Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Jim Hunt
He’d call you first thing in the morning or last thing at night. Or he’d grab you by the elbow, or sit you down knee to knee and nose to nose, and fix you with that steely stare. “Now, looka here,” he’d say, “this is what we need to do.” And you’d walk through a…
Phil and Thom
Fifteen years ago, Phil Berger and Thom Tillis rode the Republican/Tea Party tide to power in Raleigh. Today, they’re mere pawns in Donald Trump’s Republican Party. They personify what the party has become Berger has stayed put as Senate president pro-tem, determined to outdo Marc Basnight’s long reign and undo the progressive legislation that Democrats…
DG
I first heard of DG Martin in 1984, when Governor Jim Hunt was running against Jesse Helms for Senate and DG was an underdog Democrat running for Congress in the traditionally Republican district around Charlotte. With his million-megawatt smile and prematurely white hair, DG looked like the twin brother of comedian Steve Martin, who was…
Wrong Wray
Former state Rep. Michael Wray has an odd way of running in a Democratic primary. He posted on Facebook, “Are you a Republican that (sic) wants to vote for Michael Wray?” Here’s how, he said: “You can temporarily change your party affiliation to UNAFFILIATED, but you must do so BEFORE FEBRUARY 6TH. If you make…
Two Bags of Cash
It’s hard to tell how much of this is truth and how much is fiction but here’s the tale: A team of undercover FBI agents out to jail grifters bribing politicians to make money got a tip: Talk to Tom Homan – he can get you ICE contracts if Trump wins. Undercover agents taped Homan…
Give ‘em Hell, Harry
A reader recalled what Harry Truman said about Richard Nixon: “He not only doesn’t give a damn about the people; he doesn’t know how to tell the truth. I don’t think the son of a bitch knows the difference between the truth and lying.” What would Harry say about Trump?
A Deadly Cloud
There’s a cloud over Trump’s head – most people don’t like how he’s doing his job (the Gallup Poll). Democrats have loathed him for years but now so do Independents. Republicans still love him but their love’s getting thinner. Pundits tell us that’s happening because he blundered when it comes to handling issues – like…
Two Stories and a Warning
Like hard times, history repeats itself. Boisterous, ruthless, sure he was marching down the road to destiny, Adolf Hitler got a surprise: Neville Chamberlain wanted to come see him. Dapper, thin face, smugness hiding an insecure heart, Chamberlain flew to Germany. Sitting in Hitler’s paneled study in the Bavarian mountains laid a deal on the…
Fatal Folly
The National Guard members who were shot in Washington came from West Virginia. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom (photo) died; she was just 20. Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe is fighting for life; he is 24. President Trump sent their unit to D.C. to fight crime, he claimed – but, really, to score political points. The…