Maybe it's a good thing that so many of Charlotte's citizens want to make a difference in the community. But do they all have to be attorneys? That latest lawyer to throw his hat into the political ring is Harold Cogdell.

Granted, he is a former city councilman, but he's a lawyer and some people think lawyers lie by nature. Cogdell is running for an at large seat on the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners. Is this fallout from the Sheriff's election? We will see. But if people are going to seek revenge against the existing members of the board, it's going to be an interesting local election scene this fall.

Cogdell is making his announcement today at noon in front of the board of elections building on Kenilworth Avenue.

Not too long ago, reader Darin Zimmerman ripped me a new one for saying that Kellie Pickler was stupid for revealing, on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, that she

This week, writer Susan Jacoby released a new book that explores why Americans are routinely rated as more ignorant than citizens of other advanced countries. The book is  The Age of American Unreason, and Jacoby says she decided to write it on Sept. 11, 2001.

A New York resident, she was walking home to her apartment on the East Side mere hours after the WTC attacks. Feeling overwhelmed, she stopped at a bar for a Bloody Mary. Two men in suits were nearby, talking. One of the men said, "This is just like Pearl Harbor."

"What is Pearl Harbor?" the other man asked.

The first man "explained," "That was when the Vietnamese dropped bombs in a harbor, and it started the Vietnam War."

What horrifies Jacoby isn't just Americans' too-common ignorance of the world, it's that many of us don't seem to think it's important to have what used to be considered a normal level of knowledge.

The culprit, according to Jacoby, is a decrepit educational system. It's a major problem, she says, but one that can be repaired. After all, just because you're ignorant, it doesn't mean you're too stupid to learn. Jacoby's book is available from Pantheon Books.

University president: Campus gunman was a good student: Northern Illinois University is in mourning today after a gunman shot 21 people and then himself Thursday. Victims' names are starting to be released, and a source close to the case has identified the shooter as Steven Kazmierczak. The president of the University said the shooter was a former graduate student who had an excellent record as an undergraduate.

Full story: www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/15/university.shooting/index.html

Limbaugh sees no reconciliation with McCain: Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh considers Senator John McCain, the Republican party’s likely presidential nominee, to have betrayed conservative principles by voting against tax cuts and not being as tough as Mr. Limbaugh would like on illegal immigrants. The commentator is openly considering going to the other side.

Full story: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23176099/

The bell rings, then the door crashes in: Burglars struck Charlotte homes more than 870 times in January, a 17 percent increase from the same month in 2007. The burglaries have occurred throughout the city, particularly in the South, University City and North Divisions, said CMPD spokeswoman Julie Hill.

Full story: www.charlotte.com/local/story/494620.html

First order for pet dog cloning: A South Korean company says it will charge a woman $150,000 to clone her dead pit bull terrier. They plan to use tissue taken from its ear before it died. The company says this will be the first time a pet has been cloned commercially.

Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7246380.stm

By Hillary Clinton

I think I finally figured out what’s wrong with my campaign — besides the incompetent staffers that make it up. (FYI, I’ve decided to fire someone every day — Survivor-style.) The reason I’m tanking is because I don’t have a guy! You know like Obama girl. Last week Huckabee got a moderately-funny, sexually explicit girl as well.

Logic tells you that McCain girl will be next, and the girl will be an old woman with an IV drip. The parody song that plays will be from the Big Band Era instead of an R&B jam.

But after that happens, I think I deserve a Hillary Guy. He should be a cross between Antonio Banderas (Mexican) and David Bowie (sexually amorphic). I am taking script submissions and scene ideas.

News Groper features more than 50 parody blogs by politicians, celebrities, business tycoons, and foreign despots.

Bernanke says future of U.S. economy looks bleak: This morning Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the economy is deteriorating largely due to the combined effects of the national housing and credit crises. He said that the Fed "will act in a timely manner” to support growth and minimize risks, which will likely include actions like additional interest rate cuts.

Full Story: http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/943853.html

Billy Graham recovering from surgery on brain shunt: Evangelist and Montreat resident Billy Graham is resting after having surgery yesterday to fix a brain shunt that he has had since 2000. According to the article, the shunt “drains his brain through a small tube that runs down his head and neck and into the abdominal cavity, where the fluid is absorbed by his body.”

Full Story: http://www.wsoctv.com/news/15300801/detail.html

Clinton leads Obama in Ohio and Pennsylvania: According to a poll released today, Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leads fellow contender Barack Obama by double digits in both Ohio and Pennsylvania. Clinton has lost the last eight primaries to Obama. Ohio will hold its primary on March 4, along with Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont, while Pennslyvania will hold its primary on April 22.

Full Story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23164926

Factory in China linked to drug under scrutiny in United States: The FDA reported that a Chinese factory is responsible for making the active ingredient in a blood-thinning drug that had its production suspended this week. Over 350 patients reported feeling ill after taking the drug herapin, which is made from pig intestines and is used widely in dialysis and heart surgery.

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/business/worldbusiness/14heparin.html?

adxnnl=1&ref=health&adxnnlx=1203015045-u+ZdfHeAHJ4ezZ9WKbkKsQ

— Katie Hunter