Posts by Gary Pearce
Student Anguish
Yesterday I blogged about Republican legislators who don’t want North Carolina schools to teach “concepts” that cause students to “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress.” I asked whether teaching the history of slavery and racism might cause “discomfort.” Several readers responded. One wrote, “How about physics and calculus? I recall…
Read MoreWhitewashing History
Republicans in the North Carolina House rammed through a bill saying schools shouldn’t teach any “concepts” that cause students to “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress.” Will some students feel “discomfort” when they learn that White Southerners introduced slavery to America, started a Civil War to protect slavery, denied Black…
Read MorePusillanimous
Pu·sil·lan·i·mous, “pyoo-suh-la-nuh-muhs” (adjective): Showing a lack of courage or determination; timid. The United States today is confronting two brutal dictators: Putin in Russia and Xi in China. We face a nuclear threat from North Korea. The Middle East is volatile. This is no time for a President who is timid and lacks courage or determination.…
Read MoreStop the Steals
In 1968, Richard Nixon’s campaign told South Vietnam to reject a peace deal before the election. Nixon thought peace might help Hubert Humphrey. In 1980, we now learn from The New York Times (link below), John Connally sent word to Iran not to free the hostages before the election. The Reagan campaign thought their release…
Read MoreTrump’s Carnage
Donald Trump likes to incite violence. He set a violent mob on the Capitol January 6, 2021. Now he’s riling up his supporters to protest if he gets arrested. When Trump was inaugurated, he said, “The American carnage stops right here, right now.” No. He was just getting started.
Read MoreHate
Nancy Pelosi once called Donald Trump “the most dangerous person in the history of our country.” And that was before he set a violent mob on the Capitol to overturn an election. Now he’s back. And he’s worse than before. He promises us “retribution.” After the 2016 election, I asked a Republican friend, no fan…
Read MoreJeff Jackson’s Bank Shot
Congressman Jeff Jackson is the best political communicator in North Carolina. His social media posts yesterday on the banking situation are a master class in explaining volatile, complex issues in simple, plain-spoken terms. Last night, I saw that his video had been viewed over one million times. I’m a print guy, so I read his…
Read MoreCooper’s Big Win
State Senator Phil Berger and Speaker Tim Moore took a beaming star turn before the cameras when they announced their agreement on expanding Medicaid. They pointedly excluded Governor Roy Cooper. But make no mistake: This is Cooper’s victory. It is a signal accomplishment of his administration. It means 600,000 North Carolinians will get better health…
Read MoreA New Constitution?
One of the truly worst ideas in the history of American politics is a convention of the states to rewrite the Constitution. One of the truly worst people in the history of American politics, Rick Santorum, was in Raleigh this week pushing the idea. When Santorum represented Pennsylvania in the Senate from 1995 to 2007,…
Read MoreBishop Curry’s Message of Love
Introduced as “the most exciting Episcopalian in history,” Presiding Bishop Michael Curry didn’t disappoint. Of course, being the most exciting Episcopalian in history is “a low bar,” Rector Greg Jones joked as he presented Bishop Curry to the audience at St. Michael’s Church in Raleigh Monday night. Then Bishop Curry set a high bar for…
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