Steve Bouser

Shoptalk: Political Cartoons

Are political cartoons on The Pilot's Opinion pages worth the trouble?

Meet Another Area 'Blessed' by Fracking

Want to know some of the blessings fracking could bring to North Carolina and northern Moore County? Look at another place with "north" in its name: North Dakota.

Middle of the Road: A Dangerous Place

A funny thing happened as I was interviewing Rep. Renee Ellmers the other day.

Shoptalk: Who Wrote That *#!@% Editorial?

Web commenter Bentpan really let us have it the other day. Appending one of many comments to the end of The Pilot's Friday editorial expressing opposition to Amendment One, Bentpan wrote: "I notice no one at The Pilot taking credit for this opinion piece. Don't blame them. What a steaming pile of left-wing propaganda."

Time for an Etch A Sketch Moment

It's been a month since a guy named Eric Fehrnstrom achieved his 15 minutes of fame - or infamy - with his much-mocked "Etch A Sketch" remark.

Tears at the Passing of a Former Boss

This is reprinted from Sunday's edition of The Salisbury Post.

Earl Scruggs: A Small Personal Memory

For a long time, even after I had the privilege of interviewing them in the mid-1960s, I assumed that “Lester Flatt” and “Earl Scruggs” were made-up names.

Troubling Words on the Campaign Trail

What has happened to the America I used to know? That, in so many words, is the question with which my good friend and former Pilot colleague Tom Bryant wrapped up a well-written column that appeared in this space a month ago.

When Encyclopedias Ruled the Shelves

I don’t know how long it’s been since I looked anything up in an actual encyclopedia — unless Wikipedia counts, which it shouldn’t. Still, I couldn’t help feeling a bit of a jolt at last week’s announcement that the venerable Encyclopedia Britannica.

Life in Our Brave New Digital World

I'm sitting in Great Clips, thumb-typing this on my iPhone as I wait for Claudette to cut my hair. With the job she does, she's always worth the wait.