Columnists

Charlie and Mr. Lincoln

Ronda Rich's picture

[Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series over a five-week period.)

His name is Charles Almerin Tinker and he was the great-great-grandfather of my beloved.

“Charlie Tinker,” I sometimes hear my husband say as he passes the large framed photo. “You’re spinning in your grave. Your picture is hanging in the home of a Confederate.” Read More»

'One Ringy-dingy, Two Ringy-dingies'

Sallie Satterthwaite's picture

All right, class. Today we’ll visit a word that was invented for a purpose, a made-up word you probably use daily. It’s an invented word, according to several sources like NPR Radio, because its creator had trouble settling on a word to use when answering the telephone he just invented.

I brought up a couple of searches and have enough bits and pieces to gather into a column. Many of us word mavens get swept into the dictionary when Merriam-Webster or the OED releases a new edition with new words, and forget to come up for air. Or to make dinner. Read More»

A column about columns

Michael Boylan's picture

Rick Ryckeley’s column will return next week.

He’s been a little under the weather but I’ll leave him to tell you the details. I would hate to rob him of several weeks of column material because I know that writing a weekly column is hard to do.

I’ve been at the newspaper for a long time and I’ve written columns sporadically during my tenure. I would generally write one when I had something to say or when space demanded it. Last week I wrote about my friend joining the unofficial club of parenthood. This week...I’ve got nothing. Read More»

The Gideon Bible in room 312

David Epps's picture

I was in Petersburg, Va., making final preparations for a service of ordination that was to take place in just a couple of hours. I had driven to the hotel from my home in Georgia and was a bit weary as I was going through my sermon notes to make sure I had a decent, but not overly long, sermon.
I reached for my Bible and ... it wasn’t in my bag. I searched through the rest of my luggage and even went through the car. I had left it in Georgia. Read More»

Gun control and the government’s abuse of power

Terry Garlock's picture

My objection to the current gun control effort in Washington, D.C., is only half about guns. The other half is about abuse of power. No matter which side of the gun debate you favor, you should be concerned.

Obama is not alone in trampling the Constitution. He is joined by Congress and former Republican and Democrat administrations alike, but this president has pushed hard on the abuse of power envelope. He has crossed the line a number of times and just this past week two judges advanced court cases against President Obama’s overreach. Read More»

A case for an unborn person

Bonnie Willis's picture

About 15 years ago I taught an introductory psychology course at The King’s College. I will never forget a discussion I facilitated with the students during a session on Developmental Psychology.

When talking about the developmental stages of humans, I thought it would be interesting to explore the question of when human life begins, and what was the distinction between human life and personhood. Read More»

Roe v. Wade at 40

Cal Thomas's picture

At the recent signing of “executive actions” designed to combat gun violence in America, President Obama, flanked by schoolchildren, said, “...when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now.”

There’s no doubt that children, especially schoolchildren, are vulnerable to all kinds of threats, but are they “the most vulnerable,” as the president claimed, or is there another category of human life that qualifies for that designation? Read More»

Firearms discussion in 3 parts: Straight talk

Dr. T. David Gordon's picture

Part I: Getting Firearms “Off the Streets”

The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan rightly said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” He might just have rightly said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to be confusing.”

The discussion of any matter of public policy is not aided by using language in a confusing manner, and yet people rather routinely do this very thing. One of the most confusing statements one hears regarding firearms policy is this: “We need to get guns off the streets.” Read More»

Easy way becomes hard way

Ronda Rich's picture

It seems to me that a lot of young people have it easy. Too many kids in high school and college are shielded from work and not taught the importance of money or earning it. It seems to me that this is a major default in the education of life.

If you don’t know the worth of a dollar or what it takes to earn that dollar, how can you successfully manage for the rest of your life? How can you start a family? Raise a family? Survive professional setbacks? Retire? Read More»

Don't be alarmed

Sallie Satterthwaite's picture

There are alarms and there are alarms.

Consider the alarm clock. Dave has it ours so low you can hardly hear it. I won’t even tell you how late in the day it beep-beeps. I do appreciate its gentleness: Getting up in the morning is by far the hardest thing I’ll do all day, and my demon would let me sleep until about noon unless I set the alarm.

We tend to stay up until midnight, watching TV, and then reading after we get to bed. One of the perks of retirement, after all, is that you can stay up as late as you want. Well, as long as your bedmate is of like mind. Read More»