Clips, comments — On some recent press articles

A recent Raleigh News & Observer article noted that some Democrats planned a fund-raiser at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville with Speaker Black and other House members as featured guests.

But an Asheville local TV figure made an effort to drum up a posse of protesters bearing signs demanding that Black resign from the General Assembly.

The protest was instigated by Don Yelton, the host of a public affairs program on an Asheville TV station. He blamed Speaker Black as being largely responsible for a “lack of accountability” in the General Assembly.

The N&O quoted Yelton as saying, “It’s time that we the people take the state back from the corrupt politicians.”

But some might wonder who are “we the people” referred to by Yelton.

As host of a regular local television program, Yelton surely doesn’t lack name recognition. But he has run twice for a seat on the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners — and lost both times.

(After the second loss, he abandoned the Democratic Party and registered Republican.)

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Washington Post reporter Robin Wright is a member of the Washington press corps. Wright apparently is among reporters allowed to ride Air Force Two on international trips with people like Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice.

Most journalists would treasure such opportunities.

But in a recent article Wright appeared to be lamenting “back-to-back seven-hour flights in a packed 757” and being served “a teeming bowl of pork and beans.”

Wright contends that the “abysmal menus” on Air Force Two are “notorious.”

Particularly nauseating to Wright and apparently some others, are the often served “wing-dings” - fried chicken wings, sometimes called “buffalo wings. Meatballs also came under fire.

Wright, a vegetarian, once in desperation packed “a container of cottage cheese.” But the reporter wrote that “one of the crew” found it in the “fridge” and apparently snitched it for then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Few among us have had the opportunity to ride or eat aboard Air Force Two. But many of us have ridden in the backs of cold, unpadded open-air Army trucks where we ate dust and C-rations and K-rations.

We never were served fried chicken wings or pork chops or hot meat balls. But had they been offered, there’s a good bet there would have been plenty of enthusiastic takers.

Published in Editorials on December 19, 2005 9:21 AM