Fascinating opinion

This opinion from the N.C. Court of Appeals is interesting in two respects. First, because it provides new protection for the media when it comes to court-imposed gag orders.

But the really juicy part is the tiff between the trial court and the appeals court. In the end, the appeals court issued a rare "admonishment" of the trial court for this comments.

Star featured on UK Web site

We probably haven't done a good enough job "tooting our horn" over the press The Star has received nationally and internationally over our Web site and print product innovations.

Here is a story from a journalism site in England on our work.

Global warming brainwashing ...

As many of you know, I have serious concerns about the validity of some of the "science" on global warming.

But what REALLY concerns me is the shameless indoctrination on the subject.

To wit, here is a story from Canada on the blatant brainwashing being perpetrated by the education establishment there.

Not good at all.

Dry stretch

As you can see by this forecast, it will be bone dry in our area for at least the next 8 days.

Recent rains have helped, but we're still behind.....

Attn: Shelby Middle School carpoolers

Many mornings, I have the morning carpool for my children and others at Shelby Middle School. These are sixth-graders, so we go past the school, take a right and drop the children off there.

Sometimes, the line stretches around the corner, causing a small delay of 1-2 minutes.

It's amazing to me, though, to see parents simply drive around this line, bypassing those who are waiting their turn, and then knife in at the front.

When I was a kid, we called that cutting in line!

Why is this any different?

Shelby Middle parents, help me out -- what am I missing?!?!?

Remembering John Cline

It was probably four years ago, on the sidewalk in front of Ichabod's restaurant in Shelby.
Our family was together and we ran into John Cline, longtime member of the Cleveland County Sanitary District.

My wife Dina had been the district's lawyer some years back and that's how I had first gotten to know John. It was a friendship that blossomed. He came by often to visit me at The Star. More on those priceless times later.

On this day, though, in uptown Shelby, something unusual happened. My youngest son Will was just a toddler, which meant he was shy and even downright frightened of strangers. Bless his heart, but John Cline wasn't exactly the kind of person you'd expect to break through that type of fear -- well into his 80s with a weathered face and sharp features.

But he gave it a shot. Smiling and cooing with Will as Dina held him and we all talked.

Then it happened. Little arms that had clutched so tightly to mommy suddenly loosened that grip, then let go, then reached out for John. As our jaws dropped, his countenance brightened in a way words can't describe. He held Will like he would his own son. We talked some more and eventually, but reluctantly, he handed Will back to his mommy and we all went our ways.

"John Cline is here to see you"
If I'm being totally honest, there were a few times those weren't necessarily the words I wanted to hear. There is no one in this county that came to see me more often than John and sometimes those calls came in the middle of breaking news or just minutes before an important meeting.

Yet, I could never say no to a John visit. And no matter how busy, when our time was through, I was richer for the visit.

John cared about a lot of things and a lot of people. He was a rock-ribbed Republican. I tried to Google up the origin of the term "rock-ribbed Republican." No luck. Maybe it was invented by or for John. His involvement in party politics at the highest levels was a source of great pride.

He cared deeply about the upper end of Cleveland County. Some of that love translated to resentment of "the city," meaning Shelby. Hearing his views helped me gain perspective on that endless debate which rages anywhere rural and urban cultures cross.

John treasured his service on the sanitary district board. His life was consumed by the current efforts to bring a reservoir to Upper Cleveland. I (and undoubtedly many others) would teasingly start out conversations with John: "So, how's it coming on the new John Cline Lake?" He would wave off the title, but the strong glint in his eye would reveal his love affair with the project and his investment in its success. He and district manager Butch Smith were always working on some angle to try and speed up the reservoir process. He could barely contain his impatience with the federal red tape that brought the process to a crawl.

And I can't leave out an important passion of John's -- The Star. He devoured the paper daily. Often, he would call to commend me on an editorial view or story. He was always lobbying -- in John's ever-so-effective and courteous way -- for more coverage of the district. He would do it like this: "Skip, you think we can get a reporter up to our next meeting. It's going to be real important." How could I say no?

The hat
John was a figure. Not in the sense of "public figure" but in the sense of having a true presence. His hat was as much a fixture on his head as the one worn by legendary Alabama Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. Yet, he would remove the hat when he came and sat in my office, the ultimate display of courtesy and respect. I hope that hat finds its way into the formal remembrance of John.

Even as a Republican in a Democratic county, he was impossible not to like. At Chamber meetings, when John was introduced, he always elicited smiles from the group. He was just a nice man, always bringing me books of interest and offering me produce and such.

John's service in World War II was an integral part of who he was. Often he would say to me "I don't like to talk about that very much," when his service would come up in conversation. When something 60 years past is too painful for a man like John Cline to talk about, it must have been worse than anything I could imagine.

