News-Record.com

I favor efforts to reduce pollution, save energy, cut dependence on foreign sources and develop practical alternatives.

But, when talk turns to higher taxes, raising prices on appliances and measures that possibly could cost jobs and curtail economic growth, as in Jason Hardin's story today, "Group urges change in legislative climate on global warming," I'd like to know what the tangible benefits will be.

Yes, global temperatures have increased over the last century. Scientists say this will continue over the next century. Most believe human activity is contributing to the rise.

Where agreement ends is on how much warmer it will get and what the impact will be. The most alarmist predictions foresee total catastrophe. Some say urgent and drastic responses are called for.

Jason quotes Dennis Grady of Appalachian State University responding to concerns about costs:

"When you look at not having the Outer Banks anymore, that's a pretty expensive line item right there."

No Outer Banks? Of course, the Outer Banks have been pushed around by waves and wind forever. I suppose the ocean covered most of what's now North Carolina at one time in the distant past. It's not a welcome development if the sea is going to inundate our coast again sometime in the next several centuries, or if we're going to experience more frequent and powerful hurricanes and disruptions to agriculture, among other troubles and turmoil.

But, before implementing a set of solutions, policymakers should be prepared to tell us what impact they'll have. If we do all these things, will there be any significant, even detectable, change in what's likely to happen?

I suspect no one would make any such promise because no one really knows. For all the "certainty" that some profess on this subject, the unknowns are immense. Scientists can't explain with certainty why climate change has occurred even in the relatively recent past; they can't say that, even absent any human influence, the world wouldn't be warming now naturally; therefore, they can't give assurances that any human action now will stop further warming.

Measures to achieve responsible energy use and better environmental stewardship are good ideas in their own right and should be pursued. At the same time, we have to recognize that the way we use energy currently contributes to a higher quality of life than was available for our ancestors. It's fair to ask how much we should sacrifice in order to achieve theoretical benefits, or forestall theoretical harm, in the future.

All major policy initiatives should be subject to cost-benefit analysis.

The statements issued Thursday by Nelson Johnson and the Pulpit Forum tell me Greensboro is in for a lot of turmoil, especially if Florence Gatten runs for mayor this year.

"I pray that doesn't happen," the Rev. Cardes Brown told Margaret Banks.

Maybe we all should just pray for peace in this town. This week's events warn that we're heading for anything but.

We know all about Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small's travails lately. We know Councilwoman Gatten called on her colleague to resign.

For that, and other offenses, Gatten is called a racist.

Bellamy-Small is the victim of a "political lynching campaign."

Oh, my.

Frankly, I don't see racism in criticisms of Bellamy-Small's response to a traffic stop for speeding. She apparently tried to intimidate the young officer, and then filed a complaint against him. A white council member wouldn't get a pass for that.

Should Gatten have asked for her resignation? No, she should let the voters in District 1 sort that out. But racism? Come on. More likely, she was just trying to grab a headline in anticipation of a mayoral campaign.

But now the battle lines are drawn. You're either for Gatten or for Bellamy-Small.

Unfortunately, the Pulpit Forum is trying to frame the issue around race. If you're critical of Bellamy-Small, you're racist. If you support Gatten, you're racist.

"Let the misguided, dangerous action by Ms. Gatten be a reminder of the depths of racism and a clarion call for our community and all justice-loving people to unite," the forum says.

What, unite behind a council member's right to drive 50 in a 35 zone and then warn a cop he'd better not dare give her a ticket? Is that what "justice" means now?

Oh, but it was the officer who had all the power, according to Brown: "How do you take a police officer with a gun and a badge and paint him as a victim?"

Well, how about when a city councilwoman threatens to complain to the police chief? There's no question who had the upper hand in that confrontation -- unless the cop was planning on using his gun. Right.

This is sad and disturbing, and it points to a very difficult and painful political season ahead.

Will people in this city ever stop looking for ways to dislike each other?

Addendum: David Hoggard has a very thoughtful take on this -- probably more fair-minded than mine.

Gov. Easley seems to be having a hard time explaining why he appointed Mike Nifong as district attorney in Durham.

The N&O provides a transcript of his remarks in a PBS interview with Charlie Rose Wednesday. The key excerpt:

"He was appointed acting DA by me. The district attorney, a very good district attorney, I appointed judge, and I wanted someone who wasn't going to run, that was a long-term prosecutor, just to hold the office together until somebody was elected. And our staff interviewed him. He said he wasn't going to run, and we didn't think he would. And then he got out and started running.

"There's a totally different standard you set for somebody who is going to be the elected district attorney and get into politics, and then there's somebody who you want just to run the office. Because when you get out there and start making political comments, it requires a whole lot of different talent, a whole lot of different skills that obviously he didn't have. And he would not have been appointed had we known he was going to run."

That, in a word, is nonsense.

District attorney is a political job. It requires political skills. Why would Easley purposely appoint someone he knew lacked the requisite talent for the job? Why not just appoint whomever he thought had the whole package?

Easley also appointed Guilford County's DA, Doug Henderson. Did he apply the same standard to that appointment? Was Henderson not supposed to run for the job? (He did, last year, and won.)

Sorry. The governor's explanation doesn't wash. The people he appoints to judicial system offices, judges and DA's, almost always run for a full term. It's practically required that they do, otherwise it's pretty much a wasted appointment. After all, the governor is expected to appoint someone of his own party. If that person doesn't run, it creates a wider opening for a candidate of the other party to win election.

Funny how Easley never said anything early last year when Nifong "got out and started running." It seems it was only after it was obvious to everyone how badly Nifong screwed up the Duke lacrosse case that Easley started saying, "Well, he wasn't supposed to run."

I don't believe there was any such arrangement.

And I certainly hope that Easley doesn't mean to make second-rate appointments, even if some turn out that way.

"The Lost Tomb of Jesus," airing on the Discovery Channel tomorrow night, may be entertaining but I doubt it will be convincing.

