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Columnists

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Is Phase Two Of Trump‘s Peace Plan In The Gaza Strip Doomed To Fail? – Part I

Phase one of Trump‘s twenty-point peace plan in the Gaza Strip, which began on October 9, called for a ceasefire, cessation of military operations, along with a hostage and prisoner...

FRED FIRST: Approaching the Longest Night

Yes, you’re right—if you’ve even noticed—that this space has been neglected for some weeks now,...

A Life Well-Lived: Shirley Padgett Lester (1947-2025)

Shirley Padgett Lester of Vinton went to her heavenly reward October 4. Below is the...

BOB BROWN: How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden “Presidency”

Permit me to think out loud as an old-fashioned person who respects authority, history, and...

JOHNNY ROBINSON: The Gratitude Perch

On the old road up Mill Mountain, part of Roanoke’s fabulous greenway system, there’s a...

Consider The Twelfth Night

by H. Bruce Rinker, Ph.D. I don’t know about you, but I’m repulsed every Fall when I see Halloween witches, Thanksgiving pilgrims, and Christmas Santa’s...

It’s The Holidays When All Thoughts Turn To South American Polo Players, Bathing Beauties, Xavier Cugat And Mistaken Identities

How's that?  Here's how:  It starts with all-American beauty Esther Williams and Latin lover Ricardo Montalban.  In the 1940's Hollywood paired them in...

“Until One Has Loved an Animal . . .”

I was using my lathe in my outdoor wood shop when McChesney came to call. He sat first here, then there, I fed him...

Recognizing God’s Grace

God’s grace often comes in unexpected, unrecognized ways, and, truth be told, is sometimes unwelcome. Such was my experience when I learned that...

Deep Fried Black Eyed Peas

Luck, luck, luck! Some days just seem to come together right before your very eyes and you know that you’ve had very little...

Nothing Puts the Fear of God in You Like . . . by Stuart Revercomb

Quick! What two words strike the most fear into both Christian believers and non-believers alike? That’s right! Everybody knows the answer to that...