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Columnists

FRED FIRST: Approaching the Longest Night

Yes, you’re right—if you’ve even noticed—that this space has been neglected for some weeks now, and it has been hard to figure out where and how to jump back...

A Life Well-Lived: Shirley Padgett Lester (1947-2025)

Shirley Padgett Lester of Vinton went to her heavenly reward October 4. Below is the...

BOB BROWN: How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden “Presidency”

Permit me to think out loud as an old-fashioned person who respects authority, history, and...

JOHNNY ROBINSON: The Gratitude Perch

On the old road up Mill Mountain, part of Roanoke’s fabulous greenway system, there’s a...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Sometimes President Trump Needs To Think Before He Speaks – Part II

Contrary to what President Trump believes, I think that Lakanwal was adequately vetted before September 2021,...

SCOTT DREYER: How To Boil A Country – Part 2

Don’t be misled. Galatians 6:7 (The Message) A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. ...

H. BRUCE RINKER: Trump’s New Clothes

“The Emperor Has No Clothes” was a folktale published in 1837 by Hans Christian Anderson, a Danish author. The plot begins with two swindlers in...

SCOTT DREYER: How To Boil A Country – Part I

Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. - James 1:16 (NIV) “Don’t know much about history” was a hit song in 1960, and even...

SCOT BELLAVIA: I Was a Tour Guide at The Capitol

Giving tours of the Capitol Building was my favorite responsibility the semester I interned in the House of Representatives. I had the chance to...

MIKE KEELER: Go FC Marine!

You may have missed this tiny but statistically amazing bit of news. Here’s the first thing you need to know. The English Premier League that...

SCOT BELLAVIA: You Know What Happens When You Assume?

Some things in life shape our interpretation of it. There are fixed realities we can’t get around. We can have a worldview, a religious...