National Republicans
A Sign of Hope
Republican Congressmen were for releasing the Epstein files – until the White House told them, No. Don’t do that. The Republican men, seeing it as practical, quickly fell in line behind Trump. The women turned out to be a different story. Two congressmen introduced a discharge petition to release the files. Eight Epstein victims went…
Read MoreA Sign of Hope
‘What did you think of those students?’ Gary asked after we spent an hour at a forum at N. C. State University. The students weren’t anything like politicians you watch on TV these days –– no one ranted, strutted; voices calm, when they disagreed, politeness held. Gary saw that as a sign of better days…
Read MoreIgnoring the Past
The future’s a mystery. But it’s also true history repeats itself. So when we come to a fork in the road the past – by shedding light on old mistakes – can help us choose the road to take. At the end of ‘The Roaring Twenties’ my grandmother married – as a young girl she’d…
Read MoreToo Old
My friend Pat is still vigorous and trail-hiking at age 83, but he’s unsparing about aging. “You may not be old when you’re in your 70s,” he said over lunch, “but when you’re in your 80s, you’re old.” Donald Trump is pushing 80, and showing it. He’s doing what he accused President Biden of doing:…
Read MoreA Lost Virtue
Seldom agreeing, grasping for power, our two political parties have fought for years. Back in Reagan days, Democrats said we needed more government to fix problems. Republicans, like Reagan, shot back government was the problem. Still, as Reagan and Tip O’Neill battled, they shared common values. Both respected that Americans had the right to disagree…
Read MoreA Reckoning
Hitler couldn’t destroy America. The Soviet Union couldn’t either. But Trump’s warning us one federal court has the power to destroy us. Of course, he was angry the court ruled against him. And he was posturing to get clicks on social media. But he left one question unanswered. Here’s what happened: Using what he calls…
Read MoreThe Times They Are a’ Changin’
The other day I read Big Tech Algorithms – by feeding us what we crave to see, hear, believe – are warping our character. There’s probably some truth in that but tale spinning goes all the way back to the Serpent tempting Eve in the Garden of Eden – it’s an old bone-deep sin. Parents…
Read MoreA Line in the Sand
After Watergate, puzzled, trying to figure out reams of new election laws, I started looking for a lawyer – but there wasn’t a single lawyer in North Carolina who practiced that kind of law. I called Stan Evans, head of the American Conservative Union in Washington, and he said one name: “John Bolton.” A week…
Read MoreTuning In
A big thing that people in politics don’t understand is how little attention people pay to politics. We politicos dive in and swim deep in the daily river of news – every Breaking News flash, every headline, every talking head, every twist and turn in every story. But most people take only an occasional dip…
Read MoreThe Pilgrim – Part 1
Lying in a hospital bed, past ninety, face peaceful, eyes failing, J. I. Packer could hear his nurse’s footsteps but her face was a blur. Staring down at his hollow cheeks, rail-thin legs, the patch of skin stretched across the awkward dent on the side of his forehead, she asked a question, he didn’t answer,…
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