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East Kivett Drive now runs four lanes all the way from Business I-85 to downtown High Point. It's a major thoroughfare bringing traffic to the furniture market. Kivett work was completed with only a few days to spare before today's opening of the fall market. It's a big improvement, and the city actually added sidewalks in overdue recognition of the fact that a lot of people in that working-class part of town get around on foot.

Incoming traffic today was much heavier than you'd see on a normal Monday. But it wasn't terribly heavy for a market opening day. Downtown was busy, but maybe not quite as busy as usual for the occasion. When I passed through just after 7:30, there was still plenty of parking available. One reason for that, however, is that more and more marketgoers use the plentiful shuttle buses.

Earlier, while on my morning run, I saw about twice the number of joggers and walkers out as I normally would. The market visitors tend to be those who don't return my "good morning" greeting. We High Pointers are supposed to be friendly to our guests, but nothing says they have to be friendly back. I hope they have a good market anyway.

Dana Auditorum at Guilford College will have wireless internet coverage for the One Guilford program on Wednesday, Oct. 17.

Bloggers are welcome.

No registration is required. The program runs from 9 a.m. to noon, with refereshments available a little earlier.

There is no charge to attend.

Headliners include Kent Chabotar, Paul Gibson, Don Kirkman, Andy Brod, Stanley Battle, Amos Quick and Julianne Malveaux.

I enjoy fine scotch whisky as much as the next Douglas, Duncan or Macdonald.

But I am not the anonymous new owner of this prize -- a 157-year-old bottle of Bowmore single malt sold at auction last week in Glasgow for 29,400 pounds.

Let's see. I make that out to be ... $60,081. 70.

Ach aye!

Now, even new Bowmore (12 years old) is very good stuff. So this bottle is bound to better than a bowl of haggis ... by a long shot.

But what makes it worth 60 grand? And if you paid that much for it, would you drink it?

Obviously you can't do that. Its intrinsic value can't be anywhere near the price.

It's meant to be kept, treasured, displayed and -- if the purchaser is a Scot -- resold for even more money sometime in the future.

(Thanks to whisky fancier Fred for alerting me to this news item.)

Charles B. Aycock has been dead and buried for 95 years, but his reputation has just been unearthed.

Blame, or credit, 21st century politics.

Although Aycock wasn't from around here, his name is prominent in Greensboro:

Charles B. Aycock Historic District.

Aycock Auditorium at UNCG.

Aycock Middle School.

And Aycock Street.

Aycock was North Carolina's governor from 1901 to 1905. He's most often remembered as the original "education governor" for promoting public schools.

He's also been revered as an icon of the North Carolina Democratic Party, whose memory is honored in the annual Vance-Aycock Dinner in Asheville, which attracts the Democratic faithful from across the state.

This year, however, Western North Carolina Republicans tried to spoil the party, threatening to picket the event to draw attention to Aycock's leading role in the white supremacy campaigns of 1898-1900.

Yesterday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore joined in, calling on the party to drop Aycock's name from the event.

With Moore charging in, the Republicans quickly backed out, their mission -- to cause turmoil within the Dem fold -- apparently accomplished.

This issue comes up in an important context. The state recently completed a study of the 1898 takeover of Wilmington by white supremacists/Democrats, an armed coup d'etat in which blacks were murdered and an elected Republican-Fusion city government was overturned. Aycock was one of the leading voices behind that outrage, and he rode the white supremacy wave through the 1900 election.

Both the modern N.C. Democratic Party and the 2007 General Assembly have apologized for those events, so it's certainly improper for the party to continue to honor Aycock's memory.

Although not everyone feels that way:

"Some in the African-American community have said the furor over the name of the event is irrelevant and divisive," the Asheville Citizen-Times reported.

" 'We need to quit letting people divide us by bringing up matters that have been decided back in 1900,' Asheville lawyer Gene Ellison said.

"Ellison buys a ticket to Vance-Aycock each year but said he wouldn't buy one again if the party is pressured into changing the name."

Fortunately, we don't have to abide by what was "decided back in 1900." We also don't have to be consumed by events that occurred long ago.

It's a simple thing for the Democrats to change the name of their dinner. They ought to do it because the names a political party associates itself with can convey political meaning. Today's Democrats repudiate the racism of Aycock's era, but they risk the appearance of insensitivity and ignorance if they gather in his memory.

Aycock's name lives in Greensboro in a different context, that of his support for public education and for the founding of the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG) in 1891.

The evil things he did should be acknowledged, and they count heavily against his reputation. But he did good things, too, which merit remembering in appropriate ways.

Here's our chance, Triad, to land big-time professional sporting events: Bruton Smith's next super-mega racin' track.

The Charlotte Observer reports today:

"If Concord doesn't want a drag strip, Lowe's Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith said, he doesn't want anything to do with Concord.

"Smith said Tuesday he's willing to spend the $350 million it would take to shut down his speedway and build a new oval track and drag strip somewhere else.

" 'I am deadly serious,' Smith said. 'I am ready, willing and able to do that. ... If I found the land today, I would have our engineers on the job within a few days.'

"The billionaire chairman of Speedway Motorsports made the threat after the City Council voted Monday to stop him from building a $60 million drag strip in the city. He said Concord leaders are trying to keep him from growing his motorsports business in the city, so he may need to move his races elsewhere."

He sounds like kind of a jerk, but who cares if he's willing to invest a few hundred million dollars?

Update, Oct. 4: Smith says he's looking for a new track site in the Charlotte region. But the Observer reports there aren't many 2,000-acre tracts available.

Update, Oct. 5: Kevin Siers' Bruton Smith cartoon in today's Observer.

Also: The Rowan Jobs Initiative is courting the speedway, the Observer and Salisbury Post report.

John Blust talks about Jim Black and Raleigh's culture of money and politics in a NewsMaker video interview with yours truly.

Now they come out with this. (In plain English.)

Sounds like the prep is about the same, though.

I'm very sad for Marion Jones, whose use of performance-enhancing drugs is finally out in the open.

Jones had everything going for her. The point guard on Carolina's national championship basketball team in 1994, she dropped that sport to concentrate on track & field. The move paid off as she won five medals, three of them gold, at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Her stardom emcompassed more than athletic talent. Jones was bright, beautiful and personable -- a natural for marketing success. She could have become a female Michael Jordan.

But rumors of doping ruined her reputation. She denied all allegations, but never plausibly.

A big part of her problem, in my opinion, was getting involved with the wrong men -- first shot-putter C.J. Hunter, then sprinter Tim Montgomery. Both were dopers.

Now Jones has confessed, and she likely will go to prison for lying to investigators.

Sad. After this is over, I hope she can turn her life around.

