The Bottom Line from NC Newsline

  It’s a pretty remarkable situation when elected leaders feel compelled to share their own intimate personal health stories in hopes of passing legislation that would save the lives of others. And it’s even more remarkable (and troubling) when the leaders doing the sharing are all women and the officials blocking action are all men. […]

  There are many factors that go into the overdose epidemic of opioids and other drugs that kill thousands of North Carolinians each year. As a pair of law and medicine experts explained, however, in a recent NC Newsline op-ed, there are some increasingly successful strategies that deserve public support. And topping the list is […]

    North Carolinians are generally of two very different minds on the gun violence that plagues our society. While polls consistently show that most favor stronger laws to regulate firearms, a loud and determined minority opposes virtually any regulation. Here, however, is at least one simple prevention step that all sides should be able […]

  For the second time in recent weeks, a North Carolina Republican judge has courageously put the constitution ahead of their political party. First, it was Supreme Court Justice Richard Dietz who rightfully dissented when his four Republican colleagues okayed a GOP effort to change election rules after the election in last fall’s disputed Supreme […]

  Enough! That’s what a large, growing and bipartisan chorus of legal experts, government watchdogs and average North Carolinians are saying right now in response to Judge Jefferson Griffin’s farfetched effort to overturn his Supreme Court election loss last fall to incumbent Justice Allison Riggs. It’s been almost six months now since Griffin was narrowly […]

  Flood insurance. It’s something that most people have heard of and that many probably have a notion they should look into as the climate warms and severe storms grow more frequent. To their credit, some have done more than think about it. As NC Newsline’s Galen Bacharier reported this week, about 10 percent of […]

  There’s a vicious downward cycle that’s been at work in North Carolina state government in recent years. And here’s how it worked: First, conservative politicians blast quote “government bureaucracy” and enact big tax and spending cuts in response. Next, core services like schools, mental health, transportation, and public safety – plagued by funding cuts […]

  At first blush, the idea that eviction is the solution for landlords when residential tenants fall behind on their rent or otherwise violate terms of a lease seems obvious. And, indeed, in many situations, it is the only realistic path. As new research from landlord-tenant law experts at the national Legal Services Corporation shows […]

    There are many shortcomings in the new proposed state budget approved by the North Carolina Senate last week – the inadequate pay raises for teachers and state employees, the failure to invest in numerous core public services that have been reeling from staffing shortages, the giveaways to unaccountable special interests. But if there’s […]

  Sometimes, you have to wonder what century it is that some of our state lawmakers inhabit. For a classic example of how detached from reality some have become, check out a new proposal advancing in the legislature to establish censorship boards in every school district charged with banning books that quote “include descriptions of […]

  Americans have many big and important differences these days, but if we can’t come together to agree on a handful of fundamental ideals and human rights that have been baked into our Constitution and way of life for over two centuries, we’re in big trouble. And one of those fundamentals is the simple idea […]

  It’s been almost six months since state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin narrowly lost last year’s election to incumbent Justice Allison Riggs. Two recounts confirmed the result. Unfortunately, Griffin’s effort to overturn the election based on the farfetched theory that thousands of registered voters should have their ballots thrown out continues. And last week, […]

  Today is Tax Day – the day the political right – lazily and predictably – likes to use as a crutch for blasting government. What all of us would do well to recall today, however, is where we would be without taxes and the essential services they provide that make civilized society possible. And […]

    The use of economic tariffs to promote fairer trade and better outcomes for workers, consumers and the environment is not a new or bad idea. In a world in which some countries rely on slave labor and treat the earth’s air and water like a garbage dump, thoughtfully designed and implemented tariffs can […]

  If there is one American elected official who you’d think would make disease prevention among their highest priorities, it would be President Donald Trump. Just five years ago, Trump’s dreadful response to COVID-19 helped unleash one of the nation’s worst public health crises. Tragically, however, by all indications, he hasn’t learned a thing. Instead, […]

  Many North Carolinians have been rightfully angered in recent months by Republican efforts to overturn Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin’s election loss to Justice Alison Riggs by seeking to throw out thousands of legally cast ballots. But sadly, there are other equally treacherous efforts underway. The most obvious are bills from GOP lawmakers that […]

  What could the tragic 19th Century Irish potato famine have to do with modern Medicaid work requirements promoted by North Carolina Republicans? As author Padraic Scanlan documents in a powerful new book, the parallels between what the men running the British Empire did to the peasants of Ireland nearly two centuries ago and the […]

  As part of their ongoing effort to manipulate and capitalize on irrational white voter fears, state Republican lawmakers are advancing legislation this session that purports to attack quote “DEI” in public education. Under the bill, state law would spell out a long list of supposedly “divisive concepts” that would be banned from public schools. […]

It’s now been more than five months since North Carolina voters elected incumbent Justice Allison Riggs over challenger Jefferson Griffin to a state Supreme Court seat, but amazingly, Republican efforts to overturn the election continue. Last Friday, a pair of GOP state Court of Appeals judges accepted Griffin’s ridiculous theory that sixty-five thousand registered North […]

    North Carolina legislators continue not to “get it” when it comes to the state’s ever-worsening plague of gun violence. The latest disturbing example: a bill making its way through the state House that would allow private schools to arm teachers and, conceivably, even some students. Bill sponsors say their intent is only to […]

  As North Carolina’s top lawyer, Attorney General Jeff Jackson has many important jobs — handling important criminal prosecutions, protecting consumers, representing state agencies in litigation. But if there’s a duty that is clearly his Number One priority, it has to be defending North Carolinians from unlawful attacks on their rights and well-being. And it’s […]

  The hypocritical double standards at work on the modern political right these days are often enough to make your head spin. Just think what Fox News shouters would be saying right now if a Kamala Harris administration had committed an outrageous breach of national security like the one Trump’s defense team did recently by […]

  The issue of how best to provide services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is, admittedly, a challenging one. Complex questions about the roles played by institutions and sheltered workshops, and the leeway given to families to chart their own courses in finding services, give rise to many competing and legitimate opinions. That […]

  It’s been two decades since state legislators bowed to tourism industry lobbyists and passed a law forbidding local school districts from starting the traditional calendar school year prior to the last week of August. It was a familiar case of industry campaign cash trumping recommendations of education experts and the wellbeing of children. In […]

  Consider the following situation. You’re a middle-aged transgender man who transitioned decades ago. You’re balding, have a beard, and would never in a million years be confused for a woman. Unfortunately, and bizarrely, however, this makes some North Carolina Republican state legislators uncomfortable, so they want to force you to use women’s restrooms. Seriously. […]