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A Sign of Hope
Out of a clear blue sky a sign of hope landed in my inbox Saturday morning. Here’s Larissa Phillips’ story from The Free Press (below). Whatever Happens, Love Thy Neighbor I’m a Democrat living in a red, rural county. Trump supporters have mowed my lawn, walked my dog, and eroded my prejudices with their…
Read MoreSmackdown
The split screens said it all, even when the mics were muted. Trump was angry, unhinged and afraid to look Kamala Harris in the eye. Harris was in command all night. It was the most dominating performance in the history of presidential debates since JFK won the very first one in 1960. It was the…
Read MoreSomething You Don’t See Often
You don’t see many people like James Lankford – getting along with both sides in a divided world he tells people ‘Your faith should affect everything you do. It’s how I treat my wife. It’s how I treat strangers. Every person’s created in the image of God. They have value and worth. As I joke…
Read MoreAbandoning Faith
A Gothic church built in the 19th century turned into a skateboard park in the 21st century. Every year thousands of churches shut down, end up being apartments, parks, demolished. At the end of the 20th century 62% of Americans said religion was very important to them – twenty three years later, in the 21st…
Read MoreA New Era
Waking up in the morning, opening the newspaper, a headline leaped out: America has 1,550 nuclear weapons. So does Russia. China has less but it’s catching up – and China just got 25 tons of enriched uranium from Russia. Which the Pentagon says means China and Russia could end up with combined nuclear arsenals that…
Read MoreThe World They Lived In
She was nineteen. He was twenty-nine. Dark-haired she was pretty not beautiful. He was short, frumpy, had a farmer’s calloused hands. They both had simple names: Abigail Smith, John Adams. Married in 1764 they started down the road to happiness and by Christmas she was pregnant – before their child was born the first blow…
Read MoreErskine Bowles and the Community Woodpile
The best thing about blogging again is reconnecting with old friends. Like Erskine Bowles, who emailed to welcome Carter and me back. In 2004, I worked in Erskine’s unsuccessful race against Richard Burr for Senate. Erskine and I had a rocky relationship then. I pushed him to do things he wasn’t comfortable with, like running…
Read MoreBiden vs. Putin and Republicans
Republicans revered Ronald Reagan for bringing down the Soviet Union, the “evil empire.” But Trump and MAGA Republicans swoon over Czar Putin’s iron-fisted rule, gay-bashing and bare-chested manliness. President Biden armed the Ukrainians and united the free world against Russia’s brutal invasion. Now he is sending Ukraine tanks. Courageous Ukrainians exposed Putin’s military as rotten,…
Read MoreRare Courage
Every election for years I heard Tom Ellis tell politicians, Put principle above politics – to do what’s right, don’t worry about getting elected. Those days are past. After reading an Elon Musk tweet Trump, on a tear, said election fraud justified ‘termination of the Constitution.’ He lost under the constitution – so throw out…
Read MoreBeth Wood’s Crash
State Auditor Beth Wood obviously made a mistake when she crashed her state car onto another car in downtown Raleigh the evening of Dec. 8. She made another mistake when she left the scene without reporting the crash to the owner or police. Another mistake when she didn’t fess up, in full, the next day.…
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