There are many critters designated by law to symbolize North Carolina. For example, we have an official state bird (red cardinal), reptile (eastern box turtle), horse (colonial Spanish mustang), …
When you think about it for a moment, it’s not hard to understand how guns came to hold such a preeminent place in American culture. To the Europeans who came to North America and …
When I don't allow myself to get in a hurry while traveling, I like getting off the interstates to enjoy rural and small-town scenery. The recent passing of an older cousin in South Carolina, at age …
"As I heard it, the president was clear," someone thought to be deputy White House Chief of Staff Steven Miller allegedly texted to a Signal chat involving several cabinet members — and …
North Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states in the country. If present trends continue, we’ll surpass Georgia and become the eighth-most-populous state by 2030. There’s even an …
There’s a word most economists — indeed, most people — don’t want to hear, and it begins with an “r.” I’ll give you a 5-second countdown to guess: …
Now is the worst possible moment for us to abandon or radically change higher education. Boards, administrators and educators in higher ed already have enough problems. The world of information and …
President Trump’s declaration of war as a justification for using wartime powers to sidestep constitutional protections is indeed a war, but it is a war waged by the president against dissent, …
Caring and thinking Americans are rightfully alarmed and angered right now at the unabashed lurch toward authoritarianism that they’re witnessing in the nation’s capital. Among the most …
"House Democrats erupted into apoplexy," Axios reported on March 14, "after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he would support Republicans' stopgap government funding measure." With …
North Carolina has become a national leader in such policy areas as tax reform, school choice, and transportation funding. Unfortunately, we lag far behind in providing telehealth options to …
In 2021, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service finalized a rule, initiated in 2019 by an executive order from then-President Donald Trump, that required all hospitals in the United …
You can’t have it both ways. You can’t live in a constitutional republic if you allow the government to act like a police state. You can’t claim to value freedom if you allow the …
Eight decades after the "Anglosphere" powers (the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand) codified their World War intelligence sharing protocols in the 1946 UKUSA Agreement, the "Five …
“What’s in a name?” wrote the Bard in his masterpiece Romeo and Juliet. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare …
The national debt has been an issue in the U.S. for decades. But concern about the debt has peaked for two reasons. The first is the debt’s size, today totaling $36 trillion. As a percentage of …
Two weeks ago, the N.C. Department of Commerce released a report highlighting our state’s dramatic reduction in poverty rates over the decade spanning 2013-2023, registering one of the steepest …
Compromise in politics is something that is as old as human civilization itself. Anyone who aspires to serve in an elected position understands this simple truth and the fact that, in many instances, …
To the editor: An errant toboggan, a bit of Raider Magic, and a young man who refused to stay down started the 2025 Raider baseball season on a memorable note for me last Friday evening. …
"Social Security is the biggest Ponzi Scheme of all time," Elon Musk told podcaster Joe Rogan on the latter's podcast. "If you look at the future obligations of Social Security, it far exceeds the …