Bruce Sallan: Why second marriages are so much harder

AFP

One might think that second marriages would be easier and succeed more often than first marriages. At least that might be a first instinctual reaction. But, on reflection and upon learning the statistics, it becomes clear why second (and third, fourth, and more) marriages are actually harder. First, let’s cite the statistics. I don’t have…

Hurt pledges to defund health-care reform: Good politics, but is it good policy?

Chris Graham

Robert Hurt’s move to sign the DeFundIt.org pledge to pull funding from the health-care reform measure passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in March is good politics. It’s probably also bad policy, but you could say that policy is the province of those who are good at politics first. “By signing…

Chris Graham: They’re both gone

AFP

Today was already bound to be a sad day, what with it being my grandmother’s birthday, and her not being here. Then it got sadder. My grandfather passed this afternoon. He had been in decline for some time – years, many years, really. He was just a shadow of his former self, particularly after the…

Local derby team rolling into big-time

AFP

The Rocktown Rollers are now formally working their way into big-time roller derby. On July 1, the Rollers, based in Harrisonburg, were accepted into the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association’s apprentice program. The apprenticeship is a year-long program dedicated to helping new teams become full members of the WFTDA league. “These are really good teams….

Bruce Sallan: Being a teenager can be wonder-full

AFP

It’s so easy to complain about our teens. I know I’m guilty of too often dishing out criticisms, admonishments, and lectures. I worry that my boys might be doing drugs, drinking, or some other peer-pressure stupidity. But, they also deserve my support when they do well and my understanding when they slip up. My 16-year-old,…

Nan Russell: Different stories

AFP

In the Scheme of Things column by Nan Russell www.intheschemeofthings.com After a long weekend celebrating my husband’s milestone birthday, we waited for our delayed flight home. With a tight connection in Salt Lake City, the odds were not in our favor as we boarded the regional jet in San Francisco. That set-back magnified on the…

What does early Perriello money lead mean for November?

Chris Graham

You look at the money race in the Fifth District, and it’s no race at all, really. Democrat Tom Perriello has $1.7 million in cash on hand while his Republican opponent, Robert Hurt, has $212,000, according to reports filed by the respective campaigns with the Federal Election Commission. Those numbers are bound to change between…

Peter A. Bradford: DOE ignores openness pledge

AFP

Column by Peter A. Bradford Submit guest columns: [email protected]   Over the last half century, the government has repeatedly kept information secret because it would be embarrassing. President Obama wants the federal bureaucracy to reform this harmful tradition. The Department of Energy website proclaims, “From his first day in office, President Obama has pushed to…