With unemployment flirting with double digits nationwide and above that in many states, La Raza finds itself on the wrong side of every major issue these days. The radical, racist group (La Raza means "the race") has called for inclusion of the 12 to 20 million illegal aliens still in this country in President Obama's healthcare bill. ... more

Are we ever going to learn? The recent rash of terrorist arrests around the country is a jolting reminder of just how lax our borders are and how we're still too eager not to offend when it comes to allowing visitors into this country. Hosam Maher Husein Smadi is an illegal immigrant from Jordon. ... more

Here's another story from another time and place that has a bearing on the here and now. Sheriff Jim knew there were problems brewing in cells behind his desk. Fortunately, for him, the worst came during the next administration. The jail had too many prisoners, so it was declared a place where punishment was cruel and unusual because of crowding. It's unconstitutional. There were more than twice as many prisoners as the joint was built for... more

President Obama speaks as if there is one healthcare plan and we have two choices: take it or leave it. As I've chronicled in this column, the Republicans have proposed idea after idea only to have the White House and the complicit mainstream media accuse them of obstruction with nothing new to offer... more

How can so many Americans not receive general health care when we have health departments in virtually every county nationwide? Name one politician on either side, one analyst, one pundit who has even touched on all the ways county health departments across America serve the poor, the uninsured, the underinsured, as well as the general public. ... more

According to the Associated Press, in July, Fall City, Wa. saw the launch of ReSTART, purportedly the first residential treatment center for Internet addiction in the U.S. The first patient had been playing the online World of Warcraft game for up to 17 hours at a time. His parents gladly paid $14,000 for a 45-day program to wean him from pathological computer use... more

Congress is back in session and nobody's safe. It's a matter of time before we see if the raucous town hall meetings had any effect on a Democratic majority bent on forcing an unwanted and unneeded healthcare package down the throats of the American people... more

Who would have ever thought it could happen? There we were at the Tennessee State Fair office, getting Dad's W-4 completed. Policemen gathered around the office television. Smoke was streaming from the building on the screen. Thinking it was a movie, certainly not the morning news, Dad and I went on about our business. ... more

While folks argue whether Chanel (a 21-year-old dachshund who passed away in August) was really the world's oldest dog, a famous cartoon pooch will turn 40 on Sept. 13. Yes, Scooby-Doo and his Mystery Inc. chums (Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy) are celebrating their 40th anniversary and still going strong in the "solving supernatural crimes" biz... more

Today we remember men and women who perished eight years ago in terrorist attacks known as 9-11. Otis Tolbert was a Navy intelligence officer on duty in the Pentagon. His father, an airline pilot, had to fly a jet back to California from somewhere over the Pacific. In the airport, he learned of his son's death after contemplating broadcast news reports... more

I saw a bumper sticker the other day I really agree with, even though I think it came from someone whose political views are diametrically opposed to mine. The message was clear: www.dumpbartgordon.com. Works for me. And yes, I'm a Democrat. But after watching Marshall County's representative to the House blunder his way through the last month, I think it might time for Gordon to move on to a post-Congressional career... more

The experts, so-called, are finally starting to come around to the reality of the current political situation. As I've written before in this space, I see a storm brewing that will put 1994 to shame. The liberals in Congress somehow thought the electorate would simply stand by while they dismantled this capitalist nation and replaced it with socialism. They were wrong. The town hall meetings during the August recess proved to be a groundswell of dissatisfaction this nation has seldom seen... more

From droll to optimistic in the face of adversity, Marshall County's leaders and residents carried on last week with a sense of humor that's worth sharing now. Sixteen county commissioners' monthly meeting was delayed even before the vote to recess so a seventeenth commissioner could finish a job for his employer. The meeting had to begin so it could be recessed... more

More than a couple hundred county employees working from offices in Lewisburg are to suffer a reduction in pay as a result of a sour economy. Cutting hours is clearly one way to reduce spending on the biggest part of any budget, be it government or private enterprise. County commissioners on the budget committee this month asked department leaders to cut two hours from their employees' work week. Some had already been scheduled for less than 40 hours... more

The release of the animal who killed 270 people when he blew up Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 is another reason the terrorists think the West is weak. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, who is dying of prostate cancer, got a hero's welcome in Libya from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The Scottish justice secretary who released Megrahi did so, he says, on compassionate grounds. I'm all about showing compassion where compassion is due but this terrorist deserved none... more

I wasn't alive for Kennedy and I was really a little too young for Reagan. And while Bush 41 and Clinton had some wise things to say, the wisest thing I've ever heard a presidential candidate say came from a character named Fred Picker. Picker was a decent fellow, a former Florida governor who got into the race after another like-minded candidate became gravely ill on the campaign trail. He was actually ahead in the polls for awhile, but never claimed the Oval Office... more

As the world watches the heated U.S. debate on health care "reform," other voices join the chorus. "This is a country (America) founded in the principle of small government, big individual, constrained power and free citizens. The idea that this, of all countries, could put into the power of the state buracracy decisions of what kind of medical treatment you get, literally whether you live or die, is deeply un-American. ... more

While enjoying the tasty simplicity of Lewisburg's own Brother's Mild Chow-Chow ("No preservatives, no artificial color"), I became more and more disgusted with food additives. You've seen the … more

"Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson Although Emerson lived almost 200 years ago, the well-known author could well have been talking about life in 21st-century Marshall County. As school gets back in session this week -- today is the first full day of classes -- it's always important to remember the value of education... more

Let's face it. People are downright frightened these days. The recent sprint to socialism has caught a lot of Americans off guard but it's neither sudden nor accidental. The seeds of this revolution were planted decades ago and they have been carefully cultivated over the years. There are many moving pieces to this quiet coup and there are numerous players. However, one name keeps surfacing time and time again... more