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Religion
Martin Luther
Outraged by the selling of indulgences, the German monk Martin Luther posted 95 Theses on the door of the Catholic Church in Wittenburg in 1517. At that time, the process was a form of debate and public communication. After hearings and trials five years later, he was excommunicated by the Pope...
Public Policy
One Big Beautiful Bill Act
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, represents a massive shift in U.S. energy and environmental policy. It significantly rolls back many of the clean energy incentives established by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) while pivoting support toward traditional energy, nuclear power, and...
Politics
The President Takes a Hit
A combination of issues resulted in a very low approval rating in the polls of only 38% across the board in most polls. His rating caused him to take a conciliatory tone with negotiations on approving the budget. He agreed to pull the budget for the Department of Homeland Security as long as the Democrats would approve all the other budgets. As a consequence, the Senate approved those budgets and sent them to the House of Representatives...
LGBTQ+
LGBT Center of Raleigh
The Center moved into its 5th location in 15 years last fall. It now has a 15-year lease. I have followed it through many of those locations, each which had advantages and problems. Some had more space and some had better visibility for street traffic. This time they have large windows, plenty of space, and free parking across the street. The Grand Open House was held last month...
Travel
Greensboro Gardens
Westgate Gardens is one of several gardens in the city: Greensboro Arboretum, Greensboro Botanical Gardens, Bog Garden, and Tanger Family Botanical Garden. Some are located inside of parks, and others are free-standing. These do not include the numerous parks that have extensive plantings. The gardens were developed by Greensboro Beautiful in association with...
General
Some New Netflix Bets Are Good
Netflix has acquired the complete James Bond catalog, and the films are running on streaming service. Just enter “James Bond” and then the decade of the film that you want to watch. The films are listed by decade, but you can search for the specific film that you want to view. They have not announced how long the catalog will be available....