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Doug Clark: Governor puts everything on the line

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:00:00 -0400

A few weeks from now:

The governor calls a meeting of her top advisers -- in the Wake County jail.

"I brought you a cake," one of them says, holding a bakery box.

"Does it have a file under the icing?"

"Governor, breaking out of here is the last thing you want to do."

"Why is that?"

Doug Clark: Creative spirit fills High Point market

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:00:00 -0400

There's no place like the furniture market in High Point. And, if Dorothy from Kansas could visit, I'm sure she'd agree.

Wait. She is visiting, sort of, in the "Trip to Ahhs" visual presentation by artist Mike Farrell on the top floor of the Suites at Market Square.

This is one of the coolest, cleverest exhibits most of you will never get to see.

Doug Clark: Men can enjoy books without women

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Why aren't there as many book clubs for men as for women?

1. Men don't read as much.

2. They do, but they don't care to talk about books.

3. Their wives don't believe they're really going to a book club meeting.

Doug Clark: Future depends on education for girls

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:00:00 -0400

In Tanzania, a secondary school graduation program is worth every bit of five hours.

When the students in caps and gowns are girls, there's even more reason for celebration.

My son, Andrew, and I attended commencement exercises at Kongei Secondary School near Lushoto on Saturday, Sept. 19. In fact, we were seated among the guests of honor.

Doug Clark: Zoo could add to elephants' territory

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:00:00 -0400

The N.C. Zoo features hundreds of magnificent animals, but its biggest attractions are its seven elephants.

The zoo last year completed an $8.5 million expansion project, officially opening its Watani Grasslands Reserve. The enhanced exhibit affords marvelous elephant viewing opportunities for delighted adults and children.

I enjoy watching these amazing giants every time I visit. But, what meets the eye doesn't tell the whole story.

Doug Clark: The wider world demands attention

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Manju Schwandt is a soft-spoken woman, but I finally received her message loud and clear: This is important. Pay attention.

For months, she's been trying to raise my awareness about events in her native Sri Lanka, an island nation off the coast of India.

She'd send e-mails with links to online articles and reports detailing human-rights abuses in the aftermath of Sri Lanka's long civil war, which ended this year with a brutal victory by the government over the "Tamil Tigers." Then she'd call to ask if I'd seen what she'd sent.

Doug Clark: A little praise isn't so bad sometimes

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:00:00 -0400

"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit" -- Proverbs 15:4.

For once, I'm going to listen to my better angels.

This isn't easy for an editorial writer whose stock in trade is criticism. But my minister is preaching a series of sermons from the Bible's Book of Proverbs, and for this column I resolve to wise up.

Doug Clark: Take a direct approach to racial justice

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 03:00:00 -0400

State legislators and Gov. Bev Perdue should play it straight about the death penalty: Just put an end to it.

There are too many problems with implementation, too much inconsistency in application. Public opinion is slowly turning against it and juries are more reluctant to impose it. It's time to replace capital punishment with life in prison without parole.

Creating the Racial Justice Act simply adds more confusion and inequity.

Doug Clark: Can politicians stand health care heat?

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 03:00:00 -0400

While I was enjoying a cool vacation in northern Michigan last week (temperatures in Harbor Springs topped out at 72), the health care debate was heating up.

Or were some people lighting torches and looking for something to burn?

Here's the take from Organizing for America, a creation of the Democratic National Committee, which sends me regular e-mails:

Doug Clark: If the president speaks on N.C. issues ...

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Here's a preview of President Obama's Town Hall meeting in Raleigh today ... if audience members are allowed to ask really interesting questions:

Q. Mr. President, will you scrimmage with the Wolfpack basketball players while you're here today?

A. I wish I had time. I know I could score against those guys.

Q. Professor Henry Louis Gates once taught at Duke but thought North Carolina was racist. What's your opinion?

Doug Clark: Earls may be perfect judge for Obama

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:00:00 -0400

When President Barack Obama nominates a new federal judge for the Middle District of North Carolina, he can choose between two women with very different professional backgrounds.

One had been widely expected to get the job since the vacancy opened last December when Judge N. Carlton Tilley stepped back to "senior status."

But the other might be just what Obama is looking for.

Doug Clark: Law should protect the spurned spouse

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Elizabeth Edwards let Rielle Hunter off too easy. She should have sued the hussy for "alienation of affection."

And added "criminal conversation" for good measure.

Alienation of affection is willful and malicious interference with marriage relationships by a third party. North Carolina is one of only eight states that recognizes the right of the victim to seek compensation in court from the offender.

Doug Clark: Judicial districts could use a change

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:00:00 -0400

When word got out about Judge Henry Frye Jr.'s decision to retire Aug. 1, people around the Guilford County courthouse started to get busy.

Opportunities like this don't come up very often.

So Gov. Bev Perdue likely will be receiving letters from several people interested in the appointment to fill out the rest of Frye's term on the Superior Court bench.

The most notable is Patrice Hinnant, who's in her 13th year as a District Court judge. She was re-elected to her fourth term last year, without opposition.

Doug Clark: Bed bugs, creepily, a growing problem

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Pam Spence says she's the "bed bug lady" at the Guilford County Department of Public Health.

