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Columnists

ANDY PITZER: Silent Barter

Take a look at your salt shaker the next time you sit down at the dinner table. Or the canister of Morton’s Salt in your cupboard. Now take a gander...

FRED FIRST: Spaces: Inner, Outer & Other

I exist even still in a “liminal space” (which could be a whole other post—with...

ANDY PITZER: Paraphrasing GPT

When I come to think about it, probably the one thing I’m most proud of...

BOB BROWN: IF YOU LOVE YOUR BRAIN, TAKE CARE 0F IT, PART THREE

This is A Brief Educational Summary of Neuroscience 101, Part THREE, our final section. These...

SERWAN ZANGANA: It’s time for positive change in Roanoke City, vote James Creasy for Sheriff

An enthusiastic and experienced law enforcement officer, a veteran deputy, is eager to bring changes...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Bring Back The War Department

President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a prescient and heartfelt speech in Chautauqua, New York, on August 14, 1936, about the tragedy and horrors of war.  Reflecting...

FRED FIRST: Changing of the Guard

The theme for the Lenoir Words Writers Group this month is AUTUMN. And since I have only one year’s autumn memories from Missouri, it...

BOB BROWN: The Truth About Lying

Everyone lies! That’s the truth. Most people are relatively honest most of the time. The average number of lies is skewed by a small group...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Hurricane Erin Is Our Future – Part II

Unfortunately, the U.S. is not the only country experiencing climate change. It is a global phenomenon without denial, despite what President Trump or MAGA...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Hurricane Erin Is Our Future – Part I

I read a prescient and depressing article in the Associated Press written by Danica Coto on August 16, 2025, entitled, "Hurricane Erin Explodes In Strength To A...

BOB BROWN: Woeful War on Common Sense

As a child, I loved to listen when my mother told stories. They tended to be scary. She had the power to bring spirits through...