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When young whites embrace rap and hip-hop culture, is it an example of America moving toward being a colorblind society, or is it just another case of cultural theft and mockery? That is the fundamental question of Robert Clift’s documentary, “Blacking Up: Hip Hop’s Remix of Race and Identity.” Parts of the documentary will be…
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Gov. Bob McDonnell will propose legislation to preserve working farm and forest lands with the goal of preserving 400,000 acres of open space as a key plank to his agriculture and forestry initiatives for 2011. Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore unveiled McDonnell’s ag and forestry initiatives on Friday. In addition to the preservation…
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Contrary to last year’s press clippings, fist fights did not break out at this year’s Lexington-Rockbridge-Buena Vista “State of the Community” breakfast. Instead it was the usual sea of harmony sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, aka the local Pollyanna Society. The breakfast proved once again that there is a media bias. Representatives from our…
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Have you thought about your New Year’s resolutions for 2011? According to researchers at the University of Scranton, Americans who make New Year’s resolutions are 11 times more likely to succeed in meeting a goal or tackling a problem than individuals that do not. So this year, while you are mulling over meaningful resolutions to…
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I spent several Tuesdays with a man named Karl Baumann back in 1998 learning about the World War II prisoner of war camp out near Sherando Lake. I’d considered myself a student of history, but I’d never known about Stateside POW camps until visiting the Waynesboro Heritage Museum one summer day and asking an innocent…
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Last week, I left the U.S. Congress after a final legislative act – unanimous passage of my bill to make sure that no American soldier is welcomed home from duty with a foreclosure notice. For the next two years, our heroes in uniform will be protected from foreclosure for at least 9 months after a…
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Local university professors, farmers, businesses, community development leaders, and students are gathering together this spring for a Permaculture Design Certification Course. Organized by New Community Project and hosted at their new Sustainable Living Center at 715 N. Main in Harrisonburg, the course is bringing together people and talents from all different areas of the Valley…
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David H. Shenk is leaving his home in Harrisonburg for South America on Sunday, Dec. 5, and doesn’t expect to return for two years. It’s a long time to be gone, but he’s ready to put into action that which he feels prepared to do. Shenk, 23, was born at Shenandoah Hospital in Woodstock, Va.,…
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This column is not for wine lovers. Rather, it is directed to my conservative friends who have no love for government, who think that all governments are nothing more than intrusions into our private lives, who never met a tax they liked and who believe that all public budgets should be filed under fiction. Sorry,…
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A bipartisan group of Virginia leaders will work to get the Obama administration to reverse its move to block drilling off the coast of Virginia until at least 2017. “As a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, we learned a number of lessons, most importantly that we need to proceed with caution and focus…
We don’t take press releases or official statements as the final word. Digging in to get the whole story takes time and resources.