Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, accompanied by his wife, speaks during a news conference. AP Photo/Steve Helber Andrew Khoury, Arizona State University Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is facing a controversy after a photograph surfaced from his medical school yearbook showing one person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood. The media alleged … [Read more...] about Should we judge people for their past moral failings?
Chris Christie is Desperate for Any Piece of the Action
As I soldiered through Chris Christie’s spin-memoir “Let Me Finish,” I found myself flashing back to September 2011, when he was being widely touted as the GOP’s “Next Big Thing.” One particular ego-stroking incident at the Reagan Presidential Library must surely be one of his personal favor-ites. With the 2012 White House race on the horizon, guest speaker Christie was … [Read more...] about Chris Christie is Desperate for Any Piece of the Action
Northam (Cartoon)
Teen Dating Violence: When Loves Becomes Abuse
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Young love often eventually fades, but for some teens, it can turn violent. An estimated 1.5 million high school students in the U.S. suffer physical abuse from a dating partner each year. February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, and multiple groups are taking the opportunity to educate teens about healthy relationships. Melissa Graves, chief … [Read more...] about Teen Dating Violence: When Loves Becomes Abuse
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (Cartoon, Column and Video)
I learned something yesterday during Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s press conference. It’s very hard to get shoe polish off your face. Of course, why would I have known that? I’ve never felt the inspiration to put shoe polish on my face. I know that if you draw a mustache on someone’s face with a Sharpie, like your little sister while she’s sleeping, that’s hard to wash off. … [Read more...] about Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (Cartoon, Column and Video)
The real problem with posting about your kids online
‘Say cheese so I can show all my friends how cute you are – and unwittingly show corporations your age, race and gender!’ Fancy Studio/Shutterstock.com Priya C. Kumar, University of Maryland In a recent essay published in The Washington Post, a mother explained her decision to continue writing essays and blog posts about her daughter even after the … [Read more...] about The real problem with posting about your kids online
With God on Trump’s side, he can do anything
President Trump is on a mission from God. Thus spake the White House press secretary, at any rate. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, asked by the Christian Broadcasting Network this last week about Trump being the right man for the moment, replied: "I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times and I think that he wanted Donald Trump to become president, and … [Read more...] about With God on Trump’s side, he can do anything
The State of the Union: Petrified
TMV NOTE: Due to an error this was run under the wrong byline. This column is by E.J. Dionne. We regret the error. WASHINGTON -- One should never feel sorry for anyone working in President Trump's White House. They volunteered for this dreadful and chaotic administration. But it's hard to envy those tasked with writing drafts of his State of the Union address. Trump is an … [Read more...] about The State of the Union: Petrified
A Better Use of ‘Executive Time’ for the President
Whatever one may think of Trump’s premature “mission accomplished” declaration on ISIS, a conclusion since contradicted by his own intelligence agencies… Whatever one may think of Trump’s flip-flopping from “bringing our troops home from Syria “Now,” to doing so on a more “deliberate, coordinated, disciplined” basis as finally prevailed upon by “his generals”… Whatever … [Read more...] about A Better Use of ‘Executive Time’ for the President
Sports Columnist Needs Cheese With His Whine
In a column for USA Today Sports, Andy Nesbitt whines about the Superbowl always being played on a Sunday. Nesbitt writes, "Having the Super Bowl on a Sunday night makes no sense anymore. Moving it to Saturday allows everyone to have more fun while watching the game, not having to worry about how they might feel when they sit down at their desk at work on that following … [Read more...] about Sports Columnist Needs Cheese With His Whine
Only Democrats can save this president
