Speakout: Stand together in defense of libraries
Most of you know of the number of states nationwide forcing public libraries to leave the American Library Association (ALA).
Updated: 1 day ago
Columnist Slim Randles: Exploring the complex art of naming artworks
We all read about Pastor Jeff’s latest tribulation in the local paper, the Valley Weekly Miracle. Maybe tribulation is too strong a word, because, after all, when someone leaves your church a huge legacy, isn’t it time for rejoicing? Shouldn’t we all be walking around the walls of Jericho tootling on ram’s horns and beating the drums in jubilation?
Updated: 1 day ago
Columnist Byron York: The mystery of the missing F-35 fighter jet
It was one of the weirdest stories in years. The U.S. military lost a state-of-the-art F-35 fighter jet, last seen flying pilotless over North Charleston, South Carolina, and was asking the public for help in finding the $80 million plane. As South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace said: “How in the hell do you lose an F-35?”
Updated: 1 day ago
Commentary: Democracy demands less time behind closed doors for local governments
Hear about something called “Democracy Day” and it’s easy to imagine it refers to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., the White House and the federal government. But democracy isn’t limited to the halls of Congress. Democracy plays just as big a role in the county courthouse and city hall.
Updated: 3 days ago
Columnist Terry Mattingly: What do seminaries do when many fear ‘theology'?
During the 1970s and 1980s, the flocks gathered in conservative Protestant pews kept growing and growing — until a third of the U.S. population could be defined as “evangelical.”
Updated: 3 days ago
Columnist David Shribman: Keeping memories alive in the Netherlands
This is a column about war and remembrance, and about how the sacrifice of more than 8,000 American wartime soldiers and aviators has never been forgotten. It is about respect, duty and loyalty — three attributes that sometimes seem to be in short supply but are cultivated in surfeit in a small corner of The Netherlands that is forever America.
Updated: 4 days ago
Columnist Gene Lyons: Trump and his minions keep shoveling
Time was when getting caught in a malicious lie about a rival would have ended an American politician’s career. We no longer live that way. Just the other day, Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of falsehoods attacking President Joe Biden that would have shamed a carnival barker.
Updated: 4 days ago
Columnist Carl Kline: There’s beauty and mystery in creation
When I left the building last Monday evening after teaching my class in Watertown, the parking lot was wet and there was a dark storm cloud moving off toward the east. I had no idea it had rained, or perhaps even thundered, encased as I was in all that timber and concrete. I’m sure my classroom must have extra insulation to keep sounds out and other sounds in, as with the door closed, we can’t even hear the noise makers passing in the hall.
Updated: 5 days ago