Cartoon
Opinion
States should lead on parental rights
A few weeks ago, three members of the North Carolina Senate — Amy Scott Galey of Alamance County, Lisa Barnes of Nash County, and Michael Lee of New Hanover County — filed a state Parents’ Bill of Rights to ensure that local schools respect parental authority to direct the education, development, and medical treatment of...
Opinion
Gov Cooper should end duplicative and historically racist gun policies
One of the most discriminatory laws on North Carolina’s books is the pistol purchase permit system, which was first implemented in 1919. To summarize, before purchasing a handgun in the Tar Heel state, one must first obtain permission from the local sheriff in the form of a pistol purchase permit. Frustratingly, the many who don’t...
Opinion
Outrageous story of the week: Government again mandates we pretend it’s an hour in the future
Every year I have hope that whatever sane adults exist in positions of power will come together to ensure we never again have to deal with government-mandated clock shifting. But every year the disappointing “spring forward” arrives, as it did this week. There may not be a better example of the hubris of government than...
Cartoon
Listening in
Opinion
Justice Earls openly flouting NC Code of Judicial Conduct
Part 2 of 2. Read Part 1 here: Democrat North Carolina State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, a well-known liberal activist before and during her time on the bench, appears to be actively ignoring and defying North Carolina’s Code of Judicial Conduct, the state’s ethical rule book for judges and Supreme Court justices. Woodshed recently...
Cartoon
Eating crow
Opinion
Are college degrees losing their luster?
Employers in North Carolina and across the country are struggling to find qualified workers to fill key positions in their organizations. As they reconsider the minimum qualifications they are willing to accept, those screening candidates are increasingly setting aside the requirement of a four-year degree. Gov. Roy Cooper on Monday signed an executive order that...
Opinion
Berger: Why I changed my mind on expanding Medicaid
For more than 10 years I was one of the staunchest opponents to expanding Medicaid in North Carolina. The Affordable Care Act as enacted was and is bad federal policy and has done much to exacerbate problems in healthcare. However, given how our federal and state systems currently operate, our ability at the state level...
Cartoon
Powered by good intentions
Opinion
Labor participation is falling again
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just released its latest jobs report for North Carolina and the rest of the country. As usual, the report contained a mixture of good news and bad. First the good. Our headline unemployment rate of 3.8% isn’t just low. It’s much lower than our 5.3% average rate over the...
Opinion
Three years in, Cooper, Stein, Earls still fighting for soft-on-crime policies
In January of this year, North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls spoke glowingly of her work on the state’s Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice. Along with Attorney General Josh Stein, Earls is the co-chair of the task force, created in the summer of 2020 by Gov. Roy Cooper. According to the task...
