I've been a harsh critic of the News and Observer's editoral pages for years. Under Steve Ford's leadership, the pages have taken on a wishy-washy character that is unbecoming of a major regional paper.

So I was surprised this morning to see that Mr. Ford actually took a stand on something important to our nation. He endorsed Samuel ScAlito to join the US Supreme Court. (It's ironic that the New York Times, a source of much of the N&O's news content, chose today to call for a filibuster against the nominee.)

So hats off to Mr. Ford. It takes a lot of backbone to speak the courage of your convictions.

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When I called to cancel my subscription this morning, the nice lady in circulation asked if I was having problem with delivery. 'No,' I said. 'I'm having a problem with your editorial pages.' I hope you'll join me in letting the N&O know your displeasure.

You can reach Mr. Ford at this email: sford@newsobserver.com

And don't forget to vote with your pocketbook. You can talk to the nice lady in circulation by calling 829-4700.

A

PS I'll do my best to avoid any future links to the N&O. It'll be hard, because their state and local news is pretty darn good. But a blogger's gotta do what a blogger's gotta do.