The Republican Endgame For Higher Education
Above: Patrick Henry College The constellation of right-wing websites dedicated to skewering, attacking, and stoking outrage about higher education in America is remarkable. With names like College Fix and Minding the Campus, these pixel-built rags employ a largely...
When history is dangerous
Former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo laid out conservatives’ opposition to teaching the truth about our nation. He tweeted, “If we teach that the founding of the United States of America was somehow flawed. It was corrupt. It was racist. That's really...
The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy Just Devastated UNC-Chapel Hill
Today's announcement that Nikole Hannah-Jones will be accepting a position at Howard University rather than the University of North Carolina is an unalloyed disaster for the state's flagship campus. Once considered North Carolina's crown jewel and broadly supported by...
Our loss is Howard’s gain
Of all the damage that Republicans have done to North Carolina over the past decade, diminishing the University of North Carolina is the greatest. The system has been a driver of our state’s reputation as a place that values learning and promotes research and...
Today’s Fight Over Democracy is Part of a Long American Battle
Political rhetoric necessarily boils history down to the basics. President Biden, not usually a brilliant orator, captured the truth when he stated in his inaugural that American history is characterized, in part, by a push and pull between the forces of democratic...
A socialist hellhole
It’s official. I’m going to the godforsaken socialist hellhole, Sweden. My daughter, son-in-law, and grandson are living there and I’m worried about their freedom. I need to make sure that they are not suffering under too much oppression. My daughter married a Swede...
UNC Supporters Won One. But The Fight’s Not OVer.
Observers on both sides of North Carolina's political aisle could surely identify with the photo Nikole Hannah-Jones tweeted of herself enjoying a glass of bourbon. Progressives, to celebrate alongside her; conservatives, to drown their sorrows. For the first time in...
Do the right thing
The UNC Board of Trustees is meeting this morning to consider tenure for Nikole Hannah-Jones. They have a chance to get it right this time. Let’s hope they do. Hannah-Jones was initially not considered for tenure for political reasons. Republicans hate her 1619...
Our State Is Plagued By A War On Truth
Reading the comments on Thomas's Sunday post put me in a bad mood. It is hardly a secret that North Carolina contains a significant population of fringe right-wingers, which explains the rich history of shameful demagoguery in the state, but seeing so many of our...
The Republican disinformation dystopia
On Sunday, I wrote a piece that got a bit of attention. I blamed the GOP for NC State’s dismissal from the College World Series. I got a lot of blowback. Instead, of changing my mind, though, the comments just validated my point. Half of the NC State players were...
Punch-drunk McCrory Rampages against NCAA
If you've ever wondered why Pat McCrory is not taken seriously by the North Carolina political establishment, consider his relationship to the sports industry. It is long and tortured. As mayor of Charlotte, he bulldozed fiscal conservatives to lavish a sum of...
Republicans cost NC State a shot at a championship
NC State’s baseball team had a heartbreaking end to its season. It looked like the team was going to give fans another Cinderella story, beating the odds and the best teams in college baseball to go to the College World Series. Instead, the team was eliminated because...