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At first, the invitation was unsettling. Many veterans, especially those who fought in Vietnam, are reticent about openly discussing their years of active military duty. Some Vietnam vets remain bitter that those who opposed the conflict more than a half-century ago vilified the military as symbols of a savage, unwinnable conflict. So, an opportunity – all these years later – to join around 50 other veterans in the Cape Fear region for a one-day trip to Washington was, for so

BCDW 2nd Vice President, Kendy Taylor (front), addresses attendees at the first annual "Women Saving Democracy" luncheon BCDW Press Release, April 20, 2026 Contact: Claudia Tidwell Over 100 people attended the first annual "Women Saving Democracy" luncheon on April 18, 2026, hosted by the Brunswick County Democratic Women (BCDW). During the luncheon, keynote speaker Dr. Kimberly Hardy (U.S. House of Representatives candidate for NC 7th District) was presented with a campaign

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 04.23.26 Every holy book from religions spanning the globe teaches these sacred lessons: compassion and care for all, honesty, accountability, self-discipline. Basic “Golden Rule” stuff — treat others as you’d want to be treated. Today in the U.S., we find imposters selling “Christianity” as hate — an elite club for the select few. It’s blasphemy plain and simple. “Divide and conquer” is an age-old device. Those using “Christianity” to

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 04.23.26 So said philosopher Thomas Hobbes. Consider Mike Dies’ April 9 letter accusing the president’s critics of “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” It was published just after Trump posted this on Easter Sunday: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the [expletive] Strait, you crazy [expletive], or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 04.23.26 It started when Trump sent Vice President Vance to Hungary to help Viktor Orban, aka “Putin’s ‘poster boy,” who told Putin, “I am at your service” and blocked European aid to Ukraine. Orban made Hungary Europe’s most corrupt country and its democracy an autocracy — it’s the only European nation to be rated just “partly free.” Vance told Hungarians to “go to the polls this weekend, stand with Viktor Orban.” He dangled Trump’s p

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 04.16.26 Threats by Secretary of Defense Hegseth and President Trump make us less safe by damaging America’s reputation, the “soft power” that makes other nations want to help us. The Department of Defense Law of War Manual Sect. 5.4.7 forbids declarations “that no quarter will be given.” Hegseth ridiculed that as a “stupid rule of engagement” and declared, “no quarter, no mercy for our enemies.” Sen. Mark Kelly, a highly decorated for

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 04.16.26 Congressman Rouzer has long advocated war with Iran. In 2024 he said, “firing off a missile here or there” wasn’t enough, adding: “It needs to be substantial in a way that Iran really feels.” In 2025, when Trump blew up ongoing negotiations and bombed Iran, Rouzer “commended” him, “regardless of any Iranian response which may occur.” Like Trump, Rouzer ignored the fact that Iran could block the Strait of Hormuz and 20% of the

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 04.09.26 In 1961, JFK inherited Eisenhower’s plan to overthrow Castro, which became the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion. Kennedy observed, “victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” Trump is learning that same lesson. Rep. David Rouzer has long advocated attacking Iran. In Feb. 2024, Rouzer said “firing off a missile here or there” wouldn’t do. “I think it needs to be substantial in a way that Iran really feels,” he ad

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 04.09.26 In his April 2 letter, Larry Demanovich called progressives “deranged,” even as he accused Democrats of “divisive hyperbole.” In his March 5 letter, he called my Feb. 19 letter “preposterous,” claiming the Ramoses are “illegal immigrants who are in our country illegally.” I wrote about 5-year-old Liam Ramos. The photo of Liam in his bunny hat — staring at an ICE van, terrified, surrounded by armed, masked men — shocked Americ

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 04.02.26 Just one in four Americans supports this war, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Rep. David Rouzer doesn’t care. He’s wanted it for years. We weren’t at war with Iraq or Iran in 2020, when Trump’s drone strike killed an Iranian General and nine others in Iraq. The U.N. declared the killings unlawful. Iraq issued an arrest warrant against Trump for murder. A bipartisan Congress passed a War Powers Resolution to stop Trump from