I base that statement on my reading of this article on the Discovery News Web site.

Much is made of "DNA" evidence. DNA from bones found in these ossuaries was compared to what known source? None. Result: No "identification" is possible.

The producers cite the "Acts of Philip" to connect the "Mariamene" named in an inscription on an ossuary in the tomb to Mary Magdalene of the Gospels. What a stretch. The "Acts of Philip," long ago rejected by the church as inauthentic, is a highly dubious source.

A "Judah," the producers speculate, could have been the son of Jesus and Mary Magdalene and "the 'lad' described in the Gospel of John as sleeping in Jesus' lap at the Last Supper." Really? I've read the Gospel of John lots of times, and I just re-checked that passage about five minutes ago to confirm my memory. There's no such "lad" there.

Then, the producers link the ossuaries in their tomb to the ossuary of James, the discovery of which excited biblical archaelogists a few years ago. Too bad its inscriptions turned out to be fake.

No doubt like this "Lost Tomb of Jesus."

Addendum: Nancy interviews a UNC religion professor with a doctorate in classical archaeology and extensive experience in the Holy Land who discredits this whole enterprise.

Ann Coulter's stunningly stupid comment about John Edwards Friday ought to knock her permanently off any respectable political organization's invitation list.

The Conservative Political Action Conference, and the Republican presidential candidates who attended its event, ought to be embarrassed. And they all should have known better. Aren't conservatives trying to rebound from an electoral beating? Don't they want to polish their image? Is giving Coulter a microphone their idea of promoting a positive agenda of productive ideas? It's more like taking a hooker to the prom.

Coulter's characterization of Edwards is just twisted. She couldn't think of anything intelligent to say, instead just blurting out something incredibly crass. A joke? Give me a break. Her very unfunny insult doesn't count as an attempt at humor.

I've said before that I'm glad the N&R doesn't carry Coulter's columns. And I actually agree with her views sometimes, when she addresses serious issues in a thoughtful way. But too much of her act is gratuitous verbal violence that sullies anyone who gives her a forum.

If Republicans didn't understand that before, they should now.

Bonus, March 6: Charlotte Observer cartoon on Edwards and Coulter (free registration may be required).

And, in the category of hilarious cartoons that won't be published in our newspaper: One of our 'toon services sends an offering drawn by R.J. Matson of The New York Observer depicting Coulter as the Wicked Witch of the GOP writing "Surrender F-----s" with her broomstick. It is a good likeness of Ann.

OK, if you really want to, you can look at it here. But it is not endorsed by the management of this blog.

Carolina-Duke is always an intense game in men's (and women's) college basketball, but what happened in the closing seconds of today's Dean Dome showdown was over the edge.

Duke's Gerald Henderson struck Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough across the bridge of the nose, earning ejection for a "combative foul" and suspension from the Blue Devils' first-round ACC Tournament game against N.C. State Thursday.

Proving again that he doesn't watch the same game as the rest of us, CBS analyst Billy Packer called the referees' decision an injustice, insisting that Henderson was "going for the ball."

Except that the ball was already out of the picture by the time Henderson delivered the blow. It looked like it might have broken Hansbrough's nose, which was pouring blood.

Henderson could have pulled back, and should have considering that the outcome of the contest was already decided. The final score was 86-72 in Carolina's favor.

Carolina coach Roy Williams should have pulled back, too. He should have seated Hansbrough and other starters before the altercation occurred. When the game is all but over, but emotions are still running high, it's better to separate the principal combatants before something like this happens. Duke's coach K should have done the same.

Now Duke has lost Henderson for a full game next time out, and I wonder whether Hansbrough will be able to play, or play effectively, when the top-seeded Heels compete in the tourney's second round Friday.

An intense rivalry is exciting for everyone, but the way this afternoon's game ended was no fun at all.

Mohammed Taheri-Azar was committed to Dorothea Dix state mental hospital today, The News & Observer reports.

The man charged with running down UNC students on campus last year irritated Judge Carl Fox with an outburt during an appearance in Orange County Superior Court today, according to the N&O account:

"What the [expletive] is this [expletive]?" he asked.

Turning to those in the courtroom, he said, "Everybody, I hate all Americans and all Jews."

"Death to Israel," he added.

Taheri-Azar's attorney "described his client as a very mentally disturbed man."

The Iranian-born UNC graduate seemed very deliberate and methodical in his actions of March 3, 2006, and in previous statements to the media.

He's charged with nine counts of attempted murder. If he was "insane" at the time, however, he could be found not guilty.

The proposal that Salem Presbytery apologize for the events of Nov. 3, 1979, in Greensboro is badly misguided.

I say that as a member of a Presbyterian church within Salem Presbytery, which covers a geographic area encompassing Burlington, Reidsville, High Point, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Boone, Mocksville, Salisbury, Asheboro, Lexington, Thomasville and other Piedmont communities.

As Lex Alexander reported today, this effort was initiated by the Rev. Jim Dollar of the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Greensboro. It will be debated at the Presbytery meeting in Eden April 24.

I have no idea what all these churches or Salem Presbytery -- which was organized differently in 1979 -- had to do with the Klan-Nazi-CWP shootout. The "rationale" explaining the proposal starts out by proclaiming, "We say we are connected with Adam and Eve by way of extension and implication," and goes on from there. By that reasoning, Salem Presbytery could apologize for anything and everything.

I don't see this discussion as appropriate for the Presbytery, or productive. It looks to me as if the proponents -- who indicate by their statement that they're frustrated Greensboro City Council hasn't offered an apology -- are trying to use the church to ramp up political pressure here. I resent that. It only introduces an unnecessary controversy into Presbytery proceedings, creating an opportunity to transfer a Greensboro conflict into another arena. Either way this resolution is decided is bound to cause some hard feelings, and for what benefit? The church has better things to do than enter a fray it has no part of.

