Ford:George Zaborowski, we know what you're thinking, or muttering. It would be something like, "What am I, chopped liver?" Or maybe, as he seems to be the Rodney Dangerfield of whistle-blowers, "I don't get no respect."

Ford:You can look it up: The state Department of Correction's Web site, with its cool "offender search" feature, tells us that Inmate No. 0072845 was a beneficiary of Central Prison's hospitality for 4,887 days.

Ford:What a relief. Here we are in the midst of that season when we remember how much we dislike taxes, and along come some judges to lighten our burden.

Ford:We're due to hear many an argument before November as to whether persevering with the war in Iraq will make the United States safer or raise the danger level even higher.

Ford:Ask Barack Obama to tell you about Amadou Cisse, and it's a fair bet he would not respond, "Amadou Who?"

Ford:When the subject is regional transit in the Triangle, it's hard not to become a tad exasperated.

Ford:It's said that Mike Easley can do a hilarious, on-the-money impersonation of his predecessor in the governor's office, Jim Hunt. Here's a twist, though: Easley may be able to excel at imitating Hunt the person, but imitating Hunt the politician seems to be utterly against his nature.

Ford:Let me put it this way: If my in-laws those many years ago had somehow anticipated, and acted upon, the curious advice offered of late by that Chapel Hill embryology prof, our little extended family would not have gathered the weekend before last.

Ford:In "Chinatown," Jack Nicholson's detective character snoops into skulduggery involving the Los Angeles water supply and, for his troubles, gets his nose slit by some goon with a pocket knife.

Call it a jubilee. The notion stretches back to Biblical times: a special celebration that takes place every 50 years. It can mark an anniversary. Considering that 50 years ago tomorrow the U.S. Supreme Court finally unlocked the door leading to the end of legal segregation in this country, there's good reason to have worked up a celebratory lather. Even more reason, in fact, when the ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education is seen in the context of a national history that once tolerated far worse than separation by skin color in schools and other public places.

Anyone who's paid a whit of attention to what goes on inside prisons -- not just prisons in war zones, but the ones where we happily ensconce our neighborhood crooks right here in the U.S. of A. -- knows there's always a potential for mistreatment of the "guests." Those guests, of course, are none too pleased with the hospitality they've been accorded. They weren't model citizens in the first place. While it's by no means always the case, they can be stubborn, mean, violent. It takes a firm management hand to prevent escapes, fights, exploitation of the weak by the strong.

for character educators. It's a good thing to have the courage of one's convictions, right? But what about when that courage blinds you to the fact that your convictions are uninformed or downright wacky? Loyalty to your organization -- there's another fine quality. Yet if the organization is embarked on some foolish course -- propelled, perhaps, by the courage of its leaders' convictions -- true loyalty demands dissent. There's where courage really comes in handy.