A little sunlight just seeped into one of the darkest corners of our state’s history. Last week, a five-day Winston-Salem Journal series, “Against Their Will: North Carolina’s Sterilization Programs,” provided the first in-depth account of the state’s eugenics efforts–and of the terrible toll, in the form of stunted lives, that those efforts wrought. (The series […]
Jon Elliston
Posted inGuides
The Anti-Warriors
In early October, after most members of Congress had rushed to back President Bush’s requested resolution supporting war with Iraq, Rep. David Price was still on the fence. So local peace activistas decided to give him a push: They blitzed his offices with e-mails, faxes and phone calls, and sent delegations to share their concerns […]
Posted inNews
Earning his stripes
In a room packed with N.C. Democratic Party leaders, Sen. John Edwards’ reputation as the new golden boy of American politics is buffed to a bright sheen. It’s Friday night, Oct. 12, and the party faithful have paid $250 a plate to attend the annual Vance-Aycock dinner and rally at Asheville’s stately Grove Park Inn. […]
Posted inNews
Bucks for Bombsites?
There’s gold in them thar’ training sites. That was the message a high-ranking Navy official sent last week as he spoke to an audience in Florida, a state that, like North Carolina, is slated to host higher levels of flight and bomb training as the military moves out of Vieques, Puerto Rico. On that small […]
Posted inNews
Back from the brink
The president warns of the risks of inaction against weapons of mass destruction held by an enemy dictator. Threats and ultimatums stream out of the White House, and Fort Bragg mobilizes for war. Sound familiar? The United States found itself in exactly this position 40 years ago this week. On Oct. 22, 1962, the Cuban […]
Posted inNews
Conscientious Objections
Itai Swirski, an Israeli reserve officer, is visiting the Triangle this week to explain why he and 490 other Israeli military personnel have pledged to no longer serve as enforcers in the West Bank and Gaza. In a country like Israel, where national security concerns are paramount and military service is nearly universal, this is […]
Posted inNews
Debating Occupation
Tom Stern, an attorney in Durham, clearly remembers his first political act. Raised in a Jewish family in New Jersey, he was only 11 years old when Israel fought its six-day war in 1967. But when the hostilities broke out and he heard that the Jewish homeland was battling its Arab neighbors, he felt an […]
Posted inNews
Dial to the Left
In an era of increasing corporatization and consolidation of the airwaves, Triangle radio listeners who scan the left side of the FM dial can still find good reasons to tune in. Last year, WUNC 91.5, the National Public Radio affiliate in Chapel Hill, switched to a mostly news and talk format, opening up a steady […]
Posted inNews
Helms’ World
One evening last March, Jesse Helms hunkered down in a skybox at a Washington, D.C., stadium, and took in his first rock show. His hosts, the supergroup U2, had extended a personal invitation to the 80-year-old senator, surprising political partisans and music fans alike. Declaring the show “the loudest thing I’ve ever heard,” Helms nonetheless […]
Posted inNews
Dueling Rebs
Think the Civil War’s over? You might not if you attended the Sons of Confederate Veterans national convention at Memphis’ Peabody Hotel during the first weekend in August. No bullets flew, but according to conference participants, a steady volley of rancor–and in one instance, hurled trash–certainly did. “When it’s all said and done, this is […]