If Rev. Dollar wants to ask his congregation to apologize for whatever, fine. But I pray he will withdraw his proposal from the Presbytery's agenda.

This is shameful and grotesque.

The state has no business trying to override the North Carolina Medical Board's power to enforce medical ethics.

If the correction secretary and his boss, the governor, are so eager to carry out executions, let them do it without a physician present in the death chamber.

This effort to force a physician to take part, against his or her professional ethics as determined by state and national medical associations, is repugnant. The courts should not allow it.

My column today:

Nearly two years ago, Gov. Mike Easley's office issued a press release that few people outside Durham County would have found at all interesting.

That was then. Now, it's a reminder of a decision that Easley -- and a lot of other people -- profoundly regret.

"Gov. Mike Easley today appointed Michael B. Nifong as Interim District Attorney for the 14th Prosecutorial District (Durham County)," the April 18, 2005, announcement said. ...

John Blust was duking it out for tougher House rules during yesterday's floor debate, according to Mitch Kokai's account in Carolina Journal.

Some Democrats seemed to resent the Greensboro Republican's implication that problems in the House won't necessarily disappear with Jim Black.

"I think you’re off base," Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham said. "You're presenting yourself here as the Lone Ranger, as if the 120 of us are not well aware of the sad thing that occurred to this House with the plea that was filed several weeks ago in federal court.

"I think all 120 of us care about this House a great deal and how it's been damaged," Luebke said.

The problem with Luebke's defense, of course, is that most of the Democrats who served under Black's leadership never questioned or criticized his actions -- which were so obviously wrong that every major newspaper in the state called for his resignation beginning more than a year before his conviction. As long as Democrats benefited from Black's results, they were happy to overlook his methods.

Blust used a great analogy to question assurances by Democrats that everything is going to be just fine now:

"If it's going to be real change, then why won't we put it in writing? Why won't we put it in the rules? I'd like to take the gentleman at his word, but let me explain it this way: If you've had a house broken into, and a couple days later, the police caught the person who did it, you wouldn't say, 'Great. Now it won't happen again. Now I can sit back and do what I always did, and my house won't be broken into again.'

"No, you get a dog, you get floodlights, you get deadbolt locks for the doors, you get special locks for the windows, you form a neighborhood watch committee, you get an alarm system. You would do something to put in place some safeguards so that it can't happen again. That's all we're asking for."

To be fair, the rules presented by new Speaker Joe Hackney will prevent a repeat of many of the abuses perfected by Black and allow a lot more sunshine and democracy in House proceedings.

But a lot depends on Hackney's integrity. It requires a two-thirds vote of House members to override his rulings during floor debate. Blust and others wanted that threshold reduced to a simple majority. Black held the Power of One; surely Hackney will be more respectful of the membership of the House.

Here are the new House rules adopted yesterday by an 83-34 vote.

Here are the rules proposed by Blust, which won't be adopted by the House.

From the State Department's human rights report on Tanzania:

"The killing of suspected witches continued. A widespread belief in witchcraft led to the killing of numerous alleged witches by those claiming to be their victims, by aggrieved relatives of their victims, or by mobs. The practice, once concentrated in Shinyanga Region, has spread to other regions as a result of the pastoral migrations of persons from Shinyanga. For example, on April 16, unknown persons in the village of Buhanga, Kiagera Region, killed 67-year-old Anna Maria, suspected of witchcraft, and her seven-year-old granddaughter Sicholesik.

"In December Mwema Bakari Kassan, a resident of Kiyanga village in Mtwara Region, was arrested by the police for alleged involvement in burning down five houses where he suspected that a sorcerer was hiding one of his relatives. At year's end the case was still under investigation. COEL indicated that the incidents were most common in Tabora, Mwanza, Shinyanga, and Kigoma regions.

"On August 28, the newspaper The African, citing statistics from the local NGO Concern for the Elderly (COEL), reported that in the preceding decade, 8,580 elderly persons within the Lake Zone had been killed following allegations of witchcraft.

"The government prosecuted persons accused of killing suspected practitioners of witchcraft, but prosecution became more difficult as persons responsible for killing suspected witches learned to avoid law enforcement authorities."

As if being eaten by crocodiles, mauled by lions, trampled by elephants or bitten by black mambas isn't enough to worry about.

The High Point Economic Development Corp. released its 2006 annual report yesterday. It provides an excellent overview of new business activity in the city.

The EDC notes that at least 2,610 jobs were created or announced in High Point during 2006, up from previous years.

No doubt that helped High Point-Greensboro win Site Selection magazine's top national ranking for metro areas of 200,000 to 1 million in population.

The EDC report focuses on High Point's strengths, which it labels "The keys to the city" (EDC staffer Beverly Tedder gets credit for the title, boss Loren Hill says). The keys are:

Business-friendly city government

strategic location/transportation network

business parks, developers and commercial real-estate firms

leadership

allies and public/private partnerships

the High Point Market

work force and worker training

High Point being "North Carolina's International City"

industry clusters

One of the most interesting facts listed in the report is this: "Approximately 70 internationally owned companies have year-round facilities in High Point -- giving High Point an impressive 36 percent of all such foreign-based companies in our 12-county Piedmont Triad region."

You shouldn't hear many complaints in High Point about the "global economy."

The first "key" is probably most important: business-friendly government. High Point traditionally has been business-friendly, setting a course as an industrial center beginning in the 1880s. Today, only three furniture manufacturers, and no textile or hosiery companies, remain among the city's top 20 employers, but the economy has become much more diverse.

There are challenges, not least the Las Vegas threat to High Point's furniture market, but the city remains a good place to do business and will continue to grow.

Talking about overtime, how about our sports department?

I know the Wake Forest-Georgia Tech final didn't make all our editions, but it was in the paper delivered to my driveway in High Point sometime before 5:15 this morning. The game, a double-overtime thriller won by the Deacons, ended at 12:51.

