From the opening moments of Apollo 11, as a missile crawler-transporter is delivering a Saturn rocket to its launch pad, viewers know that something big is about to happen. That massive piece of equipment, in fact, serves as a defining symbol for Todd Douglas Miller’s documentary that chronicles the mission to put the first man on the moon.
Apollo 11 reminds us of the power of the American spirit
RALEIGH — In the twilight of his political career, Ronald Reagan made the media rounds to discuss his administration, legacy, and unfinished b…
As an educator at the high school level for the last eight years I’ve often considered whether teenagers today are profoundly different from s…
Ask any college senior where the best jobs are, and you'll probably hear a list of coastal metropolises: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco.
Is it just one more small-town business that has closed its doors?
RALEIGH — While election scandals, national issues, and candidate announcements for 2019 and 2020 races have dominated the political headlines…
Nancy McFarlane is my mayor. She has led Raleigh through explosive growth, including a new train station, the purchase of Dix Park, promotion …
President Donald Trump's proposed budget for 2020 is a fairly standard list of conservative priorities. Trump would spend more on the military…
Among the latest directives from Democrats is a trio of ideas highlighting the disconnect between the party and the middle class. Dems want to…
There’s a famous quote by American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson about the purpose of life. Emerson tells us, “The purpose of life is not to be hap…
Sometimes it is hard finding truth. That’s where I am regarding the UNC Board of Governors.
Last week, I was thrilled to host many constituents who were in Washington for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) national c…
Now that the Mueller report has removed the cudgel of Russian collusion from Donald Trump’s opponents, we can look ahead and hope the messy po…
Will Gov. Roy Cooper have a wall this summer?
So far, several Democrats running for president in 2020 and their allies in Congress have embraced socialism as more of a fashionable buzzword…
At long last it is Spring, when daylight hours grow longer, temperatures turn warmer and flowers burst into bloom. The Anglo-Saxon word for Sp…
Joe Biden’s recent struggles were at once predictable and a symptom of the current political climate. As the acknowledged frontrunner in a cro…
Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, once said, “Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse…
Who is the best North Carolina-based political columnist?
RALEIGH — After Durham businessman Greg Lindberg, state Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes, and two of Lindberg’s business associates were …
Here’s a good news-bad news story that needs a happy ending. The good news is that as of January our state’s unemployment rate was 3.6 percent…
How did a close election in the Ninth Congressional District of North Carolina lead to this column?
RALEIGH — If you own it, you control it. That’s what it means to enjoy a property right, in a nutshell. It is a right safeguarded by North Car…
We all share the same goal to end gun violence in this country. But in the course of this debate, House Democrats say they want to “do somethi…
With a clear-eyed perspective on my place in politics (I don’t have one) this column is intended to give advice to the Democrat Party as it at…
8 things we learned in the 9th District hearings
As your Congressman, I have the honor of hosting the Congressional Art Competition in our district to recognize the artistic talents of studen…
Do you remember the important North Carolina connection to “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” one of America’s most loved novels?
How much are you paying for health care? You may say too much, you may even cite the cost of a recent procedure you’ve had, but do you know wh…
A newscaster on a cable network recently referred to a candidate “throwing his hat into the ring” in the 2020 race for president. Those words …
Do you remember the TV game show Family Feud? It was good fun as one family competes with another for cash prizes, but we all know that real l…
Why would anybody want to spend months walking from the South Carolina coast, up through the Piedmont to present-day Charlotte, and then back …
A social and political sea change has occurred in recent years, and those wielding political power are not the only stakeholders in what has b…
The proposed DMV move brings to mind one of the old Three Stooges comedies, the one where one of the zany trio says, “I’ve cut this board thre…
Would you like to know why U.S. sanctions against companies owned by Russian billionaire and businessman Oleg Deripaska are being lifted?
RALEIGH — If the most important factor determining the welfare of workers is the growth rate of the economy, that has policy implications that…
RALEIGH — Friar Laurence has the best of intentions. But in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the friar’s well-intended interventions do…
When NASCAR stages its premier show next weekend, the event will mark the 40th anniversary of a snowstorm and a fistfight that combined to cre…
Last week, the world watched as President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union Address. In his speech, the President highlight…
The request was for me to talk to an audience about how to conduct civil, meaningful and honest discussions among people with different faiths…
As president of the North Carolina Community College System and State Superintendent of our K-12 public schools, we are happy to highlight Feb…
North Carolina’s most important emergency is not the next federal government shutdown. Nor is it a fake national emergency on the nation’s sou…
A reader recently posed a question that is at once a legitimate conversation starter and a commentary on the current state of affairs in this …
There is a secret about North Carolina’s early colonial days, something even more disturbing and horrifying than traditional slavery.
RALEIGH — The single most important issue during every legislative session is the approval or revision of North Carolina’s state budget. For t…
