting for Albuquerque and Las Vegas. All right, we were in Gainesville, Ga., so maybe the runaway bride story is fair game for a laugh. Not that many in the congregation did. Gregg is 44, and this was his first time to the altar. No one wanted to see anyone running for it.

It got worse after Gregg's stepfather said a prayer that included an Irish blessing.

The minister, a Scot, then noted there's no difference between the Scots and the Irish. An Irishman, he pronounced, is just a Scot with his brains blown out.

This could have produced a bad scene if certain members of our family's older generation had been present. As it was, my Aunt Peggy, whose mother was a FIERCE Irishwoman, treated this fellow to a good tongue-lashing after the service. But if her mother had been around, as well as mine and Gregg's Irish grandmother, there would have been real trouble.

It turns out the minister had once been in the British Army and stationed in Armagh, a Northern Irish hotspot. There's probably no love lost between him and the Irish.

Of course, he was only joking. But at a wedding? It was as discordant as out-of-tune bagpipes.

I can't fault the Michael Jackson jury for the verdict it delivered.

But from here on out, any parents who let their children near that man ought to be arrested.

The High Point Police Department's new Police to Citizen (P2C) Web site offers a handy source of information for the public. Congratulations to Chief Jim Fealy for breaking new ground.

It could be better.

The department should add a blog, giving the site some interactivity. Citizens could make comments or ask questions and get responses. Then police could call their site P2C2P2C ...

I'd also include biographical or professional information about department personnel so the public could get to know the people behind the badge a little better.

My column today:

One of those loathsome Fox News reporters, Brian Wilson, yelled a loaded question at Howard Dean last week:

You say you hate Republicans. Does that mean you also hate white Christians?

I hate the plan to replace Yankee Stadium.

I attended my first Major League game there in the early 1960s and fell in love with the Bronx Bombers and the House That Ruth Built.

Sure, $800 million might buy a pretty nice ballpark, but what's the cost of abandoning a structure where countless fans watched the likes of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Berra, Mantle, Maris, Ford, Jackson, Munson, Mattingly, Jeter and Rodriguez perform, the scene of so much baseball history?

The main complaint about Yankee Stadium was always its location way up in the Bronx. So it doesn't even make sense to construct a new stadium in the same neighborhood. Leave it alone!

There's a new 100-meter world record-holder, Asafa Powell of Jamaica. He clocked 9.77 seconds in Athens yesterday, bettering American Tim Montgomery's mark by 0.01.

The 100-meter champ typically claims the title of "world's fastest man." But that's not really true. The greatest sprint performance ever was American Michael Johnson's 200-meter world record in the 1996 Olympics: 19.32 seconds.

That comes to an average of 9.66 seconds for each 100 meters. Actually, he was clocked at 9.20 for the second 100. Smoking!

High Point Mayor Becky Smothers brought a PowerPoint presentation to the Guilford County Board of Education Tuesday that should have opened some eyes.

It begins with pictures of facilities at the High Point Athletic Complex, owned and maintained very nicely by the city.

It goes on to show the deteriorating condition of adjacent Simeon Stadium, which the school system owns but the city wants to lease. If it does, city leaders pledge to spend a couple of million dollars or more to restore it to prime condition. Upgrades would allow the city to hold more events there. Right now, it's used primarily by Andrews and Central high schools and Ferndale, Griffin and Welborn middle schools for football games. Those uses would continue.

This proposal makes a lot of sense for everyone:

The stadium will be improved.

The city will have it for additional events.

The schools will be relieved of maintenance costs.

The text of Mayor Smothers' statement to the school board follows ...

Melissa Turner's story today, "Cultivating flavors," begins with Bistro Sofia sous chef Steven Tholkes searching for praying mantises in his restaurant's garden.

The praying mantis is my favorite insect. That goes back to the first time I saw one when I was a kid. It was perched on a leaf munching a yellow jacket like a hero sandwich.

Man, that is one cool bug, I thought then.