Let me add that up. From the time the game ended to the time I picked up my N&R carrying the story was four hours and 24 minutes. That's what I call a fast break.

Maybe this is home-team boosterism, but I'd say our sports, production and circulation departments did a heckuva job.

And one more point. Newspapers aren't always first with the news anymore. Information moves at the speed of light and is instantly available at your fingertips. But in this case, because I didn't stay up to see the end of the game, I learned the outcome first from my morning paper. Wake's victory was news to me.

Dubai-bye, Miss American Pie: Does Halliburton's move to the United Arab Emirates mean it sees the economic climate, or the political climate, turning chillier in the U.S.? Is Dubai the new Hong Kong?

The trail doesn't end at Jim Black: Rep. Thomas Wright of Wilmington is the next House Democrat under close scrutiny.

Who would have thought: A federal appeals court says the constitutional right to keep and bear arms means you have a right to keep and bear arms.

On the mark: "Reconciliation is not just getting people to accept your version of the truth," author Liz Wheaton says at yesterday's latest Truth & Reconciliation meeting, according to Lex Alexander's story. What a wise and courageous statement.

From Tolly Carr's personal info on the WXII Web site:

"WXII has been a very, very good place for me. Back in 2000 I walked in the doors as a 25 year old kid with big dreams but not a lot of experience. Seven years later I was able to learn a great deal about the television industry and turn that into what I consider my dream job.

"I remember watching the local news every day with my Grandparents before dinner and thinking how cool it would be to do that for a living. Now that dream is the reality that I wake up to on a daily basis and it's something that I will never take for granted."

So much thrown away in an act of recklessness: A man run over and killed. Another facing dire consequences, including possible loss of a promising career and serious criminal charges.

That's what DWI is all about.

Addendum: Here's the new felony death by vehicle statute that seems applicable in this case. It's a very serious charge that potentially carries a significant prison sentence.

With John Edwards holding a rally at Bennett College this afternoon, it seems like a good time to talk about the presidential race.

I'd like to propose a rather dramatic change: Let's move up the election a year.

It's pretty clear most Americans want a new president, and the sooner the better.

Candidates from both parties are running as if it's 2008 already. At this pace, they're going to exhaust themselves, their financial supporters and the voters long before the primaries get here -- and the primaries are earlier than ever.

I say do away with 'em. The Democratics and Republicans should hold old-fashioned nominating conventions this summer, pick their candidates and then go at it until Election Day, Nov. 6, 2007.

By next Jan. 20, we'll have a new president.

This schedule change may not be strictly constitutional, but maybe we can just do it by consensus. Any objections?

You'd better approach the bench with your hands up if this bill filed in the N.C. House of Representatives becomes law.

It would allow judges to carry concealed handguns in court, if they possess the necessary permit.

The measure isn't a shot in the dark. Dated March 12, it already has 44 sponsors, including Guilford Reps. Adams, Blust, Jones and Wiley.

I wonder which Guilford judges will pack.

Updating, 5 p.m.: The issue here seems to be the inconsistent level of courthouse security from one county to another.

I spoke with Catherine Eagles, chief resident Superior Court judge for Guilford County, and also with Robby Hassell, a District Court judge here. Both have been in courthouses in other counties where there's no security at courthouse entrances. Neither Eagles nor Hassell is a proponent of arming judges, but both say security is a legitimate concern in some places.

Providing security is a county responsibility. Some counties apparently can't afford to do a very good job of it. This doesn't make sense to me because the judicial system is run by the state. The state should require and fund an acceptable level of security everywhere.

I don't happen to think that letting judges carry guns is the answer. On the other hand, as Rep. John Blust told me, judges for the most part are responsible people. That's why they're judges. Which means that some people think if judges feel the need to carry personal protection, in the absence of adequate courthouse security, why not let them?

Of course, judges aren't the only people who might be endangered at times. What about witnesses in a criminal case? Jurors? Prosecutors? Even defendants might be attacked by friends or relatives of the victims. Should they all get to carry guns for personal protection? Where do you draw the line?

Well, how about with real security? Metal detectors, security guards, sheriff's deputies -- whatever it takes to make everyone feel safe in our courthouses.

Update, noon Wednesday: All Charges dropped, our news staff reports All parties involved should be commended for this resolution.
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My column today:

If you wanted to pick a job that sounds pleasant and peaceful, dean for campus life at Guilford College ought to be perfect.

Small Quaker school nestled in a quiet corner of a midsize Southern city. Core values include community, diversity and justice. What could ever disturb the tranquility?

Aaron Fetrow might have wondered about that when Al Jazeera showed up to report on the alleged assault of Palestinian students by a team of football players.

Lots of other media organizations, too. For a while after the Jan. 20 incident, the Guilford College "hate crime" was a big story across the country and in the Middle East. And campus life was anything but sedate. ...

John Edwards says his presidential campaign has joined the "carbon neutral" movement.

What the heck does that mean?

I get the part about reducing energy -- or at least saving what you can while you're consuming tons of energy traveling all over the country.

Here's where I'm lost: "After conserving energy, the campaign will purchase carbon offsets to make it carbon neutral. Carbon offsets allow one party to pay another to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide."

Let me see if I can make an analogy: I set out a container of garbage every week. But I hate that I'm adding to the solid waste accumulating in the landfill so I pay my neighbor NOT to set out his trash. (I don't know what he does with it, but that's his business.) So now I'm "garbage neutral," right?

Except my trash hasn't disappeared. It's still going to the landfill.

The Edwards campaign is working with NativeEnergy, a Vermont firm, on this carbon neutral project. Here's an explanation from the Web site.

You can google "carbon neutral" and find lots of companies doing the same thing. It's a trendy business.

One that has its critics, according to this AP story.

I have to be skeptical. Are these legitimate "offsets" for the energy you use? Who knows?

