Opinion

By Walter Geiger

Julius and Ethel Rosenburg were convicted of espionage at the height of the cold war.

They were the ringleaders in a spy ring that provided secrets about America’s atomic bomb program to the Russians. There were bleeding hearts back then, too.

They argued the Rosenbergs were the victims of a surge of anti-communist sentiment in the United States. President Dwight Eisenhower disagreed. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

We ain’t going anywhere. Neither are they.

“Who is ‘we’ and ‘they’ in those statements?” you might be asking. Well, “we” is whoever we are and “they” is whoever they are. “We” is those who are like we are and “they” is those who are different than we are. “We” refers to our kind and “they” to their kind. [Full Story »] 

By Walter Geiger

Many folks deride soccer. They call it communist kickball. They make jokes about soccer flops and, admittedly, the flop videos are hilarious.

But, like baseball pitchers deliberately hitting batters, they are part of the game. We were immersed in soccer over the Memorial Day weekend. We watched as our beautiful, athletic daughter Livia competed with her Concorde Fire team in the State Cup tournament in Columbus. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

I recently spent a week in San Antonio, Texas. I was there to represent the publishing company I work for at a preaching conference.

I had a good time. [Full Story »] 

Dr. Tommy Hopkins, chairman of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, gave the commencement address at Gordon State College May 12, 2017. His remarks follow:

Thanks to President Burns of Gordon State College for the kind introduction and the invitation to be here today. I’ve had much exposure to the excellent nursing program and the students that do their clinical work in Griffin. Barnesville is a great community and I’ve been close to the school, friends, and bankers for many years. I’m excited to be on campus and honored to join you as you celebrate your graduation with your families and friends. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

Since moving to Yatesville a couple of years ago, we’d gone to the movies in Macon, Griffin, and McDonough.

We’d never visited the Ritz Theater in Thomaston.

That changed last week. We drove over to watch the new Guardians of the Galaxy film. The movie is a lot of fun. I recommend it. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

In a few months, we may see the first image of a black hole. This is exciting! Scientists trained the radio telescopes of eight observatories ranging from Antarctica to Hawaii to Spain on two black holes, one located at the center of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, and another in a galaxy known as M87. [Full Story »] 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Yep, it’s baseball season.

I remember the day I fell in love with baseball. It was 1965 or so. A friend invited me to go with him and his family to watch a game at Gordon Military College. After the game, one of the Bulldogs gave me a cracked bat (this was in the dark ages, before aluminum bats, speaking of which, the “ping of the bat” can’t compete with the “crack of the bat”). [Full Story »] 

It is Holy Week, the time of year when Christians celebrate the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Spring begins on March 20, the vernal equinox. Easter has long been observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon of Spring. That is why the date of the Easter observance varies from year to year.

That is the tradition of the dating of Easter but there is evidence of resurrection all around you if you will just look for it. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

Unless you’ve been on a vacation to the moon (and if you have, I wish you’d taken me with you), you are aware that on March 24, the Republican leadership of the United States House of Representatives pulled the American Health Care Act (AHCA) from consideration before it could be voted on. They did so because they didn’t have the votes to pass it. [Full Story »] 

Obviously, I am in the information business but I submit to you that we now live in an era of information overload.

We have data at our fingertips. Our cellphones can access more data instantly than all the dictionaries, encyclopedias and other reference materials ever published.

Easy access to endless information can be both a blessing and a curse.

Sometimes we suffer under the onslaught of too much information. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

It was 1950, and some scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico were walking to lunch.

Along the way, they talked about some recent reports of UFOs and a New Yorker cartoon that attributed the recent disappearances of New York City trash canisters to alien activity. [Full Story »] 

By Walter Geiger

I silently chafe when I hear Social Security referred to as an entitlement program though, technically, it is one.

That language originates from Social Security falling under Title II of the Social Security Act. Thus the root word ‘title’.

Once you meet all the qualifications to receive Social Security benefits (meeting the age and work credit requirements), you are ‘entitled’ to receive benefits. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

I want to understand people. I want to understand why people – all people – are who they are, why they think the way they think, why they believe what they believe, why they say what they say, and why they do what they do. What would such understanding require?

It would require that I be Muslim. It would require that I be an immigrant. It would require that I be a woman. It would require that I be poor. It would require that I be black. It would require that I be Russian. It would require that I be Jewish. It would require that I be unemployed. It would require that I be a high school dropout. It would require that I be a factory worker. It would require that I be an inner city resident. [Full Story »]