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November 21, 2008
Season of fire and candlelight
I have a friend who suffers from seasonal affective disorder, a fancy name for feeling depressed on dark days; gloomy days produce gloomy thoughts in his mind.November 19, 2008
History reveals economic stimulus hints
Considering what’s going on elsewhere in America, it is just a matter of time before the Valley is affected.November 15, 2008
Ready, willing to be secretary of something
As an objective journalist, I could not ethically lobby publicly for a high-level Cabinet position in the Obama administration.November 14, 2008
Looking back … again and again
This morning before I even left for work I was watching the latest installment in the English television project “7 Up.” I had to drag myself away from it.November 13, 2008
The struggle for equality is not over
It’s intriguing how some, black and white, conservatives’ view changes.November 09, 2008
Winning in a purple America
By the measures that count, Barack Obama won a clear victory Tuesday — taking 52 percent of the popular vote to John McCain’s 46 percent.November 07, 2008
An emerging culture of acceptance
On Election Day I kept imagining my mother as she came squalling into the world on January 26, 1917.November 05, 2008
Bigotry loses big in Chicago
Growing up in Chicago – not the suburbs but the actual city – provided me with a frontline view of race relations.A moment to celebrate
I sat anxiously before the television that was tuned to CNN and waited for Virginia’s polls to close.November 02, 2008
Liberty is the hinge on which true conservatism swings
Beneath a canopy of clear blue sky on a cool day in Pensacola, Fla., Chuck Baldwin gazed into the unseen penumbra at clouds lined with dusky silver.October 30, 2008
Riverheads at Buffalo Gap: And now you’re in the know
Even as he sits at a computer in his Bridgewater dorm room, Jacob Hutchinson wants just one more shot. One more taste.
October 29, 2008
Election Day security at the polls
On Oct. 24, The News Virginian ran an editorial cartoon entitled “Curiosity Killed the Cat.” It coincided with feelings I’m having also. While the cartoon’s point was to question Barack Obama’s associations and associates, it so happens that I have questions about what and why his candidacy has caused to occur – increased security at the polls.October 26, 2008
NC grapples with economy
On a bright October morning, Laura Burkhead pinned her Obama button to her blouse and went job hunting.October 25, 2008
Atom smasher not off to smashing start
Maybe the bearings are shot.October 24, 2008
Can coffee cups cause corruption?
In January, pharmaceutical companies will no longer give trinkets to doctors.October 22, 2008
Election Day questions answered
With all the interest in voting this year, I was pleased to see Bob Stuart’s recent piece on voting in The News Virginian (“Virginia’s voter registration sees high numbers,” Sept. 18). While his report answered a number of questions it also triggered others.October 19, 2008
Some say they just won’t vote
The presidential election confounds me.October 18, 2008
Here’s an instant crackpot political letter
With Nov. 4 approaching faster than a Wall Street downturn (then upturn, then downturn again, then ... ), there is precious little time remaining to pen a ridiculous, often hate-filled crackpot political letter to the editor packed with idiotic half truths and outright lies.October 17, 2008
Uninsured could use some help
Thousands of bankers are already out of work or soon will be.October 12, 2008
The rush to count unhatched chickens
Now that folksy is in, I don’t mind admitting that the first line of Joe Biden’s latest e-mail reminded me of my grandmother.October 11, 2008
Bailout = good, buttery rubdown
Ever had “aromatic fig and cassis body butter applied after a warm, tension-releasing back compress?”October 10, 2008
How to live in the present … and not go nuts
Yesterday my cat leaped on a line of string lying on the floor, treating it as if it were living prey.October 08, 2008
Opportunity squandered
If you’re thinking about going into business for yourself, after Nov. 4th’s national election, I believe you should consider investing in a bathhouse or carwash.October 04, 2008
Americans don’t have the write stuff?
Normally, I pay little attention to who wins the Nobel Prize in Literature.October 03, 2008
To err is human
I may feel a lot worse about the country than I did a short time ago, but my self-esteem has received a real boost.October 01, 2008
The good, the bad and the ugly
As a joke, about 30 years ago, I said to co-workers that Social Security should be paid to everyone when they turn 18 and stop when they reached 30. I added that everyone could then find jobs and work until they died.September 27, 2008
The Great Gas Shortage of 2008
I was waiting in line at the truck stop along with every other knucklehead swept up in the panic of the Great Southeastern Gas Shortage of Early Fall 2008 when my mind wandered, as it often does, and I flashed forward 30 or 40 years.Searching for sanity
I am trying to keep my head screwed on straight, but the news is messing with my mind. It reminds me of what it must feel like to live in the path of a hurricane a day or two before the storm actually hits.September 20, 2008
Naked and unruly can be shocking
A warning to readers who are contemplating getting naked and unruly: You could be Tasered.September 19, 2008
