Issues
The Democrats File a Dud
When the Democrats sued the Republicans over redistricting I thought we might be treated to see a bit of grand political theatre with Republicans arguing for the Voting Rights Act (which they hate) and Democrats arguing against it (even though they’ve been in love with it for four decades). It’s a disappointment but no…
Read MoreOnce we knew…but not anymore
The President of Afghanistan’s in a fix: The U.S. Army, he says, hasn’t won the war so there’s no peace to give his people the “individual personal security” they need. Half a century ago, in four years, we crushed Hitler’s armies and occupied his country and there was peace, but, today, it appears whatever…
Read MoreLaser-Guided Missiles
We defeated Libya with laser-guided missiles that, NATO said, never ever blew up anyone but the bad guys. It sounded too good to be true – and it was. Now, NATO admits, those laser-guided missiles killed a fair number of civilians – which isn’t a shock. But does leave one loose end. It may…
Read MorePure Spin
Last month, the state’s economy didn’t grow and create new jobs but unemployment went down. How is that possible? Well, look at it this way: Imagine you’re a politician running for reelection and you’re praying your policies work and unemployment drops but the Labor Department just insists on putting out pesky figures that make…
Read MoreThe Last Word
After he read the stories in the News and Observer about the hospital war in Raleigh between Wake Med and UNC Health Care, a retired health care administrator wrote in the newspaper that years ago Mayo Clinic founder William J. Mayo had said, “The best interest of the patient is the only interest to be…
Read MoreSubmarine Maneuvers
Twenty years ago SBI agent and blood-splatter expert Duane Deaver withheld evidence in a murder trial in Raleigh and an innocent man went to prison. Later, in a murder trial in Johnston County a federal judge ruled that Deaver had given “false and misleading testimony.” Then a few days ago Judge Orlando Hudson…
Read MoreA Christmas Gift
On behalf of all Democrats, I thank Speaker Boehner and House Republicans for their unexpected and unbelievably generous Christmas gift. Of course, their gift for the country as a whole is more like a lump of coal. They want to give 160 million Americans a tax increase, cut off unemployment benefits and nip the…
Read MoreNewt and the Judges
He’s fed up with elitist judges, Newt says, so as President he’s just going to ignore their rulings. And what’s more, he adds, as a historian he knows that Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln would agree with him. Of course, the press pounced, immediately, asking, So, if President Newt can ignore court rulings –…
Read MoreA Jim Hunt Legacy
There is a big story behind this small item in the paper this week: “North Carolina’s public schools have the largest number of National Board Certified teachers in the nation, according to a release by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.” Nationally, there are 97,291 teachers with National Board Certification. North Carolina has over…
Read More99 to 1
There’s something almost mystic about the numbers. We call 911 when we’re in trouble. America remembers – and avenges 9/11. Herman Cain had 9-9-9. Now the numbers have a new political significance: the 99 percent and the 1 percent. People who say the Occupy movement had little impact miss how it imprinted…
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