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<title><![CDATA[SRL Opinion Columnists]]></title>
<link>http://www2.statesville.com/content/list/opinion/columnists/</link>
<description><![CDATA[SRL Opinion Columnists]]></description>
<language>en</language>

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<title><![CDATA[A bold agenda doesn't have to mean big government]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2009/jan/08/bold-agenda-doesnt-have-mean-big-government/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2009/jan/08/bold-agenda-doesnt-have-mean-big-government/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[The 111th Congress has convened in Washington. As new and returning members of Congress are sworn into office, America faces a pressing set of challenges. Our economy is limping along, shedding jobs each month. Home prices are declining at record rates. The federal government is stuck in a mantra of bailout mania.  ]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Making the best of the worst]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2009/jan/07/making-best-worst/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2009/jan/07/making-best-worst/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[Been dreading '09?  Gottfried Leibniz, the 17th century German philosopher, drew the admiration of the faithful and the scorn of the skeptical when he famously observed that if God is omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent, then this must necessarily be the best of all possible worlds.]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:18:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Understanding why Hoover failed and why we might, too]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2009/jan/06/understanding-why-hoover-failed-and-why-we-might-t/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2009/jan/06/understanding-why-hoover-failed-and-why-we-might-t/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA["But as it happened, the banks took the taxpayer money and just sat on it."]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Environment takes backseat to jobs, riches in new novel]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2009/jan/02/environment-takes-backseat-jobs-riches-new-novel/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2009/jan/02/environment-takes-backseat-jobs-riches-new-novel/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA["Be careful when you talk about saving the forests," a wise mountain politician told me when I was campaigning in his home county.]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 02 Jan 2009 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Will obsession with Lincoln overshadow inauguration?]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/27/will-obsession-lincoln-overshadow-inauguration/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/27/will-obsession-lincoln-overshadow-inauguration/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[WASHINGTON — Next month, Barack Obama will catch a train in Philadelphia and trace the route Abraham Lincoln followed to Washington for his inauguration. ]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 27 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Dog fostering well worth sacrifice]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/23/column-dog-fostering-well-worth-sacrifice/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/23/column-dog-fostering-well-worth-sacrifice/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[Since April 2007, some 10 dogs called my home theirs, at least on a temporary basis.]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[What is hope worth to you?]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/23/what-hope-worth-you/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/23/what-hope-worth-you/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[In late September, according to a story floating around this Christmas season, an ardent Democrat was on his knees in prayer.]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA['A good death' is fate of too many]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/22/good-death-fate-too-many/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/22/good-death-fate-too-many/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[Euthanasia, translated from Greek as "good death," is defined by Merriam-Webster as "the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy."]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 22 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Layoffs at the North Pole? Say it isn't so]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/21/layoffs-north-pole-say-it-isnt-so/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/21/layoffs-north-pole-say-it-isnt-so/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[Hey, did you hear? Santa Claus is laying off Rudolph after the big night. ]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 21 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Avoiding a driveway/speedway collision]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/17/avoiding-drivewayspeedway-collision/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/17/avoiding-drivewayspeedway-collision/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[Whether or not Washington tries to rescue Detroit, Mooresville, Concord and Charlotte will have to rescue racing and themselves -- and do it pretty soon.]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:01:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Don't bank on consumers making rational decisions]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/17/dont-bank-consumers-making-rational-decisions/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/17/dont-bank-consumers-making-rational-decisions/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[Last week the New York Times released its list of "100 notable" books of 2008.  

Two North Carolina books made the list.]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Who made them king? Entitlement at the root of political scandal]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/14/who-made-them-king-entitlement-root-political-scan/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/14/who-made-them-king-entitlement-root-political-scan/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[A reporter in Chicago asked President-elect Barack Obama, "What's wrong with politics in Illinois?"]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 14 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[One barbecue controversy resolved, another still blazes]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/11/one-barbecue-controversy-resolved-another-still-bl/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/11/one-barbecue-controversy-resolved-another-still-bl/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[There is one great question that North Carolina politicians have argued about for generations. The views of the protagonists are intractable and held with passion.]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Ending the bailout gravy train will help restore our economy]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/09/ending-bailout-gravy-train-will-help-restore-our-e/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/09/ending-bailout-gravy-train-will-help-restore-our-e/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[During the summer of 2008 anyone predicting that gas prices would fall by more than half in a few months would have been laughed off the national stage. Anyone suggesting that the federal government would commit $8.5 trillion to bailouts and loan guarantees (when the entire federal budget is only $3 trillion) would have faced a similar fate. ]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[In the wake of Mumbai, what about our Homeland Security?]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/07/wake-mumbai-what-about-our-homeland-security/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/07/wake-mumbai-what-about-our-homeland-security/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[Talk about tall orders. When he chose Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security, President-elect Barack Obama said, "She will be a leader who can reform a sprawling department while safeguarding our homeland."]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 07 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Vision, community effort pay off with national award]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/05/vision-community-effort-pay-national-award/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/05/vision-community-effort-pay-national-award/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[Congratulations to the entire staff of the Iredell-Statesville Schools system on their achievement of recognition by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and President Bush for demonstrated excellence in the process of educating the youth of our community.  ]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[N.C. mayor was first to break through color barrier]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/04/nc-mayor-was-first-break-through-color-barrier/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/04/nc-mayor-was-first-break-through-color-barrier/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[Excitement and anticipation reigned everywhere as a young African-American campaigning on a promise of change won a groundbreaking election victory. ]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Obama: An American Tony Blair?]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/03/obama-american-tony-blair/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/03/obama-american-tony-blair/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[Ronald Reagan's famous "It's morning in America" campaign ads could have played well in Great Britain when Margaret Thatcher first began to hoist the UK out of the socialist malaise in which it had languished in under the Labour party. ]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:50:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Scotts alumni preserved freedom for all Americans]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/02/scotts-alumni-preserved-freedom-all-americans/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/02/scotts-alumni-preserved-freedom-all-americans/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[Thanks to the Statesville Record & Landmark for sharing community history. I refer to O. C. Stonestreet's column that ran on Nov. 9 as a Veterans Day tribute to the veterans of Scotts High School from 1907-1966. What an honor to embrace the freedom of free speech that these veterans of military service have preserved. ]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Books worth reading and giving this holiday season]]></title>

<link><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/02/books-worth-reading-and-giving-holiday-season/news-opinion/]]></link>


<guid><![CDATA[http://www2.statesville.com/content/2008/dec/02/books-worth-reading-and-giving-holiday-season/news-opinion/]]></guid>

<description><![CDATA[I almost forgot the reading and Christmas giving list I promised you a few weeks ago.]]></description>
<pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 02 Dec 2008 05:00:00 EST]]></pubDate>
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