John Hood: Freedom is a tool for progress
I’m a conservative without a conversion story. Plenty of others have such a tale — they read a certain book, had a certain teacher, or somehow became disenchanted with their previous, left-leaning views.
opinion
Roy Cooper for president? Why he was named a top pick for 2024
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is among the top 10 Democrats named in The Washington Post’s quarterly Democratic presidential candidate ranking for 2024 released on April 16. Cooper came in at 6th place, down from 5th in its last ranking. The paper calls him "one leading contender you hear the least about” and says he is a “Biden-style candidate who checks lots of boxes.”
OPINION: Parents’ bill of rights is a must in today’s hyper-politicized culture
One positive emerging out of the politicization of classrooms is the awakening of parents to their rights and responsibilities in educating their children. Truthfully, in many families, too much instruction has been outsourced to the state without much thought.
Study: COVID fear to cause long-term labor shortage
New research predicts long-term pain for the labor market due to around 3 million workers who plan to remain permanently sidelined over concerns of physical illness or physical impairment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
OPINION: Entitlement is not just bad politics, but a sickness of the soul
Jussie Smollett’s release from jail mere days into his sentence for faking a hate crime reveals another example of entitlement culture run amok.
Voters can still be persuaded
Some partisans I know insist political allegiances are so rigid that elections have become little more than turnout contests. Whichever party gets its base out wins. Persuadable swing voters used to exist in significant numbers, they concede, but are now about as hard to find as Bigfoot.
Let’s try building back faster
It’s an often-repeated tale, I admit, but I’m going to repeat it, again: the world’s largest low-rise office building, the Pentagon, was built in 16 months. Can you imagine a project even a tenth the size of the Pentagon being constructed that quickly today?
Conservatives see freedom as progress
Although the definition and priorities of American conservatism have been the subject of much debate among the chattering classes in recent years, most actual American conservatives will readily tell you what unifies their sometimes-raucous ranks: freedom.
John Hood: Feds blew it on COVID relief
If ever there was justification for sudden, expedited, large-scale federal expenditure, the COVID crisis was it. Americans faced a deadly pandemic.
OPINION: Pistol permits and Jim Crow?
Was the pistol permit law of 1919 an important part of "Jim Crow" efforts to deny access to arms for African Americans?
We need more housing options
As post-COVID shifts in work arrangements and living preferences continue to motivate many Americans to relocate, North Carolina will continue to be a popular destination. Indeed, we can attract even more professionals, families, retirees, and other folks to our state if we lean into one of our competitive advantages: housing options.
OPINION: A look into the different expressions of conservatism
As someone who tends to fall on the libertarian end of the political spectrum, I used to struggle with understanding the term "conservative" as a political category. I have noticed the term expresses a broad political ideology.