EdCone.com

The protocol for criticizing a former Tar Heel, debated at a UNC message board.

Google's search-help function serves up "sean may fat" as the first option when his name is entered.

May is an all-time UNC hero for his stretch run in '05, and he always presented himself well. My favorite description: "For a player of his bulk, May had a surprisingly delicate touch. Watching him shoot was akin to watching a bear dine on salmon with a knife and fork."

Nobody wants to be injured, and Larry Brown says May's working hard, so at least some of the criticism seems to be off-base.

On the theme of the current unpleasantness being epochal no matter how the final numbers compare to previous recessions: "This ended our belief that financial panics were a thing of the past. That's why this is a transcendent event."

Life in our protectorate:

Kurdistan is the only known part of Iraq --and one of the few places in the world--where female circumcision is widespread. More than 60 percent of women in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq have been circumcised, according to a study conducted this year. In at least one Kurdish territory, 95 percent of women have undergone the practice, which human rights groups call female genital mutilation.

The practice, and the Kurdish parliament's refusal to outlaw it, highlight the plight of women in a region with a reputation for having a more progressive society than the rest of Iraq. Advocates for women point to the increasing frequency of honor killings against women and female self-immolations in Kurdistan this year as further evidence that women in the area still face significant obstacles, despite efforts to raise public awareness of circumcision and violence against women.

"When the Kurdish people were fighting for our independence, women participated as full members in the underground resistance," said Pakshan Zangana, who heads the women's committee in the Kurdish parliament. "But now that we have won our freedom, the position of women has been pushed backwards and crimes against us are minimized."

Two books I'd been meaning to read for a long time that I read in the past week: Snow Crash and The Fermata.

The Fermata is a very clever dirty book by Nicholson Baker. It is funny and qualm-inducing and about many things beyond magical powers and masturbation.

Snow Crash held my interest, especially the whole Sumerian glossolalia thing, but I was somewhat disappointed because Neuromancer did a lot of the things it did several years earlier, and because Stephenson's later book, Cryptonomicon, is one of my all-time favorites and he wasn't there yet with this one.

Charlotte no longer the outlier on home-price decline map.

Lennar CEO: "Frankly, we’re in the midst of a downward spiral and the momentum is building."

Comparisons to previous recessions are incomplete because this recession is as yet incomplete. And however the final numbers stack up, it seems clear that in some ways this recession will bring greater fundamental changes than any of its predecessors since the Depression.

I don't disagree with Jim about optimism and opportunity, but facts is facts, and the facts to date have made the pessimists look prescient and a lot of other folks look like fools.

Cillizza says Kay Hagan ran the best Senate campaign of 2008. I don't know that he's wrong, but Dole made it easier than it might have been. My take on Hagan's run here.

I worked with Elma Sabo for a long time. As I've mentioned here on occasion, she was a pleasure to work with, which is not something writers always say about editors. Thanks, Elma, and best of luck in the future.

One measure of an event's impact is the extent to which things are different in its aftermath. The ongoing economic slide seems to be remaking the landscape in ways some earlier recessions did not.

Already the financial system has been changed significantly, and the housing business, and the role of government. Big shifts in the auto industry seem to be imminent.

Next: retail, which may see a wave of bankruptcies and liquidations, new strategies, and fewer brands. The ripple effect on real estate could be profound -- think of all the empty space in Greensboro, then imagine a dramatic increase.

A hometown company, VF, is mentioned in the article. It is said to be better-postiioned than some rivals, although it's already felt some pain.

Amanda Lehmert leverages Keith Brown's online work to tell N&R readers something interesting about local politics and activism.

Another example, from an ongoing fight.

Elijah made an AMV.

Abrupt Climate Change, a report from the US Geological Survey, says the eponymous phenomenon has happened before, and could happen again, which would be kind of a big problem.

The report is not subtitled Apocalypse Now, but data from Greenland and the Antarctic suggest that "projected sea level rises for the end of the 21st century are too low."

The most hated movie critic in America.

Hate is such a negative emotion. Maybe "most easily ignored" would be healthier.

I am not familiar with the work of Ben Lyons, but I have seen I Am Legend, which I would put on my list of greatest movies involving a depopulated New York City, if it was a fairly long list.

