It has recently come to my attention that not only is our beloved Hickory Daily Record as politically twisted as a tornado, but it's being led around on a leash by Andrew Mackie, a man who leaves more good Op Ed columns on the cutting room floor than nighties in the Playboy Mansion. Who said the press was neutral?

Allow me to explain. We all know how hard it is to get good articles in the paper here in this primarily Republican state- hell, let's face it, we've done better branching out online (God bless BlueNC). But sometimes, to reach those of us without the internet or those intelligent enough not to use it, we have to resort to the good old gray and black paper, a tool of advertisement and information ever since the good old days.

However, unlike the good old days, one cannot expect fairness in journalism any longer, a prime example of this being the Hickory Daily Record. This paper has not only favored our "favorite" (failure of a) Congressman Patrick McHenry, but it has done so with not only two front page mentions with his pudgy face on the front, but also has "accidentally" misplaced many, many anti-McHenry Op Ed columns that attempt to knock editor Andrew Mackie off his Pro-McHenry track.

How do I know? I know plenty of people who have tried sending in articles, only to watch Andrew Mackie destroy them like an angry professor with a red pen. Thanks to Andrew Mackie, the Democratic candidate Daniel Johnson are never present in the paper, rather replaced with glowing (that's us old-folk speak for "ass kissing") commentaries on Patrick McHenry.

Then we have poor Lance Sigmon. One would think that Lance would have an advantage (being a Republican in a Republican district helps), but he's getting even worse treatment because he dares insult McHenry. While Andrew Mackie has done some rudimentary commentary on Lance (including posting him on his ever exciting blog no-one reads), he still apparently continues to shaft the legitimate Op Eds he gets, unless, of course, they involve the words "McHenry" and "amazing", presumably in one sentence, unless in the context of "McHenry is an amazing failure of a Congressman". Apparently, Mackie has even misquoted Lance, or done some sort of horsing around with his statements (including making some comment about "properly covering the debate"). What debate? You got me. Apparently, Mackie wrote about it sometime.

Translation? Go out and send Andrew Mackie an anti-McHenry Op Ed. And hey, if you don't want to write one, I will for you and you can insert your name like a choose-your-own-adventure book. Andrew Mackie, you better play fair or else when the Primaries are over and this Republican fight is over, us Dems will be on your case. And an angry Democrat can be a scary thing.