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It's big money vs. people

America makes its choice two weeks from tomorrow. It's not really a choice between two parties. After all, a record 45%t of American voters now call themselves "independent" and don't align with either party. And most of us who still describe ourselves as Republicans or Democrats don't have ...

Is woke making return?

After sweeping the swing states and winning the popular vote in 2024, Donald Trump took office with a sense that he occupied the center and had dealt the cultural left a grave blow. Non-aligned or heterodox voices in the podcasting world and media had gravitated toward him, alienated by the ...

Why death penalty can be pro-life

The value of something is reflected by the punishment given for destroying it. Two very different death penalty cases have been in the news recently. Each raises a different objection to capital punishment. At the end of last month, Tennessee officials gave Christa Pike what was ...

What might have saved Gaza?

Could the destruction of Gaza after October 7 have been avoided? The answer is yes - had Hamas so wished. First, if the Hamas leadership had simply complied with Israeli demands to (a) return the 251 hostages and (b) surrender the architects and perpetrators of the massacre of some 1,200 ...

We must tread carefully with AI

The Frankenstein movie is one of my favorites. The book was written in 1810. The author could be credited with either having a great imagination or for being a genius visionary. Could AI be the 21st-Century version of Frankenstein? The traditional story starts with Victor Frankenstein, a ...

Museum tells story of former first lady

Most people meet Wytheville, Virginia, zooming past it at 70 mph. On East Main, Skeeter's has been selling hot dogs with mustard, onion and chili since 1925. Sit at the counter at Skeeter's, and you are in the same building where a future first lady was born. Farron Smith owns ...