Articles by Section - Columnists
Spring fever mind games
I wish the weather would stop playing games with us here in the South. It wasn't more than a few weeks ago that I slipped into a pair of short pants for puttering around the house.
Gun debate highlights voter distrust
Gun control advocates sound puzzled by congressional resistance to relatively modest gun control legislation. Many cite a poll showing 90 percent of Americans support more background checks and suggest the National Rifle Association is the only reason Congress won't implement the will of the people.
The mortgage complaint window is open
Got a beef with your mortgage company or loan servicer? Lots of people do, and thousands of them have been turning to a federal complaint hotline for action - or at least a quick response from the lender.
Black unemployment
A couple of weeks ago, Black Entertainment Television founder Bob Johnson, speaking at The National Press Club, said the nation "would never tolerate white unemployment at 14 and 15 percent." Black unemployment has been double that of white Americans for more than 50 years. The black youth unemployment rate is more than 40 percent nationally. In some cities, unemployment for black working-age males is more than 50 percent. Let's look at this, but first let's ...
Carter: For all who persevere
This isn't as easy as it looks - this putting together of ~750 words with a coherent thought every week.
Morgan: The astronaut and the fire truck
An imaginative sort who spies a bright red fire truck parked outside a church might think one of two things: Either the congregants are burning up with the Holy Spirit and keep a fire truck on hand to cool things down once in a while, or the truck is a warning the fires of hell are close unless they toe the line.
Thatcher's death marks end of an era
When Margaret Thatcher was elected England's first female prime minister in the spring of 1979, I was 12 years old and my father had been a congressman for less than four months. To me, it seemed as if it would be only a short while until my own country followed suit and elected a woman to serve as president.
Yarbrough: UGA's best-kept secret
They are the best University of Georgia athletic team you have likely never heard of.
The dumps of home improvement
My husband and I have lived where we are now living for more than 40 years. More than half my life.
Carter: Bike for your health
I enjoy my bicycle. There's nothing like the freedom of rolling through the countryside propelled only by the power of my own legs, feeling the warm sun on my skin and the cool wind moving over my body, engaging the world with all five of my senses.
Williams: Teaching diversity
Professor Craig Frisby is on the faculty of University of Missouri's Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology.
Morgan: Sleep cycles a new thought
"What hath night to do with sleep?" wrote John Milton in
Cushman: Sweet Bunny love
It's confession time - I'm in love.
What’s in a name?
I am somewhat dismayed by the efforts of Newton County's leadership to change the mailing address of Baxter International.
All God’s critters big and small
As a city-bred person, I always thought that life in the country would be idyllic: scenic, slow paced, clean air, healthy living, strong sense of community and more. Well, much of this is true; however, what I didn't know anything about was critters! We have critters here that are like an unending plague. We can control them - but rarely, if ever, get rid of them.
Archive By Section - Columnists
America has no time for more silliness
Last week the White House released a long-form official Hawaiian birth certificate purporting to lay to rest ongoing controversy regarding Barack Hussein Obama II's qualification by birth to fill the office of president of The United States of America. At the heart of the matter has been rampant speculation that the conditions of the birth of the 44th president did not satisfy requirements set forth in the supreme law of the land, The Constitution of ...
Cultural conceits and value of values
"Every society produces its own cultural conceits," Jack Weatherford wrote in "The Secret History of the Mongol Queens," "a set of lies and delusions about itself that thrives in the face of all contrary evidence. The Mongols believed that they could not be completely defeated."
Understanding Gas fees can be taxing
A lot of press, including this publication, has been dedicated to trying to figure out why gas prices, already high, are headed further upward due to an increase in state and local sales taxes, effective Sunday.
Mystery gives way to merriment
The ghostly visage of a grand four-columned, two-story home alone in a broad field of alfalfa appears in a photograph likely taken sometime in the first quarter of the 20th century. It sat beyond the eastern edge of Covington, now at the end of Floyd Street and behind the Newton County Library, but at the time the house was built -sometime between 1910 and 1918, it is thought - Floyd Street went only as far ...
Yarbrough: Happiness a state of mind
I feel like a failure. For years, I have told you what a privilege it is to live in Georgia. We have beautiful mountains, pristine beaches, the oldest state-chartered university in the nation, Vidalia onions and more concrete fishponds than you can count. And we are unhappy. Where have I gone wrong? A survey by Gallup-Healthways called the Well-Being Index released last month says Georgia is only the 31st happiest state in the nation. For ...
Giddens: An ode to Oxford
Our cottage in Oxford is once again a woodsy retreat, lush with fresh greenery and new growth.
Tread lightly when stepping into local affairs
In case you missed this, there is a bill calling for the governor to be able to remove members of the Atlanta School Board if they keep chicken fighting among themselves rather than doing their job.
Holt: Legislative session a wrap
This year's legislative session is at last over. We saw the usual surge of bills and resolutions in the last week, as well as many reconciliation reports between House and Senate versions of some of those. Overall, we voted on 99 measures. SB 33 is the Senate's version of zero-based budgeting. Zero-based budgeting requires that an agency justify its budget request from the ground up, rather than simply requesting a continuance each year and merely ...
Mathews: Professional Learning Communities needed
If change were the criteria for judging school improvement, many school systems would be way down the road towards greater student learning. And, while "first order change" (an extension of the past consistent with existing knowledge and skills) is hardly the same as "second order change" (a break from the past requiring new knowledge and skills), both types are at work in Newton County School System as we seek continuous improvement.
Harwell: You can't make this stuff up
Settle back friends, 'cause I'm about to tell you a story that may leave you slack-jawed and dumbfounded.
Economics almost as simple as pie
Economics is much simpler than many highly-paid pundits would like you to believe. At the same time, it's also much more complex than it might appear. For instance, why are there so many economic pundits when all they do is make predictions that often prove wrong (see nearly any of the reporting that preceded the Great Recession)? Are they really adding value? Not all forecasts are a waste of time. Forecasting and tracking of ...
Let’s get on track for railroad buy
My head spins. My eyes cross. My neck tightens. I find it hard to draw a deep breath, and my hands tremble uncontrollably.
Giddens: What we learned doing our homework
Donna and I have seen a lot of Newton County and environs in the past few weeks. We're looking for a home to buy, and we've been looking at properties all around the county. The good news for us: There's a lot to see, and a lot of bargains out there. The bad news for us all: There are way too many homes that have been turned over to the bank or are in ...
Yarbrough: Dubious achievements in state government awards
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Yarbrough Worldwide Media and Pest Control Company is pleased to recognize members of the 2011 General Assembly who gave so much so that we could get so little.
Revere, Doolittle, Yamamoto and me
Upon occasion, when meeting someone for the first time, I've fielded queries about my last name. A knowledgeable baseball fan, for instance, might ask if I were related to the late, great Ernie Harwell of Detroit Tigers broadcasting fame.
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