All tagged column

Do you think felons should lose their right to vote? If so, do you think they should be able to regain that right after getting out of prison or should they have to wait until they complete any probation or parole requirement that follows prison? Or do you think a felony conviction should forever block someone from participating in elections?

OPINION: “Zero Risk” is too risky for me

With respect to risk tolerance, if you’d asked me before March 2020, I probably would have described myself as “risk-averse.” For example, I’m what you might call respectful of heights. That’s my preferred euphemism for terrified. I wasn’t too fond of them to begin with, but falling off a ladder while cleaning off leaves was enough. I set out to do\ a mundane chore and returned limping like Quasimodo and moaning like Marley’s ghost. I’m also cautious with money, and I don’t like to make big decisions on a lark.

Freedom is worth the risk

During each election cycle, we are treated to an endless parade of politicians extolling freedom. Given how many of them subsequently vote to restrict our freedom in myriad ways, we have ample reason to be skeptical about politicians.

Exit polls offer useful insights

Every two years, exit pollsters attempt to survey voters who’ve just cast ballots. They post interviewers at hundreds of voting sites across the country. They call and email voters who cast ballots by mail. The resulting exit polls are often roundly criticized and improperly reported (such as when journalists circulate and comment on raw exit-poll totals on Election Night that have not been weighted based on actual election returns.

Our sky was never falling

From July 2020 to July 2021, there was a net inflow of 637,729 Americans into these top-five destination states: Florida, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina. During the same period, there was a net outflow of 918,443 Americans from these top-five exporter states: California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Louisiana.

Revolutionary history surrounds us

When I set out a couple of years ago to write my first novel, a historical fantasy called Mountain Folk, I decided to set most the action during the American Revolution. It’s my favorite period in American history. After all, I’m a native North Carolinian — which means I grew up surrounded by reminders of our nation’s founding era.

School closures were too risky

When the news broke on January 3 that one of North Carolina’s largest school districts, Cumberland County, was considering a shift to virtual instruction in response to rising case counts of the Omicron variant, I felt my stomach lurch.

Manufacturing continues to thrive

With the recent announcements of a new Toyota battery plant in Randolph County, a new Fujifilm Diosynth drug plant in Wake County, a large MasterBrand cabinet facility in Kinston, and a big White River Marine operation in New Bern for making saltwater boats, among other projects, North Carolina’s manufacturing sector appears to be thriving.

Our technology made us resilient

The COVID-19 crisis had enormous and destructive consequences for our health, our economy, our education systems, and the quality of our social and family lives. Now, just imagine how much worse the consequences would have been in the absence of modern information and computer technology (ICT).

We need more school boards

A year ago, would you have correctly guessed that meetings of local school boards would be among the most politically charged events of 2021, and that school-board races would be among the most contested of the next election cycle? If so, more power to you. I would have gotten those questions wrong.