A front page article in the Sunday, Oct. 11 News & Record is completely misleading.
It’s not the policy of the Rhino Times to run corrections for the News & Record, but this article is so factually inaccurate that it seems wrong to let it stand uncorrected.
The article, “Salvation vs. Science: Open Houses of worship: Now that churches can have more people, will they?” by staff writer Nancy McLaughlin is factually incorrect in what it states about the COVID-19 restrictions regarding worship services. One hopes that neither McLaughlin nor her editors bothered to read Executive Order 169 from NC Gov. Roy Cooper because, if they read it, then the purpose of the article is to mislead their readers.
The article states, “Now, after months of uncertainty, houses of worship statewide are allowed to have more parishioners – but with restrictions.”
There is no difference “now” in the restrictions on worship services.
There are no restrictions.
There have not been any restrictions since May 16 when US District Court Judge James Dever issued a temporary restraining order and stated in no uncertain terms that Cooper did not have the authority to overrule the First Amendment. In that order Dever states, “There is no pandemic exception to the Constitution of the United States or the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.”
Cooper got the message. The state did not appeal the ruling and beginning with Executive Order 141, issued by Cooper on May 20, 2020, this (or similar) language was included in executive orders that involve restrictions on mass gatherings.
“Worship, religious, and spiritual gatherings, funeral ceremonies, wedding ceremonies, and other activities constituting the exercise of First Amendment rights are exempt from all the requirements of this Executive Order …”
So church services have been exempt from Cooper’s executive orders since May 20. Because of the ruling in federal court that means that since May 16 it has been up to the churches and their denominations to decide how they chose to worship with no special pandemic restrictions placed on them by the state at all.
The article also states, “Under the state’s newest guidelines, houses of worship must limit gatherings to the lesser of 30% occupancy or 100 people.”
This is completely false. Executive Order 169 issued by Cooper on Sept. 30, which is titled “Restrictions to Protect Lives During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Phase 3” states,
“1.2. Exemptions.
“Worship, religious, and spiritual gatherings, funeral ceremonies, wedding ceremonies, and other activities constituting the exercise of First Amendment rights are exempt from all the requirements of this Executive Order, notwithstanding any other provision of this Executive Order.”
Cooper could hardly be more clear than “exempt from all the requirements” and that of course would include the limits on mass gatherings.
This exemption also allows “peaceful protests” no matter how large to lawfully assemble, but evidently that information had not reached the News & Record until now.
The N&R is just expensive toilet paper.
Sometimes maybe even a good glass cleaning wipe.
Thank You for taking a stand.
Jesus Saves, all others must pay cash.
The News and Record has ceased to be the Greensboro paper. It is compilation of wire service and some
Local news. They have lost their way as a working paper!
Will they even be embarrassed this article was so wrog?
The lack of wire service articles means that they don’t have enough revenue to buy any.
News and Fishwrap lost it’s way long time ago. Not sure where the term fishwrap came from but it was very accurate. (sic) I remember bantering with Susan Ladd, what a joke. Just wants to make me shake my head in disbelief how out of whack some editors have become. They don’t believe in the truth, Just trying to sell clickbait.
Great article. Full of facts as they are, not as they are wanted or supposed to be. I wonder what qualifications as a journalist does Ms. Mclaughlin have? Does the editor have any oversight?
Speaking of the Fish-Wrap, I saw a 10/12 edition in a rack this morning. It was so thin, I thot it was missing a section. But no, that was the whole thing, two print sheets folded twice. Maybe they should pad it to make it look more hefty, like a TRASH bag. I don’t know what this Minnow-Wrap thing costs, but whatever it is, they have cajones to ask it. Anyone who coughs up their hard-earned cash por nada never has the right to whine about not having any money.
Coop-out soon.
The N&R epitomizes the fact that honest, actual, journalism is dead.
I dropped my subscription years ago when the N&R moved the opinion section to the front page.
Thank God we have at least one publication of journalists in Greensboro.
You know, real journalists…. The Rhino Times.
I posted last night but it was censored. I think that puts The Rhino in an interesting position of not being protected by section 230. Since they have no moderation guidelines or comment standards, and they selectively choose what to post and not to post, I believe that makes them legally liable for anything they allow to grace their pages.
Any lawyers want to help me sue? Ah, America is great, ain’t it?