Opinion (208)
As I write this, the US government is in its 18th day of a putative "shutdown." Some federal employees have been furloughed — sent home — while others are expected to show up each day but also warned to expect an empty pay envelope come Friday. As of tomorrow, the shutdown will become the second longest in history, surpassed only by a 32-day funding fight in December of 1995 and January of 1996.
The average public-school district in the United States enrolls about 3,700 students, according to a recent Governing magazine analysis. In North Carolina, the average school district enrolls more than 12,500 students. Only six other states in the nation exceed North Carolina in this regard (including Hawaii, where all 187,000 students are in a single district).
It's no great secret that I have a social media presence. A lot of you have seen the “Joe Weaver, Columnist” Facebook page. I also have a personal Facebook page for my friends and family.
COLUMN: Why I am still a cryptocurrency enthusiast
Written by Thomas L. Knapp
Cryptocurrencies had a rough ride in 2018. As of Jan. 7, 2018, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap.com came to more than $800 billion, its highest point ever. As I write this on Jan. 3, 2019, that total market capitalization is down to about $130 billion — about one-sixth of the market's high point.
COLUMN: Let those who want things foot the bill
Written by William R. Toler
There’s an important lesson that can be learned from one of the hottest news topics in recent weeks: voluntary action.
It’s that time of year for reflections and predictions. In 2018, I didn’t make too many predictions. The ones I made were relatively vague and I was generally right. I said that Trump would not get impeached or be removed by the 25th Amendment. I was right, but at the beginning of the year, a lot of people believed he would be gone before the end of the year.
As dysfunctional as Congress has become, it does manage to enact some useful bills. One of them, the Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, was championed by outgoing Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington). It promotes data-sharing and policy evaluation throughout the federal government.
GUEST EDITORIAL: Online price lists a first step toward health care reform
Written by Wilson Times
Past and prospective hospital patients will have an extra reason to celebrate when the clock strikes midnight and the date changes from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1.
Way back when, in a waterfront neighborhood in Baltimore, I was a young man hanging out with his buddies and such, bouncing from bar to bar and having a good time. We were wild and loose, a tight-knit bunch of folks, regulars in one bar or another. We knew the bartenders and the servers and we could run a tab in our “home bar” and get discounts in the others.
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COLUMN: Trump's Christmas gift is hope for peace
Written by Thomas L. Knapp
In March, U.S. president Donald Trump promised the American public that U.S. troops would be leaving Syria "very soon."
LETTER: Don't forget to thank a lineman
Written by Letter to the Editor Contributor
To the editor:
Cut-outs, single-phase, tri-phase, jibs and transformers. If you recognize these terms, then you may be a lineman. And if you don't know these terms, thank a lineman.
COLUMN: The fraudulent argument for voter ID
Written by Thomas Mills
Nobody was too surprised that the voter ID amendment passed in November. The argument for voter ID is easy. We need photo IDs to do a lot of things besides voting. We need them to get into bars. We need them to pick up prescriptions from pharmacies. To people who don’t live and breathe politics, a voter ID at the polls makes sense.
As another year draws to a close, a year of Democratic resurgence in both national and local politics, I offer this challenge to incumbent and newly elected lawmakers alike. Do you really want to be leaders? Or do you just want to be politicians?
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