All in Columns

Kristy Kelly: When your knees buckle

A house fire will break you.

It doesnโ€™t just take everything you own. It takes the memories of scrubbing crayon off every surface and digging Play-Doh out of the carpet. Never again will you walk down hallways lined with slightly crooked photos where you once stepped on Legos at two in the morning. There will never again be tangible evidence of your childrenโ€™s handprints at that age, left behind on a wall, a table, or a door.

John Hood: Freer Carolinas Means More Carolinians

RALEIGH โ€” Progressives are frustrated by North Carolinaโ€™s just-enacted state budget, hostile to recent deregulatory initiatives and tax cuts, and outraged at recent welfare reforms and school-choice expansions. They think our state is careening dangerously in the wrong direction. If their preferred candidates win state and local offices in November, they hope to reverse course.

Evelyn Dove Coleman: Care Givers

It seems as though every family has or has had a person who became a caregiver at some point. Some took care of a disabled or a sick sibling, parent, or child for some period of time. To me, care-giving requires a special type of person. If you know someone who has been one, raise your hand.

Evelyn Dove Coleman: Summer Safety

Summer is here. For some, it is their favorite season. Vacations are planned. The best fruit is available for fiber-rich light meals. Swimming pools and beaches are open for refreshing fun in the sun. Schools are closed to give teachers and students time to rest up for the upcoming school year's work.

Mike Parker: Declaration came in response to Lee Resolution

As we approach July 4th this year, we are especially drawn to remember the 250th anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. But we must never forget that no document exists in a vacuum. Jefferson and the committee that worked on the Declaration of Independence were carrying out a charge they received after the Second Continental Congress adopted the Lee Resolution on June 7, 1776.

Evelyn Dove Coleman: The Convict Show

In an episode of the original Matlock tv show, Ben has lost an old case. But he has a chance to help his former client Les Matthews again, if he will let him. The client is angry because in the case Ben lost, Matthews had maintained his innocence of killing his partner.  He served a 7-year sentence. Finally, this client came up for parole, and he was granted it due to his exemplary behavior while in prison. He didn't belong there.

Venita Wright-Blake: Letโ€™s celebrate!

โ€œLetโ€™s celebrate!โ€ I often look forward to gathering together with others to celebrate lived  experiences. Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones are all reasons to rejoice. Parents  have parties to celebrate childrenโ€™s birthdays. Couples go out to dinner to celebrate wedding  anniversaries. Families come together to applaud their high school and college graduates.  Communities come together to celebrate holidays.