Opinion (299)
Gov. Roy Cooper says he won’t sign a new state budget unless the North Carolina General Assembly says yes to Medicaid expansion. The Republican-majority legislature has said no to Medicaid expansion. So far, now weeks into the new fiscal year, neither side has budged.
COLUMN: Does Epstein have ties to the intelligence community?
Written by Thomas L. Knapp
In 2008, billionaire asset manager Jeffrey Epstein's lawyers negotiated a very favorable plea bargain in Florida, under which he served a mere 13 months in jail — in his own private wing, with 12 hours of daily "work release" — on a single charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor (the FBI had identified 40 alleged victims of sexual predation on his part).
I have been accused of a lot of things in the half-century I have been on this earth, but I have never been accused of being a morning person. I don't hate mornings, per se, but I will admit they are not high on my list of things I enjoy.
North Carolina Democrats held the General Assembly after the 2000 elections, as they had for nearly all of the state’s history. During the ensuing 2001 session, top lawmakers, Democratic consultants, and progressive activists devised a set of gerrymanders that would have guaranteed Democratic control of both legislative chambers for years to come, even if most North Carolinians voted for GOP candidates.
We charge you, King George, with “a long train of abuses” designed to “establish an absolute tyranny over these states.” Our 1776 Declaration of Independence was also a Declaration of Defiance, detailing the high crimes and misdemeanors of a tyrannical despot. The king was accused of “obstructing justice, imposing taxes, and cutting off our trade.”
GUEST EDITORIAL: Fishing freedom on the Fourth of July, red tape year-round
Written by Wilson Times
Want to dust off the tackle box, grab the fishing poles and catch your own family seafood feast?
Thursday, you’re fine. On Friday, you might have to pay a fine.
Many political and education leaders in North Carolina say that our economy would be better off if our level of educational attainment was higher. They’re probably right about that, as long as their definition of “educational attainment” is sufficiently broad.
"The United States is running concentration camps on our southern border," U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) pointed out in an Instagram video on June 18.
What do North Carolina voters think of the job Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has done over his first two and a half years in the office? The signals are mixed at the moment.
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The old wisdom says that first impressions are the ones people remember. It has been said that the first impression is always right and it is always stored in the back of the mind for future reference. I guess this occasionally true, as some people and things never transcend that initial impression.
COLUMN: Guilty until proven innocent in the Court of Public Opinion
Written by William R. Toler
The presumption of innocence.
It’s a hallowed maxim of American jurisprudence.
RALEIGH — To the ears of politically engaged North Carolinians, it may sound strange to hear claims that changes in partisan control don’t yield significant changes in state policy. But among scholars, this has been a widespread view for many decades.
COLUMN: I'll try nearly anything on my pizza — except pineapple
Written by Joe Weaver
This evening, I had pizza for dinner. It wasn't made from scratch, nor was it from a local take-out. It was a boxed frozen pizza from the supermarket. The brand is not important, as I don't want to get into the area of product endorsement, but it has a World War I flying ace on the box. As gourmet food goes, it's lacking a great deal. It's not organic or all-natural. It didn't have any trendy toppings on it. It had four meats, though I can't remember which four meats they were. It's not expensive. It's not award-winning. It is, however, delicious.
