Even though I had to put on a suit and tie, the evening was balm for my soul in these troubled times. It was the annual Scholarship Dinner of N.C. State University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, which honors scholarship recipients and donors. I’ve endowed a scholarship in political science/communications at the college, which…
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The morning after Pearl Harbor, surrounded by men he grew up with, standing in a draft board, my grandfather volunteered for the army. Growing up I spent hours listening to stories about World War II. But, like most of my friends, I hardly ever told stories about the hard times Americans struggled through to stop…
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I opened the newspaper, read most Americans are fed up with bickering…that what they really want is unity. That would be a blessing if it’s true. But it doesn’t look that way. The next article was full of bickering. Both sides have fought in politics for years but, not all that long ago, they had…
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My blogging partner Carter Wrenn has written a revealing and engaging memoir of his years in politics – and the rise of the conservative movement in North Carolina in the 1970s and 1980s. His book – The Trail of the Serpent: Stories from the Smoke-Filled Rooms of Politics – takes you inside the conventions, caucuses…
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Last night Trump took a blow – in Florida and Wisconsin support for Republican candidates dropped ten-plus points. That drop’s more than a turnout skew. People who voted for Trump in 2024 voted against candidates he endorsed this election. Why? The media’s pointing the finger at Elon Musk. But that doesn’t sound right. One thing…
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One thing Trump did right his first term was not starting a war. This time, he – and his national security gang that can’t text straight – are determined to let slip the dogs of war all over the world: Greenland, China, Canada, Panama and Gaza. He wants to take over Greenland: “I think there’s…
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Born and bred in New York, a dealmaker, TV star, Trump has his own way of looking at things. Take Ukraine: Back during the Cold War, to stop the Soviet Union, presidents made alliances. Like NATO. That kept us safe. A dealmaker, sitting in the Oval Office, Trump sees alliances as financial transactions, looks at…
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Jefferson Griffin is certainly consistent in his beliefs. In college, he celebrated the “Lost Cause” myth of the Confederacy. Now he champions the myth of his Lost Election. Griffin lost his race for Supreme Court, just as the South lost the Civil War. But he won’t accept his defeat, just as his Kappa Alpha fraternity…
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Once again it’s not what Trump did, it’s how he did it. Congress appropriates money. The president spends it. If Trump doesn’t like how much Congress spends he can veto the spending. Or he can tell Congress ‘cut this waste now’ – and if Congress tells him no he can take his case to voters,…
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