Trouble is, I haven't seen one in a long time. What's going on with that? Are their populations thinning out, or am I just not spotting them?

Yes, Tholkes found one. I'll try to look closer, too.

The work force at Thomas Built Buses in High Point is heading for a union vote.

This time it's going to be done right -- by secret ballot.

As Sue's story linked above reports, the UAW was successful in a "card-check" process last year, but the results were challenged and eventually abandoned.

Now, union organizers say their petitions have been signed by more than half of the plant's eligible employees.

So, signs point to a major victory by the UAW in a city where unions have never been welcomed? I wouldn't count on it.

Employees who might feel pressured to sign a petition could vote no on a secret ballot. That was the problem with the card-check exercise. Unions prefer that method of gaining support, not surprisingly because they do much better when everyone knows who signs and who doesn't than they do in secret-ballot elections.

The secret ballot is the best way to determine whether most TBB workers want the UAW to represent their interests.

Terrence Boyle's nomination to the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals finally has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee.

But a filibuster is possible on the Senate floor, as all the usual left-wing groups adamantly oppose the North Carolina federal district judge. They love to point out he once worked for Jesse Helms (for about a year more than three decades ago). Republicans strongly defend him.

The long saga of Boyle's nomination is recounted here by the Washington Post.

But is Boyle a bad judge, as Sen. Patrick Leahy says?

He has been rated as "qualified" by the American Bar Association.

The News & Observer of Raleigh, hardly a liberal newspaper (correction, thanks to Lex: hardly a conservative newspaper), has endorsed his nomination.

At the very least, Boyle should be granted a vote by the full Senate. His nomination is not so extraordinary as to fall outside the bounds of the agreement reached earlier this spring that broke a logjam in the judicial confirmation process.

Some of the people commenting on my blog entry and the Chalkboard post about Simeon Stadium have drifted into other subjects. One is perceived overdevelopment in north High Point, which has led to overcrowded schools. They suggest the city should stop growth or impose impact fees, which would provide money for school construction.

This sort of sounds like, "The city should have stopped me from moving here." Or, more likely, "They should have stopped everyone after me, or at least charged them an impact fee."

Even so, it's a legitimate issue for discussion.

Davidson County Commissioner Max Walser has proposed a kind of impact fee there, which we editorialized about in February.

Impact fees have been adopted in some other North Carolina counties and have been talked about in others. The subject is getting a lot of attention throughout the state lately.

The N.C. Association of Realtors strongly opposes impact fees, not surprisingly.

Union County commissioners are considering a moratorium on new residential developments because of the strain on their school system.

I doubt the city of High Point would approve impact fees for schools, because the city isn't responsible for funding schools. But county commissioners could. They are responsible for school facilities.

There already are restrictions on growth. Whether they're strict enough is a matter for debate. Obviously, High Point is running out of land, anyway -- which is one reason why so many homes are being built across the county line in Davidson.

We're still taking a beating about dropping our New York Times service. So here's my idea:

Come on in to our editorial offices and read our copy. (Our subscription hasn't been cut ... yet.)

While you're here, please make a 50-cent donation to our NYT fund.

The newsstand price is a buck, so you'll be getting a real bargain. Plus, you can meet our staff and look at all the editorial cartoons that don't get into the paper because, well, how many Michael Jackson cartoons can you print?

If 68,000 of you participate in a year's time, we'll have the $34,000 we need to renew our contract.

I don't know if this proposal will be approved by higher-ups. There may be a problem securing enough guest badges to accommodate the hundreds of NYT fans who would drop by every day. But the Gray Lady is ready. Hope to see you soon.

Last night's Grasshoppers game was fun, largely thanks to Asheville Tourists manager Joe Mikulik, who apparently was channeling Billy Martin in the seventh inning. But I doubt even Martin ever demonstrated such childish antics -- not during a professional baseball game, anyway.

Despite the entertainment value of Mikulik's tirade, I thought I was overcharged for my ticket.

The last time I went to a Hoppers game, I bought a $7 reserved ticket. We had very nice seats near third base. I felt I got a good deal.

