Opinion
Mississippi and Mississippians have a way of finding themselves on “lists,” some of national recognition whose intent is to cast negative aura.
There may be unsettling...
I read Lee Paris' moving article in the Sun with tears in my eyes, though I am not a weeper. His paean on the love of a father for his daughter was outstanding, and made one believe in the enduring power of family love across generations....
Mississippi may be making some progress in addressing its obesity epidemic — at least among children, according to figures released this week.
Unfortunately, the improvement is not across the board. Younger kids are slimming up...
Protecting free and competitive markets is a legitimate role of the government. Banks that are “too big to fail” are too big.
Back in the old days, this country had an active anti-trust division. Its role was to prevent...
Admittedly many of the current laws regulating personal choices serve a good purpose and, as a general rule, are worth supporting.
Wearing seatbelts, for example, has been shown to save lives. So does wearing a helmet while riding a...
Dear Editor:
This is in response to a recent article by Mr. Mac Gordon regarding the recently deceased visiting pastor from South Africa who led Galloway United Methodist Church and how his presence in Mississippi made the state a...
The music reaches a crescendo, the wedding dress is fluffed one last time, the doors swing open and the eyes of our awaiting friends and family are turned to us in eager anticipation. The rays from the setting sun shine straight through the...
Sunday, June 3, was a big day in my life. I was the guest speaker at the 10th anniversary of the Hederman Cancer Clinic at Baptist Hospital.
There were several hundred people who were invited to attend the 10th year celebration of the...
the economic story of our generation has been greatly affected by the rise of China as a great industrial power.
With more than a billion educated people desperate for work, China has devastated American manufacturing. For the first...
The Mississippi Public Service Commission’s support of Mississippi Power Company's Kemper County Power Plant is indefensible and ridiculous. Clearly Commissioner Brandon Presley has this one right and Commissioners Leonard Bentz and...
The wags enjoy telling it to you straight: "What's that y'r ask'n, son? Wh'r do th' names f'r Mi'ssippi towns come from? Why right off them wat'r tow'rs, that's wh'r." Pause. Guffaw.
...The Sierra Club, which once supported the use of natural gas as a bridge to its hope for total reliance on “green energy,” has now come out against it.
Apparently the powerful environmental group is worried the glut of...
While awaiting the much anticipated (by Marvel fans) “The Avengers,” starring Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Black Widow and Thor, I must admit to intense excitement on my part and on the part of my two-year-old son, Paul...
As a fairly typical middle-aged family man, I occasionally gripe about the pressures and hassles of family life. Sometimes it seems like the members of my family view me as an ATM, but more annoying than the bank kind because I complain when...
Ever since high schools and colleges had athletic teams, they all had names, or nicknames, as was said in earlier days. And as professional athletics evolved, they too had “nicknames.”
The names provided a source of pride,...
My high school friend, Tom Lisenby, has introduced me to a homespun master of the short personal essay, Leon Hale. Mr. Hale writes a column of personal commentary three times a week for the Houston Chronicle. The New York Times, in...
Apollo 13 was launched at 1:13 p.m. CST April 17, 1970. NASA selected Navy Capt. James Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert on the fifth space shot to the moon. Early on the third day and some 200,000 miles from home, Apollo 13 was rocked by a...
I fought the law and the law won. Alas, my 37-year perfect driving streak has come to an end.
I didn’t go down without a fight. My “move over” violation had a gray area, but in the end, the judge sided with the police...
Reading Lottie Boggan's column on customer service sans politesse (as in "unstudied rudeness"), I must admit it struck a familiar chord. Both she and I grew up in a period of gentler times and manners, when mega chain stores were...
On May Third and fourth the Central High School Class of 1952 had its 60th class reunion. I should have put an exclamation point after that last sentence – 60 years ago we graduated – my oh my. On May 3 we met at Brent’s Drugs...
If there’s one thing the nation’s politicians have been good at, it is jawboning about the deficit. When it comes to action, that’s another thing.
Last week, government leaders past and present gathered in Washington...
Since the 1630s, when America’s colonies needed militia protection from hostile forces of two different continents, the National Guard has remained prepared to protect the homefront from would-be invaders and nature’s unpredictable...
THE PHOTO of Billy Elmore has always haunted me. It pops up every now and then as my computer screen rotates through thousands of stored photos.
He is a handsome lad, far younger than I am today. His appearance reminds me of my oldest...
When Mississippi Power Company unveiled its plans in 2009 for a coal gasification plant in Kemper County, it sounded like an exciting, forward-looking idea.
The plant would use an abundant natural resource in this state — low-...
THE 13TH CROSSROADS FILM FESTIVAL occurred from April 13 to April 15, 2012. It showed me that Mississippi has a film industry of its own. The film festival showed features, short subjects, biographical films, cartoons, computerized...
