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This, that and the other: Election Edition

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Tuesday, 03 November 2026

Written by Margaret Dickson

Ronald Reagan famously skewered his political opposition, incumbent President Jimmy Carter, by taunting him with “there you go again,” referencing an unfortunate habit, a whiny complaint, or some obvious mistake.
The same could be said about us, the American people, as we decry the recent school shooting in Bend, Oregon, which left 3 young special needs children, a 25-year-old teacher, and the shooter, himself a former special needs student, dead on the scene. The gun used in the shootings was a shotgun purchased by the deceased shooter’s mother.
Decrying is one thing. Doing something about it is another, and we as a society have apparently decided not to take that step.
The Internet reports that the first school shooting occurred in 1840 in Charlottesville, Virginia, when a law student shot a professor at the University of Virginia. No one knows how many school shootings followed, but it is safe to say that the numbers have grown enormously, including at least 52 so far this year, including both K-12 and college campuses, leaving at least 32 dead and 50 more injured.
The stunning—and terrifying—reality here is that we have apparently decided this is just part of life. Starting with Sandy Hook in 2012 (20 kindergartners and six staff members killed) and continuing to this day, we decry the carnage and the loss of life, and then we just keep going.
No real push has arisen to restrict the use of certain types of weapons or to hold parents in any way accountable for gun violence perpetrated by their children who found a way to get guns, some of them legally owned by the parents themselves.
People in other nations look at us and wonder how we lost our way when it comes to gun violence. Perhaps, they wonder, is it because the victims are almost always “other people” or “other people’s children” in places far away from our own communities.
Has that physical and emotional distance allowed us to love our guns more than our children and those who teach and care for them?

I am in a new relationship with ChatGPT.
I became fond of Chat when he/she/it wrote a lovely bedtime story for my grandbabies incorporating names of family members, pets, special places, and favorite foods. Clearly, given the information I gave him/her/it, Chat got our family vibes.
That said, in this year’s politics, Chat and his/her/its AI cousins have been problematic.
AI generated political ads have instantly altered political advertising across our country. Hideous AI ads have proliferated across our nation.
The same technology that made my grandbabies love their bedtime story can make you love/hate candidates up and down the election ballot.
Do not rely on vicious TV ads or misleading mailers.
Do your own research.

By the time you read this, we will have voted for candidates running for offices from the United States Senate down to our own community, and I suspect many if not most of Up & Coming Weekly’s readers have also made their way to the polls. I have voted early since it became available in North Carolina on a limited basis in 1977. I vote early because I like to do it on my own schedule and because I am not patient about waiting in line with a large turnout on election day. Voting is both a privilege and a responsibility and fundamental to the American way of life.
And no whining outcomes if you abdicated and sat on your sofa.