Last night, my son Kenny and I went for $6 Left Lawn Seating, which also entitled us to sit in the Grandstand. It was disappointing.

We really didn't want to sit on the grassy hill behind the leftfield fence. But I had seen some nice seating in the Grandstand area. What we didn't know until we got in there was that the good seating was Grandstand box seating. The general Grandstand area was a different story. Only a few seats actually afford a decent view of the field. We were too late to get those. Otherwise, if we actually wanted to see the game, we'd have to stand.

The same was true in the patio near the rightfield foul pole, where we ended up for most of the game. It was a pleasant spot, but the problem is that's a smoking area, so you have to put up with that.

I think First Horizon Park is terrific, but the $6 tickets are overpriced. On his recent Major League tour, Kenny paid $5 for tickets in Cleveland and Milwaukee. For that, you got a real seat with a view of the field -- a better deal than in Greensboro. (The Indians Web site says the lowest ticket price is $6, but I think Kenny ordered online and saved a buck.)

Maybe next season when the novelty of the beautiful new park wears off a bit, the Hoppers will drop their bottom-dollar ticket to a more realistic $3 or $4.

Today's Winston-Salem Journal has an interesting story about summer camp and technology.

The issue is how much access to allow kids when they're away from home supposedly enjoying the great outdoors.

I'm in the no-technology camp, so to speak: No cell phones, no iPods, no Gameboys, no e-mail. Campers should write letters home on paper, and receive the same.

Cell phones would be the worst thing kids could have at camp. Can you imagine them constantly talking with their friends at home instead of making new friends?

The camp experience ought to give kids a sense of being away from everything that belongs to their normal daily lives. It's OK for them to have running water, electricity and hot food, but they definitely should be unplugged from high-tech entertainment and communications.

Should Muslims be permitted to take the oath in court -- I solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God -- while placing their hand on the Quran?

As our Eric Collins reported Sunday, this is a question some judges and the Administrative Office of the Courts are grappling with.

So am I, and I'd appreciate some help. What do you think?

My column today:

The years my kids spent at Ferndale Middle School in High Point were some of their best, at least academically. ...

The Asheville Citizen-Times today provides an update on efforts by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to add live table games at their casino.

The tribe, only allowed to offer video gambling, is feeling the heat from competitors. Gaming is lucrative, but players have more and more options.

I have plenty of objections to the gambling industry, but I'm not so opposed to casino operations as I am to lotteries. Casinos contribute to economic development. Lotteries don't.

The Cherokee tribe and surrounding communities have benefited from the casino.

And, as long as it's there, why not let it offer live, Vegas-style games like poker and blackjack?

Or does the state, preparing to possibly implement a lottery later this year, view the Cherokee casino as competition for gambling dollars? It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

This is too easy for Bush-bashers:

Now that the shooting has been over for 30 years, it's finally safe for Bush to go to Vietnam.

Let me stick up for him.

It would be safe and easy for him not to go.

His trip will dredge up the same old garbage about how he dodged active duty and a ticket to the war 35 years ago.

What happened then, happened then. It's a good move for him now to announce his 2006 visit to Vietnam.

It's not on a par with Nixon going to China, but it's still important.

The war's been over for three decades now. The United States and Vietnam are building good relations. Bush is doing his part.

He knows he'll take his lumps about his Vietnam-era Air National Guard service all over again -- although CBS might give him a pass this time. But he's willing to accept that in order to accomplish something positive. It's another step in healing old wounds, on both sides of the Pacific.

The latest news in regard to the death of High Point University student Terrence McMann is that Cleary's Pub violated Alcohol Beverage Control rules.

We editorialized about this sad case June 1.

As John Vandiver reported yesterday, investigators determined that McMann, who was 20, was drinking at Cleary's on the night of HPU's graduation May 7. His 21-year-old friend -- since charged with a criminal offense -- purchased several beers for him.

Nevertheless, Cleary's bears some responsibility, according to ABC Commission spokesman Doyle Alley.