And I hope her experience, which probably will include forfeiture of her Olympic medals, warns young athletes away from the temptation to cheat.

Some highlights and impressions from last night's event for Districts 1 and 2 and mayoral candidates at the historical museum:

District 2 challenger Lance Jones far exceeded incumbent Goldie Wells in energy and force of personality. I could tell he really impressed some people in the small audience.

To me, however, he has this strangely benign view of criminal gangs, which he also expressed in our editorial board interview last month.

Children drawn to gangs, Jones said, "lack love. They found love and community among them (gangs), and for that I applaud them."

Love among the gangs?

"What's the difference between the NAACP and the Crips? The activity," Jones said, making the point that the activity must be changed. At some time in the future, he'd like to be able to compliment the Crips or Bloods "for that housing project you built."

I guess I see that differently. More than activity separates the NAACP from the Crips -- although that activity is pretty darn significant. The distinction is what determines the activity -- ideals. The NAACP is committed to the ideals of equality, justice and opportunity. Gangs are committed to furthering their own interests at the expense of others. They'll kill, steal, intimidate or whatever to get what they want. If the Crips or Bloods built a housing project, I'd question where they got the money.

It seems to me Jones envisions a role for these gangs that's something like what Hamas has taken among the Palestinians. Hamas is popular because it provides services to the population, but it's still a terrorist organization. In Greensboro, we'd be better off without gangs, period.

Among the District 1 candidates, Charles Coffey and James Carpenter showed the most passion. Carpenter stressed his youth (he's 27), and Coffey his experience with the Lee Street Merchants Association and his involvement with the Guilford Center in working to create a much-needed drug-treatment program.

In kind of an odd statement, T. Dianne Bellamy-Small told the audience, "You need to have a change agent" on the City Council, apparently putting herself in her role. But she's already been on the council for four years, and her four opponents say that's where the change is needed.

Tonya Clinkscale stressed the importance of having a "team player" on the council, someone who can work well enough with others to round up five votes to get things done.

Luther Falls Jr. touted his relationships in the business community and deep roots in the district as assets in his cause.

There was an interesting discussion in response to a question about vacant, dilapidated housing. Why can't the city take possession, fix them up and sell them to people who would make good homeowners and improve the neighborhoods?

Falls said the owners should be given incentives to sell. Clinkscale said slumlord properties should be subject to eminent domain "if it takes going to the Supreme Court."

Bellamy-Small, however, presented a different perspective. Many of these structures are "heir housing," she said. They could be "your mother's house." Mother passes away, leaving the property to children who may live elsewhere or don't have the resources to fix it up. Should the city take it away?

She also talked about self-help: "We've got to get our folks to invest in our community. It can't just be a handout."

Mayoral candidates Yvonne Johnson and Milton Kern again showed few differences of opinion. In fact, they almost had a love-in. Kern seemed to purposefully associate himself with Johnson, who's expected to be very strong in East Greensboro. "Whoever you elect will come in and try to help," he said at one point. "Whichever one of us wins, the black community will win, too," he said in his closing statement.

A questioner challenged the next mayor to do something about kids who drop out of school, saying her neighborhood is "flourishing" with 13- and 14-year-old "potential gang members. ... That's one reason we don't have jobs," she said. "They don't finish high school, they walk the streets, have babies."

Neither Kern nor Johnson brushed that one off as the school system's job. Johnson decried "too much fragmentation in government," saying the city should build better relationships with the county and school system to address these issues. Kern said one of his reasons for running is to deal with this ":disconnect. We just don't talk. If it's in the best interrest of our children, we need to get involved."

"Milton is right," Johnson affirmed. She'd invite commissioners and school board members to a town hall meeting. "If they don't come, you ought not vote for them."

Both expressed strong support for completing the Civil Rights Museum. An audience member asked why the downtown baseball park could be built while the museum sits unfinished.

Johnson pointed out that private foundations raised the money for the ballpark. Should they have done the same for the museum? "I can't answer why that's not an equal priority," Johnson said. "I have some ideas."

Kern pledged to "go back to the same people" and ask.

I think that's an interesting comparison. Clearly Action Greensboro and the supporting foundations placed the highest priority on the ballpark. Given its success, it's hard to argue. But, will the museum be just as successful, or more so, and more distinctively significant?

Maybe an older woman in the audience identified the problem. Rather than actually ask a question, she launched into a mini-speech that began with her assessment of the museum situation: "We need leadership we trust. When we get leadership we trust with the money, the museum will be built. If we could trust the people in charge, we would have the museum."

Neither Johnson nor Kern touched that one.

I'm going to disagree with my friend Rosemary Roberts, who thinks colleges should junk the SAT.

She and other critics dismiss the dreaded exam once known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test as just not very useful. It seems obvious to me, however, that colleges and universities continue to rely on it for a reason: It provides another indicator, among several, of how well a high school student is likely to handle higher-level work.

I looked up some information on the University of North Carolina system Web site and found a very strong correlation between average SAT scores and college retention. In fact, it's uncanny.

The numbers apply to the fall 2004 freshman class at each UNC school. What was their average SAT score and, two years later, what percentage of them were still enrolled with at least a 2.0 grade-point average?

UNC-Chapel Hill: 1287, 89.4%
N.C. State: 1193, 76.5
UNC-Asheville: 1169, 61.4
UNC-Wilmington: 1126, 70.3
Appalachian State: 1123, 73.2
UNC Charlotte: 1079, 61.1
UNC Greensboro: 1045, 60.7
East Carolina: 1043, 62.4
Western Carolina: 1027, 56.9
UNC Pembroke: 948, 40.3
N.C. A&T: 889, 51.6
Winston-Salem State: 888, 54.6
N.C. Central: 855, 51.3
Fayetteville State: 845, 49.2
Elizabeth City State: 841, 48.1

Caution: This is definitely not the whole story. Averages can be deceiving. The students who are dropping out could have above-average SAT scores. You can't tell from these data. But, intuitively, I would say that's not the case. There's just too strong an association between higher average SAT scores and higher retention. Certainly too strong to argue for dropping the SAT. You might as well drop high school grades while you're at it.

Not much movement in my Tarheel Top Ten this week. Frankly, I'm finding it difficult to fill out all 10 spots.

Davidson drops out with a bad loss to Morehead State. Winston-Salem State returns with a win over Florida A&M. N.C. State and Duke are both a win away. When do they play each other? Oh, I forgot. They're in the ACC; they don't play each other.

