An Awkward Attempt at Reining in Palin
 From The Pilot: November 24, 2009Sarah Palin must have thought she was back on the campaign trail with Sen. John McCain's "handlers" when she reached the Fort Bragg Post Exchange Monday.News accounts report that the former vice-presidential candidate's "to do" list was shorter than her "do not do" list. She could not make a speech, write personal notes, pose for photographs or sign anything other than autographing her book.Jeez, I guess that prohibited her from writing a neat little note inside the book with a typical Palinism -- a "you betcha," for instance.Don't misunderstand. I'm no fan of Sarah Palin, but she certainly was a lively, fresh personality

This Thanksgiving, It's a Double Struggle for the State's Poor
From The Pilot: November 24, 2009 Thanksgiving is upon us, a time when many media outlets tend to focus on the poor who can't afford a feast to celebrate the holiday.There are more families than ever in that boat, living in poverty or teetering on its edge, just one illness or missed mortgage payment away.And that's true all year long, not just during the holiday season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released its food insecurity report, which found that almost 50 million people couldn't afford enough to eat at some point during the last year. Almost one in four children went hungry. That's the highest number since the federal government beg

Help Us Invest in Our Community
From The Pilot: November 24, 2009 The past two years have been a difficult economic time for all Americans, but even more so for the disadvantaged. More than 35,000 people in Moore County rely on the support of our United Way. Twenty-two agencies and programs receive funding from our local United Way, and for many of the programs, the United Way is a major source of income.The United Way of Moore County serves three constituencies: youth, family and medical and emergency assistance. It supports nine youth programs that concentrate on building better citizens through education, community involvement and leadership preparation. Another keynote is bet

Our Opportunity to Set an Example
 From The Pilot: November 24, 2009I don't get it.Certain people in America are going to have to realize that espousing hatred and tirades of inane fear will never replace humanity's primal need to question, choose and incorporate that which is different and new. Many of us are drawn toward the unfamiliar, toward what we're told is taboo, toward the very people, concepts and institutions we're told are dangerous to established ­society.Why?What those preaching intolerance don't realize (or maybe they do) is that when the populace musters the courage to consider the unknown, to extend the hand of assistance to those who need it

Show Them Our Legal System Works
From The Pilot: November 21,2009Boy, there sure are a lot of people these days who want to give in to the terrorists.I remember back in those dark days after 9/11 when people were affirming that America was going to stand tall, that we weren't going to let ourselves be intimidated by maniacs who were trying to kill us.But lately, it seems like there are a lot of politicians, on both sides of the aisle, who want to let fear of terrorist attack, or even terrorist's words, ­dictate how we run our ­country and how we bring the people responsible for the a