Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Reign of Terror
Federal agents – and fear – have descended on North Carolina. I’m old enough to remember when President Kennedy sent federal agents to protect Black Americans from racist cops and masked Klansmen. Trump sends masked agents – why the masks? – to terrorize people who look Hispanic. As Governor Josh Stein said, “This is not…
Bit by the Politics Bug
The four of us – from four political generations – fell into talking about when we first got hooked on politics. The oldest, in his 80s, remembered his father letting him stay up and watch the national conventions in 1952, when Dwight Eisenhower and Robert Taft battled for the Republican nomination and Adlai Stevenson and…
Podcasting Jim Hunt
Jim Hunt finished his fourth term as Governor 25 years ago this coming January, and many North Carolinians today don’t know the enormous impact he had on our state. Colin Campbell at WUNC Radio – seeking “to better understand what he accomplished and what lessons his political career offers for today’s landscape in state politics”…
A Rough Week
Sitting in front of the shiny gold filigree on the White House wall, having a rough week after the election, Trump growled Democrats are ‘absolutely crazed.’ Insulting Democrats surprised no one. But it wasn’t the side of Trump folks like either. Setting his jaw, Trump warned Democrats were going to end the filibuster – so…
Last Week’s Election
To fit the pieces together let’s look at three voters: Tom’s a Democrat, Dick’s a Republican, Harry’s an Independent – Tom never votes for a Republican; Dick never votes for a Democrat; and every election Harry has to make a choice – but who he chooses wins. Each party has what you could call a…
Human Nature
Years ago my grandfather handed me a photograph of a famous Virginia train wreck – today politics reminds me of a train wreck. It’s easy to blame Trump for that. But the blame runs deeper. In the Book of Samuel in the Old Testament King David lusted after Bathsheba, had her husband sent into battle…
Helping Chiselers
Born in China, he moved to Canada, worked at a McDonald’s. Calling himself CZ, he returned to Shanghai, started his own cryptocurrency business. Became a billionaire. He opened Binance U.S., landed in a courtroom – terrorists like Hamas laundered money on his crypto exchange. He paid over $4.3 billion in fines, spent four months in…
A Writer’s Mark
My wife didn’t say I had to go, but I figured it was smart to go. So, instead of walking our dog in the woods and watching football last Saturday, I went with her to Northampton County for the unveiling of a state historical marker honoring her late aunt, Mebane Holoman Burgwyn. The Burgwyn family…
Democrats’ Victory Roads
Not only is there a road to Democratic victory, there are roads – plural. For Republicans, there’s only one road: Trump’s way – or the highway. Democrats took many paths to winning Tuesday – from a democratic socialist in New York City (a Muslim) to an ex-Navy officer in New Jersey (a woman) to an…