PORTSTEWART, Northern Ireland — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told a group of liberal activists meeting in Las Vegas they shouldn’t worry about not getting the single-payer provision in the new healthcare law. “We’re going to have a public option,” Reid said. “It’s just a question of when.”

Remember the objections conservatives and many Republicans raised during the debate about government-run healthcare and the danger of eliminating private health insurance, despite its many flaws? Read More»

There is a saying among the people of the rural South used to condemn anyone who has changed the terms of an agreement, especially those done with a word and a handshake.

“You went back on your word.” That is not just a comment, it is a curse, for nothing riles the Scotch-Irish more than to have someone renege on their word.

There is a code of conduct that you will find in the Southern mountains that is passed down generation to generation: a handshake agreement stands, your word is your bond, and when you take on one of us, you take on all of us. Read More»

It’s been exactly one month since 960 other Fayette residents and I ran the 41st annual Peachtree Road Race, a major part of celebrating the Fourth of July in Atlanta. Since the race fell on Sunday, the challenge was not only running the race, but also timing everything to get back to church by the 10:55 morning worship start. I made it by 10:15.

Running is good stress relief, and I find it a good outlet for a pastor. I’m getting exercise, staying fit, burning calories and praying all at once. In addition, I enter a 5K or 10K every now and then for the thrill of competition. Read More»

In Sunday’s paper, two adorable little blondes in frothy blue dresses are seen rollicking in puddles after a rainstorm. They were at a Butterfly Festival, and could almost be taken for butterflies themselves.

The photo drew me in, but their names held my attention. The 5-year-old is Happy and her 2-year-old sister is Coco Bluebell. At least that’s what the cut-line says; I hope they are real. They are unusual without being cumbersome and should stand up to use for years. Read More»

Bubba Hanks was the biggest kid in Mrs. Crabtree’s third-grade class. In fact, Bubba was the biggest kid in all of Mt. Olive Elementary school. Some say it was due to his fondness for Mrs. Wilma’s sticky buns. Wilma was the head lunch lady and for an extra nickel, you could get an extra sticky bun.

Bubba had a lot of nickels.

Others said Bubba’s largeness was because of a kidney infection in the first grade that put him in the hospital for a week and home in bed for three months. Which caused him to be held back a year. That meant an extra year of eating sticky buns. Read More»

In just a couple of months, my wife and I will celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary. I have referred to that day as the day “when we complete 39 years of a life sentence.” I only speak like that when Cindy is not around. However, that cannot hold a candle to the celebration this weekend when my wife’s parents, John and Bette Douglas, observe their 60th wedding anniversary.

To mark the occasion, the John and Bette Douglas clan, and those related by birth and/or marriage, are all journeying to the Fayette/Coweta area for what will be a limited reunion and an anniversary bash. Read More»

For more than 30 years, political pundits have raised red flags about an “October surprise,” an unexpected announcement or event that blind-sides a political opponent or party just before the November election.

Google “October surprise” for a quick course in previous suspiciously timed disclosures or actions that seem to be aimed at maximum effect on the electorate. Note that both Democrats and Republicans have been accused of dropping October surprises onto the public plate. Read More»

As I watch Obama administration officials, and the President himself, talk on TV news about stimulating the economy, holding jobs summits and discussing techniques to motivate business to hire new employees, I can’t help but wonder if it were a Broadway production whether it would be classified as a comedy or a tragedy. Maybe a farce. Read More»

In another country also called America, there were no credit cards and excessive debt was seen as a character flaw. In that America, my grandparents and their parents had discussions when they wanted to buy almost anything. The conversations focused on two questions: can we afford it and do we need it? If the answer to either question was “no,” they didn’t buy it.

So much of our personal and public debt in modern America comes from a refusal to ask these questions. We don’t need much of what we have and we certainly can’t afford it. But we buy it anyway. Read More»

A while back, a transplanted Yankee sat down beside me at a luncheon and proceeded to explain what had compelled her to uproot herself from generations of Northern influence and move South.

“I was visiting a friend here and one of her neighbors had stopped by to visit with her 3-year-old in tow,” the woman recalled. “The little girl started to act cranky so her mother leaned down and said softly but firmly, ‘Hush.’ I decided right then and there that I wanted to live here.”

I looked puzzled and tilted my head. “I don’t understand.” Read More»