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First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 01.01.26 On April 2, Trump announced worldwide tariffs, including a 145% tariff on Chinese goods. When China retaliated with a 125% tariff on U.S. goods, Chinese demand for American products collapsed. Trump called it “Liberation Day.” For Mackey’s Ferry Sawmill in Roper, North Carolina, it was a nightmare. Wilson Jones is a sixth-generation lumberman. His great-great-grandfather started the business in 1882. Trump’s tariffs made a th

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 01.01.26 The U.S. is losing its ability to gather intelligence from allies because Trump is killing civilians in international waters, including survivors of missile strikes clinging helplessly to boat wreckage. Adm. Frank Bradley told lawmakers he ordered a strike against survivors to comply with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s command to destroy a boat and its cargo. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Bradley acted “w

Believe it or not, it’s election season. If the first Tuesday in November seems a long way from the wintry days of January, it’s only because we’re still reflecting on the results of the 2024 election. That’s when voters chose politicians in Washington who, in only one year’s time, have inflicted terrible damage on the American dream. But it’s not too late to save America from sliding away from its basic principles. And it’s not too early to begin our recovery now, capitalizi

For a complete listing of all candidates running in Brunswick County in 2026, visit the Brunswick County Board of Elections website HERE . Full Democratic candidate information, including websites, will be available on this website in early 2026.

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 12.25.25 Trump calls female reporters “ugly,” “stupid,” and “piggy.” He mocked a disabled reporter, encouraging the crowd’s jeers as he waved his arms spastically and taunted, “You ought to see the guy!” Trump’s nephew, Fred, has a disabled son. Fred says Trump told him, “I should let my son die so I could move down to Florida.” On January 6, Trump sicced the mob on VP Pence, who, Trump tweeted, “didn’t have the courage” to overturn t

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 12.25.25 Brazil supplies 32% of our imported coffee and 27% of our imported beef. After Trump slapped a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports in July, coffee and beef prices hit all-time highs. Trump falsely claimed that the U.S. had “unsustainable Trade Deficits” with Brazil. In fact, we’ve had a trade surplus with Brazil since 2007 — last year, it totaled $6.8 billion! Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) called out Trump’s abuse of power. “The imp

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 12.25.25 The Prefect of Egypt was worried. He had promised to deport all Jewish refugees, but that was proving to be harder, more expensive and more disruptive than he imagined. They provided much of the labor that Egyptians depended on. But many of his supporters expected him to keep his promise. He was afraid they’d abandon him if he didn’t. Egypt was rich, the jewel in Rome’s crown. Judeans were poor. He thought, “I don’t want them

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 12.18.25 “Our strength comes from our immigrant heritage.” So said President Reagan in 1981. Trump calls immigrants “rapists,” “killers” and “illegal monsters.” He says immigrants “aren’t people — these are animals” who are “poisoning the blood of our country.” In fact, both documented and undocumented immigrants have significantly lower crime rates than native-born Americans. But that fact never got in the way of the vicious anti-imm

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 12.18.25 Trump calls tariffs “my favorite word.” When a Canadian ad included audio of Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs, a childish Trump lied that it was fake, cancelled trade negotiations and hiked Canada’s tariffs. Reagan’s economic adviser Bruce Bartlett called Trump a “baby” and the ad “100% accurate.” See for yourself! Google “Reagan’s Radio Address on Free and Fair Trade” and hear him say: “Trade barriers hurt every American wo

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 12.18.25 In January, Pete Hegseth’s nomination as Secretary of Defense was on the rocks. Republican senators Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and NC’s Thom Tillis had doubts. Tillis told Hegseth’s sister-in-law that her testimony about Hegseth would “carry weight” with them. She signed an affidavit swearing that “Hegseth has an alcohol problem and was abusive to his ex-wife,” but Tillis voted to confirm Hegseth anyway. T

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 12.11.25 That’s how Judge Peter Castel described Juan Hernández, former president of Honduras, before handing him a 45-year sentence for trafficking cocaine to the U.S. Prosecutors said Hernández was at “the center of one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world.” Castel said the number of killings it caused was “staggering.” Hernández boasted, “We’re going to stuff the drugs up the gringos’ noses, an

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 12.11.25 In March, a 79-year-old man who was elected president in 2016 was extradited to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Not Trump (yet), but Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines’ former president, known as the “Donald Trump of Asia.” Duterte killed over 7,000 suspected drug users. Duterte said he would be “happy to slaughter” 3 million people, called dead children “collateral damage,” and encouraged police,

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 12.11.25 The tragic shooting of two National Guard soldiers has Republicans blaming others for what they did. The suspected shooter would never have been here without them. President Bush invaded Afghanistan because al-Qaeda launched the 9/11 attacks from Afghanistan, protected by the Taliban. American forces occupied Afghanistan so it could never again become a terrorist base. Trump opposed the occupation. In 2012, Trump said, “Afgha

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 12.04.25 President Trump falsely claimed that his tariffs are paid by foreigners. He repeated this lie despite the fact that economists agree that tariffs are taxes on American importers that are passed along to American consumers as higher prices. Heritage Foundation economist Stephen Moore, Trump’s former senior economic adviser and author of the book “Trumponomics” explained: “Tariffs are taxes — and taxes are bad.” Moore said tari

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 12.04.25 For over 30 years I lived in Cary, which boasts NC’s lowest rate of property and violent crimes, including robbery and murder. In 2022, FBI data ranked Cary America’s safest city. The targeting of Cary by Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) exposes the ugly truth beneath the fiction that Trump’s mass deportations are about making American cities safer. Fernando Vasquez is an 18-year-old American citizen from birth. On No

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 12.04.25 At 2,700 “No Kings” protests last month, over 7 million Americans rejected authoritarianism, exemplified by Trump’s illegal use of troops in American cities. More than 170 American citizens have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by federal troops. At least three pregnant citizens were detained — one had the door of her home blown off while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem watched. Masked, armed troops arres

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 11.27.25 When I read that masked ICE troopers rappelled from helicopters onto a Chicago apartment house at 1 a.m., I couldn’t believe it was happening in America. A resident said he hid a mother and her 7-year-old daughter after seeing armed troopers zip-tie nearly naked kids and separate them from their parents. “I didn’t want them to take her,” he said. Anne Frank was a 13-year-old German-born Jew. She was hidden from the Nazis by

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 11.27.25 Trump has used every dodge he could think of to escape accountability for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll. He might soon run out of dodges. On Sept. 8, an appeals court upheld the jury decision ordering Trump to pay Carroll $83 million for calling her a liar when she said he raped her. In June, the same appeals court upheld the jury’s underlying finding that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll. When Trump denied raping Carroll,

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 11.20.25 The White House belongs to the American people. That’s why it’s called “The People’s House.” In his 1981 Christmas Address, President Reagan said, “This fine, old home — the people’s house — has seen so much, been so much a part of all our lives and history.” First Lady Nancy Reagan said, “The White House belongs to all Americans. It’s supposed to be something we’re proud of.” When Trump unveiled plans for his virtual copy of

First published in the Brunswick Beacon , 11.20.25 As a teenager, I drove a Corvair, made infamous by Ralph Nader’s book, “Unsafe at Any Speed.” Gas cost 36 cents/gallon. After 1973’s Arab-Israeli War, Arab countries embargoed oil, quadrupling its price. That caused gas rationing, stagnant growth, inflation and unemployment: the nightmare scenario called “stagflation,” which is even harder to fix than a recession. Thanks to Trump, stagflation is back. Inflation has soared 25%