Chokepoints Can Make Carolinians Gag

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Tuesday, 03 November 2026

Written by John Hood

To paraphrase the familiar line, you may not be interested in international shipping, but international shipping is interested in you.
Whether you like it or not, virtually every hour of your day involves consumption of or exposure to goods that are either imported from other countries or use imports as an input. Food, clothing, shelter, transportation, recreation and leisure, even health care and education — all are currently produced in a context of cross-national supply chains. When those chains get disrupted, the effects can be immediate and significant.
Some are obvious. The outbreak of military conflicts in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, for example, has crimped oil exports and severely damaged refineries in the region. As a result, North Carolinians are paying much more at the pump for gasoline and, especially, diesel.
Other effects are less obvious but no less costly. Tariffs on lumber, wood products, metals, and other components, for example, make it more expensive to build houses, apartments, and office buildings. More broadly, taxing imports has made domestic investment in plants, equipment, and technology less productive and, therefore, less prevalent. A recent American Enterprise Institute study by Kyle Pomerleau, Thomas Brosy, Robert McClelland, and John Wong examined the issue in detail, using the case of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” taxes imposed in 2025 and later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
They found that the tariffs in question “raised the overall cost of capital by as much as 2.7%, with the cost increase varying significantly by asset type.” That translated into a 4.2-percentage-point increase in the marginal effective tax rate on investment across the entire economy, rising by as much as 26 percentage points on equipment. “A tariff-induced tax increase on investment this large,” they concluded, “would offset the tax cut that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act provided for investment.”
As for shipping itself, greater risk to running tankers through the Persian Gulf translates into higher costs for farmers in America and elsewhere — from the diesel that fuels their equipment to the fertilizers that boost their yields — resulting in higher prices at grocery stores and restaurants right here in North Carolina.
When navigable waters become chokepoints, we all gag. In a research paper just released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Oxford, Peking University, and Tsinghua University examined two cases in particular: a severe congestion of West Coast ports in 2021 and the 2023-24 attacks by the Yemen-based Houthis on shipping in the Red Sea, which forced many shippers to avoid the Suez Canal in favor of a much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope.
In both cases, constrictions on shipping resulted in significant drops in overall economic output and consumer welfare. The authors concluded that expenditures on port infrastructure to relieve congestion and on naval protection to move cargo through perilous straits can be cost-effective investments.
Sal Mercogliano — an historian and former Merchant Marine who chairs Campbell University’s Department of History, Criminal Justice and Politics — is a nationally recognized expert on the subject.
“The concept of the blue highway is going away,” Mercogliano told the Wall Street Journal earlier this year. “We’ve created a system on the ocean geared for volume and velocity — you can move lots of goods quickly and what we’re seeing is, it’s like hitting a brick wall at 100 miles an hour.”
I admit that, here in North Carolina, policymakers have little control over such issues. They can’t repeal the federal tariffs that obstruct trade and have no role in deciding where and how military force is applied to ensure freedom of navigation. And while our ports at Wilmington and Morehead City serve key sectors, they are neither sufficiently congested nor sufficiently capacious to justify large-scale investment.
But state policymakers can press national leaders to prioritize the unconstrained shipping of goods across the high seas. North Carolinians will reap its benefits.

Editor’s Note: John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His books Mountain Folk, Forest Folk, and Water Folk combine epic fantasy with American history (FolkloreCycle.com).

Troy's Perspective: FSU has transformed generations

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Tuesday, 03 November 2026

Written by Troy Williams

Sometimes, the greatest investments in human history aren't made by wealthy individuals, powerful corporations, or government institutions. Ordinary people with extraordinary vision, determination, and faith make them. Such is the story of Fayetteville State University. Here is the story: In 1867, just two years after slavery ended, seven Black men invested $136 to purchase two lots on Gillespie Street in Fayetteville. Adjusted for inflation, that's approximately $3,100 today. Now, let that marinate for a moment. These weren't wealthy philanthropists sitting in a corporate boardroom discussing investment opportunities. They were Black men living in the aftermath of slavery, determined that future generations would have opportunities denied to their ancestors. Their investment wasn't about financial returns. It was about freedom, education, dignity, and opportunity. Meeting at Evans Chapel Church, these seven visionaries helped establish what became the Howard School, named for a white Union General Oliver Otis Howard, an advocate for formerly enslaved African Americans. Howard University in Washington, D.C. is also named for General Howard.
The number seven has something spiritually fascinating about it. Biblically, it represents completeness, fulfillment, and divine perfection. Seven Black men. One mission. An investment that would change countless lives. Coincidence? Each reader can decide. The institution evolved into the State Colored Normal School in 1877, became Fayetteville State University in 1969, and joined the UNC System in 1972. Today, FSU is North Carolina's second-oldest public institution of higher education. Recently, the university celebrated another milestone: the ribbon-cutting of its magnificent $69.3 million College of Education building. The four-story, approximately 72,000-square-foot facility incorporates architectural tributes to those seven founders throughout its design. Imagine that! An investment of $136 in 1867 helped establish an institution now celebrating a $69.3 million educational facility. But impressive buildings don't necessarily produce extraordinary institutions. That requires visionary leadership.
And that brings us to Chancellor Darrell T. Allison. Since assuming leadership in March 2021, Allison has demonstrated that institutional advancement requires more than speeches, ceremonies, and promises. It requires measurable results. Under his leadership, FSU has secured more than $200 million in legislative capital investments and over $550 million in combined research, grants, and private funding. FSU has witnessed its highest student retention rate percentages, highest enrollment numbers exceeding 7,700 students. FSU has three franchises beneath its umbrella: Chick-fil-A restaurant, McAlister’s Deli, and Starbucks Coffee. Additionally, FSU manages Bronco Midtown Shopping Plaza. His leadership has earned recognition on Business North Carolina's Education Power List for five consecutive years, 2022–2026. That's not merely impressive. It's transformational. Certainly, no university's success belongs to one individual. Faculty, staff, students, alums, legislators, and community supporters all deserve recognition.
Nevertheless, exceptional leadership deserves exceptional acknowledgment. Those seven founders planted seeds they would never live to see fully blossom. Today, Chancellor Allison stands on their shoulders, reaching higher while creating opportunities for others.
Seven Black men invested $136 in a dream. Nearly 160 years later, that dream continues paying dividends. Some investments generate wealth. Others transform generations. Fayetteville State University has done both.

