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Columnists

BOB BROWN: The American Flag

All my life, I’ve loved the American flag. I was taught there is something special about our flag, that it is never trampled upon in war or peace, and...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: There Is No Need For A U.S. Ground War In Venezuela

The easiest way to overthrow Nicolás Maduro, the narco-terrorist dictator of Venezuela, is to finance an insurgency....

SCOTT DREYER: Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

Americans celebrate Thanksgiving today, and along with Canadians in October, are the only people on...

DAWN CUSTALOW: Pocahontas Reframed and Thanksgiving

I just returned from the 9th annual Pocahontas Reframed film festival 2025 in Richmond, VA,...

SCOTT DREYER: “Forgive Me When I Whine”

This poem, of unclear authorship, reportedly comes from the dark Great Depression days of the...

My Christmas Donkey Miracle

Several years ago I agreed to coordinate Journey to Bethlehem, a Christmas tradition at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church that began shortly after our...

Rise of the Beta Male

Watching my one football game of the year, share for a moment my perplexity at a Super Bowl commercial showing a pathetic gaggle...

Is Your Adoption Complete? by Ed Dunnington

“Are they both yours?” was the question from a stranger in the grocery store as my wife walked through the fresh produce.  That...

Something Wicked This Way Comes

by H. Bruce Rinker, Ph.D. In the greenhouse adjacent to my lab, I grow dozens of species of tropical plants.  Orchids, bromeliads, banana palms,...

Real Men Don’t Wrap (Or Shouldn’t)

I was near-about done with wrapping Christmas presents. I like to get an early start; and more importantly an early finish. As I plowed...

A Perspective On Shiny Things

Have you ever noticed how December seems to be a month filled with “shiny things”: clothes with sequins, trees with lights, decorations that...