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Dr. James McClintock, a renowned University of Alabama-Birmingham marine biologist who has conducted research in Antarctica for more than 25 years, told me the following story. “You work in a scientific lab in the quietest place on Earth — Antarctica. “There’s a Crack! Boom! “You rush to the window of your remote lab with a…
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A changing of the guard is in order in Augusta County, where the incumbents on the Board of Supervisors have been dropping like flies of late. At last count, four of the seven-member board have announced that they won’t be running for re-election, with Board Chair Jeremy Shifflett and Pastures Supervisor Tracy Pyles confirmed to…
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“The Declaration of Independence [is the] declaratory charter of our rights, and the rights of man.” – Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826); Founding Father; credited author of said document and third American president. A housekeeping note – I dislike the expression “happy fourth of July.” Happy Independence Day is the correct expression or happy birthday America is…
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Two young boys were playing marbles near the village green. Watching the boys play was a tired soldier in a red coat. He was captivated by their dog-eat-dog competitiveness. Both boys wanted to win their game very badly. Being kids they had nicknames. One was called Peace. The other was known to his friends as…
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Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) today made the following statement on the three-year anniversary of the Post-9/11 GI Bill being signed into law: “Today marks the three-year anniversary of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. I was privileged to introduce this landmark legislation on my first day in office. We began with a simple concept—if we continue to…
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As he was announcing his second increase in troops for Afghanistan in December 2009, President Obama promised that by July 2011 those troops would begin coming home. As relayed by Bob Woodward’s book, Obama’s Wars, we know the president was skeptical about the United States’ war effort in Afghanistan. In spite of that skepticism, the…
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In the 1800s, people turned to icons such as First Lady Dolley Madison to spot the latest fashion trends, just as people adopt style ideas from today’s icons. The new exhibit Dolley Madison’s Life Through Fashion: Dressing the Part at James Madison’s Montpelier uses the clothing of Dolley Madison to trace the scope of her…
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President Obama’s announcement of a limited troop withdrawal from Afghanistan — America’s longest war — is bound to disappoint members of Congress and an electorate tired of the conflict. As has been reported, senior White House officials confirmed that the President plans to remove 10,000 troops by the end of this year and another 23,000…
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If there was any doubt about the broken state of our prison system, the news this week should put it to rest. The Global Commission on Drug Policy, made up of former presidents and other luminaries from the United States and abroad, concludes that the Drug War is an expensive failure. The California prison system—which…
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While recently shoveling aged horse manure around berry vines on my small organic farm to fertilize them, which gives me great pleasure, I thought about what I have learned about the community of the land by farming over the last two decades. I noticed how spreading brown gold–to which I add the green manure of…
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