by DJ | Jul 8, 2020 | Blog
by DJ | Jul 5, 2020 | Blog
I recently read “The Miserable People” by John Pavlovitz. He gave me a good insight into the people who support Trump, but it also concerned me because Pavlovitz exposed the aggression & anger of his followers. Then I heard Trump speak on Friday night, July 3rd. ...
by DJ | Jul 1, 2020 | Blog
I’ve been mulling over what it is in the American psyche that makes us so angry and so prone to turn that anger into violence. One of my touchstones for understanding the United States is Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. Pap, Huck’s father, is too often...
by DJ | Jun 27, 2020 | 2020 Elections, Blog, Issues
The unexpected primary victory of Madison Cawthorn brought national attention to North Carolina’s 11th congressional district for at least three reasons: Mr. Cawthorn is only 24 years of age; President Trump endorsed his opponent; and that opponent came in first in...
by DJ | Jun 26, 2020 | Blog, Issues
I read an intriguing article in the latest issue of The Atlantic magazine (July/August, 2020): Anne Applebaum’s “Trump’s Enablers and the Judgment of History.” It’s an obvious preview of her forthcoming book, Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of...
by DJ | Jun 21, 2020 | Blog, COVID-19 Updates
Across the globe political leaders have all managed COVID-19 differently. Some leaders have taken quick decisive action to stop the spread. Some waited until the last minute to take any effective action. Others, such as Brazilian President Bolsonaro are still in...
by DJ | Jun 21, 2020 | Blog, Community Events
The People of Sylva had their voices heard on Saturday, June 13th. Hundreds of citizens gathered in downtown Sylva to show their support for more regulation to prevent the abuse of power by law enforcement. They also called for more transparency of police departments....
by DJ | Jun 21, 2020 | Blog
Charles Dickens’ novel title, A Tale of Two Cities, is one of the most borrowed phrases of all time. Yet, on June 20, 2020, I kept coming back to it. On that date the Poor People’s Campaign substituted a virtual three-hour affair for the in-person event they had...
by DJ | May 19, 2020 | Blog
Our current President appears to have a decided affection for adjectives: “Sleepy” Joe, “Mini” Mike, “Lyin’” Ted, “Fat” Jerry. There’s even a Wikipedia site dedicated to them (check out “List of Nicknames used by Donald Trump”). However, his range of adjectives is...
by DJ | May 19, 2020 | Blog, News
We members of the Tribe of the Politically Addicted were greeted this week with the news that Senator Burr is under investigation by the FBI. Apparently not all is forgiven after Senator Burr cashed in some of his Stock Market holdings following a “Behind Closed...
by DJ | May 19, 2020 | 2020 Elections, Blog
I don’t know if you’re noticing it, too, but the Cal Cunningham name is showing up more and more in the news. That’s true for both print and social media. What’s even more interesting is that it’s true for both state and national news. Cunningham, in case you’ve been...
by DJ | May 19, 2020 | Blog, Book Review
I’m finishing Gene Nichol’s Indecent Assembly (Blair Press, 2020) at the moment. I recommended another of his books (The Faces of Poverty in North Carolina) earlier. Nichol, a member of the Law School faculty, also ran the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at...
by DJ | May 14, 2020 | Blog
Amanda Marcotte, Troll Nation: How the Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters. New York, 2018. Hot Books is an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, a newish and ambitious independent firm located in New York. Its goal is to provide a forum for short, in-your-face...
by DJ | May 5, 2020 | Blog
I was an early and persistent fan of Charles Shultz’s “Peanuts” comic strip. I named the first dog I independently owned, a beagle my parents gifted me one Christmas, P’Nuts. He went through graduate school with me and survived the move to North Carolina only to fall...
by DJ | May 1, 2020 | Blog
Power looks, to use a favorite Trump word, “nasty” when it’s arrogant. The Mayo Clinic currently has a requirement that everyone who enters and works there or is a patient must wear a mask. Our Vice President decided he didn’t need to do that – the only person...
by DJ | May 1, 2020 | Blog
Have you noted how many magazines now have short sections devoted to statistics, some mundane, some simply gobsmacking? Harper’s Magazine’s monthly Index is probably the best known of the lists, but I’ve found that more and more of the magazines I read have a column...
by DJ | May 1, 2020 | Blog
I started my routine morning round of the news today (April 25) and discovered a Guardian article about the Trump Administration’s decision not to participate in a global initiative to “accelerate cooperation on a coronavirus vaccine and to share research, treatment...
by DJ | Apr 21, 2020 | Blog, Issues
REOPEN NC is a Facebook Group created on April 7. As of the morning of April 18 it had received nearly 3,000 likes and claimed 33,521 members. I first encountered it while reading The Daily Beast online. According to their group description, they: “are residents...
by DJ | Dec 8, 2019 | Blog, Impeachment
What is it about some coal miners daughters that occasionally yields such admirable flintiness? I confess to developing a fondness in my early 20s, while living in Texas, for classic C&W music. It was probably motivated by an affinity for Willie Nelson, longneck...
by DJ | Nov 26, 2019 | Blog, Book Review, Issues
One of the most influential books in my former life as a potential historian was James Agee’s Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Published in 1941 with multiple accompanying photographs by Walker Evans, it documented the devastation of our Depression by focusing on the...
by DJ | Nov 26, 2019 | Blog, Election Central, Legislative Watch
“Having served at the municipal and county levels, I understand the unique needs of our mountain communities.” Ron Mau, Smoky Mountain News, November 18, 2019. Yes, Ron Mau has announced that he will enter the Republican primary race for the North Carolina House of...
by DJ | Oct 18, 2019 | Blog
The Atlantic (November, 2019); 42-49 Mark Bowen’s article is subtitled: “What Top Military Officers Really Think about Trump.” He divides his critique into five categories, each of which should make you shiver a tad. First, President Trump “disdains expertise.” We...
by DJ | Oct 18, 2019 | Blog
From the US Congressman Thom Tillis Twitter Feed: “It’s easy to sleep knowing that Justice Brett Kavanaugh serves on our Supreme Court, upholding our Constitution and protecting our values.” Yes, indeed, I sleep better knowing the man who, as an adolescent, bragged...
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