Founder, TheLivingSouth.com; Senior Editor @CardinalandPine; Seen On: @TheAtlantic @washingtonpost @MSNBC, others. @UNCHussman grad. Journalism is the best job ever.https://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mjku4s3iok2hIn 2022, when gas prices soared post-COVID and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Republicans unfairly blamed it on Joe Biden and Democrats. Now, with the Iran war is directly driving up fuel prices, the GOP is telling us not to worry so much about gas. Watch new vid at 7 pm youtu.be/XeBiLFHHfGo https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FXeBiLFHHfGo%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExVnE5UjhNaWFUZVFtQldZU3NydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR7qbbI0T8pNa6N8dhXL0sJzBTCPULqQ9uoKjnbSuSydHTpZHTyXWXr9SM3idQ_aem_i2fhhZHdiqgid8-0AubLpQ&h=AT51zcowWhrY_39Qbx00ZwhIeNsHkF84RR1_89FGqHLxFOV4lvd_nqsKJfzN4VDLyJo-Jl-3-RQyazCUjpMkplj8AVi6PjGFlnya1k8XFVBqtKINvzllYvQwH5jkiODF9CfnprsSVvem38VNQQ&__tn__=R-R&c[0]=AT5D6fYCTfYnbx1UfFtXBJB4jl2K47GCybAolL6qE69EPvSvtj82Svt9LYPOHTfkzAlU8_1ZcJIN-QJu_wQ3yN20v0BFCDwOmiZA_hsqMrdoWvtExEFCn6uFuWtanOaFKtgDI222kPhwC9W9F13AYg8ImIztJ0ymDAHcbiwD4xjrHUNKAxCnMiwARvb-Asw0QaWs8r1eRd-aAmIRG6BZSPnG5Gy-7sYrZuxTa9XFoJDsoxg15 Apr 2026 21:37 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjku4s3iok2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mj32go74t22rSo far, the story of AI regulation is what North Carolina and federal politicians AREN'T doing. 🤖 In the new Billy Ball Explains NC, we break down the AI revolution, the good and the bad, and what policymakers are doing (or not doing) to protect people from the bad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRA075yZk8409 Apr 2026 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj32go74t22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mijv4xv6fk2gThis is a huge story. [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Apr 2026 18:57 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mijv4xv6fk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mihkyvo2ps2p🤯 ICE is reportedly keeping detainees indefinitely in temporary “hold rooms” across the country, with little oversight. And get this: These hold rooms are not required to have beds. Or even toilets. ICE has three of them right here in North Carolina. Watch 👇 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWsolCkI3Kg01 Apr 2026 20:50 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mihkyvo2ps2phttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mhy7dqxlwk27You might have a direct line to the White House—like Sen. Phil Berger appeared to have—but that doesn't mean you've won over voters in your local district. Thanks to @timboyumnews.bsky.social for having me on Wednesday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEq_nmzlfp426 Mar 2026 18:12 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhy7dqxlwk27https://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mhehcqudn22jIn the story of America, land has mostly moved one way—out of Native hands, and into the hands of white people. But recently, leaders in one western North Carolina town came to a remarkable decision. A new Billy Ball Explains NC has the story for Cardinal & Pine. 🔗 is in the thread.18 Mar 2026 21:41 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhehcqudn22jhttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mgsrtx5m422nIn the new BB Explains NC, we wanted to tell the stories of NC women who don't get enough roses. So we have the first recorded women-led protest in US history, the NC woman who co-founded Mother’s Day, and a NC woman who broke a 90-year drought in Congress. 👇 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgSvHwaDEEg&t=4s11 Mar 2026 21:02 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgsrtx5m422nhttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mgfx5crhcc2cGrief warning ✋ For @cardinalandpine.bsky.social, I wrote about the war in Iran, specifically about the alleged US-Israel bombing of a school in Minab, and about the terrible position our troops find themselves in today, caught between one liar and the other. https://cardinalpine.com/2026/03/06/north-carolina-trump-war-iran/06 Mar 2026 18:32 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgfx5crhcc2chttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mgdj4mjzws2eTHEY MUST HAVE WATCHED THE NEW BILLY BALL EXPLAINS NC 👀 https://www.wusa9.com/video/news/cbs-special-report-kristi-noem-replaced-at-department-of-homeland-security/65-0266b2a1-52d5-49d6-877e-b37016f3c18d05 Mar 2026 19:16 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgdj4mjzws2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mgbgf6cdak2sOk, believe it or not, here's your teaser for the new Billy Ball Explains North Carolina. The 🔗 is below. Your likes and views make a big difference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GthcG55OVM04 Mar 2026 23:22 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgbgf6cdak2shttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mgagcbhvvc2jOver the weekend, I wrote about America's most confusing senator for MS NOW. Here's a tidbit: "The epitaph on Tillis’ political career: A smart man who for most of Trump’s rise played dumb or caved to the most corrosive president in American history." https://www.ms.now/opinion/thom-tillis-north-carolina-senate-election04 Mar 2026 13:47 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgagcbhvvc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mg3otxblxs2sNC Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls knows Republicans are out to get her. But in November, Earls did something she's never done before as a sitting Supreme Court justice. She spoke directly about something happening in the news. Keep reading the thread. 