How does Harry Potter feel about the hotly contested proposal to separate Scotland from the United Kingdom? Edinburgh-based author J.K. Rowling, who created Harry Potter, opposes the proposal. She donated one million pounds to an organization fighting the proposal, which comes to a vote this fall. She worries that Scottish universities would lose funding for […]

What was the lesson we were taught twice last week? Once by Dave Brat, the congressional candidate who defeated House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor? And again by the insurgent forces of ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria)? This simple (but too often forgotten) lesson applies in North Carolina and throughout the world. It is […]

Romney for President. Get used to the idea. Again. But, you say, Mitt Romney has made it clear that he is not interested in running again. He is a two-time loser, which makes him damaged property. And the far-right wing of the party was never happy with him as a candidate. And by the time […]

Suddenly it’s June. Have you made a list of books to read on your summer vacation? Here are some North Carolina books for that list: UNC-Wilmington’s Clyde Edgerton’s Night Train came out three years ago and remains a favorite because it takes me back to my growing up years. Two friends, both teenaged boys, live […]

There’s a secret nobody in the Raleigh power establishment will confirm. It is this: our Republican governor, Pat McCrory, would not mind if there were a few more Democrats in the General Assembly after this fall’s elections. When you ask people close to the governor about this possibility, they are not likely to give you […]

“It is probably not known to many of our readers that the citizens of Mecklenburg County in this state made a declaration of independence a year before Congress made theirs.” This item could be an introduction to a contemporary story about the anniversary of the May 20, 1775, Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Most North Carolinians […]

As the discussion about the consequences of the coal ash residue leakages continues, there is one thing about Duke Energy about which there is widespread agreement. It is this: the company’s employees are service-minded, hard-working, friendly folks who, in times of crisis, rush to help and perform like heroes. So when I learned that I […]

“Just be patient,” some North Carolina Democrats are telling each other. “The demographics,” they say, “are on our side. The older white conservative Republicans are dying off. They are being replaced by younger, multi-ethnic, social liberals who tilt Democratic when they go to the polls. It is just a matter of time until these factors […]

What President Obama needed was a Shirley Temple! Not the popular non-alcoholic drink named for the childhood star. What he needed as he faced the nation’s worst economic situation since the Great Depression was the kind of help President Franklin D. Roosevelt got from a bright, cheerful, optimistic child actor who lifted the spirits of […]

“Variety Vacationland.” Do you remember that slogan from our state’s past? I suggest a new one: “Variety Literatureland.” In the next few weeks, I plan to provide support for my suggestion in the form of books and their authors who will be appearing on North Carolina Bookwatch. First is Krista Bremer, associate publisher of The […]