Friday, March 29th, 2024

Author: John Hammer

About John Hammer

Here are my most recent posts

Under The Hammer: Dec. 12, 2018

It’s pretty funny that the Congressional leaders of the Democratic Party, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, were demanding a closed door meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss funding the border wall. 

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Rhino Shorts: Dec. 6, 2018

We have traditionally run corrections in Rhino Shorts and even though with an online publication there’s not much need for corrections, since you can correct a story at any time, I thought this one was worth running.

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Being A Faux VIP And Lovin’ It

Last Thursday and Friday, I had two days of fame, or at least faux fame. There is no doubt that I looked important as I traveled around Greensboro and Winston-Salem in a black SUV behind a highway patrol car and with an identical black SUV full of men in dark suits following

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City Council Has Knee Jerk Reaction To Public Outcry

The monthly Greensboro City Council town hall meeting Tuesday, Dec. 4 was unusually heated, with a lot shouting and noise from the audience. Near the end of the meeting two councilmembers got into a heated exchange over a statement made by Mayor Nancy Vaughan that the city would hire mental health professionals to assist police.

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Rhino Moving to the Web

Back in May of 2013, after the last issue of The Rhinoceros Times had been produced and delivered, I received a call from Roy Carroll. I was getting a lot of calls from conservatives in the area, so I didn’t think much about this one and have to admit that I didn’t return it promptly.

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Taking a Deeper Look at the 2018 Elections

People, me included, were shocked that Republican Sheriff BJ Barnes lost his reelection bid last week to Democrat Danny Rogers. It was also surprising that District 27 Republican state Sen. Trudy Wade lost to Democrat Michael Garrett. Democratic 13th District congressional candidate Kathy Manning lost her own race to Congressman Ted Budd, but she played in major role in the loss of both Barnes and Wade.

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Rhino Shorts: Nov. 15, 2018

For fans of Rhino Shorts, rest assured the online Rhino Times will continue to publish Rhino Shorts, but they will be posted as they are written throughout the week. Under the Hammer will also be posted throughout the week.

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Under the Hammer: Nov. 15, 2018

The Democrats will control the House in the next session of Congress and they have a choice: They can either make a lot of partisan noise and not get anything done or they can attempt to work with the Republicans toward solving some problems.

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Midterm Elections Now in History Books

The 2018 midterm elections are now history. It appears that both sides came away with wins and losses. The blue wave didn’t materialize but, as was expected, it was not a favorable election for the Republican Party, which controls the White House. In North Carolina, it was a blue moon election with the only statewide races being judicial, and they don’t attract much attention. Voter turnout was 53 percent in Guilford County and 52 percent in North Carolina.

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Local Elections Are Fun

Pretty much everyone had something to be upset about after the election on Tuesday night, but, although I didn’t like the outcome of some of the races, it reminded me of one of the reasons I love local politics.

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Rhino Shorts: Nov. 8, 2018

Sunday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day, the day that marks the end of World War I – the war to end all wars. It’s also the 100th anniversary of the armistice between the Allies and Germany that ended World War I on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

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Weekly Hammer: Nov. 8, 2018

Those who are not fans of the federal government can rest assured that there are going to be at least two years of gridlock in Washington. If anything gets done it will have to be through deals, where neither side trusts the other.

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Round Two of Rhino Times Endorsements

With the endorsements this week, we have endorsed in every race on the ballot in Guilford County, excluding the referenda in Summerfield and the City Council race in Archdale.  So if you missed last week, the candidates we endorsed are on the list on page 8, but the explanation of why we endorsed them was last week edition. It’s available online or, if you need a print version, we have them at the Rhino Times World Headquarters at 216 W. Market St. Papers are on a table in the first floor hall, so you don’t even have to come upstairs.

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Under the Hammer: Nov. 1, 2018

It’s hard to know how much credence to give to the predictions for the 2018 elections.  The polls are notoriously wrong with a heavy Democratic tilt. The theory is that people want to vote for a winner, but I also think that people don’t vote if they think their vote isn’t needed. So it’s a mixed blessing.

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Rhino Shorts: Nov. 1, 2018

It’s not surprising that over 2,000 people of all denominations attended the rally against hate and violence at Temple Emanuel following the shooting in Pittsburgh in which 11 Jews worshipping at the Tree of Life Temple were killed. Greensboro has always been an ecumenical city.

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Some Midterm Election Endorsements

Because of the number of candidates running and the increasing popularity of early voting, we decided to run the endorsements in two batches instead of waiting until the last edition before the election. We are running a number of endorsements this week and will run the remainder next week.

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Under the Hammer: Oct. 25, 2018

Two weeks before the midterm election you can’t ignore, as the mainstream media have tried to do, that President Donald Trump attracted over 100,000 people to a campaign rally in Texas. It’s true that Texas is a red state, but 100,000 people in an off-year election when the vast majority of them had no hope of getting inside to actually see Trump is extremely impressive.

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Rhino Shorts: Oct. 25, 2018

Nebraska’s new marketing tagline, “Honestly, it’s not for everyone,” makes me think that the tagline for Greensboro suggested by Rhino Times County Editor Scott Yost is pretty good. Yost suggested: “Greensboro, close to places...

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City Council Scoots Around Scooter Issue

The Greensboro City Council sounded like a bunch of old fuddy-duddies when discussing the electric scooter issue in Greensboro on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at the work session in the Plaza Level Conference Room.

Overall the City Council isn’t sure what to do about the electric scooters that suddenly appeared on the streets and sidewalks of Greensboro, so the council went to its default position, which is to do nothing.

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Got Power?

“Have you got power?” was the greeting used in Greensboro over the weekend, replacing “How are you?” The answer overwhelming heard was “No,” with the follow-up, “Do you have any idea when it’s coming back on?”

The answer for that was a universal, “No.”

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Rhino Shorts: Oct. 18, 2018

It’s amazing how a couple of words can effect you. Like most folks, I had been reading about Hurricane Michael aiming straight for Panama City. But then I read that it had turned slightly and went right over Mexico Beach and...

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Under the Hammer: Oct. 11, 2018

Here is a headline I’ll bet you didn’t see this weekend: “Kavanaugh Confirmed with Bipartisan Vote in Senate.” You didn’t see it, but it’s true. It was not a party-line vote like Obamacare, which was passed without a single...

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Rhino Shorts: Oct. 11, 2018

Jeansboro Day, which was scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 11, has officially been cancelled. The Wrangler pop-up store at 300 S. Elm St. will be open and jeans are great to wear during hurricanes, so there is no reason to change...

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Anti-police Activists Dominate City Council Meeting

The Greensboro Police Department was under attack from the speakers at the Greensboro City Council town hall meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 2, in the Council Chambers including a speaker who only identified himself as Mitch. His full name is Mitch Elmo Fryer, and not only is he an employee of City Councilmember Michelle Kennedy at the Interactive Resource Center (IRC), he is also leader of the local chapter of Redneck Revolt, a far-left organization that reportedly believes in armed revolution to achieve its goals. Members of Redneck Revolt are known for coming to protests or anti-protests heavily armed.

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Rhino Shorts: Oct. 4, 2018

Some of us old-timers remember back when BJ Barnes was not sheriff of Guilford County. The man who was sheriff before Barnes, Sticky Burch, is turning 100 this month and Barnes is having a party for him from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on...

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Rhino Shorts: Sept. 27, 2018

According to news reports Sears is considering bankruptcy to solve its debt issues. I can’t say that I’m surprised. Over the years I have bought a number of items from Sears, mostly tools, but I would no longer even consider...

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