Columnists

Learning life’s lessons

Ronda Rich's picture

In those days — the ones of my cherished youth — my cousin, Ronnie, a year older than I, worked for my daddy. Ronnie had cotton-colored hair and a face that, like mine, was smattered with freckles. He had what the lucky ones on Daddy’s side of the family inherit: a quick-thinking sense of humor that is succinct, clever and smart.

While I remember many good things about my sweet-spirited cousin in those days, the thing I remember most — and admire beyond explanation — is how he trailed around behind Daddy, hanging on to his every word and carefully processing his advice. Read More»

Thought you might enjoy this ...

Sallie Satterthwaite's picture

Everyone I know gets spam like the following and deletes it ASAP. When it has my cousin Dwight’s e-mail address on it, however, at least I look at it. And this one hit my memory buttons spot on, with an authenticity unmatched in the years I’ve been checking e-mail.

Dave and I have ongoing conversations about these very memories. I haven’t showed this to him yet, but I know he’ll feel the same nostalgia. He, and a thousand close friends in Dwight’s address book.

Someone asked the other day, “What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?” Read More»

Women in combat

Walter Williams's picture

A senior Defense Department official said the ban on women in combat should be lifted because the military’s goal is “to provide a level, gender-neutral playing field.”

I’d like to think the goal of the military should be to have the toughest, meanest fighting force possible. But let’s look at “gender-neutral playing field.”

The Army’s physical fitness test in basic training is a three-event physical performance test used to assess endurance. The minimum requirement for 17- to 21-year-old males is 35 pushups, 47 situps and a two-mile run in 16 minutes, 36 seconds or less. Read More»

Prophets and losses

Thomas Sowell's picture

Now that the federal government is playing an ever larger role in the economy, a look at Washington’s track record seems to be long overdue.

The recent release of the Federal Reserve Board’s transcripts of its deliberations back in 2007 shows that their economic prophecies were way off. How much faith should we put in their prophecies today — or the policies based on those prophecies? Read More»

Real ‘war on women’ just started

William Murchison's picture

Male or female, those of us who’ve been around for a while can recall clearly the objectives of the feminist movement as it geared up in the early 1970s. Workplace fairness was the goal.

A lot of manufactured indignation attended the feminist rising; e.g, who says we have to wear bras? Basically, nonetheless, what the rebels said they wanted was opportunity too long denied them by chauvinistic males. Opportunity they received from government, and in a larger sense, from the hand of a culture they prodded or embarrassed into agreement with most of what they said. Read More»

Angels on Earth

Rick Ryckeley's picture

Question: What do you get if you add together one research paper on early education, a handful of mixed nuts, and not following your mom’s advice?

Answer: A seven-day stay in one of Nashville’s finest hospitals, a room full of angels, and two weeks being unable to write a newspaper column.

Confused? Yep, so was I. Never saw it coming. So climb aboard, fasten your seatbelt, and hang on, Dear Reader. This is gonna be one crazy ride, and how it all ended surprised even me because the ending of this story was supplied by none other than The Boy. Read More»

This amazing technology

David Epps's picture

Once in a while it dawns on me how much technology has changed things, even in the small things. The other day I was looking at the website for our diocese. Most of the news is generated from my office, although other churches and individuals in Georgia and Tennessee also contribute. We then send that information to a man in a small town in southeastern Tennessee who posts it on the website. From that point, the news goes ... everywhere. Read More»

‘I take full responsibility’ — Really?

Bonnie Willis's picture

“I take full responsibility ... .”

This is a phrase that I feel like I have been hearing more and more in public life, but it seems to ring hollow the more times I hear it. Here is why.

I hear this phrase typically when someone is caught doing something wrong, or making a bad decision and there is almost irrefutable evidence for them to deny it. So rather than having the sordid details leak out over a period of time, a public statement is made saying that they, “accept full responsibility. ...” Read More»

Stormwater in PTC: What it means to taxpayers

Betsy Tyler's picture

Peachtree City Stormwater Utility: What am I paying for, and why should I have to pay more?

You may have heard that Peachtree City is looking at borrowing about $7 million for the city’s stormwater system. The mayor and City Council will be considering a bond issue through the Peachtree City Public Facilities Authority at their meeting on Feb. 7, so this is a good opportunity to review the program, why it was enacted, what it does, and why the additional funds are being requested.

Overview Read More»

America’s tradition of service: Bill Camper

Terry Garlock's picture

When you talk with Bill Camper, you will most likely be laughing. You may not notice that his right eye has been blind since 1972, but you will understand why Mimi Gentilini (Mimi’s Good Food) describes Bill as the nicest man in town.

At 83 years old, the highlight of Bill’s life is that Peg, his wife for 62 years and counting, has newfound freedom from dialysis, one of very few her age to receive a kidney transplant and it turned out wildly successful. Read More»