D.G. Martin Archives - Page 48 of 78

Voting for the devil?

Posted by D.G. Martin | Jun 14, 2016 | D.G. Martin

“You would vote for the devil if he were a Democrat, wouldn’t you?” Thus begins an old story that makes fun of an old-time party-loyal, “yellow-dog” Democrat. His friend was teasing him about his unwillingness ever to stray from...

Putting Trump aside; remembering Ali and Patt Derian

Posted by D.G. Martin | Jun 7, 2016 | D.G. Martin

The death of Muhammad Ali last week took away Donald Trump’s monopoly of television news coverage, at least for a time. There was some irony, of course, as the “I am the greatest” clips from Ali replaced...

A jackass or a carpenter?

Posted by D.G. Martin | Jun 1, 2016 | D.G. Martin

“Any jackass can kick a barn down, but it takes a carpenter to build one.” Using a saying from UNC President Margaret Spellings’s native Texas, one attributed to Sam Rayburn, the long-time speaker of the U.S. House of...

Get to Ayden before it’s too late

Posted by D.G. Martin | May 24, 2016 | D.G. Martin

Can a Louisiana food writer tell us something about North Carolina barbecue that we did not already know? Rien Fertel gives it a good try in his new book, “The One True Barbecue: Fire, Smoke, and the Pitmasters Who Cook the...

The next big high-tech product: Why Concord?

Posted by D.G. Martin | May 17, 2016 | D.G. Martin

Why would Alevo, a European company seeking to develop and manufacture a powerful groundbreaking battery, choose Concord, North Carolina, as the site of its operations, rather than some other place anywhere in the world? There...

Finding our way out of a locked bathroom

Posted by D.G. Martin | May 10, 2016 | D.G. Martin

What can we do about House Bill 2? Polls show North Carolinians divided about the new law. Answers to polling questions depend upon how the questions are asked. Most North Carolinians, even supporters of transgender rights, do...

Summer reading and lessons about campus names and renaming

Posted by D.G. Martin | May 3, 2016 | D.G. Martin

What can Yale University teach UNC-Chapel Hill and other universities about naming and renaming college buildings and programs? What does Yale’s solution have to do with North Carolina and one of the books I recommend for early...

Groping and hoping: Why John Hart is so good and why the latest book took so long to write

Posted by D.G. Martin | Apr 27, 2016 | D.G. Martin

Can’t we just find something that we can agree upon? Thrown into a silly unnecessary bathroom dispute that has brought unwelcome international attention, good North Carolinians of all ideological, religious, and political...

Fire in Fayetteville leaves a gap in Chapel Hill

Posted by D.G. Martin | Apr 19, 2016 | D.G. Martin

Why did a fire in Fayetteville cause a panic in Chapel Hill? When I got word about the April 9 fire that destroyed the Haymont Grill in Fayetteville, a little bit of me got destroyed, too. The Grill was a few blocks away from a...

Like actors, putting ourselves in the shoes of others

Posted by D.G. Martin | Apr 13, 2016 | D.G. Martin

How hard is it for a white person to really understand the black experience well enough not to get into trouble when speaking about hot-button matters of community concern? Ask Hillary Clinton. Or ask her husband, the former...

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