If you maintain a diversified portfolio of politically active friends — and you really ought to if you want to perceive the world as it is rather than as you imagine it to be — it’s essential to learn how best to handle passionate disagreements about controversial issues. When the US Supreme Court recently struck...
Legislative Republicans sent a clear signal to the largest group of registered voters in the Tar Heel state, unaffiliated voters, that they are welcome to continue voting in Republican primary contests, now and forever more. Included in a recently passed election bill is a requirement that unaffiliated voters be allowed to vote in a political...
The Democratic attorney general's defense of a new state law marks a rare case of unity with Republican legislative leaders.
On March 29, the General Assembly voted to repeal North Carolina’s requirement to obtain a permit from a county sheriff before purchasing a handgun. The bill’s opponents, including North Carolinians Against Gun Violence and Gov. Roy Cooper, claimed that the bill would significantly increase violent crime by allowing criminals easier access to firearms. That was...
Requiring able-bodied people to work in exchange for government benefits is a popular idea. It’s a proven way to reduce dependency and break the cycle of poverty. And in the case of the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — what used to be called food stamps — it’s also the law. So why are...
Since 1996, Congress has shirked its responsibility to uphold the very laws it has passed regarding marijuana. More and more states are thumbing their proverbial noses at federal laws that declare pot as a Schedule 1 substance under the Controlled Substances Act. And Congress has sat idly by and watched it happen. In 2014, Congress took its gutless...
Over the weekend, an unsigned Virginia artist named Oliver Anthony performed his original song “Rich men north of Richmond” at a farmers market in rural Currituck County, North Carolina. Days earlier, only a few close family and friends had likely heard the song. But videos show those in attendance, some who had traveled many hours...
