Anyone who is a student of history, or has ever been on a high school debating team knows that today’s televised candidate debates are not really debates. Whereas academic debate formats focus on one issue and allow participants to develop thoughtful responses, televised debates force candid…
Many years ago while visiting London, my wife Pam stepped off the curb and was almost run over by Prince Andrew’s car. Had she been underage perhaps Andrew would have stopped, but, instead he just waved at her as he drove past. I too once had a brush with the royal family, and while it wasn’…
Thanks to Judge Beryl Howell, we now know more about what was in the FBI search warrant served on Senator Richard Burr, than we knew one year ago. That’s because on August 29, Howell ordered the Justice Department to release a less redacted version of FBI agent Brandon Merriman’s warrant whi…
Recently several voters have told me “I don’t really care about the local school board. I don’t have children in school.”
On Tuesday, September 6, 2022, the mayor and aldermen of the Kernersville Town Council held a hearing in which they failed in their duties as elected officials on three counts.But before I get into dereliction of duty, let me remind the reader of the role of an alderman. The modern definitio…
Last month, President Biden announced his plan to forgive a portion of student loan debt, and offer relief for some 45 million borrowers, over one million of who reside in North Carolina. Here’s how it works: If you took out a federal student loan, and you earn less than $125,000 per year (o…
Lawyers and police officers are supposed to know, enforce, and obey the laws. Here in North Carolina, Attorney General Josh Stein is both the State’s top cop and top lawyer, therefore, he, more than anyone, should be held accountable if he breaks the law. Instead, Stein is now trying to slit…
In the summer of 1970, I was the public address announcer for Ernie Shore Field. It was a dream job for a high school kid who loved baseball because I got to be around and get to know all of the players on what was then the Winston-Salem Red Sox. That year the Sox won the Carolina League cha…
Mayberry today: Sheriff Andy still lives in Mayberry, or does he?
Acting can be dangerous. Just ask Clu Gulager.
Most of us have a special place in our home where we display pictures of our family. For me that special place is a credenza that features framed photos of my wife Pam, my sister, our parents, and my two make-believe brothers, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers.
NORML Comments on Sentencing of Brittney Griner in Russia
Legacy is an overused word. A great athlete, for example, may claim that hitting lots of home runs is his legacy. The founder of a business is said to be leaving a legacy to his children when they succeed him. Kids whose parents graduated from an Ivy League University are automatically accep…
Alot of folks seemed shocked when Vernon Robinson announced that he was organizing a gun raffle for the Forsyth Republican party. The Winston-Salem Journal criticized the local GOP for being “tone deaf” to the recent massacres in Texas and Illinois. In fact, according to Forsyth Democratic p…
Both of my parents were fortunate to have been under hospice care before they passed away, so I can testify first-hand that the folks who provide patients with serious illness and end-of-life care will someday occupy a special place in heaven. That’s especially true for the team at Mountain …
There are plenty of reasons why Brittney Griner’s name should have been a household name well before February 2022.
Ask a thousand people in the Triad to identify the current location of Atlantic Coast Conference headquarters, and most all of them would say, “The Greensboro Coliseum.” In fact, the ACC’s offices are nestled away at the luxurious Grandover Resort. The man who runs the conference and works a…
Earlier this month, just as Congress was about to convene hearings on how former President Donald Trump planned and attempted a coup, another president was proudly announcing that a Trump ally would lead his university’s new law school. That proud president is High Point University’s Nido Qu…
Statement on Supreme Court Overturning Roe v. Wade
The Forsyth County Republican Men’s Club and Conservative Women of Forsyth County recently threatened to stage a protest during Bookmarks Drag Queen Story time event, in which “Anna Yacht” was scheduled to read to children ages 3 to 7. Ken Raymond, chairman of the Forsyth Republican party ex…
Almost from the day it was released in 1984, Stephen King slammed the film version of Firestarter as the worst adaptation of his work, despite reportedly having told screenwriter Stanley Mann that his script was the best adaptation he’d read. His criticism so irked director Mark L. Lester th…
Just as with murder and other heinous crimes, I suppose that sexual abuse of children has probably gone on since the beginning of time. But there is also evidence to suggest that such abuse was institutionally committed and protected at least as far back as the 11th century. In 1051, Peter D…
In 1787, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison penned a collection of essays that were published in what has since become known as “The Federalist Papers.” The focus of their essays was primarily to promote the ratification of the Constitution, but some of what they wrote also serve…
For the past 20 years, I’ve been calling for all schools to have armed officers with metal detecting wands placed at every entrance, but I’m always told by politicians that my plan is impractical and would be too expensive. Yet, less than a week after Congress allocated $40 billion (unbudget…
During the final battle in “Star Trek, the Undiscovered Country,” Klingon General Chang incessantly quotes Shakespeare while Spock and Dr. McCoy try frantically to prepare a torpedo that will put the chatty villain out of his misery. “I’d give real money if he’d shut up,” said McCoy. And so,…
Once upon a time, North Carolina was known for its outstanding representatives in Washington. Democrats like Sam Ervin and Richardson Pryor, and Republicans like Howard Coble and Jim Broyhill were widely respected for their integrity. Ervin got us through Watergate, Pryor helmed a committee …
Social media, news programs, blogs, and newspapers have given significant coverage to the newly drawn voting districts that have been challenged before the North Carolina Supreme Court. However, this information is often confusing and sometimes wrong. How and where to vote can seem so compli…
In his recent opinion piece, “Cooper mutes the screams of victims,” Jim Longworth argues that Governor Cooper “muted the voices … of two innocent victims” by commuting the sentence of April Barber, a woman who had served 36 years in prison for murders she committed at the age of 15.