We watched Fight Club the other night. Elijah said he liked it, but didn't enjoy it. Now he wants to fight Gandhi.

They look better on the radio, but you pretty much have to sing along anyway.

Yes, this post violates my Bands With Geographic Names Suck rule (discussed well into this thread; stupid TypePad won't let me link directly to anything past the first page).

Triad's economic salvation delayed.

The Triad may have to wait another year before FedEx Corp. begins cargo-sorting operations in its hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport.

FedEx said today that it would not open the sorting portion of the hub in June as has been projected for years because of lower demand for its services and belt-tightening by the company.

Instead, it could be next December — or later — before the hub opens.

And when it does, the company is likely to have at least 50 percent fewer employees at the start of operations than it has pledged since committing to the hub at PTI in April 1998.

The way time used to be wasted.

Reduced reuse: "People are still putting their bins of recyclables out on curbs. But the recyclable materials market, which was booming only a few months ago, has dropped sharply, along with the worldwide economy, creating a backlog of materials at processing plants."

Is there anecdotal evidence that unconventional therapies sometimes yield positive outcomes? Yes. There's also anecdotal evidence that athletes who refuse to shave during winning streaks sometimes bring home championships. It was George D. Lundberg, a former editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, who said: "There's no alternative medicine. There is only scientifically proven, evidence-based medicine supported by solid data." We'd do well to keep that in mind as we plot the future of American health care. It's not like we've got billions to waste.

More here.

The most beloved holiday of the year is upon us. Our family lore is replete with Boxing Day traditions. The children sit ready with their hand-carved hookahs, while the grownups adorn each other with brightly-colored beads and bacon grease. We are humble folk, and so expect cash and durable goods to be bestowed upon us by our betters, hopes that invariably are dashed yet do not poison the day in our Who-like hearts.

I posted this comment in a thread on Rick Warren and the inauguration:

The dialog between Etheridge and Warren is important.

She knows that gay people historically have been ostracized, demonized, and even physically endangered, and that religion has often been used to justify such behavior.  She perceives opposition to gay marriage as a continuation of that mindset.

He knows that his beliefs lead him to oppose gay marriage, and inclusion of gays in his church.

But they don't know each other, and so they are free to impose upon each other any stereotype that seems to fit.

Now they've met. She can feel some decency in the man. He can see that she is very much a part of the message of love he believes. They may not end up agreeing on the presenting issue, but their chances for mutual respect and agreement in some areas increases, even as both are criticized for coming together.

Ideally, the speakers at an inauguration bring us all to the same place, even those who would be happy to see no religious element to the ceremony, and give us a safe place to put our differences, at least for a moment.

There are many places on earth where no grievance is ever forgotten, and people are invested in keeping conflicts going. If one is more interested in seeking grievance than finding common ground, one can always find reasons to perpetuate discord.

One good thing about living in Greensboro is that it affords those who would seek it the chance to know many different types of people. I count among my friends many who hold very different views on any number of issues. That doesn't make us agree, but it makes us more agreeable.

Obviously knowing each other is no panacea. But it can be a start. Life outside the silo is healthy. Good for Etheridge and Warren for seeking it, and good for Obama for trying to broaden the common ground.

Peace. Merry Christmas.

The office was closed in a twinkling, and the clerk, with the long ends of his white comforter dangling below his waist (for he boasted no great-coat), went down a slide on Cornhill, at the end of a lane of boys, twenty times, in honour of its being Christmas Eve, and then ran home to Camden Town as hard as he could pelt, to play at blindman's-buff.

Seasonal reading.

The agony of being unfriended. I agonize over accepting friend invitations from people I don't even know. Then I don't.

"One day, we'll look back at the SUV craze and shake our heads at the whims of fashion." I'm sorry that my prediction came about quite the way it did.

A look at the impact of Wachovia's decline on local communities. Greensboro will be feeling it for some time to come (plus AIG, LNC, RFMD, et al).

I think that's enough grim news for the season. Plenty more to come next year, so for the moment, I'll focus more on Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth.

Melissa Etheridge: "I will be attending the inauguration with my family, and with hope in my heart. I know we are headed in the direction of marriage equality and equal protection for all families."