1. Wake Forest, 3-2 (No. 1 last week)
2. Appalachian State, 5-1 (2)
3. Catawba, 6-0 (3)
4. Guilford, 4-1 (4)
5. Elon, 3-2 (5)
6. East Carolina, 3-3 (6)
7. Wingate, 5-1 (7)
8. North Carolina, 2-4 (9)
9. N.C Central, 3-2 (10)
10. Winston-Salem State, 3-3 (not ranked)

Addendum, Big Four standings:

Wake Forest, 1-0
State, 0-0
Carolina, 0-0
Duke, 0-1

Note: Wake extends Big Four win streak to six games; undefeated since loss to Carolina on Nov. 13, 2004

UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine Professor Dr. Oliver Smithies is co-winner of the Nobel Prize.
Read the UNC-CH release.

It's a proud moment for North Carolina. Our state university's medical school earns recognition for its cutting-edge research.

The last time UNC labs received this much attention, the source was an "expose" by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Animal research can be made to appear cruel and unnecessary. Dr. Smithies, whose research uses mice, offers another perspective. Tremendous advances in medical knowledge have come about because of animal research.

This is a start: Federal authorities say 93 foreign nationals have been arrested in North Carolina as part of a three-month nationwide sweep of violent gang activity, AP reports.

Fifty arrests in the Raleigh area, 43 in Winston-Salem.

Uh, is that missing a few places?

Here's the ICE news release. And a fact sheet.

I'm just guessing there's a lot more work to do.

High Point City Manager Strib Boynton tells me this evening that the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority has approved High Point's stipulations for a treatment plant financing agreement, "with minor modifcations." Those should be worked out in the next 24 hours, and all parties should formally sign within a few days, Boynton added.

Now, if only the Randleman Lake doesn't dry up.

My column today:

Martha Geer, a judge on the N.C. Court of Appeals, sounded surprised Monday that I was asking about her dissent in David Standley v. Town of Woodfin.

She didn't think anyone other than lawyers read Court of Appeals decisions.

I'm not a regular, but this one grabbed me -- especially Geer's passionate arguments on behalf of the rights of a registered sex offender. You don't see that every day. ...

We went with the "voters want change" angle in our lead editorial today. When the voter turnout is only 7.2 percent, however, that doesn't necessarily mean "Greensboro residents want change." But, guess what. In elections, only voters count.

It seems to be conventional wisdom that Yvonne Johnson will easily defeat Milton Kern in the mayor's race. Yesterday's primary voting should force a reconsideration, as candidates seen as City Council outsiders fared well. Kern hasn't done much to distinguish himself from Johnson on the issues, though, instead just promising a more aggressive leadership style. It probably will take a more aggressive campaign style for him to win, but I don't think Johnson can afford to relax, either.

Mary Rakestraw and Trudy Wade, former Republican county commissioners, had big days yesterday. There's no doubt they'll upset the status quo on City Council if they win in November. Which leads some observers to wonder what was so good about the county commissioners that Greensboro City Council needs. Three years ago, voters ousted Rakestraw and Wade from their county seats, although Wade hung on through a long legal challenge. Mike Barber lost his commissioner seat then, too, then won a City Council seat the next year. Who will be next, Skip Alston for mayor in 2009?

For a long time, commissioners had a habit of getting rid of county managers regularly. It didn't exactly promote stability in government. Now, several candidates are critical of City Manager Mitch Johnson's handling of former police Chief David Wray's departure. Depending on election outcomes in November, Johnson could find himself in an uncomfortable position. Or, I should say, more uncomfortable. But, at least so far, he's had the strong support of his council.

T. Dianne Bellamy-Small's victory in District 1 is less than it appears. She received considerably fewer votes yesterday than she did in staving off a recall attempt on Aug. 21. Sixty-three percent of the District 1 vote went against her yesterday. She has her work cut out for her to reach 50 percent support in November.

Robbie Perkins was third in yesterday's at-large voting, but the old distance runner and veteran campaigner was pacing himself. It's a long race, he said, and he aims to peak on Election Day in November.

Other candidates didn't have that luxury. Some had to pour everything they could into the primary campaign in the effort to make the cut. Now they have to hope they can reload and pick up the pace.

With so many candidates on yesterday's ballot, it was inevitable that most had to lose. I found many of them to be really terrific people, with a lot to offer. At the risk of leaving some out, I did want to mention "nice guys" Luther Falls Jr., Janet Wallace, Sidney Gray, Charles Coffey, Cyndy Hayworth, Donna Riechmann and Greg Woodard, all of whom I enjoyed getting to know, or know better.

Despite the low turnout, 11 at-large candidates received more than 1,000 votes. That's a great accomplishment. Congratulations to all.

Greensboro's crime rate through September is on pace to match last year's, according to police statistics.

But calls for service are way up -- 230,440 for the first nine months of 2007 compared to 257,645 for all of last year.

Clearly, we're asking a lot of a police force that everyone acknowledges is stretched too thin.

In major crime categories, so far for 2007, murders, rapes, larcencies and auto thefts are occurring at a slower rate than last year. But there likely will be more aggravated assaults and burglaries this year. This should balance out to a fairly level crime rate.

On the streets, traffic accidents look like they're down a bit, although there were already 15 traffic fatalities through September compared to 16 for all of last year. Traffic charges are substantially lower at this point in the year. Obviously, all of us can help our stressed police force by driving safely.

And, if the criminals will chill with the cooler weather, maybe Greensboro can realize a decline in its crime rate by year's end.

The Draft Gore movement gets a huge boost today with its champion winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

I'm not sure why Gore deserves a peace prize, but I can't think of any other candidates off the top of my head.

I like the Draft Gore movement, however. It would be fun to see a battle royale between Gore and the Clintons.

Little did Gore know when he served as Bill Clinton's veep for eight years that Bill intended for HIllary to be his successor in the White House, not Al.

Still, there's quite an anti-Hllary faction in the Democratic Party. Trouble is, it can't count on Barack Obama or John Edwards to stop her run to the nomination. Gore's the best hope.

Realists say Gore couldn't catch Hillary. He doesn't have money or a campaign organization.

I think he could. How? By making a deal with Obama. If Obama withdraws from the race and throws his support (and money/organization) to Gore, he'll get the running mate slot.

Why would Obama do that? Because he isn't going to beat Hillary for the nomination, and she isn't going to offer him the No. 2 spot. Obama needs more experience, and eight years as Gore's vice president will set him up perfectly to run in 2016.

Edwards could angle for a similar deal, maybe to get a post like attorney general. But Gore really wouldn't need to make a deal with Edwards, whose supporters have to go somewhere -- and it won't be to Hillary's side. Edwards is a non-factor. With Obama's support, though, Gore could overtake Hillary. It's not too late. After all, there hasn't been a single convention delegate won yet.