The bottom line, it seems to me, is that if you use energy ... you use energy.

We ran a cartoon last week that showed a man lying in his coffin. A woman comments, "He looks so, so, carbon neutral."

I suspect if you're alive, you're not carbon neutral.

Addendum: Poking fun at carbon neutrality.

Now that Khalid Sheik Mohammed reportedly has confessed during a Combatant Status Review Hearing to a leading role in the 9/11 attacks, he should be put on trial in the federal court system.

Mohammed is notable locally because he earned an engineering degree at A&T in the '80s. Let's hope his stay in Greensboro didn't contribute to his hatred of the United States. He clearly didn't fall in love with this country.

His legal status, like those of other detainees at Guantanamo Bay, has been hazy. Many al-Qaida operatives aren't necessarily prisoners of war, enemy combatants or even criminals unless there's specific evidence that they committed crimes.

In Mohammed's case, there must be a considerable file of evidence. Enough to convict him in a court of law of conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism and mass murder? Let's find out.

I suppose there could be certain problems regarding his arrest and long detention. He has been denied the rights that would have been afforded to an American criminal suspect, like access to an attorney. Maybe he's been tortured. Could a judge dismiss charges against him on technical grounds? For that reason, is it better to try him in a military court? I don't know.

At this point, however, as much openness as possible would be beneficial. Let the world see evidence of al-Qaida's criminal activities. It will be a good reminder of the forces at work against civilized society in the world and what's at stake in the war against terrorism.

Addendum, noon Thursday: A revised transcript released this morning includes Mohammed's statement that he personally beheaded American journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan. That has been previously suspected from video of the sadistic crime.

The No. 1 objective for Greensboro's next police chief will be building trust, City Manager Mitch Johnson said yesterday.

The chief is expected to be named in a few weeks, wrapping up a long, long search process.

A search process hidden from public view.

Since last fall, when Johnson held a series of excellent public meetings allowing citizens to offer ideas about what kind of police chief Greensboro needs, little has been revealed.

Some cities do this much more openly, identifying the finalists, even letting the public meet them before a decision is made. For example, Spokane, Wash, held three public forums with its four finalists last summer. The local newspaper also had an opportunity to write informative profiles about the contenders -- all helpful to the public, in my view.

Sure, some candidates aren't comfortable with that. But it seems like a way to build a little trust from the start.

The trouble with the "Here's your new police chief, he (or she) was the very best candidate" approach are the unanswered questions: Best candidate among whom? What were the choices?

The process Johnson has used depends on a great deal of inherent public trust ... which is exactly what the social capital survey says Greensboro residents don't have in their government.

Given all the turmoil in the PD, and the fact that it's been more than 14 months since David Wray resigned under pressure and Tim Bellamy has been acting chief, this selection is critically important. Whomever is chosen, especially if he or she comes from outside the department, will have to overcome a tendency to distrust at first. That won't be an impossible task for the right person, but he or she could count on a head start if there were an opportunity to build public support during the final selection process. It's a lost opportunity.

It was barely light, windy and cold when I was out jogging this morning.

No problem for the father and maybe 9-year-old son out throwing a baseball in their front yard.

Nothing like the thwack thwack thwack sound of a baseball finding the pocket of a real-leather baseball glove to bring back memories of spring. ...

... Of my dad playing catch with me. And many years later of me playing catch with my boys. Or taking them to a nearby church that had a backstop where they could practice hitting. I must have thrown them a million pitches to swing at in those years.

It's about time for Little League tryouts, and I'm guessing the father and son I saw this morning were warming up. From what I recall, it was always cold on tryout day.

Baseball figures into a lot of my childhood memories. Next to my dad, I guess the most influential adult was Mr. Murphy, the former Marine sergeant-turned-coach who made me into a distance runner by ordering me to run laps for every error and bonehead play. (I named my dog Murphy and run her five miles almost every morning. I figure that's some sort of payback.) But Mr. Murphy did drill the fundamentals of the game into my mind.

I did some coaching myself, leading the worst team in the history of the Thomasville Little League in 1979. The next season, however, we finally won a game, an 18-17 thriller that featured the ejection of the other team's star player, a 6-0, 180-pound 12-year-old Barry Bonds, for attacking the umpire, and an injury to my bat boy, struck while he was dashing past a player taking a swing in the on-deck circle.

When my own boys came along, I coached or helped coach T-ball, Coach-pitch and Little League, but never made the kids run punative laps. I guess that's why my boys didn't follow my footsteps into distance running. They are still big baseball fans, though, and maybe some day they'll play catch with their own kids on chilly March mornings -- and even let an old man join in.

Just so you know that today's not only an occasion for celebrating the Irish in us all with a glass or three, printed below is the famous prayer attributed to St. Patrick himself. I've carried a copy in my wallet for many years, not only as a statement of faith but as a reminder of my heritage.

St. Patrick's Breastplate

(Translation by Kuno Meyer)


I ARISE to-day
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise to-day
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in a multitude.

Christ to shield me to-day
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise to-day
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

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

And now that we've properly observed the religious significance of the day, let's have a drink!

To the Irish!

With all the uproar over the alleged politicalization of U.S. attorneys' offices, will North Carolina Democrats suggest the federal prosecution of Jim Black was a Republican hit?

Pricey Harrison's heart is in the right place, but this is the wrong approach to energy conservation.

As Mark Binker reports, the Greensboro legislator has filed a bill to ban the sale of incandescent bulbs in North Carolina by 2016.

Let's concede that it would be better if everyone switched to compact fluorescent bulbs, even though they're much more expensive upfront. This is another one of those environmentally friendly measures that the wealthy will find easier to implement.

But is it fair? After all, if you use a couple of dozen old-fashioned light bulbs in your modest home, are you really an energy glutton compared to the people who have a hundred compact fluorescent bulbs in their much larger house? What if you use your lights sparingly, compared to people who keep security lights burning all night long outside their mansion?