Letter to the editor: Why Venus de la Cruz is running for State Senate

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Tuesday, 27 October 2026

Written by Venus de la Cruz

Election season is here. The roadways and neighborhoods are littered with signs. Political literature and social media are cluttering our mailboxes and smartphones. We’re bombarded with names and faces of people that many have never heard of until now.
That's not a bad thing. We need new faces willing to step up. Of course, you'll have to do a little more homework to figure out who these candidates are and what they stand for.
In this election cycle, I’m a new name and face. I'm Venus de la Cruz and I'm running for NC State Senate, D19. The decision for me to run wasn’t frivolous. It came with much prayer and consideration. No one talked me into it, although some did suggest it. The nudge was enough for me to pause and pray.
Have you ever heard someone say,” Why doesn't somebody do something?” Well, I'm answering the call. In this phase of my life, I have the time, energy, means, and, at 63, the experience and maturity to do something.
“Is there not a cause”, was the question David asked when Goliath mocked and challenged Israel and their God. I say, “There is!” Our country is being mocked and challenged using our own systems and freedoms to fundamentally change our societal norms, governmental structures and Constitutional liberties.
Recently, Iran submitted a 25-page endorsement of the Democrat party. The “Death to America” ideology is asking the left to hold the door open for them to come into our beautiful country and turn it into the likes of England and France!
Aside from all the socially and politically destructive “isms” that have highjacked the left, becoming a dizzying circus, the endorsement appears to be a Trojan horse in the Dem party that seeks to destroy the greatness of America and establish a caliphate with Sharia Law ruling the land.
The unwitting minstrels under this circus tent will not be able to save themselves from the same destruction they hope to inflict on the right. Once they’ve served their purpose of gaining them entrance, their own necks will also be on the chopping block.
That’s one reason I’ve surrendered to make up the hedge and stand in the gap.
Your choices: Good or evil.
As a Rep in a Dem stronghold, could I win? Maybe. But, the incumbent, Sen. Val Applewhite may not stand much more of a chance herself. Apparently, her own performance in office has left her reputation less than desirable and a disappointment to previous supporters.
When introducing myself and asked my affiliation, my reply is boldly, “Republican”. The Reps are enthusiastic. The Dems usually respond with either disappointment, distrust, outright rejection, or sometimes disgust.
The next question is my favorite: “Who’s your opponent?”
Answering with the delivery of a comedian setting up for the punchline, I say the name. There is almost ALWAYS a visceral reaction followed by a groan or a sigh, no matter what their affiliation. (Insert ROFL emoji)
I’ve been told by many I’ll be the first Rep they’ve ever voted for! What an honor!
What’s their beef? INEFFECTIVENESS. I’ve heard the Sen say, on multiple occasions, that because of the Rep majority in the General Assembly, she, as a Dem, can’t get anything done. She's asking voters to reelect her so she can continue to hold the seat until the Dems become the majority and can finally get something done.
In other words, vote her in so she can hold the seat and do nothing. Her record proves she hasn’t brought funding into D19 since she took office.
When she had the opportunity to negotiate funding for her district by supporting the 2026 state budget, she opted to vote “NO” instead, towing the line for the Dems. Her previous supporters have conveyed she’s done nothing for her district nor her constituents. INEFFECTIVE!
How about this? Because I’m in the majority, I will be able to bring funding in! I will be able to negotiate! I WILL BE EFFECTIVE!
Your choices: Effectiveness or not.

(Photo courtesy of Venus de la Cruz)