Will Gore go for it? That's what I don't know. Right now, he's worshipped like a god by liberals and global warming cultists. Now he's a Nobel laureate. He's risen way above politics. But if he still feels cheated from 2000 and thinks he could pull it off, he might let himself be drafted.

I know this: He could beat Hillary, and probably any Republican, too.

So says Jesse Walker at reasononline:

"The important thing to remember is that peace doesn't have much to do with it. One of the very first winners was Theodore Roosevelt, a man who described the Spanish-American War as 'fun.' The Peace Prize is more of a Humanitarian of the Year Award, with humanitarian defined loosely enough to include Yasser Arafat and Henry Kissinger."

What is it about teenage girls wearing pajamas in public, like at a restaurant on Saturday morning? Nothing else to wear?

Who knew that Bill Gray, probably the foremost hurricane expert in the country, was such a wacko? The Colorado State professor tells an audience at UNC Charlotte that global warming hysteria is "ridiculous" and "we'll look back on all of this in 10 or 15 years and realize how foolish it was."

Gray said he's one of the few scientists brave enough to refute the "consensus": "It bothers me that my fellow scientists are not speaking out against something they know is wrong. But they also know that they'd never get any grants if they spoke out. I don't care about grants."

Well, at least this casts quite a bit of doubt over the "science is settled" mantra. Unless Gray is simply dismissed as a nutcase from now on.

But, hey, I'm a green. And I have the brown yard to prove it. We don't water, which also cuts down on my lawn mower emissions. I have a neighbor who's probably mowed her lawn a 20 times since the last time I cranked my mower.

The missus and I spent a pleasant day at the N.C. Zoo today.

We hadn't been there in years, and this was our first visit without kids. I was envious of High Point lawyer Jim Morgan, whom I ran into herding his six grandchildren around. Well, maybe I didn't envy him getting them all snacks and drinks.

The day's highlight: viewing the regal lion family. What magnificent animals. Hard to believe the three cubs are just approaching their first birthday. They've really grown.

Plans call for the proud pride to break up within a few months. The cubs will be divided among three zoos in the Great Lakes area for future breeding.

I'm glad the elephant habitat expansion (which I wrote about here) is under way. More room and a larger herd will suit these highly social and intelligent animals better.

Still, won't be quite like this.

The zoo obviously is showing the effects of drought, like everywhere else. But it's clean and beautifully maintained, a real gem for our state.

Wake, Catawba, Elon, ECU, Wingate and Central recorded big wins to strengthen their Top Ten positions. But Guilford drops six places with a crushing loss to Bridgewater. North Carolina moves up a spot with good effort against South Carolina. App and WSSU were idle.

1. Wake Forest, 4-2 (last week, No. 1)
2. Appalachian State, 5-1 (2)
3. Catawba, 7-0 (3)
4. Elon, 4-2 (5)
5. East Carolina, 4-3) (6)
6. Wingate, 6-1 (7)
7. North Carolina, 2-5 (8)
8. N.C. Central, 5-2 (9)
9. Winston-Salem State, 3-3 (10)
10. Guilford, 4-2 (4)

If you went to www.representativejohnmblust.blogspot.com, you might think John Blust is blogging.

But he's not. The Republican state representative from Greensboro sent a note last night saying it's not his blog, he's got nothing to do with it, and he doesn't know who's behind it.

The blog includes a link to my video interview with Blust and a press release distributed by Marcus Kindley and North Carolinians for Legal Immigration. Kindley, former Republican Party chairman for Guilford County, says he knows nothing about the blog, either.

The material on the blog seems supportive of Blust, so it may be the work of an admirer, "but it seems shady to start something like this under someone else's name," Blust said in his email to me and Mark Binker.

I'd have to agree. Blust is a public figure, so anyone is entitled to produce a blog about him. But this gives the appearance of being a blog by Blust. Maybe that's not the intent, but the administrator should explain what's going on.

Could leniency hurt North Carolina taxpayers in the Mike Nifong case?

Nifong, the ousted Durham DA, is asking the state to provide his legal defense against a civil suit filed by the former Duke lacrosse players he falsely prosecuted for rape, The N&O reports.

"Because I was a constitutional officer of the state of North Carolina at the time that the subject matter of the complaint arose, ... and because the complaint arises out of the exercise of the duties of that office, I am hereby requesting that you make any necessary arrangements to secure my representation in this matter," Nifong wrote to Judge Ralph Walker, head of the Administrative Office of the Courts.

AOC is studying the request, a spokesman said.

Could Nifong have a legitimate argument for state representation? I hope not. Nifong already has put the state to a lot of unnecessary expense. The fact that he was disbarred for misconduct should negate his contention that he was just carrying out his constitutional duties.

There would be a stronger reason for denying him state representation if he were found to have committed criminal misconduct in office. How about obstruction of justice for withholding key DNA evidence from the defendants? The state's discovery laws should have required him to turn over that information months earlier than defense attorneys eventually were able to obtain it. That would have put an end to the case sooner -- probably before Nifong was elected last November.

Attorney General Roy Cooper, whose office dismissed the charges after its own investigation, has not sought to bring charges against Nifong. I hope this won't prove to be a costly mistake.

Update: I just got a callback from Dick Ellis, spokesman for the Administrative Office of the Courts. Lawyers over there are trying to decide if Nifong's conduct in the Duke case fell within the purview of his duties. Were his actions normal and prudent under the circumstances?

That doesn't sound good for Nifong, but Ellis said no decision has been made. And, if the legal experts conclude the state has to defend Nifong, the state will defend him.

Usually, the attorney general would make the call on this, but because it's already weighed in on Nifong, it's passing the buck back to AOC.

The head of AOC is Judge Ralph Walker.

Further update: Nifong has asked a Durham attorney, James B. Craven III, to represent him in the lawsuit. Last Friday, Craven wrote the following to Ralph A. Walker, director of AOC, and James J. Coman, senior deputy attorney general:

"As you know, Mike Nifong is one of the 16 defendants in this case, filed October 5. He was served today, which makes his answer or other responsive pleading due November 1. As Mike was a constitutional officer of the State during the entire period covered by the 155 page complaint, we believe it is incumbent upon the Attorney General to represent him in the case, pursuant to G.S. 114-2. We also believe the Attorney General may well have a conflict and thus is unable to represent Mike. Accordingly, Mike has asked me to represent him, and I am happy to do so, so long as I am assured of compensation by the State for my services as counsel. Please let me know as soon as possible, as time is very much of the essence."

Today's One Guilford program featured excellent discussions of important issues.

Thanks to host Guilford College, President Kent Chabotar and a terrific staff there.

Speakers Paul Gibson, Don Kirkman, Stanley Battle, Andrew Brod, Amos Quick and Julianne Malveaux were outstanding.