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 04.02.26 North Carolina District 17 needs new representation in our General Assembly. For the past 17 years Frank Iler has been our representative. Mr. Iler is now 84-years-old and it’s time for new representation. Overdevelopment and lack of infrastructure are two problems that are most concerning to local residents. They should be made aware that 40% of Mr. Iler’s campaign donations are from realtors, construction companies and such

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 04.02.26 America’s role as “leader of the free world” kept us safe for 80 years. Trump squandered our influence by bullying and insulting allies. Trump claimed, “We never really asked anything” of NATO, even though our allies fought and died for us in Afghanistan. He reneged on trade agreements he negotiated with those allies, then hit them with tariffs. He bullied Canada about becoming the 51st state. He bullied Denmark over Greenlan

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 04.02.26 When Robert Mueller died, Trump wrote, “Good, I’m glad he’s dead.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the remark, saying, “we should all have a little empathy” for what Trump has been through. I’ve got your empathy right here, Scott, courtesy of the Rolling Stones: Please allow me to introduce myself I’ve got wealth and awful taste I've been around for a long, long year I look just like a basket case If I was ‘round wh

Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers who brought schools supplies to our county convention last Saturday! We received LOTS of boxes of crayons, colored pencils, composition and spiral notebooks, folders, loose-leaf paper, tissues, dry erase markers, pens and pencils, glue sticks, magic markers, and more. We're confident your generous infusion of new supplies will help students and teachers at three area schools get through the rest of this academic year with the mater

On Thursday March 26, we unexpectedly lost one of our most beloved and dedicated members, Emma Myles. Emma was our rock in the Southport 2 precinct, serving as chair there for many years. She was also the co-president of the Brunswick County Democratic Women (BCDW) during the previous term of office. She always showed up for the Brunswick County Democratic Party and for her community. Emma missed little and did much, from tirelessly poll greeting during elections, to regist

Editor’s note: Those who attended No Kings protests and rallies across the U.S. had a lot to say about why they were there. Mike Houston, a member of the BCDP Communications Team, talked with some of the attendees at the March 28 protest in Shallotte. An on-duty officer with the Shallotte Police Department estimated 3,500 protesters were in attendance. Here's Mike's report: Of the more than 3,500 protesters who gathered in Shallotte on March 28 for the latest “No Kings” rall

For those of you who couldn’t attend the BCDP County Convention on March 28, the following is a (lightly edited) report from Chair Shelley Allen: Greetings Brunswick County Democrats and left-leaning allies! Are you feeling discouraged, alarmed, angry about the state of our country? Take heart and remember, in 2024, North Carolina elected a Democratic governor (Josh Stein), lieutenant governor (Rachel Hunt), attorney general (Jeff Jackson), secretary of state (Elaine Marshal

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 03.26.26 Drip ... drip ... drip ... Trump has been stripping away our rights since his first term, but with the backing of the Heritage Foundation’s more ruthlessly updated “Project 2026,” this blueprint is “designed to rebuild a country where women, LGBTQ and anyone outside their ‘ideal family’ have fewer rights, under the guise of ‘protecting the unborn.’” (If that was true, they wouldn’t have wrestled school lunches, SNAP and ACA c

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 03.26.26 Trump ran as the “Peace President.” He called the Iraq War “a big, fat mistake” and said it would have been “wonderful” if Bush had been impeached for it. He claimed Obama would “start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate.” But it was Trump, not Obama, who sabotaged ongoing negotiations by attacking Iran in coordination with Israel. What caused Trump’s 180? Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) suggested

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 03.26.26 Venezuela, Cuba and Iran have two things in common. Trump promised to rebuild them — and they’re not the United States. Trump spent billions removing Venezuela’s president Maduro, then said, “I’m Venezuela’s biggest fan. We’re working with them to improve a disastrous situation. We will make Venezuela strong again.” Trump’s Department of Energy pledged to: “improve the electricity grid, which is essential to increasing oil pr