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ROBERT L. MARONIC: President Trump Is Fighting The Last War – Part II

I am totally bewildered how a U.S. aircraft carrier group or Trump-class battleship is going to stop THOUSANDS of aerial and underwater kamikaze drones simultaneously launched from an inexpensive expendable Chinese cargo ship or Hainan...

BOB BROWN: The Sacred Oath of Office

According to Islamic tradition, the Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation of the Quran in...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: President Trump Is Fighting The Last War – Part I

I think that President Trump's plan to build a “new class of American-designed battleships that will be...

SCOTT DREYER: Conduct Your “Year In Review”

James Clear, in his award-winning book Atomic Habits, encourages his readers to conduct an annual...

FRED FIRST: Small Moments. Long Life

Images: In our eyes. On our minds. From our memories. Conjured in our dreams. Right...

FRED FIRST: Sapsucker Economics

This longer-than-usual piece was bound for “book three” that Covid extinguished. The working title was going to be “One Place Understood” with a dozen...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Tesla Terrorists Should Do Hard Time In Prison

There are presently only five Tesla dealerships in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The closest one to Roanoke is located in Richmond, which is 189...

DAWN CUSTALOW: Language Learning in an Expat’s World

Ex – “out of”; patria – “country.” Expat – I didn’t even know this expression until I had left my native land of Virginia,...

BOB BROWN: Good Teachers

My Mother and Dad were Good Teachers My mother (1898-1971) had six children. I’m the youngest. She was 14 when she married my father (1892-1985);...

DENNIS GARVIN: Somewhere Between Beowulf and John Wayne

I have been seeing the Rev. Henry for some years now. Twice a year, the reverend appears, stooped with age, shuffling into my office...

FRED FIRST: Until I See What I Say

“How do I know what I think until I see what I say?” *E.M Forster? First thing of a very early morning, rather than doomscrolling the...