Small group facilitators Kyle Dell, Betty Kane, Mark Justad, James Shields and Therese Coon, all Guilford College faculty members, did a terrific job.

The only disappointment was the turnout: about 100, I guess.

City Council candidate Robbie Perkins compared it to last week's primary. It's a challenge to get people engaged, but we've got to do a better job of drawing ordinary citizens into community discussions.

We'll be reporting in detail what was covered in today's One Guilford.

Note: E.C. Huey live-blogged the event.

Update, Oct. 18: High Point Enterprise coverage of One Guilford.

And our news story.

Is having religious convictions the same as being hateful or intolerant? I get the idea from his column today that Leonard Pitts must think so.

Pitts is responding to, and misrepresenting, Ann Coulter's recent statements during a conversation with Donny Deutsch on CNBC.

I'm not keen on defending Coulter. In editorial board discussions about syndicated columnists, I've consistently opposed any suggestion that we might print her work on our pages. And I support carrying Pitts' columns. But he's wrong about Coulter this time. Here's his take:

"Last week, Coulter said that in her perfect America, everyone would be a Christian. ... Deutch, who is Jewish, expressed alarm. Whereupon Coulter told him Jews simply need to be 'perfected' -- i.e., made to accept Jesus as savior."

You can read a transcript of the Deutch-Coulter interview here.

Coulter did NOT say Jews need to be made to accept Jesus as savior.

Frankly, the conversation is rather disjointed, with neither Coulter nor Deutch offering a lot of clarity. But what I glean from it is that Coulter was expressing a view basic to Christianity: namely, that Christian faith is the path to salvation. If you are a Christian who believes that, it follows naturally that you would like for everyone else to find the same path to salvation. In fact, Christians are supposed to tell others how to get there (that's called evangelism).

Doesn't everyone who follows a regious path -- whether it's Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, whatever -- believe theirs is the right path? Certainly the monotheistic reglions, by their doctrines, express exclusivity: the contention that they have the direct line to God (and therefore others don't). After all, what does it mean that Jews believe themselves to be God's chosen people but that others aren't? I don't consider that belief to be intolerant or hateful, but maybe Pitts would.

In many columns, Pitts has claimed to be a Christian. Why is he a Christian? Is it a family tradition or something he really believes is the way God calls people to walk in life? If he doesn't have any firm conviction about it, I would be tempted to question his sincerity.

In his column, Pitts writes about what he sees as a recent spike in intolerance and hatefulness in this country. As he's writing about Coulter, I suppose he puts her comments to Deutch in that category. So there you have it. If one states her own religious convictions, she is by definition intolerant and hateful -- never mind that she in no way said anyone else should be made to believe as she does.

If that's unacceptable, I wonder who's really intolerant.

The N.C. Attorney General's Office, has -- searching for the correct legal term here -- slapped down Mike Nifong's request for representation against a lawsuit. Here's our edit today.

Nifong appeals, The News & Observer reports -- but apparently to the same people who just denied him.

Another slapdown coming.

I attended the High Point Chamber of Commerce's first State of Education program today. It was a lunchtime affair at High Point University, which guarantees a good crowd. People really enjoy visiting HPU, maybe because there's always something new and amazing there.

One thing about events like this: You really don't get a true picture of the state of education.

GCS Superintendent Terry Grier touted the improvements the system is making, citing the number of schools that reached their AYP and ABC standards. He acknowledged some "challenges," but mostly in the context of the difficulties the system has to overcome.

I think we can acknowledge that, and we can be pleased that more schools reached AYPs and ABCs. Those are important measures. But you can't talk about the state of education here without admitting that it ain't nearly what it ought to be. And the proof is that employers and college leaders consistently say that too many high school graduates aren't up to par.

GTCC President Don Cameron and HPU President Nido Qubein were too polite to say that. Maybe Qubein didn't need to say that because HPU can afford to be much more selective in admissions now than it used to be. But I've heard Cameron complain before about how many students who enroll on his campuses need remedial instruction before they can attempt college-level work. Employer frustrations were captured in High Point's workforce preparedness study completed last year. The city of High Point and GCS need to get to work on addressing those concerns, but I didn't hear a mention about that today.

Grier did address another problem, discipline, but in a bothersome way. He first noted the much higher rate of suspensions for black, male students, then said:

"We have to be careful in our schools that we treat all students the same when it comes to similar infractions. Principals tell us that's happening, but when we talk to students we hear a different story so we know we have a problem."

I'd say he does have a problem if he doesn't believe what his principals are telling him but finds the students more credible. Do the students know the circumstances of every disciplinary action well enough to assess who's been treated fairly and who hasn't? It seems to me the reaction of most students is to believe they haven't gotten a square deal.

So are we supposed to think that principals are treating black, male students unfairly and they're also trying to mislead the superintendent about it? That seems like a stretch to me.

The school board has a group looking into this, but I hope it didn't begin its work with the premise that principals are the bad guys.

Of course I couldn't visit HPU without reporting a couple of Nidoisms. He got on a roll about the difference between teaching and training: Training concentrates on the how; teaching on the why, he said.

"People who know the how will always have a job, but people who know the why will always be their boss." And:

"Would you rather your teenager get sex education or sex training?"

And there you have it for the state of education in High Point today.

Jimmy Bowman is a walker. At 77, he keeps fit by walking five miles a day, mostly on the High Point Greenway.

I ran into him there a week ago Tuesday and stopped to chat a minute. Bowman was the composing room foreman at the High Point Enterprise, and we worked together there for many years.

Last Sunday, Jimmy walked his way into some trouble. He and 74-year-old Robert Williams were walking at Armstrong Park when they were approached by a man demanding money. Jimmy tried to get away, but the assailant ran him down, tackled him and beat him on the head with a gun, then took his wallet. Jimmy needed a dozen stitches and another dozen staples to close his wounds.

The High Point Enterprise reports today that police have arrested the suspect: 20-year-old Jamar Decollins Thorpe of 1011-2A N. Main St. He's charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a deadly weapon.

Knowing Jimmy, I'd say he can't wait to testify in court. The punk who attacked him needs to be locked up for a long time.

This assault occurred at 9:40 in the morning, not a time or place you'd expect to be dangerous. Many of the people I see walking on the greenway, which begins at Armstrong Park, are older. They usually walk in pairs, and some have large dogs. Still they're vulnerable, especially to someone with a gun. It would be nice to see a police officer cruising the greenway on a bicycle once in a while. Then maybe more people would feel secure about enjoying this scenic path.

I hope to see Jimmy out there again soon.

I only attended the first half of the Greensboro Neighbood Congress mayoral candidates forum held at the central library last night. It was scheduled to last from 6:45 until 9, enough time for an average Kenyan to run a marathon. After a long day, I didn't have the stamina.

