Progressive Voices

Progressive Voices

Original Commentary Progressive Voices Top Story

Why is Thom Tillis blocking a Black North Carolinian from the Federal Reserve’s leadership?

Earlier this past month, Senator Thom Tillis tweeted something that no one could disagree with. “During #BlackHistoryMonth, we recognize the experiences and contributions of Black North Carolinians to our state.”  Those are easy words. But, the fact is, Senator Tillis blocked the historic appointment of a Black North Carolinian to the powerful Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the same month.

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Other Voices Progressive Voices Top Story

Making the simple impossible: We don’t want to admit the real worker shortage problem

A week ago, I was talking to an educator whose job it is to run training programs for students and adults in higher education. She told me that around a dozen different companies and groups were sponsoring training courses for things like nursing assistants, medical workers, electricians and truck driving.

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Other Voices Progressive Voices Top Story

What do we care if Putin invades Ukraine? What if we don’t?

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the ensuing and needless slaughter of thousands of soldiers and civilians, seems all but inevitable now. “So, what do I care?” some of us may be asking ourselves. “It’s not our fight.” I get it. Maybe you don’t follow a lot of news from overseas, or the machinations of global politics. You’re not alone. Most Americans don’t.

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Defending Democracy Progressive Voices Top Story

Republic? Democracy? Deconstructing the political right’s favored terminology

“We’re a republic, not a democracy” is a thing Republicans are fond of saying. Michele Fiore, whose insatiable thirst for right-wing celebrity status has led her to run for governor of Nevada, said it during a forum with five-sixths of the rest of the GOP gubernatorial field the other day. Except Fiore, always the innovator, turned the tired phrase around to put the “we are not a democracy” part first and then firmly pronounced...

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Defending Democracy Other Voices Progressive Voices Top Story

So Trump broke another law. Will anyone actually do something about it?

The Presidential Records Act exists for a reason. Republicans who complain about erased history should appreciate that At this point in our sick national saga, is there any law that Trump hasn’t broken? A federal statute on the books – Title 18, Section 2071 of the U.S. Code – spells out the provisions of the Presidential Records Act of 1978.

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Other Voices Progressive Voices Top Story

Leandro plan provides a golden opportunity for progress and common ground on school choice

In January, Governor Roy Cooper surprised many by issuing an official proclamation recognizing School Choice Week. The proclamation had long been a priority of school choice advocates in North Carolina such as the North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools, which viewed the gesture as “an olive branch.”

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Defending Democracy Original Commentary Other Voices Progressive Voices Top Story

Appointing a Black woman to the Supreme Court is not affirmative action

The distorted misinformation about affirmative action is once again raising its ugly head around the potential nomination of a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. Before any qualified, likely overqualified, Black woman is nominated for the Supreme Court, her reputation is being tainted by the notion that the only reason she is being considered is because of affirmative action.

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Progressive Voices Top Story

Bookman: Trump continues to threaten violence against those who stand for rule of law

Like his buddy Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump is a thug willing to use violence to achieve what he cannot achieve by legitimate means. He has shown a willingness to do so in the past, and because he himself has paid no price, he is threatening to do so in the future.

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COVID-19 Other Voices Progressive Voices Top Story

Only spreading Aloha: A journalist reflects on air travel and tourism in the pandemic era

Last month my wife and I did something that seemed unthinkable for the last two years. We traveled nearly 5,000 miles to spend a week in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. It was a trip we’d talked about since before the COVID-19 pandemic. We dreamed, we planned, we saved. But we postponed it repeatedly, then indefinitely, as the light at the end of the tunnel provided by vaccines and boosters dimmed...

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Other Voices Progressive Voices Top Story

My client got two years of freedom after 36 years of wrongful incarceration; this does not mean the system works

I recently got some sad news. My former client, James Blackmon, died earlier this month from complications from COVID. He was 68. Mr. Blackmon was arrested for murder and, in 1988, pled guilty and received a life sentence. The problem was he had absolutely nothing to do with the crime.

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Progressive Voices Top Story

State judiciary must protect NC from its power-hungry legislature

Among all the issues and challenges confronting North Carolina as 2022 gets under way – overcoming the pandemic, easing rural poverty, alleviating environmental threats, improving access to health care, on and on down the sobering list – it’s fair to say none is more urgent than shoring up our beleaguered public schools and strengthening citizens’ ability to participate meaningfully in our democracy.

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Original Commentary Progressive Voices Top Story

On their 49th anniversary, Roe v. Wade protections are more important than ever

Saturday, January 22nd, is the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in all 50 states. While the precedent set in that landmark case never actually guaranteed full reproductive freedom for all, it has provided crucial federal protections for abortion access in the U.S. for nearly half a century.

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Defending Democracy Original Commentary Progressive Voices Top Story

Gerrymandering and its impact on the legitimacy of our democracy

This week saw the beginning of another season in North Carolina: redistricting lawsuit season. Experienced followers of North Carolina politics expect it; it is every bit as reliable—maybe more so these days—than the shift from fall to winter. For those new to the state, prepare yourselves for stormy political weather.

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Original Commentary Progressive Voices Top Story

Why Desmond Tutu matters more than ever

One day after Christmas – in an event that seems particularly on-brand for 2021 – the world lost one of its living saints, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose work in South Africa helped bring about the peaceful dismantling of the institutionally racist apartheid. What would be even more tragic than his death is if we also lose the message and mission of his life. ...

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Original Commentary Progressive Voices Top Story

Legendary journalist: This is how how we preserve and protect our democracy

WASHINGTON – You may have missed a hugely important story recently because the media soft-pedaled it. But Congress has just taken a major step toward hand-cuffing the unchecked presidential abuse of power that was a hallmark of the Trump Presidency. For four years and more, Donald Trump ran roughshod over the guardrails of our republic...

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Original Commentary Other Voices Progressive Voices Top Story

‘Must read’ report: The persistent and pervasive challenge of child poverty and hunger in North Carolina

Sometimes we get used to things we should never get used to. North Carolina countenances extraordinary levels of child hunger and poverty. For perspective, the United States, tragically, lets more of its citizens, especially its kids, live in wrenching poverty than almost any advanced, democratic nation. The United Nations rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights has decried the “shockingly high number of children living in poverty in the United States.” The U.S. has, by far, the highest child poverty rate among peer nations.

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