"The evidence indicates he consumbed four beers on the premise," Alley said. "He spent enough time there that someone should have challenged him. That's our concern."

My concern goes a step further. Cleary's management remains unavailable for comment to our reporters and those with the High Point Enterprise.

I don't want to bash Cleary's, which is a nice place with a largely family clientele.

But if I were the parent of a 20-year-old, I'd like to hear some public assurances from Cleary's that steps will be taken to see to it that my child would not be able to obtain alcoholic beverages there.

So, how about it? Can this happen again, or not?

Nate DeGraff reports today that Commissioner Skip Alson is making a pitch to include funds in the county's budget for the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, which has significant financial needs. Alston is a member of its board.

Nate also notes that Alston has insisted on detailed information from Guilford County Schools about its spending before he agrees to support its budget request.

Commissioners should seek the same detailed information from the civil rights museum.

The museum is an important project for Greensboro and must go forward. It has run into construction problems, which understandably are driving up costs. But a sudden jump in cost estimates from $10 million to $16 million warrants examination by any public agency asked to provide funds.

If it's fair to ask the schools, it's fair to ask the civil rights museum.

This is a nice deal, if you can pull it off: Guilford County commissioners raised taxes and their own compensation last night.

Salaries will jump from $14,700 a year to $20,700 -- a 41 percent boost.

The budget was passed by a party-line vote, six Democrats for and five Republicans against.

"I put more hours in this job being a commissioner than that $1,500 (per month) could ever compensate," Chairman Bruce Davis said.

I'm not sure what the $1,500 a month refers to, as that works out to $18,000 a year.

Anyway, Davis undoubtedly puts in a lot of time being a commissioner. Was that the deal with taxpayers when he was elected -- more hours, more pay?

What about results? Let's see. Commissioners just raised taxes. They've launched one investigation after another into the county tax office, wasting lots of time and money for nothing. And a couple of them -- Davis and Paul Gibson -- are taking a taxpayer-funded trip to Hawaii next month. Sure, that merits a 41 percent pay raise.

But there is one good thing here. The higher pay should entice more people to run for commissioner.

Davis was elected with no opposition in 2002. But a salary of $20,700 is nothing to sneeze at in his district, which includes High Point's poorest neighborhoods. A lot of people there work full-time jobs that pay less than $20,700. Some have lost their jobs or only work part-time.

Well, here's a good job that's coming open next year. It pays pretty well. It's worth running for. There are lots of people out there who are just as qualified as the incumbents, if not more so. So, let's get at it.

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., made me laugh during House debate yesterday about funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Democrats have rallied around Big Bird as a symbol of public broadcasting.

But the Republicans have their own Sesame Street character, Markey chided: Oscar the Grouch.

Come on, now. Surely there's no resemblance.

Where are we going to end up with economic incentives?

Marta Hummel reported today about the Dell lawsuit, and we added an editorial.

Anyone who thinks the N.C. Supreme Court settled this issue in Maready v. Winston-Salem nine years ago had better think again.

Robert Orr, a former state Supreme Court justice and now executive director of the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law, has raised some issues in the new suit that weren't covered in the Maready decision.

More importantly, the state Supreme Court is MUCH different today than it was in 1996. Then it was composed of five Democrats and two Republicans; now it counts six Republicans and only one Democrat.

One of the Republicans is Chief Justice Lake, who joined Orr in Maready's dissenting opinion. All five Democrats supported incentives as serving a legitimate public purpose.

Conservative judges, however, are more inclined to limit government's reach into the private sector -- at least when it comes to economic development issues. Liberals are more open to "public purpose" arguments.

Here's an irony: The more liberal judges tend to support government giveaways to big business. Isn't that what liberals are always accusing conservatives of doing? But what's the $280 million Dell deal if not a government giveway to big business?

I think it's very possible that the N.C. Supreme Court as currently seated could find merit in Orr's suit.