And finally, John's faith was his source of all this goodness. He was deeply involved in his church, often telling me about transitions to new pastors and such. John and I also talked occasionally of his family, but I will leave those observations to those closer to his kin.

Farewell
And so, our visits at The Star would end. John would get up and offer a firm handshake. Then, without fail, he would turn to me and smile and say "How's that Will doin'?" Four years later, and the World War II veteran well into his 80s remembered that day he held my toddler as freshly as if it had happened a few minutes prior. He would ask for the latest picture of Will and marveled at the speed at which he had grown.

Only at the word of his passing do I finally get it.

My little Will sensed what so many of us had felt over the years -- John Cline was just somebody you enjoyed being close to.

Farewell GOP

Terrific column by my colleague Steve Greenhut at the Orange County Register. For Steve, it appears, it's no longer good enough to say "Got to stick with those Republicans because they're at least better than Democrats."

These days, you can barely tell the two apart.

Duke "scandal" post mortem

I wrote this article way back in April about the use of the word "scandal."

Funny how things turn out....

Is global warming even bad?

This is a terrific article from Newsweek. The idea that global warming is a bad thing is based on the arrogant assumption that our current-day temperatures are ideal. Given the ever-changing nature of the earth's climate, this is an absurd assumption which this column does an excellent job of debunking.

Compelling read from Iraq

I know there's lots of talk about not enough "good news" from Iraq, but stories like this from today's New York Times make those complaints ring hollow -- you wont find any opinion or slant in this article, just strong narrative describing horrific conditions. Very sad.

My dad, the writer

As this story in The (Lakeland Fla.) Ledger details, my father has been published.

Now, if everyone who reads this blog will just go out and buy 100 copies each .....

More global warming common sense

This devastating column by Thomas Sowell is a must read if you have fallen for the radical environmentalist/far left campus elitists' propaganda on global warming.

Folks, these people have an agenda and aren't going to let the facts get in the way of their thesis.

Star featured in Washington Post

I think our move away from the paragraph was a little oversold, but otherwise, it's flattering to be mentioned in a major publication such as this.

Brenda Sue, cont.

Megan Ward was interviewed by a local radio station on the Brenda Sue case. You can check it out on www.shelbystar.com. Click on the "podcast" tab in the "interactive features" section.

Brenda Sue

Hard to believe how this story has captured the imagination of the community. I hope everyone read our editorial on this case earlier in the week.

I've had a few calls complaining that we have "convicted" Mr. Price in this case. Of course, we have not done that, but I understand how the strong play we've given the story might leave that impression.

No way getting around it, though, this is one of the biggest arrests in the county's history.

If you have any question or comments on our coverage, leave them here or e-mail me at skipfoster@shelbystar.com

Global warming caused by man?

You may think this is no longer a question, but a fact.

Yet, the intelligensia has become so left-lurching on college campuses (where most so-called research is currently conducted) that I am dubious of any claims generated from this arena.

Which is why when I stumbled on this column today, I wasn't surprised one bit.

Major winter storm Thursday

Looks like we're going to get hit pretty hard Thursday.


Best guess:
2-3 inches of snow
.25-.4 inches of ice on top.

That should be enough to bring down some trees, as well as the obvious travel problems.

The forecast could turn snowier if temps don't start climbing faster in what's left of this afternoon.

Here is a nice Google map plotting temps. As of this writing (1:30 p.m.) Shelby's airport is at 35F with Crest Middle reporting 33F. The high today was supposed to be 40.

Thanks for the thanks

Been overwhelmed on kind words from folks about my new position as publisher of The Star (effective March 1). I will keep blogging, though -- it's crucial to our business's success that we keep communicating across all sorts of media and mediums.

Anyway, I'll get back to my regularly scheduled blogging now that the hubbub of the last few weeks has passed.

Thanks again,
Skip

This is going to be ugly

We should all be sympathizing with the folks in Oklahoma, who are about to endure a vicious ice storm.

Here is a link to some of the warnings up for the Oklahoma City area.

Please take note of this excerpt:

ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF ONE HALF INCH TO ONE AND A HALF INCHES ARE
EXPECTED WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS EXPECTED TO
EXTEND ALONG THE INTERSTATE 44 CORRIDOR. ICE ACCUMULATIONS AND
WINDS WILL LIKELY LEAD TO SNAPPED POWER LINES AND FALLING TREE
BRANCHES. THIS MAY RESULT IN EXTENDED POWER OUTAGES IN SOME AREAS.



Remember, our bad ice storms of the past few years were caused by about 1/2 inch of ice -- can you imagine three times that amount?!?!?

Not good.

Political correctness continues to run amok

This story really speaks for itself and is, I'm afraid, quite a statement on how political correctness has infected media coverage.