Whenever there is a large number of candidates vying for the same office, political pundits like to refer to it as a “crowded field,” which often implies that those candidates are all bunched up in the polls. Not so with North Carolina’s race for U.S. Senate, where a dozen or more hopefuls a…
Mothers are special. They give us life. They nurture us. And, they shape the way we think and act. TV Moms are special too. They are our imaginary surrogates, and they remain a fixture in our childhood memories. In May of 2008, I paid tribute to some of those small screen surrogates when I p…
For those of you old enough to remember the debate over single-sex education, and how VMI fought to remain an all-male institution, you’ll recall that a number of prominent women joined that fight. While producing a 1993 documentary about the value of single-sex institutions, I interviewed a…
Thank you for publishing Jim Longworth's editorial piece suggesting stiffer penalties for those who abuse or neglect animals. I share Mr. Longworth's indignation at the "slaps on the wrist" too often given to those who are capable of unspeakable cruelty to helpless and innocent creatures. Ho…
As a candidate and former representative of Greensboro City Council District 5, I urge residents to beware of a political tactic to increase your taxes without calling the plan a tax increase.
OPINION - We have definitely come into an interesting time for young people in the political realm– specifically because they are mostly absent. Right now, the United States has its oldest serving president in history and the current Speaker of the House– Nancy Pelosi– has recently celebrate…
North Carolina made national headlines back in 2010 when the General Assembly passed “Susie’s Law,” so named for a puppy that was rescued from her Greensboro home after having been set on fire and abandoned by her owner. Thanks to “Susie’s Law,” anyone convicted of cruelty to animals can fac…
Guilford County is sitting at a great crossroads; an educational precipice if you have eyes to see. We are at a point where we could see the substandard treatment of public education by our county in the rear-view mirror of our lives. After the final destruction of our educational system tha…
Reading Jim Longworth’s column for the March 16-22 issue (“Too Many ‘I’s’ in TEAM These Days”), I found myself nodding in agreement to several of the points he made early in his piece. However, his column veers into a nostalgic tirade of a time in college sports which has been propped up as …
Americans for Prosperity North Carolina Issues Statement After President Biden’s Visit
After numerous complaints from residents, a series of public hearings, and a study of decibel levels, the Kernersville Board of Aldermen last week approved a new noise ordinance which they hope will end the conflict and debate over loud music in outdoor venues. Unfortunately, the new ordinan…
Once upon a time, there were only three TV channels to watch, and in the late 1970’s, no show was bigger than “Laverne & Shirley,” a sitcom starring Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall as roommates who worked at a Milwaukee beer factory. The series was a spin-off from a “Happy Days” episod…
Say what you will about Kim Kardashian, Gigi Hadid, or Joanna Gaines, but as far as influencers go, they’re not in the same league as Alexa, the voice of Amazon. There’s no way to tell how many people talk with and listen to Alexa every day, but the company she represents sold over 100 milli…
Guilford County Schools (GCS) has developed a standard mode of operation which is to give parents and staff short notice on major issues and tell them the Board of Education is in agreement/approved the initiative. Staff and parents are then intimidated to toe the line. Gateway Learning Cent…
Earlier this month, Governor Roy Cooper commuted the sentence of 46-year-old April Barber to time served. He did so on the recommendation of the NC Juvenile Sentencing Review Board, which he created last year. The Board’s mission is to review sentences of people who were under the age of 18 …
In a recent school board meeting, the “consent agenda” included an item D, 2020 -2021 Budget Amendments / Transfers Report.
I don’t know exactly what year it happened, but somewhere along the way, team sports turned into “ME Sports,” and the trend toward toxic individuality has manifested itself in everything from grooming and dress code, to style of play and counterproductive regulations. Actually, this subject …
With all due respect to Jim Longworth, I’m dismayed by his March 3 column “Confederates of all colors,” which accepts John Stauffer’s dubious claim that over 3,000 Black men fought in the Confederate army.
Generally speaking, wealthy people are not supposed to be eligible for welfare, and yet many of them routinely take advantage of subsidies and tax breaks not afforded to the rest of us. And boy do they make out like bandits in a financial crisis. Take for instance when the Covid Pandemic beg…
As it sometimes happens, two seemingly unrelated news stories from two different cities are reported at virtually the same time, and then, we discover that there might be some dots to connect. Such is the case with a planned housing project in High Point, and a statue in Lumberton.