After an hour or so, however, I did get the impression that Milton Kern is sharpening his edge. He has to. Until this point, he's been much too agreeable with Yvonne Johnson, giving voters little reason to elect him rather than her. He even said that if he weren't running, he'd vote for her. He was trying to be positive, but tactically that was a mistake. Anyone who really wants to win must be emphatic that he's the right choice.

Last night, he altered that statement just a little: If he weren't running, he said, he'd probably vote for Yvonne.

The conventional wisdom is that most people will vote for Johnson. She's been a popular councilwoman for 14 years and is brimming with knowledge, wisdom and common sense. She feels it's her turn to lead, and it's logical to agree with her.

At the same time, there's a strong current of dissatisfaction with city government -- as primary voting results amply demonstrated. If Kern, a successful businessman who concentrates on downtown development, can tap into that, he may do a lot better on Nov. 6 than many observers think.

Last night, I detected a greater effort on his part to do just that.

Several times, he criticized the City Council for letting the manager and department heads (at one point he mentioned coliseum director Matt Brown) tell the council what to do. "That's what we've had, and it needs to stop." And later: "They need a boss, and they need a city council that's their boss."

Johnson: "Strangely enough, I agree with part of that."

Kern called for a reorganization of the police department: "Too many things are wrong ... it's not working the way it needs to." Later: "I don't like anything about how this police department and David Wray situation was handled." He elicited a strong response from Johnson when he accused the council of directing Wray's forced resignation: "We did not know Mr. Wray resigned until after the fact, we did not direct that," she protested.

Kern criticized police response times: "For some reason it takes two to three hours to get to a break-in now. ... Something isn't working." When police make an arrest late at night, Kern said, it takes an officer several hours to process the prisoner. "What's wrong with getting an old-fashioned paddy wagon and locking them in there?"

(Pause here for politically correct comment: Paddy wagon is an Irish slur, Milton. You don't want to lose the M'Coul's vote.)

Kern called the council's lie-detector episode "one of the silliest things we've ever done. Doing it in that manner is another reason we need to change the leadership in Greensboro."

Johnson answered that she didn't like it, either, it was a waste of money. "It's the only one I've ever taken, and I don't ever want to take another."

Asked what lessons for fiscal oversight could be gleaned from the Project Homestead episode, Kern struck hard: "I don't know what happened with Project Homestead except what I read in the paper. I don't know what could be done to stop it from happening again because we don't know what happened then." It was a good reminder that the council didn't push for release of information from that investigation.

Kern is an underdog, and one who won't win or even make it an interesting race unless he starts barking. He was growling a little last night.

N.C. State's huge win over East Carolina vaults the Wolfpack from nowhere into the No. 4 spot in my Tarheel Top Ten this week. Meanwhile, Wake Forest holds the top position with a strong victory over Navy, and Elon defeats Wofford to take second, pushing Appalachian State down to third after the Mountaineers' loss to Georgia Southern. Guilford exits the Top Ten with a defeat by Washington & Lee.

1. Wake Forest, 5-2 (No. 1 last week)
2. Elon, 5-2 (4)
3. Appalachian State, 5-2 (2)
4. N.C. State, 2-5 (not ranked)
5. East Carolina, 4-4 (5)
6. North Carolina, 2-5 (7)
7. Catawba, 7-1 (3)
8. N.C. Central, 5-2 (9)
9. Winston-Salem State, 4-3 (10)
10. Wingate, 6-2 (6)

Seth Cohen's letter today is another example of what I was talking about here.

It seems as if Mr. Cohen is suggesting that it's intolerant to hold firm religious beliefs. As he is an attorney who sometimes represents the ACLU in legal matters, I'm very surprised.

Because I wasn't successful in getting through to some readers the other day, let me try a different approach. Forget about religion; think politics instead.

Suppose you belong to a political party, as most registered voters in the U.S. do. For the sake of argument, say yours is the Democratic Party.

You may be a fervent Democrat, absolutely convinced that the Democratic Party has the right values and takes the right positions on the issues. This necessarily means you believe just as strongly that the Republicans are wrong. Furthermore, you regard it as a mission to talk others into thinking as you do. You participate in voter registration drives trying to sign up more Democratic voters, and during election season you get out and drum up support for Democratic candidates. You'd be delighted if Democrats won every office on the ballot because, in your mind, that would be the best thing for the country.

Does that make you intolerant of people who aren't Democrats, even hateful? Should you be told to move to some authoritative country with one-party government where you might fit in better?

Don't be ridiculous. As long as you're trying to advance your point of view through argument and persuasion, you're only exercising your rights as an American and denying no one else his.

There's a big difference between holding and espousing firm beliefs -- whether they're religious or political -- and forcing others to believe the same way. If we respect that difference, maybe we'll be more careful about whom we label as intolerant.

There's an interesting political battle brewing down in Charlotte, as reported by the Observer.

Last week, Parks Helms, the Democratic chairman of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, proposed removing jail management responsibility from the office of the sheriff.

Popular long-time Sheriff Jim Pendengraph, a Republican (Correction: a Democrat), plans to step down Dec. 1 and take a job with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Helms apparently wants to seize the opportunity. Under his plan, the county would hire a jail administrator, who would report to the county manager, who reports to the commissioners.

The sheriff, of course, is elected directly by the people.

Pendergraph's duties already are limited because law enforcement is provided by a combined Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department. But the jail is a huge operation, and Pendergraph has made a name for himself through a program of identifying illegal immigrants. Since May 2006, about 3,000 inmates have been flagged for deportation.

That success led to Pendergraph's job in Washington. He'll help other local jurisdictions develop the same program. Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes has an application pending.

But it's also rubbed some Charlotte Hispanic leaders the wrong way. Is that what's motivating Helms' push to remove the jail from the elected sheriff? Would commissioners stop the illegal immigrant program under Hispanic political pressure? Maybe Democrats feel they need a strong Hispanic vote to maintain political control in Mecklenburg County.

If so, they should think again. The program that identifies people who are 1) illegal immigrants and 2) committing crimes is popular and should not be tampered with.

It may be that this is all about putting the most competent professional manager possible in charge of the jail, as opposed to someone whom the voters might elect. But an elected sheriff can also hire a professional jail administrator. So this whole move looks political.

If it happened in Guilford County -- if Democratic commissioners tried to wrest jail operations from the Republican sheriff -- it would look like a political power grab.

Or maybe Barnes would like to be rid of the jail, since commissioners won't build him a new one anyway.

Update, Oct. 23: Nevermind. Bad idea.

