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Columnists

BOB BROWN: When the Underdog Bites Has Rabies, and a Mean Owner

We have a strong human urge to identify with the “underdog.” There is nothing new about this tendency. The biblical story of David and Goliath, reported 3000 years ago,...

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

Unfortunately, Trump’s present ceasefire as of October 9 is analogous to the armistice signed between...

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...

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...

The Unavoidable Toothache

By the time this column reaches cyberspace the “The Event Whose Name Shall Not Be Spoken” will have occurred.  I suspect that, just...

Christianity Tolerates the Intolerant

Religion is mentioned in two places in The Constitution of the United States. The third and last paragraph under Article VI says the...

The Curse of a Synthetic Sea

Ever heard about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It’s not some new gardening tool or electronic gizmo. It’s a massive gyre of marine litter...

Krispy Kreme Provides Balm for Spinal Surgery and More

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once said “The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom.” Recently, I spent six weeks with...

Christmas Comes To MBC

Christmas celebration came early at Mary Baldwin –  before the college closed for the holidays in mid-December, and three hundred girls packed up...

The Importance of Thank You Notes

 In the days of yore when most written communication took place via mail, it was always a pleasure to open the mail box...