Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Donald Trump’s Ulterior Motive?
There may be cause to celebrate. It seems, according to one TV critic, Donald Trump has had an ulterior motive for his knock-down, drag-out, cat-fight with Barbara Walters (he says she lied) and Rosie O’Donnell (he says she’s an idiot). According to the TV analyst, Trump has been cleverly reaping a media windfall to pump-up…
John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary’s ‘PR’ Machine
A year ago it appeared, with any luck, John Edwards’ drive for the White House would die a quick death. Today, Edwards’ fortunes soaring. What happened? Edwards was on Jay Leno the other night and, I have a feeling, he’s stolen a page from Barack Obama’s play book. Obama is an unusual politician. Because of…
Meeker’s Bumpy New Year
Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker hasn’t started the new year with a bang. First there were stories about mounting costs at the Civic Center. Then his partisans got into an ill-advised overreaction to a newspaper column. And now he can’t get the Council to approve his Hillsborough Street roundabout plan. For better or worse, the Mayor…
From the Halls of Montezuma to the Kasbahs of Baghdad
The powers that be have given our Marines in Iraq a new “counter-insurgency manual.” One of the greatest fighting forces on earth is about to start wooing civilians, “learning social networks, building personal relationships and creating jobs” – for Iraqi’s. (News and Observer; 1-9-07). The Marines may never be the same. The new plan –…
Making War on Ideology
President Bush said on “60 Minutes” Sunday night that Americans must understand “we’re in an ideological struggle.” That’s precisely the problem, Mr. President. We understand that. We Americans will fight a war for our national interests and survival. That’s why we fought the Nazis and the Japanese. That’s why we fought the Cold War. That’s…
Relatives Assault Lower Caste Husband
In Pakistan “outraged in-laws slashed the nose and ears of a college student who married a woman without the consent of her higher caste family, and then fractured his legs with blows from an ax.” (News and Observer; 1-4-07) The newspapers report thirty male relatives of Mohammed Iqbal’s wife ‘stormed into his mother’s village home,…
I Should Have Stayed at Yale
There is a new twist in the Duke Lacrosse case: Duke University has been sued by a lacrosse player over a failing grade. At times, the rhetoric coming out of Duke’s spokesman has sounded like they were overly concerned with not being as violating the standards of ‘political correctness.’ But Duke’s major responsibility during the…
No Profiles in Courage
As we watch President Bush try to unscramble the eggs he broke, we should reflect on the political cowards who now require more sacrifice from courageous troops. The cowardice of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, who sold us war on the cheap. The cowardice of Colin Powell, who knew better, but saluted and kept silent. The…
Chapter Two – Nancy Pelosi
With North Korea building missiles and Iran building nuclear bombs it looks like the time has come for us to build the Strategic Missile Defense. After all, if Korea or Iran are dead set on building nuclear weapons, there doesn’t seem to be a way to stop them – short of launching a pre-emptive nuclear…