by George F. Will Washington Post Writers Group Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honorable man. -- Shakespeare, "Julius Caesar" WASHINGTON -- Hakeem Jeffries has, it is whispered, ambitions. The 48-year-old congressman now in his fourth term representing … [Read more...] about Only Democrats can save this president
Taiwan: the Forgotten Country
Taiwan is a democracy that is not diplomatically recognized as a country by the United States. Taiwan has not been a member of the United Nations since 1971, and it is recognized as an independent country by only 20 other countries; so Taiwan is a stigmatized, outcast pariah. What did Taiwan do to deserve this treatment, and is there any reason why it should … [Read more...] about Taiwan: the Forgotten Country
Super Bowl LIII and the soul of Atlanta
During Super Bowl LIII, will Atlanta’s long struggle for racial equality be highlighted or glossed over? Peter Ciro/flickr, CC BY-NC Derrick P. Alridge, University of Virginia As a historian who studies W.E.B. Du Bois – and as someone who once lived in nearby Athens, Georgia – I’m struck by the significance of Atlanta hosting the Super Bowl at this … [Read more...] about Super Bowl LIII and the soul of Atlanta
Worth a Thousand Words and a Shove Out the Door
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, Democrat, admitted yesterday that he posed in a racially offensive photograph . In 1984 he and another medical school student posed as a black man in black face and a Klansman in a Ku Klux Klan hooded robe. The picture was published as his yearbook page. The editors at the East Virginia Medical School didn’t have a problem running it. The two … [Read more...] about Worth a Thousand Words and a Shove Out the Door
Remembering ‘Peachbush 1-7’
Exactly seven years ago, on February 2, 2011, cancer took away the earthly life of a friend, neighbor and hero, “but not his dignity, spirit, or soul” – or his memory. In memory and in honor of Earl Charles “Charlie” Rodenberg, here is an article that appeared in the Stars and Stripes in March, 2011. At Peachbush 1-7’s funeral, a rescue recalled A few weeks ago we … [Read more...] about Remembering ‘Peachbush 1-7’
Black History Month 2019: Crispus Attucks
"In 1770, Crispus Attucks, a black man, became the first casualty of the American Revolution when he was shot and killed in what became known as the Boston Massacre." - PBS.org Google doesn't have a doodle for 2 February 2019. So, the second day of Black History Month 2019 shall be represented by an artistic rendition of Crispus Attucks, who is famous for being the first … [Read more...] about Black History Month 2019: Crispus Attucks
Holiday Power Grab (Cartoon, Column and Video)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has no shame. The man isn’t afraid of exhibiting blatant hypocrisy. He’s not ashamed of stealing power. He’s not ashamed of preventing bills from being voted on. He’s not ashamed of changing the rules to put the least acceptable people on the Supreme Court. He’s not ashamed of stealing a Supreme Court seat. Most of all, He’s not ashamed of … [Read more...] about Holiday Power Grab (Cartoon, Column and Video)
Odds of military coup in Venezuela rise every day Maduro stays in office
Clayton Besaw, University of Central Florida It would be reasonable to expect the worst for Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s embattled president. Two weeks after Maduro’s re-inauguration, opposition leader Juan Gauidó has declared himself the country’s rightful president. The power struggle follows a failed military mutiny against Maduro, whose easy re-election in May 2018 … [Read more...] about Odds of military coup in Venezuela rise every day Maduro stays in office
Our Postage Stamps Are ‘Going to the Dogs…’
…Military working dogs, that is. There is probably no subject closer to my heart than military working dogs, our “four-legged warriors.” Borrowing from one of my many articles on these noble creatures: A dog is man’s best friend. Dogs have been so from the earliest times. They have also been some of man’s best companions and protectors during hunting, … [Read more...] about Our Postage Stamps Are ‘Going to the Dogs…’
Black History Month 2019: Sojourner Truth
Black History Month 2019 begins with the Google website honoring Sojourner Truth with a doodle. Here is an excerpt from the Biography.com entry about Sojourner Truth: Sojourner Truth (born Isabella Baumfree, c. 1797 to November 26, 1883) was an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist best-known for her speech on racial inequalities, "Ain't I a … [Read more...] about Black History Month 2019: Sojourner Truth