Opinion

Sometimes we don’t even recognize this country.
This week there was plenty to make us wonder.
•We were incensed to discover the IRS has been targeting groups and/or individuals with conservative ties.
This is blatantly wrong, no matter what political beliefs one has.
We don’t trust the administration to do an objective investigation, as promised.
The sad thing is we don’t trust Congress to do the investigation, either.

In the North Carolina General Assembly, the House passed its version of the voter ID bill last week, and now it heads to the Senate.
This legislation was introduced a few years ago.
One rookie legislator at the time said, “I thought we’d get to Raleigh, and all we’d talk about was jobs, jobs, jobs. Instead, we talked about everything except jobs.”
A proposed voter ID bill was one of the things they talked about then.

Our hearts this week are in New England, land of midnight riders and tea parties.
Once again, we have been barraged by grief.
Can you imagine going to a sporting event to have fun as a spectator and coming home without a leg?
Or your life? Three people have been confirmed dead at this writing, after two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

We had to chuckle after reading a report about a traffic stop last week on I-85 near Lexington.
Davidson County Sheriff’s Office deputies stopped a 2005 Dodge truck on I-85 South for a traffic violation.
According to the sheriff’s office, the vehicle displayed California registration and was driven by Dennie Andy Keophimanh, 26, of Grand Prairie, Texas.

Gov. Pat McCrory has proclaimed April as Organ Donation Awareness Month in North Carolina, encouraging all citizens to consider the many organ-donation needs throughout the state.
“According to Carolina Donor Services (CDS), more than 3,546 North Carolinians are waiting for organ transplants, and an average of 18 people die each day due to the severe shortage of donated organs,” McCrory said.
Eighteen people a day. That’s an alarming number.
In the future, one of those 18 could be somebody you know. Or love.

The increase in the number of driving-while-impaired arrests in Brunswick County is alarming.
In the first two-and-a-half months of this year, the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office has charged 123 people with driving while impaired (DWI). In the first two months of 2012, BCSO issued just 19 DWIs.
Last year there were 27 fatal wrecks in Brunswick County. Eight of those deaths were attributed to driving while impaired.

Brunswick County commissioners, we don’t envy your positions right now.
Like many government entities, you’re being pulled in several directions, and the funding requests just keep coming.
To make those matters worse, most often the solutions that must be found meet with public ire—cutting programs or positions or raising taxes.
Ouch. To many taxes is a dirty, dirty word.

We understand in this economy people have had to make a lot of tough decisions when it comes to spending money.
Unfortunately for some that has meant cutting back on going to see the doctor, especially when it’s related to preventive care.
But there’s help this weekend.
And it’s free.
 This weekend we are joining with health and other related businesses throughout the county for our annual health expo. This is the seventh year we have sponsored the event.

New Brunswick County commissioner Frank Williams is off to a good start.
The Leland-area businessman had already been making a name for himself in state and local politics, long before he signed up to serve the county as a commissioner.
The small business owner has also been a steadfast voice for businesses and growth in Brunswick County.
The owner of Pioneer Strategies, Williams, a member of several civic organizations, often makes presentations and gives speeches about things business owners can do to survive and thrive in this tough economy.