It's not good that Guilford County needs a "bed bug lady," but calls about the blood-sucking pests have been increasing. Spence, a community health educator, answers them.

Doug Clark: Ideas for balancing the state's budget

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Here's how North Carolina can balance its budget. See if you can tell which suggestions have actually been proposed by elected officials:

Use inmate labor to pave roads and repair bridges.

Use inmate labor to teach school.

Release inmates who are elderly and need expensive medical care.

Release inmates who promise to move to another state.

In all traffic cases, raise fines but drop other penalties. Habitual speeders can be a good source of revenue.

Appalachian Institution ready for its 2nd year

"Doug Clark ()" — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Ask Ward Purrington for a favorite memory of last year's inaugural season of Appalachian Institution retreats and he hears music.

The Appalachian String Ensemble was performing in the convocation hall at the Lake Logan retreat center near Canton in western North Carolina's Haywood County.

Doug Clark: The Easleys endure a really bad day

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:00:00 -0400

A bad day at the Easleys':

"Mike, are you awake yet? There's something on TV you should see."

"Mary, you know I sleep late on Mondays."

"Like every day. Now, please get up."

"What is it? Have the media dug up the rest of my travel records?"

"You said those would never be found."

"Unless somebody kept copies."

"Let's hope not. Anyway, this is almost as bad: The news is reporting that Jim Oblinger just resigned."

"Why?"

Doug Clark: Right to privacy reaches remote corner

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:00:00 -0400

The Web site for Graham County Schools provides this evocative description:

"Graham County is located in the far reaches of Western North Carolina in the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains of the southern Appalachians. The region is home to some of the highest and most remote mountains east of the Mississippi with elevations ranging from 1,177 to 5,560 feet. Graham County is nestled among hundreds of thousands of acres of wilderness full of stunning mountain landscapes and many breathtaking views."

Doug Clark: Perdue should reverse Easley attitudes

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 20 May 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Every day brings more bad news for Mike Easley, but it could be worse.

He could still be governor.

His successor, Bev Perdue, is dealing with a deepening budget crisis and plunging popularity.

She should use Easley's troubles to strengthen her own image by casting herself as the anti-Easley governor.

Last week, Public Policy Polling measured Perdue's approval rating at 34 percent. Among teachers, it was just 29 percent.

Doug Clark: Execution ruling may not end impasse

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:00:00 -0400

It's not often that matters of life and death depend on the meaning of an ordinary word. But, as I read it, that was the issue in last week's capital punishment ruling by a closely divided N.C. Supreme Court.

The question is what the legislature intended by writing into state law the requirement that a physician must be "present" at lethal-injection executions. No specific role is spelled out.

Doug Clark: Enjoy that fatty burger while you can

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 03:00:00 -0400

In the near future, maybe:

A craving for a burger hit me, so I stopped at a fast-food place.

The menu board gave me a jolt. A quarter-pound cheeseburger, $8.95?

"Is that the right price?"

"Yes, sir," a teenaged girl behind the counter nodded with a nervous smile.

"It was more like $2.95 the last time I was here. What's going on?"

"I'll call the manager."

A moment later I was looking at a middle-aged man with sad, tired eyes.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

Doug Clark: Free speech has foes at some colleges

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:00:00 -0400

UNC-Chapel Hill looked like a world turned upside down one night last week.

Angry demonstrators stopped immigration opponent Tom Tancredo's speech by shouting insults, stretching a banner in front of him and, finally, bashing in a window. And they accused him of being hateful.

It was an ugly, embarrassing spectacle. Chancellor Holden Thorp apologized, reaffirmed Carolina's commitment to free expression and said offenders will be investigated for possible criminal and honor code violations.

Doug Clark: State budget process can't be trusted

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 03:00:00 -0400

If you owe the state money, please send it in today. Then, maybe the state can afford to cough up my $600 refund.

Yes, finances in Raleigh are that precarious. The state is just about broke.

We can blame the recession for the dire straits. Fortunately, we're bound to see better days again.

There's another and worse kind of poverty in state government, though: a dearth of democracy. It gives me little hope that, good times or bad, the people's resources are being well managed.

Doug Clark: Atkinson makes compelling legal case

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 03:00:00 -0400

You can call it June Atkinson v. Beverly Perdue, but the lawsuit brought by North Carolina's superintendent of public instruction against the governor isn't personal.

It's not a test of wills. It's not a power struggle. It's not a popularity contest. It's not a grudge match. It's not political.

If it were, the feisty, take-charge governor might be expected to mop the floor with the mild-mannered educator.

But this is all about the state constitution. And, for that reason, Atkinson must prevail.

Doug Clark: Young Americans at home anywhere

"Doug Clark ()" — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:00:00 -0400

The Tar Heels were lighting it up against Gonzaga last Friday night, but our guest was stretched out on the couch asleep before halftime.

That's a former Peace Corps volunteer for you. They can make themselves at home anywhere, anytime.

We'd just met Justin Wild and Anna Kuhn earlier that evening when they arrived at our house -- another way station on their cross-country safari. Anna, motor always running, was still following the action on television, but Justin was plain worn out from a long, busy day.