Correction: Parks Helms is the vice chairman, not chairman, of the Meck commissioners. Jennifer Roberts is the chairwoman. Good call on her part to drop this proposal.

I attended the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress forum for at-large City Council candidates last night (reported by Margaret), not Al Sharpton's talk at A&T.

From Ryan's account, however, it looked like the reverend delivered very good remarks.

"Those who came to school in the '60s came in the back of buses, couldn't vote, couldn't use the coffee shop, couldn't stay in a hotel and by the time they graduated, they turned society upside down," Sharpton said.

"We are the generation now that can vote but won't vote, can stay where they want but don't know how to act when they get there, and they act like all the fighting is back in 'the day,' but you're still in 'the day.' "

Reactions?

The last couple of times I've been to the High Point public library, I had to pass a security guard on my way out. He was checking bags -- a response to some recent thefts, one of the employees said.

I didn't comprehend the extent of the problem until today, when the High Point Enterprise reported that dozens of DVDs have been stolen in the past few weeks. The thieves take them into restrooms and remove the plastic cases, then slip them into bags and away they go.

One patron wrote a letter to the Enterprise complaining about the searches.

I'd save my anger for the real source of the problem -- the culprits ripping off library materials. What disgusting behavior.

The library is slowly building up its collection of DVDs, which aren't cheap. It can't afford to lose dozens to thieves. That costs taxpayers money, and it depletes the selection available to customers.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience and annoyance caused if your bag is searched. If that's a huge problem for you, don't carry a bag into the library. I don't, and the guard just waves me by.

In days gone by, the idea of even needing security guards at a library would have been preposterous.

But maybe not as absurd as stealing from the library. I mean, you can borrow what you want from the library. Why would anyone steal?

My column today.

It updates and repackages this blog entry from last week.

I've been hearing about increasing ridership on PART buses for sometime but I hadn't seen it on my occasional bus trips between High Point and Greensboro.

Until today. I was one of a dozen passengers on the 7 a.m. bus from the High Point depot to the PART hub. And there were 15 riders taking the 7:30 bus from the hub to Greensboro's downtown depot. Most of those riders transferred from the Winston-Salem bus.

Those numbers still leave the buses less than half full, but I'd rarely shared the ride with more than seven or eight commuters previously.

It's a good service at a good price -- $2 for riders. The one price gets you two rides, including a transfer, but PART counts you as two riders, which pads the numbers quite a bit.

Obviously taxpayers are kicking in a lot for this. There's no way this regional venture into mass transportation makes an appreciable difference on highway congestion or air quality, but it might help in time if ridership does increase significantly. Maybe it's heading in that direction.

High Point University President Nido Qubein keeps big-name commencement speakers coming.

2005: Rudy Giuliani
2006: Queen Noor
2007: Bill Cosby (here's my report of the Cos' appearance)

And, announced today, the 2008 headliner: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

"Justice Thomas is a respected figure in our nation's justice system and, as an active Supreme Court justice, he is an appropriate choice for our commencement speaker," Qubein stated in a news release.

Not quite everyone agrees with the first part of the statement. Thomas is the justice whom liberals most love to hate.

As to the second part, we'll see.

Thomas has drawn protests on some campuses. One was the University of Georgia, where he spoke to law school graduates in 2003. But it didn't amount to much.

I wouldn't expect any demonstrations at HPU. If there were, I doubt they'd actually be allowed on campus. It's a private university, and Qubein doesn't like disorder spoiling big events.

He's also lined up Lee Greenwood to perform. Greenwood's big hit, "God Bless the USA," could have been written by Qubein himself. A naturalized U.S. citizen, he's all about God and country.

He's also all about rising above humble origins -- something he and Thomas have in common.

It should be an interesting graduation address. Look, you wouldn't rather hear David Souter, would you? Me, neither.

Ed Cone taps into some unbelievable gum-flapping in the N.C. Dem blogsphere.

The issue is whether Kay Hagan, the Democratic state senator from Greensboro, will or ought to change her mind about running for the U.S. Senate.

Getting into the race, after announcing earlier she'd stay out, would force a primary against Jim Neal.

If you've heard of Jim Neal, chances are it's because he recently confirmed publicly that he's gay.

Suddenly, it seems to conspiracy theorists, national Democrats are scrambling to find a, well, nongay candidate -- hence Hagan's possible renewed interest. And that's homophobic!

For a party that runs practically everything in North Carolina, this is just pitiful. Dole was supposed to be vulnerable, but she looks invincible compared to the opposition.

Forget the fact that Neal is gay. Who is he? He's never run for office and, although a native of Greensboro, he lived outside North Carolina for something like 25 years until 2006. Oops. There goes one issue to hold against Dole.

Hagan, on the other hand, is an experienced (and undefeated) campaigner who quickly rose into leadership positions in the state Senate. She's a go-getter, super smart and politically savvy. If she decides she wants to challenge Dole after all, she should go for it. No one owes Jim Neal the nomination. He should be willing to fight for it in a primary like anyone else. He sure shouldn't be granted a free pass because he's gay. Only politically correct liberal Democrats could come up with that.

Hagan's paid her dues and earned a shot at higher office if she wants. If anything, the newcomer should step out of her way. But, frankly, I doubt she'd have much trouble beating him in a primary.

Dole, of course, would be a different story. In fact, she might be invincible if Democrats keep this up.

Talk about financial incentives. A&T's aggressive new scholarship program promises to have a big impact on the Greensboro campus.

The lure of free or reduced tuition and expenses definitely will attract better students. And that's guaranteed to improve retention and graduation rates.

The effect will be felt elsewhere, too. A&T will grab a big advantage in competing for good students with rival schools like Winston-Salem State and N.C. Central, likely forcing them to respond. A&T also may be "in the game," as Chancellor Stanley Battle said, for students who otherwise might go to institutions like Howard, Hampton or N.C. State.

There should be a deeper impact, too. Face it. Admission standards haven't been that high at A&T. A lot of local students could ease their way through high school and count on getting in.

A scholarship program like this can change things. By attracting better applicants it will stiffen the competition for admission. That, and the promise of an attractive scholarship, should motivate more high school students to work hard so they, too, can get in the game.

A stronger student body will help attract better faculty and raise the university's academic level all around.

Higher standards, accompanied by tangible rewards, produce good results.

Incentives make a difference in economic development. Incentives also will make a difference in intellectual development. A&T is taking an important step in the right direction.

Here's the A&T news release.

John Edwards has led a Democratic candidates' boycott of Fox News and suggested Congress should block Rupert Murdoch's purchase of the Wall Street Journal because his news operations aren't "fair and unbiased" enough, by Edwards' standards.

Wrongheaded, but a going-nowhere politician isn't likely to dent the armor of Murdoch or Fox News.

