GREENSBORO, NC -- I know a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do and, sometimes, circumstances make it hard to stick to one's principles; but the fall of John Hammer, former publisher of the Rhino Times and now-editor under new ownership, is remarkable to behold and a sad loss for Greensboro.
Always a staunch conservative, Hammer used to have going for him a tenacious allegiance to transparency and authenticity. It used to be that Hammer was a bulwark against public malfeasance and shenanigans that tried to deceive the people—often standing alone against powerful and entrenched interests in doing so. Whatever one thought of his politics, one could always admire him for that.
No longer.
Update: Doug Clark has more.
Showing posts with label crass commercialism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crass commercialism. Show all posts
Friday, April 10, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
It's about time
Via Billy's blog comes news that John Hardister (R, Guilford) has submitted a bill to the state legislature that would make operations of the state lottery more transparent.
I haven't read the bill, but from Hardister's press release, it sounds like something long overdue. The free market does not mean that marketers are free to dupe people and lottery advertising with its emphasis on the largest of prizes with little if any mention of the preposterous odds is a form of deceit that should not be allowed -- especially by the state.
It is another form of fraudulent marketing to sell scratch-off tickets with no information about whether or not the prize being promoted— the big top prize—has already been won. There is no notification at the point of sale when the top prize has already been won and your chances of winning that prize have become exactly zero. It's a rip-off plain and simple to sell scratch-off tickets advertising a top prize of x amount when winning that prize has become impossible. I don't know if Hardister's bill addresses that too, but it should.
I haven't read the bill, but from Hardister's press release, it sounds like something long overdue. The free market does not mean that marketers are free to dupe people and lottery advertising with its emphasis on the largest of prizes with little if any mention of the preposterous odds is a form of deceit that should not be allowed -- especially by the state.
It is another form of fraudulent marketing to sell scratch-off tickets with no information about whether or not the prize being promoted— the big top prize—has already been won. There is no notification at the point of sale when the top prize has already been won and your chances of winning that prize have become exactly zero. It's a rip-off plain and simple to sell scratch-off tickets advertising a top prize of x amount when winning that prize has become impossible. I don't know if Hardister's bill addresses that too, but it should.
Friday, April 04, 2014
Wyndham Championship's 75th year; what a crock
GREENSBORO, NC -- Imagine a wealthy man marries a divorced woman. Her first marriage lasted for 67 years. She and the wealthy man have been married for 7.
Now imagine that the man announces to the world that, on their 8th anniversary, he and his wife will be celebrating 75 years of marriage.
That's just the kind of crock the Wyndham golf tournament is trying to dish up. Coming up on their eighth year of sponsorship of the Wyndham Championship, Wyndham apparently thinks they have purchased the history of what was, for 67 years, Greensboro's golf tournament: originally the Greater Greensboro Open, then the K-mart Greater Greensboro Open, then the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic. Greensboro was the rightful and common thread uniting the tournament's storied history. Wyndham deserves no more credit for it than a second husband gets for his wife's first marriage.
Sam Snead did not earn a record setting 8 wins at the Wyndham Championship nor did he become the oldest golfer to win on the PGA Tour at the Wyndham Championship.
Evel Knievel and Wahoo McDaniel did not play in the ProAm at the
Wyndham Championship.
Fuzzy Zeller did not withdraw from the Wyndham Championship after 21 straight appearances because of controversy over remarks made about newcomer Tiger Woods.
The Greensboro Jaycees did not, for decades, put on the largest Jaycee civic project in the nation at the Wyndham Championship.
No. All of those things happened at the Greensboro Open in one or another of its variational-named iterations. Unlike Wyndham, previous sponsors kept Greensboro in the tournament name. They earned the right to carry the torch of the tournament's history.
The Wyndham Tournament is coming up on its eighth year. Eight. Wyndham began its golf presence here by erasing Greensboro from the name of an historic golf tournament and now they want to pretend they are entitled to retroactively claim its history? To supplant what they've erased with what they seem to think they've purchased? To brand the achievements of others as just another property fully bought and paid for even though they had nothing to do with 67 of its years?
What a crock.
(Hat tip: Knievle, McDaniel ProAm appearance recalled by Ben Holder.)
Now imagine that the man announces to the world that, on their 8th anniversary, he and his wife will be celebrating 75 years of marriage.
Sam Snead did not earn a record setting 8 wins at the Wyndham Championship nor did he become the oldest golfer to win on the PGA Tour at the Wyndham Championship.
 |
| Wahoo McDaniel, Evel Knievel, Bob Bruggers & Lee Travino. |
Fuzzy Zeller did not withdraw from the Wyndham Championship after 21 straight appearances because of controversy over remarks made about newcomer Tiger Woods.
The Greensboro Jaycees did not, for decades, put on the largest Jaycee civic project in the nation at the Wyndham Championship.
No. All of those things happened at the Greensboro Open in one or another of its variational-named iterations. Unlike Wyndham, previous sponsors kept Greensboro in the tournament name. They earned the right to carry the torch of the tournament's history.
The Wyndham Tournament is coming up on its eighth year. Eight. Wyndham began its golf presence here by erasing Greensboro from the name of an historic golf tournament and now they want to pretend they are entitled to retroactively claim its history? To supplant what they've erased with what they seem to think they've purchased? To brand the achievements of others as just another property fully bought and paid for even though they had nothing to do with 67 of its years?
What a crock.
(Hat tip: Knievle, McDaniel ProAm appearance recalled by Ben Holder.)
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