What would happen if, just before the tip-off to a basketball game, the referees announced that they were awarding one of the teams a 15-point lead at the beginning of the game?
Published: Sunday, March 24th, 2024 @ 6:14 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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I’ve put off writing about the 2024 elections as long as I can, but with the “Super Tuesday” Primary election in 14 states a month away, we need to check in.
Published: Thursday, March 21st, 2024 @ 12:15 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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My recent column about North Carolina’s “First in Freedom” claim established the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. But now, as legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey frequently said, you’re going to hear “the rest of the story.”
Published: Friday, March 1st, 2024 @ 11:26 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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“First in Freedom,” our state license plates proclaim. Is this claim true?
Published: Tuesday, February 27th, 2024 @ 5:28 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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Jim Martin was the most underappreciated governor in our state’s modern history.
Published: Thursday, February 22nd, 2024 @ 6:14 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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No sooner had the sun gone down Christmas day than everyone started greeting you with “Happy New Year.” But will 2024 be happy?
Published: Thursday, February 22nd, 2024 @ 9:49 am
By: Tom Campbell
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Here’s my parting message for the year: “23 skidoo.” Readers “of a certain age,” know this early 20th century slang expression.
Published: Wednesday, February 21st, 2024 @ 5:19 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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As we prepare to turn the page on another year, we are reminded we are a year older.
Published: Thursday, February 15th, 2024 @ 9:31 am
By: Tom Campbell
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There’s no better example of community spirit than a small-town Christmas Parade.
Published: Thursday, February 1st, 2024 @ 5:10 am
By: Tom Campbell
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We were invited to attend the meeting of Pamlico Partners for Democracy, a group concerned about current threats to Democracy.
Published: Saturday, January 13th, 2024 @ 3:03 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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More and more frequently I am asked: What can we do when our legislature doesn’t pass laws not supported by the majority, favoring instead the minority?
Published: Thursday, December 21st, 2023 @ 11:07 am
By: Tom Campbell
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A friend gave us an insulated mug with a clever cartoon saying, “Happy Hallothanksmus.”
Published: Wednesday, December 20th, 2023 @ 4:48 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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I don’t recognize North Carolina today. It is not the state I’ve loved and lived in all my life. We’ve changed from being “where the weak grow strong, and the strong grow great” to a state where we select the ones we choose to hate.
Published: Sunday, December 10th, 2023 @ 10:12 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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In Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign he asked the voters one question: Are you better off today than you were four years ago? It’s worth asking now.
Published: Monday, November 27th, 2023 @ 10:11 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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Two recent headlines grabbed my attention. The first was the announcement that Toyota, having already announced a major project to build batteries for electric vehicles in Randolph County, has expanded their plans.
Published: Sunday, November 19th, 2023 @ 9:55 am
By: Tom Campbell
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The new redistricted congressional and legislative maps passed by our legislature are not surprising to those who have followed this hyper partisan General Assembly.
Published: Thursday, November 16th, 2023 @ 1:50 am
By: Tom Campbell
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I recently attended a forum discussing the future of elections in North Carolina. During a break, someone commented on my rants about legislative shenanigans, asking my assessment of the current General Assembly. I rambled a bit, but do remember mentioning the terms “historic,” and “power grab.”
Published: Sunday, November 12th, 2023 @ 9:15 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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Our world expanded in the 1950s as television brought news and events from around the world into our living rooms.
Published: Friday, November 10th, 2023 @ 12:15 am
By: Tom Campbell
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While we digest the ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy it might be informative to know that North Carolina was the first in the modern era to oust a Speaker. We can learn from that history.
Published: Tuesday, October 31st, 2023 @ 9:38 am
By: Tom Campbell
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The budget our legislature has passed is the cherry on top of the upside-down power grab cake our lawmakers have been baking since January.
Published: Wednesday, October 25th, 2023 @ 12:11 am
By: Tom Campbell
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The old proverb states that April showers bring May Flowers. So, what does August heat bring? Answer: Huge electric bills. My July bill was so high I was convinced my meter was broken and called to get a service person to my house.
Published: Thursday, October 19th, 2023 @ 8:56 am
By: Tom Campbell
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The old aphorism was never truer, “laws are like sausages. It’s best not to see them being made.” The big news this week has been the state budget and why, almost three months late, it hasn’t passed.
Published: Monday, October 9th, 2023 @ 1:39 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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We now know most, if not all, the candidates who will compete in the March 5th Primary Elections for Governor.
Published: Wednesday, October 4th, 2023 @ 5:03 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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Our legislature continues to dance to the tunes played by ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council.
Published: Tuesday, September 26th, 2023 @ 10:16 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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She woke up Monday morning complaining about feeling “kinda punk.” After breakfast I found her on the front porch wrapped in a blanket, shivering in the 90-degree temperature.
Published: Thursday, September 21st, 2023 @ 12:01 am
By: Tom Campbell
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Those who follow our legislature know that each session usually has one or two initiatives for which it becomes known.
Published: Monday, September 18th, 2023 @ 7:59 am
By: Tom Campbell
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I loved when the fair came to town. Rides, good food, exhibits, not to mention the “hoochie koochie” show.
Published: Saturday, September 16th, 2023 @ 3:48 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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Lincoln said you can fool some of the people all of the time, the only explanation I can offer for why Trump and Biden are tied at 43 percent in the New York Times presidential poll released Tuesday.
Published: Wednesday, September 13th, 2023 @ 9:40 pm
By: Tom Campbell
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Would you be willing to turn over 1.4 billion dollars to an unknown group over which you have no oversight or control and who can do with it as they choose? I bet you wouldn’t do that with even $1,400. But our legislature appears ready to go with the $1.4B.
Published: Thursday, September 7th, 2023 @ 10:35 am
By: Tom Campbell
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I suspect conservatives have complained about liberalism on college campuses since UNC was founded in 1789.
Published: Wednesday, August 30th, 2023 @ 11:56 am
By: Tom Campbell
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Once again we are midway through July without a state budget that was supposed to begin July 1. Why haven’t they passed a budget on time? Not trying to be snarky, the answer is because they can. The old budget remains in effect until a new one is approved.
Published: Thursday, August 17th, 2023 @ 10:18 am
By: Tom Campbell
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Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Washington and Alexander Hamilton never called it a Revolution. They referred to the war with England as “The Cause,” according to Pulitzer Prize winning author Joseph Ellis.
Published: Tuesday, August 15th, 2023 @ 11:04 am
By: Tom Campbell
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In what has to be a landmark decision the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that state legislatures do not have unchecked power over federal elections.
Published: Thursday, July 27th, 2023 @ 1:44 am
By: Tom Campbell
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Having reported, discussed and written about North Carolina for 58 years I increasingly find myself responding to happenings by asking the question, “What’s your end game? What are you trying to accomplish?
Published: Monday, July 17th, 2023 @ 8:44 am
By: Tom Campbell
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