Why focus on light bulbs, anyway, when more energy is consumed in other ways? Shouldn't somebody introduce legislation regulating what kind of washer-dryer you can have? Or refrigerator? Or computer or television? Or, better yet, limiting how much you can use them? How about a law that says you can't heat your home unless the outside temperature drops below 50 degrees, or you can't turn on your AC unless it's hotter than 85 out? Or just capping the overall amount of energy each person can consume? The government could ration total energy usage but let you choose how to consume it. If you drive farther to work, you'll have to keep your house chillier in winter to compensate. If you use the wrong kind of light bulbs, you might have to dry your laundry on a clothes line.

Of course I'm being facetious. We haven't reached the point yet when the government is going to micromanage our energy consumption. Except that Harrison's bill seeks to do that -- micro-micromanage, in fact.

She did tell Mark, "The market may drive this."

That's right. The market will continue to improve energy-efficiency, and hopefully improve price-efficiency, too. Once consumers can buy compact fluorescent bulbs for the same price as incandescent bulbs, and get better value for them, they won't need the government to tell them what to do.

Addendum, 11:30 a.m.: General Electric has announced plans to produce an advanced incandescent light bulb "that potentially will elevate the energy efficiency of this 125-year-old technology to levels comparable to compact fluorescent lamps," GreenBiz.com reported Feb. 23.

So, a ban would be kind of foolish, wouldn't it?

Further update, 11:45: I just spoke with Harrison, and she agrees. "It wouldn't be our intent to ban something that would be energy-efficient," she said. Rather, the target is "grossly inefficient" lamps. Fair enough. But the problem as I see it is when government tries to hit a moving target. It's bound to miss a lot.

I am not a proponent of abortion, but I think South Carolina legislators -- mostly Republicans -- are terribly wrong in pushing this ultrasound legislation.

It would require women considering abortion to view images of their fetus first.

The intent is clear: to discourage women from going through with the procedure. It likely would be very effective. A second-trimester image like this is very powerful. There's no doubt this is a picture of a real, live human being.

(Update: The link above apparently has broken. Try this.)

But how can the law make a woman look?

Some states require the availability of ultrasound images for women who want to see. That's appropropriate. Every woman should have the opportunity to learn about abortion and its implications, especially if she's being told by others that the procedure is nothing more than removing a formless mass of tissue.

But supporters of this South Carolina legislation are pushing too hard. Women have a legal entitlement to abortion, and they should be free to consider or not consider information about their choice. If a woman prefers to make her decision without looking at an image of the fetus, that should be up to her.

If this measure passes, what's going to happen if she simply closes her eyes rather than see the ultrasound? Will she be arrested?

This is misguided policing of a private matter.

You have to respect Tom Phillips' decision to step down from the Greensboro City Council at the end of his term this year. Serving takes a lot of time from work and family.

His departure will mark a loss for local government, however, unless someone with similar qualities steps up to replace him.

The council needs a strong conservative voice, someone who challenges the majority thinking.

Mike Barber also fills that role, although not exactly in the same way.

There ought to be some good candidates vying for the District 3 opening. In fact, I spoke to one yesterday who hinted she may run. I welcome official announcements in this space.

One other thing about Phillips: He's quotable. I hope his successor will be equally willing to speak his or her mind.

If one of my kids, at age 12, had wandered off and gotten lost in the woods for three days before being found ...

First, I would hug him with all my might and tell him how much I love him.

Then, I would express my deepest gratitude for his safe return -- to God, to all the professionals and volunteers who searched for him, to family and friends for their support, to the public for its concern, even to the media for focusing so much attention on the crisis.

And a day -- or two or three -- later, I would have a serious discussion with him about responsibility and making good decisions.

I'm not blaming Michael Auberry for getting lost. He's 12 years old and has the judgment of a 12-year-old. Apparently, he decided Saturday he wanted to go home so he set out to walk to a road and hitchhike to Greensboro. Of course he didn't tell anyone he was going.

Remembering how my mind worked when I was 12, I think I could have done the same thing -- probably with the same results.

Afterward, I would have needed to learn why that was such a bad idea -- even if the experience of being lost for three days wasn't a lesson enough in itself.

Twelve-year-olds can get some odd notions. Sometimes they form plans that don't make much sense, and they don't consider the possible consequences -- like how other people will react.

Yes, I think it really is possible for a 12-year-old boy to think he could disappear from his Scout group and hitchhike from Doughton Park to Greensboro without his Scout leaders, parents and everyone else getting all upset and launching a massive search.

Parents who don't realize their kids are capable of such a thing should think again.

This dramatic story provides both a happy ending and an opportunity for parents to discuss responsibility with their children.

"The planet has a fever," Al Gore said on Capitol Hill yesterday.

It's a line that's likely to be quoted a lot.

What's it mean? Gore made an analogy to an infant running a fever. It needs treatment in a hurry.

Right, but ...

We know when a person is running a fever. The body temperature elevates above 98.6 degrees, which is normal for most people.

We know global temperatures are rising, but have they risen above "normal"? What is normal?

The planet has variously gotten warmer and cooler throughout its history. What's its temperature supposed to be? What's just right? Is it best for global temperatures to stay just as they are now, or was it better for humanity when the earth was a little cooler during the previous several centuries, or -- according to some models -- when it was also very warm 1,000 years ago? When the planet was running a "fever" then, was it sick? And what caused the fever?

Gore obviously thinks we can cure the planet's fever. So what's the "normal" temperature he thinks we need to achieve?

High Point Enterprise columnist Mac Lane nailed a big part of High Point's furniture market problem today.

He wrote about a couple he knows named Stan and Lisa, who own a furniture store in Massachusetts and have come to the High Point market for many years. Several months ago, Lisa called to reserve a hotel room for the spring market, which begins Monday, a few weeks earlier than the previous mid-April start. She was delighted to book for a very reasonable $61.95 a night.

