The Cure For Bluster?

Trump called Kim Jong Un ‘Rocket Man on a suicide mission.’ Kim called Trump ‘a dotard’ and ‘mentally deranged.’ Trump called Kim ‘a madman’ and Kim called Trump ‘a frightened dog.’ The Chinese stepped in and said everybody ought to take a deep breath and calm down and, of all people, the Russians said the…

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The Ascent

Last night, I finished reading Hitler: The Ascent. While working in a shop in Obersalzberg in 1926 Maria Reiter met Hitler. She was 16. And he was 37. Hitler’s next ‘love’ (which isn’t exactly the right word) Geli Raubal was 19 years younger than he was. Unity Mitford – who he met at a Nirenberg…

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Murder in Paleolithic Times

If you attach the words ‘science proves this’ to a statement most people, almost as a reflex, will believe it. Often without a second thought. The other day the newspapers reported a scientist at Granada University in Spain had published a study on the ‘evolutionary history of lethal violence.’ The scientist had carefully created a…

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Pat Versus Phil – and Dan?

A discerning reader adds a twist to my theory (see “Pat Versus Phil” blog below) that Senator Berger might back a primary opponent against Governor McCrory: It could be Lt. Governor Dan Forest: “Can’t help but notice Senate budget included Forest’s pet project for more education revenue but they didn’t include any of Gov’s pet…

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Tillis Out of the Closet?

How would Republican primary voters feel about a prominent supporter of gay marriage holding a fundraiser for Thom Tillis in New York City?   That would be Paul Singer, a hedge-fund CEO whom the Washington Post calls “the money man behind pro-gay marriage Republicans.”   The Post reported that, “Last week, Singer and other donors…

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Move On

Is our long national Obamacare binge winding down?   A veteran Raleigh operative said this week that the folks at home are getting tired of hearing about it. Coincidentally, a Kaiser Health Tracking Poll found that “just over half the public (53 percent) say they’re tired of hearing about the debate over the ACA and…

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Feed the Birds

This blog is a tribute to my late father, Jim.   He was a printer all his life, first at Parker Brothers Newspapers in Ahoskie and then at The News & Observer. For many years, he was foreman of the N&O composing room.   Those were the days when newspapers were produced with hot metal…

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On the Air

This from our Shameless Self-Promotion Department:   Carter and I did an interview with Don Gonyea, National Political Correspondent for NPR.  Part of it ran in a story about Senator Kay Hagan’s reelection race.    And I was interviewed on Chris Fitzsimon’s News & Views on WRAL-FM. It’s on the NC Policy Watchwebsite.

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Overridden

Even Republicans are puzzled about why Governor McCrory vetoed the two bills he did.   Why pick a fight you’re going to lose? Unless there’s a big upside, and there’s not here.   Both of the bills he vetoed had passed the House, his only real ally on Jones Street, with veto-proof majorities and bipartisan…

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Good Night Ann

Why do Republicans feel compelled to insult, dismiss and condescend to women in North Carolina?   The latest: Governor McCrory dismissing Ann Goodnight’s pointed and powerful letter to the N&O (reprinted in full at the end of this blog).   The Governor sniffed at the letter to Al Hunt of Bloomberg News: “Ms. Goodnight, he…

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