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It’s OK to embrace compliments

Editorials

Most times when I’m invited to speak at a conference, someone introduces me by reading the short bio provided. But this past week at the Southeastern Writers’ Association Conference, my friend, the Georgia judge and novelist Lori Duff, introduced me. She started off by warning she might embarrass me, then proceeded with the most generous and warm introduction I’ve ever received. What a gift to hear how your friend sees you. Not that long ago, I would have struggled to listen. I would have made self-deprecating jokes to not appear arrogant or uppity. Self-worth is something I’m ...

World Cup visitors see US for all of its great attributes

Editorials

The World Cup is kicking off here in the United States and for the next five weeks, a sport most Americans cannot be bothered to watch will bring the rest of the planet to our doorstep. They are already arriving. Germans, Spaniards, Egyptians, Australians, every continent but Antarctica is showing up and something is happening that ought to make us pause. Their minds are being blown away by us. A German named Freddy came to Atlanta and made his way up to North Georgia, went tubing on the Chattahoochee, drove through Chattanooga and on to Auburn, Ala. He has been tweeting it all home in ...

Why drinking alcohol is well worth the small risks

Editorials

Is a glass of wine with dinner going to increase your chance of getting cancer or another serious illness? For the past few years, we’ve been deluged with studies and news accounts suggesting that the answer is yes. This week, the USDA reinstated a caution in its dietary guidelines about limiting alcohol. Note: This is the Trump administration. No sane person seeking guidance on a health matter would look to its science-trashing witch doctors. At the moment, they appear to be whipsawed by industry interests and other constituencies. But who cares? They forfeited credibility the ...

Lawmakers wise to take another look at HB 795

Editorials

A group of lawmakers appears to have listened to advocacy groups and ordinary Ohioans, as they have stepped away from sections of state House Bill 795 that would have banned family members from serving as paid caregivers in the state. The anti-fraud effort is understandable, but as is often the case in Columbus, lawmakers took it a step too far. “How dare you come in my house and tell me who can care for my child! I’m not standing here telling you thank you,” Marlana Kendrick said last week, according to Statehouse News Bureau. “I drove two and a half hours from Cleveland with ...

The UK’s dumb exclusion of left-wing influencers

Editorials

The U.K. government banned left-wing influencers Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker from traveling to the country because they blame everything on the Jews — and, true to form, Uygur and Piker blamed the Jews. Uygur and Piker were to speak at a South by Southwest conference in London and participate in an event at the Oxford Union, when their visas were canceled. They immediately smelled a rat, and, as usual, one emanating from Jerusalem. “I’ve been banned for criticizing Israel,” Uygur posted on social media. “Are we free anymore? This is oppression of Western citizens by our ...

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Letters to the Editor

Why? Omar Provitt pleaded guilty to mistreatment of animals and was sentenced to 180 days, with credit for one day served. Then, Judge Patricia Knepp suspended 179 of those days. Why? Provitt ends up on probation (why?), and Sebastion, his dog, dies from mistreatment, neglect and chronic starvation. This is fair? Remember this injustice when this judge appears on the ballot again. — Warren Bernie Sanders wrote essays in 1972 that contained graphic content, including a description of a woman fantasizing about being raped by multiple men, and his peers dismissed this and actually ...