There must be a lot of white racists right here in Fayette County. According to the NAACP, whites have voted in blocks against black candidates, thereby making a case for district voting.

The NAACP seems to be saying in their claim that only a black candidate can serve the interest of black constituents, and that blacks can be presumed to overwhelmingly support black candidates.

Gee, isn’t that racist? Could it be the NAACP wants a guaranteed outcome instead of just a level playing field? Read More»

As the Washington, D.C., standoff intensified over the last week, our mainstream media once again did what they do best: They missed the main story.

Whether in print or by TV news, the focus was on when and how a deal would be cobbled together to raise the debt ceiling and avoid default on U.S. interest payments to bond holders. Read More»

Michelle Bachman, candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, recently caused a stir when she said publicly that the Founding Fathers had worked tirelessly to end slavery.

We often hear about our Founding Fathers in a way that implies purity and virtue, inviting the vision of an angelic choir for background music. But we don’t often hear about the messy process, the infighting, factions, jealousies, suspicions, one group plotting against the other, or compromised principles like setting aside objections to slavery. Read More»

My columns frequently revolve around my reverence for our troops and veterans, and my concern that they shoulder the risks to keep the rest of us comfortable while we do nothing. When we send our young men and women to war nowadays, we don’t even pay for it, we send the bill to our children.

Jim Chambers, a Fayetteville reader, contacted me months ago to express his similar feelings, and after I mentioned my daughter’s illness in a column he kindly let me know she is in his daily prayers. Jim contacted me again after reading last week’s column, “The Wall That Heals.” Read More»

The approach of Memorial Day prompts my thought that there should be a memorial for those who died, and many still in harm’s way, in Afghanistan and Iraq. To appreciate those thoughts you would have to understand the power of what we call The Wall, the 58,195 names etched in the black marble panels of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The power of The Wall has much to do with what beats in the hearts of many Americans affected by that war, and a little to do with the memorial’s design. Read More»

Am I the only one bothered by the aftermath of the Osama bin Laden mission? Don’t get me wrong, I’m pleased we seized the opportunity to kill him, and I’m proud to have the Special Ops team under the American flag. Read More»

This year marks the 150th anniversary of America’s Civil War, and the occasion is raising the perennial argument over whether that war was about slavery or state’s rights. While the history and politics of slavery in America would fill a long bookshelf, the debate is an occasion to look past the simplicity of pop history to a few highlights that illuminate some warts and wrinkles in our country’s beginnings. Read More»

There is a bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, passed by the Senate, declaring March 30 to be “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day,” and similar efforts are under way in a few states. This is in recognition of the lousy treatment given to troops returning from Vietnam four decades ago. Read More»

In Madison, Wis., there is a televised struggle between the government employee unions and newly elected Governor Scott Walker (R). If you are willing to put on your thinking cap, this confrontation is instructive about just one way America has gone wrong in creating an addiction to other people’s money, and the screaming over budget cuts that surely will come. Read More»

I didn’t join the grand anticipation of the speech called the State of the Union. I didn’t expect much, but I’m unwilling to believe a lofty speech written by someone else could somehow transform President Obama into someone his actions have proven he is not. Read More»