Opinion

Perfect mistakes

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Wednesday, July 12. 2017

By Mike Ruffin

The other day I was listening to the excellent Georgia Public Broadcasting program On Second Thought. As Athensbased singer/songwriter T. Hardy Morris talked about the 1959 song “Try Me” by James Brown and the Famous Flames, he praised the “perfect mistakes” in Brown’s vocals. [Full Story »]

Just how free are we?

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Walter Geiger

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Wednesday, July 5. 2017

By Walter Geiger

“The more prohibitions you have, the less virtuous people will be. The more weapons you have, the less secure people will be. The more subsidies you have, the less selfreliant people will be.

Therefore the Master says: I let go of the law, and people become honest. I let go of econom-ics, and people become prosperous. I let go of religion, and people become serene. I let go of all desire for the common good, and the good becomes common as grass.”

- The Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu

As we celebrate Independence Day it pays to reflect on just how independent we really are. We remain free of the tyranny of British rule which our forefathers shook off some 240 years ago and which we celebrate this week but just how many more freedoms could we enjoy if we were better governed? [Full Story »]

Patriotism, religion and the building of American community

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Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Wednesday, June 28. 2017

By Mike Ruffin

The time between Memorial Day and Independence Day is a good one to think about the value of patriotism. So let’s ponder the valuable and healthy role that patriotism can and should play in forming, preserving and enriching a sense of community among Americans.

“Patriotism” as I define it is a healthy love for, respect for and devotion to one’s homeland, whether it is one’s homeland by birth or by adoption to its people, its traditions and its principles and a commitment to protect it and to work with all other citizens to make it even better. [Full Story »]

America now soft, vulnerable

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Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Wednesday, June 21. 2017

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 »]

We and they

Posted by

Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Friday, June 16. 2017

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 »]

Atlanta United may become State’s top pro team

Posted by

Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Friday, June 9. 2017

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 »]

San Antonio reflections

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Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Thursday, June 1. 2017

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. Hopkins' address to GSC grads

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Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Wednesday, May 24. 2017

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 »]

Putting on the Ritz

Posted by

Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Wednesday, May 17. 2017

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 »]

Black holes

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Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Wednesday, May 3. 2017

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 »]

Sacrifice

Posted by

Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Friday, April 21. 2017

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 »]

Resurrection surrounds you if you just look

Posted by

Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Thursday, April 13. 2017

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 »]

Yes is harder than no

Posted by

Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Wednesday, April 5. 2017

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 »]

Too much information

Posted by

Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Wednesday, March 29. 2017

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 »]

The great filter

Posted by

Walter Geiger

in Opinion

Wednesday, March 22. 2017

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 »]