Warren's church scrubs website. "So does Rick Warren now welcome gays, all gays, as members of his church?...And whose idea was it to remove the anti-gay language? Warren's, or Obama's?"

"I'm fairly optimistic about 2010." The most cheerful thing Krugman has said in quite some time.

2008 will not be remembered fondly*, and 2009, ugh.

*There is more to life than money, and of course all kinds of good things happened in 2008, in the wider world and my own life. But you take my meaning.

"Everybody, there is an 800 lbs gorilla sitting in the living room of this banking bailout, and the general public doesn’t see it." Administering all those mortgages is a huge job -- one on which the taxpayers could incur large costs while the banks make tons of money.

In my experience, kids are often adventurous eaters when they're little, and then revert to the mean as teenagers. You just have to put the good food in front of them. Young palates do seem more sensitive to strong flavors, which is why things that made me gag as a kid are now delicacies.

Toyota expects first-ever operating loss.

I guess we should bail them out, too.

Somewhat related: the car-loan racket. "The driving force behind all of these loan shenanigans is Wall Street. The automakers' finance arms (and banks, too) have made a fortune by packaging the inflated loans made by their dealerships and selling them as securities. It's the same scheme that ultimately brought down the subprime mortgage industry. And just like the mortgage lenders, the automakers and their finance arms must have been well aware that the loans generated by their own dealers were frequently bad ones."

Then again, too few to mention: Cheney would have kept Rumsfeld, doesn't regret dropping an f-bomb on the Senate floor, believes in the imperial vice-presidency, etc., ad nauseum.

I think he's sorry for shooting that guy in the face, though.

"The '80s did for money what the '60s did for sex. They told a miraculously tempting lie about the curative powers of disinhibition." Which somehow brought us Tom Cruise.

Even worse than NC: "Some 533,000 jobs disappeared from the economy in November, the worst month since 1974. In South Carolina, a government panel is predicting that the state’s unemployment rate could reach 14 percent by the middle of next year."

Interesting to see what happens when ideology meets reality: "South Carolina’s governor, Mark Sanford, a Republican, has been an ardent opponent of federal aid for states, branding it pork barrel spending."

Buyer's market: "A national company's first Raleigh auction of foreclosed homes drew about 200 bidders and onlookers to the Raleigh Convention Center."

New world order: "The increase in the government's role in the economy has been breathtaking...Winding back the intervention may not be easy."

How Wachovia ate that cake.

John Robinson: Why I stay.

He's right, one of the things that makes journalism fun is the journalists.

I couldn't find a goat, but I did sacrifice some brain cells to Dionysus last night.

So if the sun doesn't begin to come back soon, don't blame me.

The ongoing impact of the New Deal on North Carolina.

Previously.

Railroaded: Amtrak passenger counts were up 11 percent nationwide and 20 percent in North Carolina during the fiscal year that ended in September -- and not just because of $4 gas.

"We haven't seen a corresponding decrease in demand as gas prices have come down below $2," said Jeff Mann, a regional Amtrak manager based in Raleigh. In October and November, the Raleigh station measured a 27 percent increase over the same two months in 2007.

"Sammy Baugh, a man whose face is almost completely forgotten but whose legend is still vivid generations after he retired, is the single star that created the Redskins brand," says his Boswell.

Moving pictures. Stats.

Obit: "'His legacy is still talked about around town,'" said LaDainian Tomlinson."

Greensboro was Redskins country until the Panthers came along.

"Do you understand how the TARP bailouts work? Does Carolina Bank have any obligation to give the $16 million back, or are we about to pay for that nice new downtown office building? Would anyone in the local press care to write a story explaining these things to people like me?"

Reasonable questions, Dr. Wharton.

Here are some answers, courtesy of Carolina Bank CEO Bob Braswell, who was good enough to correspond with me on a Saturday:

• It is in essence a loan, which is recognized through the creation of preferred shares, which do not dilute common shareholders.
• The Treasury gets 15% warrants based on the amount received, which is limited to 3% of a bank's Risk Weighted Assets.
• If the bank elects to pay it off within 1 year, the warrants reduce to 7.5%. A bank pays 5% for the first 5 yrs, then 9% for the next 25 years.
• The preferred stock is treated as equity, which allows a bank to continue to lend if that bank was (or was projected to be) tight on the total risk-weighted capital ratio, which governs how much it can grow before additional capital is needed.
• Carolina Bank is rated “well capitalized", which meant it was their option to take the deal or not.