Later, the hotel told her it was cancelling her reservation. If she wanted to re-book, the new rate would be $170.96. Why? When the hotel accepted the original reservation, it hadn't realized the market dates had changed.

Stan and Lisa are still coming to High Point, Lisa told Lane, but they might not much longer. When they went to the Las Vegas market, they paid $79 a night for a hotel.

"So while the market does appear to be making visible improvements," Lane concludes, "the bigger issue for buyers like Stan and Lisa is that they really don't like being ripped-off for hotel rooms."

Hey, it's Friday and I can't think of anything (yet). You choose the topic and we'll run with it.

Leonard Pitts, writing in today's column about an official in the Bush White House:

"He cut definitive statements and replaced them with doubtful ones in order to portray climate change as something less than the settled science most experts consider it to be."

Nigel Calder, former editor of New Scientist, writing in the Sunday Times (London) of Feb. 11:

"When politicians and journalists declare that the science of global warming is settled, they show a regrettable ignorance about how science works."

Thank God for some common sense from Calder. I've read countless comments like Pitts' to the effect that the "science is settled" about global warming. I'm no scientist, but it struck me that the "science is settled" about very little in this universe, and certainly not about climatology.

"Settled" means put to rest; decided with certainty; nothing more to learn; we're not taking any more questions. To say the science is settled is actually to have an anti-scientific attitude.

Calder's article presents many other factors besides emissions of greenhouse gases that might impact climate -- and that serious scientists are studying. But even if you fully accept the Al Gore view of global warming, the science still isn't settled on important questions like: How warm will it get? How much will sea levels rise? What will be the impact on rainfall and storms? And, very importantly, what corrective effects might various human efforts have?

The science is so little settled that it isn't known precisely how much and why global temperatures have fluctuated just in the last few centuries. If we don't know or understand the recent history, isn't it difficult to predict the future with certainty?

Pitts may be right to castigate the Bush White House for playing politics with science ... unless in this instance the White House was simply suggesting that the science isn't settled.

Tolly Carr went to the right place to appeal for help last Sunday -- his church.

The congregation should embrace him. That doesn't mean anyone condones the actions that put him in his present circumstances -- a DWI charge after an accident that killed a pedestrian in Winston-Salem.

The WXII morning news anchor -- now suspended -- asked for prayers for the victim's family.

"I need love," he added. "I need support. We need money. We need everything because this is a tough battle that I have to fight."

Some might say he has no right to ask for these things. I disagree. That's what one's church family is for.

This communication, passed on by Peace Corps Volunteer Isaac Belcher in Tanzania, presents another view to consider about the superiority of Western civilization.

It's an e-mail from a Tanzanian friend of Isaac's who has moved to Britain:

"I left Dar-es-Salaam, island of raha (happiness), To emigrate to England, land of opportunity. Forsook the tropical sun. For cold frigid weather. Left behind the warm ocean breeze. For the windchill of winter. Abandoned white pristine beaches. For brown muddy shores. Turned away from a turquoise ocean. For polluted lakes. Gave up mangoes, papaya, mabuyu, achari and sunflower. For processed apples, pears, peaches and cherries. Gave up white snapper and king fish. For boxed cod and sole. Gave up mishkaki, nyama choma maambri and bharazi. For cereal, bagels, cheese, and salads. Gave up drinking coconut water straight from the coconut. And settled for bottled water. Left behind the street coffee seller (Kahava) For the office coffee pot. Left behind the exotic fragrance of phapa and langi langi. For the pungent smell of sulfuric emissions. Deprived of hearing the call to prayer. For the sound of police and fire sirens. Deprived of seeing women clad in mysterious black buibui. For women dressed in jeans and miniskirts. Deserted a slow relaxed pace of life. For the fast lane. Gave up afternoon naps. For gym workouts. Gave up riding a bicycle through the narrow streets. For driving a car on the highways. Discontinued a course on the coral marine life. For a course in stress management. Discarded mud and thatched dwellings. For concrete and steel. Left behind a community-based life For a human zoo. It makes me wonder if I have also left my soul behind in Dar-es-Salaam?"

In a certain senator's home:

"Bill, come in here!"

"What is it, Hil? I'm listening to Elvis on my iPod."

"Nevermind Elvis! Look, the Edwardses are on 60 Minutes!"

"Wow! That's worth 5 points in the polls, at least."

"You don't say? On top of a front-page article in the New York Times, with a huge photo, big play on all the newscasts and buzz everywhere, I'd call it more like 10."

"Hey, Hil, this reminds me of our interview on 60 Minutes. Remember? Back in '92? We were great, weren't we?"

"Ha! We were on for a slightly different reason."

"Yeah, but the message was the same: The campaign goes on."

"But this time it's my opponent, and he's getting a heckuva sympathy surge. Is that fair? I mean, is he suddenly a better candidate because his wife has cancer?"

"That's politics, Hil. It's mostly about connecting with voters on an emotional level. Secret to my success."

"Don't talk to me about your secrets. They never stay secret."

"You've got a point, there, hon."

"And don't 'hon' me, either. Think of something."

"I don't know what you can do, Hil. This might have some legs. Mrs. Edwards is a very popular woman, she's courageous, and as long as she attends her husband's campaign events, he's going to draw big crowds and attract a lot of very favorable media attention. And you can't say anything except to wish them well or you'll be accused of being coldhearted."

"You're right. But I can't just let Edwards run away from me. There's got to be some answer, some way to gain an emotional edge of my own. Some way to capitalize on ... Wait a minute ... Bill!"

"Yes, Hil?"

"Bill, wouldn't you like to have a heart attack?"

"Not really. But, Hil, if I did ..."

"Yes, Bill?"

"You'd give up your campaign for me, wouldn't you?"

I did my part to boost attendance at this evening's NCAA Women's Greensboro Regional final between Rutgers and Arizona State at the coliseum.