Of course, one question about that has to do with timing. Lake reaches the mandatory retirement age of 72 on Jan. 30, 2006. Gov. Easley will appoint a temporary successor -- someone the governor no doubt will make sure is sympathetic to economic incentives. If Orr's case reaches the high court during that time, the balance will be a bit more favorable to the state -- but maybe not enough.

Then there are the 2006 elections, when the chief justice seat will come up for a statewide vote. Justice Ed Brady, a conservative, says he's running. If he wins, he'll vacate his seat, and the governor will get another appointment, further balancing the court.

Justice George Wainwright's and Justice Mark Martin's seats also come up for election next year. Both are Republicans, so the court could change dramatically again by 2007.

None of this definitely answers my opening question. Where I hope we're going, as our edit today says, is to Congress or the federal courts. Please, Washington, stop us from destroying ourselves with economic incentives!

I'm enjoying rolling on the river with John Pugh and Jessica Robinson every Monday in the N&R sports section. Their canoe trip down the entire length of the Mighty Mississippi fascinates me.

Maybe that's because I've never spent much time on the water. It's easier to imagine the romance than the reality, which is bound to include plenty of misery.

I did have one experience that relates to the trouble they've described with insects. When I was kid, my family used to go on vacation to Maine. Once, my cousin Jack and I were row-boating on a little lake. About dusk, we were suddenly attacked by a swarm of mosquitos. Of course, we hadn't thought to bring any bug spray.

I was at the oars, where I quickly discovered a nasty dilemma: Row or swat.

If I swatted, I couldn't row and we wouldn't get back to shore. If I rowed, I couldn't swat and I might be drained of blood within minutes.

I guess there was a third option: I could have jumped overboard and left the problem to Jack.

Anyway, I rowed like hell and survived, with only a hundred or so bites.

I don't think I could handle 3,000 miles of that.

There's more about John and Jessica's journey here and general information about the Mississippi River here.

The Supreme Court issued two rulings today in Ten Commandments cases that, at first glance, seem to further confuse the issue about what displays are OK and what aren't.

Here's the current AP story.

Here are the rulings themselves.

The first is the case from Texas, in which the court voted 5-4 in favor of the Ten Commandments display.

The second is the case from Kentucky, decided 5-4 against the Ten Commandments display.

I plan to read the opinions and see if I can figure them out.

That's the title of the book by Timothy Tyson that incoming freshmen and transfer students at UNC-Chapel Hill are assigned to read this summer.

Here's an exerpt.

It looks like an excellent choice, although Chancellor James Moeser expects not everyone will like it.

If there were nine gods instead of one, we'd probably still be trying to figure out the Ninety Commandments.

We do have nine Supreme Court justices, and their pronouncements sometimes come down from on high with less than divine clarity. Yesterday was such a time.

The court gave us McCreary County, Kentucky et al. v. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky et al. and Van Orden v. Perry.

In the first, by a 5-4 decision, the court said no to postings of the Ten Commandments inside two county courthouses. In the second, by 5-4 decision, the court said yes to a monument displaying the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas Capitol.

After reading both rulings, and all the concurring and dissenting opinions, I think the court got the first one wrong, the second one right ...

My column today...

A story from the not-so-distant future:

Oggie Brewer drank too much at his Fourth of July backyard cookout. After dark, he made the mistake of trying to impress his grandchildren with a fireworks display.

He started with a Roman candle, and unfortunately his aim was impaired.

The first salvo set his flag on fire.

Panicked, Oggie grabbed the blazing banner and waved it wildly over his head, trying to shake off the flames. He also yelled some words that would have been better for his grandchildren not to hear.

His neighbor, Patrick Henry Lee, who had not been invited to the cook-out, called the police.

"What's the trouble?" an officer asked upon arriving a few minutes later.

"Oggie Brewer just burned an American flag," Lee said. "And he was cursing it, too. Arrest him." ...

My interest in the Charlotte Bobcats suddenly elevated last night from near zero to fairly high, thanks to the team's excellent draft selections: Raymond Felton and Sean May.

Yes, that's because I'm a fan of the UNC Tar Heels, and Felton and May are two of Carolina's all-time greats.

