Wilbur, Orville and Thad

Good for Thad for sticking with his renaming effort. I have always thought another name change could be similarly appropriate, more likely -- and perhaps even helpful. I think the the two "airport" roads -- Aviation Parkway and Airport Boulevard -- should be renamed in honor of flight. Centennial Parkway and Wright Boulevard seem appropriate. Not only does this recall the miracle of flight and its connection to NC, but also would serve to clarify and brighten two horribly mundane, undistinguished -- and indistinguishable -- road names that are gateways to our region.

"My friend Thad Woodard, president of the state Bankers Association....."

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As long as I'm breathing fresh air, I will never entertain the thought of giving any banker "a doff of the hat".

Most of them are so cheap that they squeak when they walk. Perhaps a little oiling and fine-tuning?

Everyone knows the specifics of the Wright Brothers story and from where they came.

It's more than a little presumptuous of someone in North Carolina to expect Ohio to let go of the fact that the Wright bros came from their state.

Moreover, RDU International Airport sounds better......so "international", if you will, after being such a knock-off airport for so long.

It might just be a better idea to put some effort into making sure that people can get a flight that actually leaves and arrives on time instead of renaming the place.

Perhaps your "friend Thad" might think about cooling his jets.

Is the renaming of an airport right now the most significant thing on anyone's list?

Lastly and more importantly, dropping names of friends by longtime seat-warmers on the N&O's editorial staff is often informative.

Too many ties to those "friends" and organizations being covered is a bad mixture for journalism---if one can call it "journalism" these days.

The public now finds out about the close ties to, and the salary obtained from, Duke University by outgoing---(mercifully!!!)---Ted Vaden.

It's so disgusting to look back and remember how impotent Vaden was in putting the scurrilous and unprofessional N&O coverage of the Duke Lacrosse Hoax on the right track.

The tendentious coward Vaden was receiving money from Duke at the time!

How in G/d's name could a self-serving coward like Vaden intervene for integrity against an administration from which he was profiting?

Please, keep your "friends" at home and do us all a favor.

Every time I read something like this and recall vividly how a bunch of "journalists" sat on their flat posteriors and assisted in the railroading of three innocent young men---slopping at the trough of obsolescence set up by race-hustlers who make a living creating discord---and the thwarting of due process with their daily cheerleading......

.......I always feel as though I need to go take a bath.

Leave the airport alone and get some real work done. 

"Good friends"........indeed.