OK, I left at halftime -- I didn't exactly have a rooting interest -- but I still counted.

So did a few thousand others. I don't know what the official tally will be, but it surpassed the embarrassment level and approached respectable. Not bad, considering Duke's non-appearance in the final.

I bought my ticket from a disappointed Duke fan outside for $5. She had a fist full. I probably could have talked her down to $2 or $3, but I kind of felt sorry for her.

I expected a gloomy atmosphere inside but was pleasantly surprised. The crowd, jazzed up by pretty good pep bands for the two schools, was making some noise. The girls were playing hard, and the game was competitive (for the first half, anyway).

Fans from Rutgers clearly outnumbered the Arizona State followers, not surprisingly. They only had to come from New Jersey.

I thought I might spot Herb Sendek, former N.C. State men's coach now at Arizona State, but I didn't see him. I doubt he could have hidden in the crowd. He had a rough season in Tempe, but the PAC 10 probably was stronger than the ACC this year.

I'm guessing Herb has a hard time stealing much attention from women's coach Charli Turner Thorne. She looks like a movie star, and tonight was dressed smartly in a gray suit and spiky high heels. But even with that boost, she looks to be about a foot shorter than some of her players.

Checking the score, I see I missed a second-half blowout. Rutgers' defense smothered Arizona State, propelling the Scarlet Knights into the Final Four.

Too bad it wasn't Duke, but the Blue Devils lost to Rutgers Saturday. Too bad North Carolina wasn't placed in this regional. Tonight's attendance, had the Tar Heels been playing, would have been strong. If it wants to build crowds, the NCAA should do a better job of setting up its regionals.

Nevertheless, Greensboro and the ACC did a fine job of hosting this event and deserve a shot at a Final Four. I'll gladly pay more than $5 for a ticket then.

My column today:

If the simplest solution to any problem were the best, I could figure out a whole lot more stuff.
That's how I feel about the proposal to set a minimum wage of $9.36 an hour in Greensboro.

The campaign is run by compassionate people concerned that many workers earn too little to live decently and raise their families. I can't argue with that. But their answer -- pass a city ordinance requiring employers to pay them more -- is all too easy. It doesn't take into account reams of potential economic and social consequences. Those include the impact on jobs, prices, business growth and even education.

Why education? Because the promise of a job paying $9.36 an hour, as opposed to $6.15, could entice a teenager to drop out of school rather than gain more education and increase his real value in the workplace. In the long run, our prosperity depends on the skills of our labor force, not on a higher minimum wage. Businesses providing good jobs would rather locate in a community where the wages they pay can hire competent workers, not people who lack education or skills.

Questions about the effect on employment are debatable. As UNCG economist Andrew Brod noted in his Sunday column, "the prevailing view among economists continues to be that if a minimum wage has any effect, it will reduce employment, either by a little or a lot." It makes sense that, if labor costs increase without a corresponding rise in productivity, businesses will cut jobs, raise prices or both.

Greensboro supporters contend that wouldn't happen, citing experience in the few other cities that have taken similar steps: San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Santa Fe and Albuquerque, N.M.

I'm not so sure the experience in those cities would apply to Greensboro. San Francisco may be the nation's costliest city, and its minimum wage is $9.14 -- less for businesses with fewer than 10 employees. A UC Berkeley study of restaurants found modest price increases and no impact on employment, but it seems to me San Francisco's economy might be in a better position to absorb higher labor costs than Greensboro's.

I found contradictory information about Santa Fe, which set a minimum wage of $8.50 in 2004. It rose to $9.50 last year and is scheduled to jump another dollar next year.

A University of New Mexico study reported that employers covered by the law added an average of 0.35 workers since the higher wage was enacted, but research by University of Kentucky economist Aaron Yelowitz, commissioned by the Employment Policies Institute, yielded bad news for the most vulnerable workers.

Yelowitz's data "unquestionably show a decline in labor market opportunities for less-educated adults," he wrote. "This manifests itself in higher unemployment, longer unemployment spells, more involuntary part-time work, fewer full-time equivalent jobs, labor substitution toward teenagers, and perhaps most surprisingly, in no detectable wage gains."

An article in USA Today, published May 10, 2006, looked at the mixed-blessing impact on a Santa Fe brother and sister. Di Martinez, a housekeeper, earned an extra $160 a month. Marcelo Martinez, a dishwasher, saw no increase in take-home pay, and often a decrease, the story reported, after "his boss cut back on offering overtime because of the higher hourly pay."

The article also noted that "Santa Fe is an expensive place to live," with a median home price of $470,000 in the last quarter of 2005. Yikes!

What would happen in Greensboro if the minimum wage jumped to $9.36? No one can say for sure. The economics are complex.

Higher restaurant prices might not drive many families out of town for a cheaper meal, but some might eat at home more often. With less business, restaurants likely would lay off staff.

If we assume the policy would not magically increase the supply of money in Greensboro, the effect would be a redistribution -- good for some, not for others. I'm too simple to figure it out.

Contact Doug Clark at dgclark@news-record.com or 373-7039.

This is not a surprise: More lottery tickets are sold, per capita, in the state's poorest counties, a study by the John Locke Foundation reports.

We must not have enough poor counties in North Carolina, because lottery revenue has fallen far short of projections by its leading booster, Gov. Mike Easley.

Last month, Easley launched his plan for drumming up more business.

Fortunately, legislative leaders aren't going for it, the Charlotte Observer reports today.

The lottery is draining enough money from poor people's pockets. We'd be better off to repeal it, not try to entice more people to play.

I was sorry to read the news in Carl Wilson's Short Orders column today that the Panda Inn at Friendly Center has closed.

The restaurant offered a nice, reasonably price buffet ...

... and really terrific hot and sour soup.

So, please help me out. What's the new best place in Greensboro or High Point for hot and sour soup?