No doubt, as Ed Hardin wrote today, Bobcats management made its choices with the idea of attracting more Carolina fans.

I haven't talked with my son, Kenny, yet to get his reaction. He attends Wake Forest and has a job lined up in Charlotte after he graduates next May. He's spoken about getting Bobcats' season tickets. I'm sure he would have liked to see the Bobcats draft Chris Paul, but Paul was already taken by New Orleans. Or would he? Kenny was rather upset with Paul for leaving Wake after only two seasons. Will he become Felton and May fans now after rooting against them for the past three years?

Anyway, Felton and May aren't just former Tar Heels likely to be popular with Charlotte/Carolina fans. They're darn good players, outstanding young men and winners. Go, Tar Cats!

Would some justices of the U.S. Supreme Court say that this represents an unconstitutional establishment of religion on public property?

The abduction of 52 U.S. Embassy personnel in Iran in 1979 counts as one of the foulest events in American diplomatic history.

Now some of those hostages, who were held for 444 days, say the newly elected president of Iran was a ringleader among their captors.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a hardline Islamic conservative, denies any role in the crime. Some other hostages don't remember him or aren't sure. It's risky to trust memories after 25 years.

I don't know how the truth can be established. You can't exactly ask the president of Iran to submit to a lie-detector test.

But, at a time when Iran's nuclear ambitions pose a serious threat to regional stability, it's important to establish a working relationship with the country's leaders.

That sure won't be easy when this kind of suspicion hangs over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Maybe not if you're heading for one of the nation's worst vacation bottlenecks.

A new report ranks our Outer Banks as #5 and Asheville #14 among the most likely destinations for traffic tie-ups.

Hey, they're great when you get there.

Leave early, and keep your cool on the road.

Justice Stephen Breyer, appointed by President Clinton and generally considered part of the Supreme Court's liberal bloc, provided the swing votes on the Ten Commandments decisions Monday.

He was OK with them in Texas but not in Kentucky.

I've provided lengthy commentary already about these cases, but Breyer's thinking deserves a bit more scrutiny because he alone can provide the decisive voice on future cases of this type.

Yet his voice is hardly decisive at all.

He can go either way, depending on the circumstances.

Let's go back over the facts that led him to view the Ten Commandments monument on the Texas Capitol grounds as acceptable (he didn't write anything in the Kentucky case but signed on to the majority opinion):

The monument contains "a religious message but also a secular moral message."

But isn't that true of the commandments wherever they're displayed?

The monument was donated by "a private civic (and primarily secular) organization..."

So where it comes from matters as much as its content?

"The physical setting of the monument ... suggests little or nothing of the sacred. ... The setting does not readily lend itself to meditation or any other religious activity."

Well, what if somebody did stand there are pray or meditate? Would that transform the monument into an unconstitutional establishment of religion?

"As far as I can tell, 40 years passed in which the presence of the monument, legally speaking, went unchallenged (until the single legal objection raised by petitioner.)

So maybe the Kentucky displays would have been OK, too, if no one had filed a lawsuit?

"And, in today's world, in a Nation of so many different religious and comparable nonreligious fundamental beliefs, a more contemporary state effort to focus attention upon a religious text is certainly likely to prove divisive in a way that this longstanding, pre-existing monument has not."

Is Breyer saying that if the Texas monument had been set up in 2001 instead of 1961, it would have been less constitutional because -- what? -- the constitution has changed since then? How about if it had only been there since 1971? OK? Then how about 1981? Maybe? 1991? Uh, not sure about that?

But wouldn't it be a whole lot better to say whether you think any public display of the Ten Commendments on public property amounts to an improper establishment of religion or not? (I think not because no religion is being established, and the nation in many ways since its founding has acknowledged the existence of God; i.e. "endowed by their Creator," "In God We Trust.")

Come on, Justice Breyer. You're paid to make decisions. The other eight did -- four squarely on one side, four on the other.

You're tangled up in a Breyer patch of your own making.