Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Forgiving An Enemy
Six shots rang out. A Secret Service agent stepped in front of Reagan, was shot in the chest; shoving Reagan into the backseat of a limousine another agent landed on top of him pinning him to the floor; Reagan felt a stab of pain in his ribs, coughed up bubbly blood – he collapsed walking…
The Circus
Trump got indicted; Kevin McCarthy ripped Biden for turning the Justice Department into a ‘weapon’ to sink the man running against him; Trump, sheepishly, said in an ad, “I’m an innocent man.” Biden fired back, denied he ever told the Justice Department what to do when it came to indicting Trump then, raising his eyebrows,…
Pence’s Question
The words Mike Pence said were powerful but the way he said them was mild – he sounded like a man walking through a park, staring up at the sky, talking about a cloudy day. Pence told about Trump telling him to throw out Biden’s Electoral College votes on January 6: ‘President Trump demanded that…
Rachel Hunt Sets the Stakes
Rachel Hunt’s first ad in the lieutenant governor’s race is a striking statement about the power of the abortion issue in 2024 – and the stakes for women in North Carolina. It begins, “When Roe v Wade came to rural America, women woke up to a different world, a world with a bit more time.…
A State-Owned Healthcare Monopoly
For years Republicans believed free markets – not monopolies, not government – cured problems. It seems those days are past. UNC Healthcare – which owns hospitals and medical clinics across North Carolina – is controlled, owned, and subsidized by state government. And the State Senate just passed a bill to exempt it from anti-trust laws.…
The Trials Ahead
A reader emailed: “Doing nothing heroic, I served in naval intelligence. My service required a top-secret clearance. Each time I saw a top-secret document, I recall saying to myself: ‘No wonder this is top secret.’ Similar reaction when I saw documents classified ‘secret,’ also reflecting compelling reasons to protect their confidentiality. “Absorbing only what I…
Just the Facts, Ma’am
Jack Smith looked a bit like Abe Lincoln and talked a lot like Sgt. Joe Friday. We saw and heard him Friday afternoon for the first time. In just under three minutes and just over 300 words – strong, striking, sledgehammer sentences – the special counsel laid out his case. “Good afternoon. Today, an indictment…
Is Bipartisanship Dead?
At breakfast, a friend who has worked with the legislature for many years wondered if there is any hope for bipartisanship. “There are so many leadership-development groups in North Carolina,” he said. “Could they all come together and develop a new cohort of leaders and legislators who can work across party lines?” Given how toxic,…
Two Bare-Knuckled Street Kids
Chris Christie’s doing something no other candidate’s dared do: Tackle the Donald head-on. It’s unorthodox. But routine political thinking isn’t working too well against Trump. So, who knows, unorthodox might work. Imagine Christie and Trump in a debate both throwing punches – it’d be worth watching just to see which one blinks. It may turn…