Columnists

Ghosts of Southerners past . . .

Ronda Rich's picture

When our friendship was new and still most interesting, Poet sought to impress me. But when the new wore off, Poet cast me into the ring with his other friends who are familiar and comfortable so there is no longer a need to impress.

This was evident when he arrived at my hotel in Jackson, Miss., to pick me up for dinner. Poet, you will recall, rises up from generations of very old Mississippi Delta dirt and is what he calls, “a gentleman farmer.” Cotton, lots of cotton, is the family business for over a hundred years. Read More»

The Doctor is In – Finally

Of the trickle of sightseers who had heard or read about Peachtree City and Fayette County, most landed here singing essentially the same chorus: There’s nothing here. Lovely trees and a sparkling lake, yes, but no library, no middle and high schools, no police department except for a fellow who cruised around town like a night watchman. Virtually no bad guys who made it all the way to Peachtree City either. Read More»

I believe

Justin Kollmeyer's picture

Not too long ago Jeff Foxworthy and his Blue Collar Comedy buddies did a segment entitled, “I believe.” They took turns finishing the phrase “I believe.”

The one I remember most was Jeff’s: “I believe that if you let somebody cut in front of you in traffic and they don’t give you the little “wave,” it should be perfectly legal to get up underneath ‘em, get ‘em loose, and put ‘em into the wall.” Read More»

The face of Haiti

David Epps's picture

A few days ago, I was having lunch with a fellow pastor in another town and we were discussing the terrible situation in Haiti. He was saying that his church was going to be receiving an offering and investigating what they could do to offer assistance.

I had been overloaded with images from that stricken land and I recognized the enormity of the tragedy. Strangely, I was somewhat detached. I think it is because I had never been to Haiti, knew no one in Haiti, and did not know anyone who knew someone in Haiti. I just couldn’t put a face to Haiti. Read More»

Tax-cut time

William Murchison's picture

It’s jobs, jobs, jobs now for the Obama team, rather than healthcare, healthcare, healthcare. You have to call it progress, particularly if you’re jobless, or fearful of becoming so at a time when 17 million Americans are either non- or underemployed.

We’re about done, in other words, with the free-floating pretense that putting the federal government in charge of healthcare decisions somehow creates a lot of opportunity and employment. Read More»

Standing on the shoulders of giants

Rick Ryckeley's picture

The 6-year-old boy looked up with eyes full of admiration at the giant of a man and said, “When I grow up, I want to be just like you, Dad.”

The father smiled and lifted his son up. Little arms and legs wrapped around and clung. The two exchanged one of the precious moments in life that words would only cheapen. The father closed his eyes and wished, “No, son, don’t be like me. Be better. Learn from my mistakes.” The son climbed higher and stood on his father’s shoulders to watch the parade. Read More»

Personhood

Cal Thomas's picture

Among the interesting arguments in last week’s 5-4 Supreme Court decision granting corporations First Amendment protections when making campaign contributions was the majority’s decision to effectively treat corporations as persons.

Liberal Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, who disagrees with the ruling, wrote, “... the majority acted as if there could be no constitutional distinction between a corporation and a human being.” Read More»

We need diversity

Walter Williams's picture

It’s not at all uncommon to watch a college basketball game and see that 90 to 100 percent of the players are black. According to the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport report titled “The 2008 Racial and Gender Report Card,” the percentage of black male basketball players in Division I was an all-time high at 60.4 percent. It was 45.9 percent in football and 6.0 percent in baseball. Read More»

The Healthy Triad

Greg Moffatt's picture

The first month of the year is not yet up, but I'm guessing that many of your New Year's resolutions are already history. There isn't anything wrong with making resolutions and there isn't anything wrong with adjusting or abandoning them. Sometimes those goals are unrealistic or just plain wrong for you. Read More»

Dealing with Samuel’s Autism

Readers’ response to how our daughter Jean’s working with her mildly autistic son Samuel has been gratifying indeed, and makes me believe that there are lots of other first-time mothers and grandmas holding each others’ – and their children’s – hands as they navigate the treacherous waters of the childhood years together. Read More»