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National Columnists

Shingles vaccine: A shot in the arm

“You should get a shingles vaccine,” said my doctor at my annual checkup. “You can get it at the same time you get your flu shot at the pharmacy.” “Does it hurt?” I asked as I slipped back into my boots. I knew it was kind of a dumb question, because of course it would hurt. I ...

Stay thankful for God’s detours in life

The subject of detours has been on my mind since this year’s fall semester of school began. A major section of a rural highway that I take during my morning drive from Columbus, Ohio, to Ohio State University’s Lima campus has been shut down since August. When I got an email at the end of ...

Can Europe become Western again?

For the first time in a millennium, Europe no longer plays a critical role in promoting Western civilization nor in world history at large. Even now, European nations, in and out of the Europe Union, still produce a combined gross domestic product of $24 trillion, second only to the United ...

When has war ever been ‘proportional?’

Proportionality in war is a synonym for lethal stalemate, if not defeat. The purpose of war is to defeat the enemy as quickly as possible with the least number of casualities — and thereby achieve political ends. So, every side aims to find superior strategies, tactics, weapons, and ...

Memo to Hamas: Settler societies aren’t evil

In the nauseating demonstrations celebrating Hamas’ slaughter of Israelis, one hears repeated, again and again, the refrain that Israelis are “settlers” and “colonists” — and therefore, in the catechism inculcated in universities in recent decades, oppressors not deserving of mercy ...

Beware of those bearing cute, cuddly gifts

Earlier this month, three giant pandas on loan at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. were crated up and loaded on a FedEx jet for a trans-Pacific flight. China had requested their return. Frequent visitors to the zoo were left weeping at their departure. Me? I say good riddance. Now, I ...