👇 https://www.thelivingsouth.com/anita-earls-against-the-world/02 Mar 2026 16:37 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg3otxblxs2shttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mfailh5gps23New BB Explains NC: The data centers being built to run AI seem like a godsend to rural NC, and any place that's struggling. But they come with red flags—skyrocketing utility bills, massive water consumption, and an ever-harder fight against climate change. 👇 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taN_ULTCc3Q&t=72s19 Feb 2026 21:03 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfailh5gps23https://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mejljwekhs2iPresident Trump—who last week portrayed former President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes—called the show a "slap in the face." Some on the left wanted it to be that. But it was too joyous for that. My take on Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show 👇 https://www.thelivingsouth.com/what-were-getting-wrong-about-that-bad-bunny-halftime-show/10 Feb 2026 18:25 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mejljwekhs2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3me2rcy7sks2nThanks for watching, y'all. Your likes and subscribes help us grow and beat the bad information. 💪 [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 Feb 2026 20:58 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3me2rcy7sks2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mdjh3zbhak2cDid you know North Carolina has received just a small percentage of the federal money it needs to recover from Hurricane Helene? And that the guy who was named NC’s “recovery czar” by President Trump…is running to represent NC in the US Senate? 👇 [contains quote post or other embedded content]28 Jan 2026 23:40 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdjh3zbhak2chttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mdgz7ldcgk23In Selma, Alabama, in 1965, they were met by armed troopers, who beat the nonviolent protesters bloody. The scenes stirred President Lyndon B. Johnson to action. In Minneapolis, it's possible that we could be watching the same kind of watershed moment. https://www.thelivingsouth.com/why-the-ice-killings-in-minneapolis-could-change-everything/28 Jan 2026 00:26 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdgz7ldcgk23https://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3md6to4zpbk25Stop reporting statements from DHS that contradict everyone on the scene. They do not deserve the platform or the credibility.24 Jan 2026 18:26 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3md6to4zpbk25https://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mczmogq3j223Some truly outrageous things are happening in Greensboro at NC A&T University, the largest historically Black college in America. Important thread. Keep reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrztEN7BZbA22 Jan 2026 16:37 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mczmogq3j223https://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mcknkx7exs2mWhether you're liberal, conservative, or politically agnostic, if you get mad that reading an article requires signup for a free subscription, you're part of the problem. You're saying journalism and the people who make it have no value. We're looking at the result of that mentality right now.16 Jan 2026 17:43 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcknkx7exs2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mci4nbfyys2yThis is a really cool story. [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Jan 2026 17:35 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mci4nbfyys2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mcfws74d4c2gWe don't know if Venezuela is a military "one-off" like Speaker Mike Johnson says, or if the US will be there long-term, as Marco Rubio said. So let's break down what these scenarios mean for NC. Spoiler: NC is home to two of the largest Army and Marine bases in America, so they mean A LOT. 👇 [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Jan 2026 20:45 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcfws74d4c2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mcdwviskcc2cAccording to Forbes, since the start of his presidency, Trump's net worth has more than doubled—from $2.3B in 2024 to $6.7B by the end of 2025. Meanwhile, many of the folks who voted for him are in a worse financial predicament than ever. Tap 👇 https://www.thelivingsouth.com/trump-is-getting-richer-the-southerners-who-voted-for-him-are-getting-poorer/14 Jan 2026 01:42 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcdwviskcc2chttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mbwkukzdzk2tWith all the news that's buzzing around right now, this is an important 🧵: Whenever the United States military moves, the South pays attention. Of the 10 states with the most active duty military personnel, 6 are in the South—Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia.08 Jan 2026 18:02 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbwkukzdzk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/billyball.bsky.social/post/3mbugp2it4s2iIt's possible that I sang the Backstreet Boys in this one and referenced the 1990s MTV show "Daria." Thanks in advance for your views and likes. They help us bend the algorithm a little. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmlmuZ9j5fs&t=60s07 Jan 2026 21:42 +0000at://did:plc:fzdtxril64eybulfk44idmhz/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbugp2it4s2i