So now the Edwards campaign is taking on a UNC journalism student, The News & Observer reports:

"A UNC-Chapel Hill journalism professor said John Edwards' presidential campaign tried to kill a student's video story about his campaign headquarters.

"Associate Professor C.A. Tuggle said two top staffers for the former North Carolina senator demanded that the school drop the segment from the student-run television program 'Carolina Week.' They also asked to have the video removed from the YouTube Web site.

"Tuggle said they threatened to cut off access to Edwards for UNC student reporters and other student groups if the piece aired."

The journalism school at Carolina isn't backing down. Good for them. So Edwards can go ahead and "cut off access." For whatever that's worth.

He's already taught a good lesson about freedom of the press and why it's important.

The Atlantic Coast Conference cross-country championships take off in Charlottesville, Va., later this morning, and the University of North Carolina team will be full of Vikings from Northwest Guilford.

Four of the Heels' best runners are Northwest products:

Alex Ray

Zack Dawson

Ian Bracy

and Addie Bracy.

Generally, the competitive level of high school cross country in Guilford County isn't very good. Some schools don't even field a full team, maybe because the sport is seen as too strenuous.

Northwest Guilford is the most noteworthy exception. The Vikings have a consistently strong program, a testament to good coaching.

As a long-time-ago Carolina cross-country runner, I want to say: Go, Viking Heels!

Update: men's results

women's results

My son, Kenny, a Wake Forest grad, invited me to today's Big Four showdown with North Carolina.

I enjoyed hanging out with Kenny and his friends, but watching the game itself was painful for this Tar Heel fan. The team from Chapel Hill didn't put up much of a fight. Wake's 37-10 smackdown marked its seventh-consecutive Big Four win, going back to 2004. The Deacons take a commanding lead in 2007 Big Four standings:

Wake, 2-0
State, 0-0
Carolina, 0-1
Duke, 0-1

I'll update my Tarheel Top Ten tomorrow. Needless to say, Wake Forest will retain its No. 1 ranking. How far will No. 6 Carolina fall?

Update, Oct. 28, Tarheel Top Ten:

Elon, Appalachian, ECU and State solidify their 2-5 positions with victories. Catawba defeats Wingate. Winston-Salem State adds a win but Central is pounded by Western Kentucky.

1. Wake Forest, 6-2 (No. 1 last week)
2. Elon, 6-2 (2)
3. Appalachian State, 6-2 (3)
4. N.C. State, 3-5 (4)
5. East Carolina, 5-4 (5)
6. Catawba, 8-1 (7)
7. Winston-Salem State, 5-3 (9)
8. UNC, 2-6 (6)
9. N.C. Central, 6-3 (8)
10. Wingate, 6-3 (10)

Coverage of Sunday's horrible fire at Ocean Isle Beach from the Myrtle Beach Sun News ...

The State in Columbia ...

The Wilmington Star-News ...

University of South Carolina news.

A map of the precise location of the house.

The scope of this tragedy is stunning ... seven deaths -- as many lives lost as have been directly attributed to the recent California wild fires that covered more than a half-million acres and destroyed 2,300 structures -- in a single beach house.

Investigators have work to do to determine the cause of this fire and piece together the sequence of events. Six occupants were able to escape. Why couldn't the other seven? It's important to find out.

What a sad time at OIB, in Columbia and everywhere else these young people had friends and family.

Campaigns are already under way for 2008 North Carolina judicial elections.

These contests are nonpartisan, but they're still political. Too political.

In this state, judicial candidates are allowed to engage in political activities but within limits spelled out in the Code of Judicial Conduct.

Its very important Canon 1 says: "A judge should uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary."

Canon 3 A. (6) states: "A judge should abstain from public comment about the merits of a pending proceeding in any state or federal court dealing with a case or controversy arising in North Carolina or addressing North Carolina law ..."

Douglas McCullough is a judge on the N.C. Court of Appeals and an announced candidate for re-election in 2008. He's a Republican, as he makes clear when speaking to Republican audiences.

One such occasion was Oct. 20 at Lake Junaluska in Haywood County. A video at McCullough's campaign Web site captures his remarks.

He describes himself and two other candidates -- Supreme Court Justice Bob Edmunds and Court of Appeals Judge John Tyson, also Republicans -- as EMT, a team needed to rescue the judiciary.

No problem with that.

Then he says Edmunds' re-election is especially important because of legislative redistricting, recounting how Democratic gerrymandering has kept Republicans in the minority in the state House of Representatives. After the next redistricting in 2011, a challenge is sure to go to the Supreme Court, McCullough says, strongly implying that Republicans will get a better deal if Edmunds is on the bench.

I believe McCullough's statements were improper, violating the spirit if not the letter of the Code of Judicial Conduct.

Of course, there isn't yet a redistricting case before the courts. The next redistricting hasn't happened yet. But McCullough himself says there almost certainly will be such a case. While it's not technically a "pending" case at this time, it's a case that reasonably can be anticipated. I'd say, then, that this judge should have abstained from public comments about the merits of the case.

I understand that McCullough said nothing about the legal merits of a potential future redistricting case. His concern had to do with the political merits. Hence the suggestion that the Republican Party will get a better deal from Republican judges. (It follows that the corollary would apply: the Democratic Party will get a better deal from Democratic judges.)

Sadly, that still may be true in North Carolina. But it ought not be. As the code says, judges should uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary. They should apply the law with impartiality.

Running without party affiliation should free them from allegiance to partisan interests. Voters should expect that, even demand it. They shouldn't want to elect judges with a predetermined disposition in political cases, criminal cases or any other kind of cases.

I wasn't impressed by Judge McCullough's partisan remarks to Haywood County Republicans, and I hope that fair-minded voters will have the same reaction.

Update, Nov. 2: The video has been removed from Judge McCullough's campaign Web site, but it has been posted here.

Hillary Clinton blundered into trouble at a Democratic presidential candidates' debate last night.

Does she support New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposal to give illegal immigrants special driver's licenses?

Yes, she said. No, she said. It's the federal government's fault, she said.

Oh, my. Her opponents pounced.

Chris Dodd disagreed with Yes.

Barack Obama disagreed with No.

John Edwards said she ought to make up her mind, although if he's made up his mind on that one, he didn't say.

Clinton probably can shrug this off. But she should have blasted the New York plan. She can rightfully criticize the Bush administration for failing to get a handle on illegal immigration, but New York's plan actively undercuts the feds by legitimizing people who are here in violation of federal law.

She should have proposed putting an exit in New York driver's license offices leading straight to a federal immigration office. Everyone holding a shiny new illegal immigrant card could proceed directly to a deportation hearing.

That might have won her a few votes.