Progressives make last-gasp power grab with their dying court majority
The North Carolina Supreme Court met in the Historic 1767 Chowan Count Courthouse in Edenton on October 3 and 4. The beauty of the setting belied the ugly politics behind two of the cases the court heard on those days. The court had decided on a 4-3 party-line vote on July 28 to truncate the normal judicial process in Harper v. Hall, a...
Don’t that just beat all?
I’ve been writing a newspaper column since 1986. During that time, I’ve had occasion to criticize the policies of six North Carolina governors: Jim Martin, Jim Hunt, Mike Easley, Beverly Perdue, Pat McCrory, and Roy Cooper. None has seen fit to have me flogged. An ancestor of mine, William Pendley, wasn’t so lucky. Some years...
Up in flames
Historic setting offers chance for N.C. Supreme Court reset
The court's seven justices travel to Edenton to address high-profile election cases that already have produced partisan splits.
He’s trying
Political dysfunction should point us to the disease
“Real Time” with Bill Maher has become one of the last, if not last, American television talk show to air political commentary from a left-wing perspective that is not under the guise of political correctness. While the host, American comedian Bill Maher, views political events through a progressive lens, he does not hold back from...
Republicans aim for supermajorities
North Carolina has divided government. Its most powerful executive is the Democratic governor, Roy Cooper. Four of the seven justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court are also Democrats. But Republicans enjoy majorities in the General Assembly and Court of Appeals, and hold six of the 10 offices on the Council of State. The latter...
Trump’s New Hanover visit highlights importance of coastal county
Donald Trump’s visit to New Hanover County, specifically the Wilmington International Airport, highlights the importance of the “Port City” and its home county, one of two North Carolina counties that embraced Trump in 2016 and rejected him in 2020. New Hanover has become one of the most purple counties in North Carolina, and the largest...
Just a leak
Fiji for me but not for thee and other outrageous stories
Before we get to the crazy, I do want to let all the good folks down in Florida that I’m thinking of them. I know many of you are, too. As a Hurricane Katrina evacuee, I know firsthand what a big storm can do, which is decimate homes and lives. Obviously, folks throughout North Carolina...