He’d been doing business for thirty years and if what he’d been doing wasn’t illegal like selling moonshine it also wasn’t quite the same as being President of the local bank or owner of the corner drug store: When someone got into a bind he’d pay them cold hard cash on the barrel head for…

We love to “have a national conversation” at times like this. We talk about race and hate. We talk about the church and faith. We talk about the Confederate flag. We talk about politicians talking about the Confederate flag. We talk about gun control – or not. We talk about mental illness. We talk about…

The death of former UNC Chancellor Bill Aycock reminds us that today’s legislature isn’t the first to ram through bad laws, that today’s attacks on higher education aren’t the first and that today’s athletic scandals aren’t the first. As John Murawski noted in the N&O, Aycock was Chancellor in 1963 when the legislature passed the…

It’s remarkable how a pet can become a member of your family. Our house feels empty today because we had to let go of Annie, a 13-year-old rescue mutt of mixed and mysterious lineage who captivated us with a fierce independence, a sweet but often confounding quirkiness and a bottomless appetite for treats, especially red…

Since a reprehensible rogue like Donald Trump has zero chance of being elected President, or even nominated, we should all sit back and enjoy the spectacle. Especially Democrats. If Trump gets on the debate stage, the GOP contest becomes a clown-car demolition derby. His announcement was a triumph of untrammeled egomania. “I’m really rich,” he boasted.…

Hillary Clinton’s and Jeb Bush’s campaign kickoffs were notable not so much for what they said, but for what their campaign logos did NOT say – “Bush” or “Clinton.” Jeb’s logo is “Jeb!” Hillary’s is an “H” with an arrow. Pointing right. So you know that both campaigns’ polling has found real concern about political…