Braswell: "Since we did not feel the equity markets were going to recover any time soon, it made sense to take advantage of it, as most of our competitors were. If we had not, they could gain a competitive advantage over us.We plan to pay it off as soon as the markets return to something that resembles 'normal."

"How bad will this recession be?" seems a more useful question than "how bad is it now?" The trend is not our friend, and things look worse here than in many other places.

Unemployment in North Carolina jumped by eight-tenths of a percent last month, to 7.9%. That's the highest level since 1983, and well above the national numbers, which we lagged just a year ago.

There was robust growth in two areas: health care and social assistance, and local government.

A detailed look at the reasons that Al Franken will, perhaps, probably win the Minnesota Senate race, maybe.

Lawsuits will take years and the SIPC may be a dry hole, but I spoke with a Madoff investor who expects to recoup some losses via tax breaks and perhaps legislation.

Some investor stories here.

UPDATE: The first global Ponzi scheme.

Dean's fifty-state strategy, as it came to be known, "fertilized the landscape" for Obama's fifty-state campaign, Brazile says. If his strategy is extended during the Obama administration, we'll find out what a true fifty-state party looks like.

An appreciation of the outgoing DNC chair, with some questions about the future of his greatest legacy.

Meanwhile, Tom Schaller was right that the GOP risks becoming a regional party. Thus the creation of a new think tank by the RNC, in hopes of reclaiming the mantle of the party of ideas.

Ideas and organization are important, but Obama needs to focus on execution, too.

Hoggard on the new-model Skip Alston. "He has his sights set high, but knows he must prove his newly-discovered populist mettle during this term as Chairman."

A Little Urbanity: "The News and Record reports this morning that the GPD has stepped up patrols at 'shopping centers across the city' in order to make people feel safer during the Christmas shopping season...That story should read, 'across the city (if you don't count anything east of Church St. as part of the city).'"

He runs through some stats, and concludes: "In short, a higher-crime shopping center on the poorer side of Greensboro gets no increased patrols, while lower-crime retailers in wealthier neighborhoods receive the lion's share of scarce police resources.

"This makes me mad as hell."

How a Clinton-era tax law contributed to the financial crisis: "By itself, the change in the tax law did not cause the housing bubble, economists say. Several other factors — a relaxation of lending standards, a failure by regulators to intervene, a sharp decline in interest rates and a collective belief that house prices could never fall — probably played larger roles.

"But many economists say that the law had a noticeable impact, allowing home sales to become tax-free windfalls. A recent study of the provision by an economist at the Federal Reserve suggests that the number of homes sold was almost 17 percent higher over the last decade than it would have been without the law."

Related: "In recent years the finance sector accounted for 8 percent of America’s G.D.P., up from less than 5 percent a generation earlier. If that extra 3 percent was money for nothing — and it probably was — we’re talking about $400 billion a year in waste, fraud and abuse." So...what replaces that 3 percent of GDP in new, improved economy?

Insider trading, Greensboro style: "The SEC said Bouchareb shared some of his gains and tips with his girlfriend Maria T. Checa, identified in court papers as a 38-year-old Greensboro, N.C., resident who has worked as a model and actress [and] Playboy's Playmate of the Month in August 1994."

UPDATE: Facebook page.

A.O. Scott did not love the new Will Smith vehicle, Seven Pounds: "I don’t see how any review could really spoil what may be among the most transcendently, eye-poppingly, call-your-friend-ranting-in-the-middle-of-the-night-just-to-go-over-it-one-more-time crazily awful motion pictures ever made. I would tell you to go out and see it for yourself, but you might take that as a recommendation rather than a plea for corroboration."

Also: "'It's a Wonderful Life' is a terrifying, asphyxiating story about growing up and relinquishing your dreams, of seeing your father driven to the grave before his time, of living among bitter, small-minded people. It is a story of being trapped, of compromising, of watching others move ahead and away, of becoming so filled with rage that you verbally abuse your children, their teacher and your oppressively perfect wife. It is also a nightmare account of an endless home renovation."