The great Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes is not the kind of justice who would have been appointed under President Barack Obama’s criterion of “empathy” for certain groups.

Soon college students will come home and present parents with their grades. To avoid delusion, parents should do some serious discounting because of rampant grade inflation. If grade inflation continues, a college bachelor’s degree will have just as much credibility as a high school diploma.

The stars fell into alignment last week and I was able to come along to the lake with Dave for the first time since last spring. Can’t believe it has been so long.

“On Aug. 17, 1942, a nationally syndicated columnist wrote that she had received ‘a very stern letter’ after commenting about the weather, ‘...and so from now on I shall not tell you whether it rains or whether the sun shines where I happen to be.’

The current swine flu outbreak will be another test of how the government, news media and an anxious public behave. The ability of all three to separate the truth from the hype could determine how we perform if and when a devastating pandemic strikes.

When Mama, my last surviving parent, died, I was orphaned, so my sister, Louise, stepped up and took charge.

Of course, it could be argued that she had been looking for a way for years to take over and help run my life. That is only partially true. What is completely true and without one iota of fabrication is that she genuinely and sincerely wanted to fill that empty void that I felt so keenly in my life.

By Dr. Jeffrey Herbener

The Bush administration subjected us to a deluge of fiscal and monetary expansion, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the 1960s.

I had the pleasure of hearing a sermon by The late Rev. Dr. Nancy Eisland, author of The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability , when I was in seminary. In that sermon, she called me a TAB. TAB is an acronym disabled persons use for an able-bodied person. You know the A.B. stands, then, for “able bodied,” but what about the T? The T stands for temporarily. Temporarily Able Bodied Person. I was 29 years old, I could still do cartwheels and handstands! I didn’t need glasses. My knee hadn’t had its second injury and was stable. Now, at 47, I’m far from “disabled,” but I see a bit of what she means. She was born with her disability and that gave her a perspective much different from my own.

I have recently discovered that I am a potential threat to the safety and security of the United States of America.

It was, of course, a great surprise to me. I have always considered myself a good American, a patriot, a tax-paying, law-abiding citizen, and a lover of country. I vote, I stand during the National Anthem, say the Pledge of Allegiance with my hand over my heart, and have attended Memorial Day services for over a decade. I have flown the Stars and Stripes from my front porch every single day since Sept. 11, 2001. And now, agents of the land I love have suggested that I may be a threat to the nation.

Just as the New York Times was front-paging a supposed upsurge in atheism (God? What God?) came complementary tidings from the Pew Research Center.

Okay, I’ll admit it. Of the two people in our 10-year marriage, The Wife is the smarter.

What may seem like an astounding realization didn’t just happen overnight. I’ve known for years. I was just too much of a Neanderthal to put it into print.

It has been a whirlwind. Even though Barack Obama has been accused of everything from socialism to fascism in his first 100 days in office, the best “ism” to describe his governing philosophy has been activism.

It used to be said that self-preservation is the first law of nature. But much of what has been happening in recent times in the United States, and in Western civilization in general, suggests that survival is taking a back seat to the shibboleths of political correctness.

The 2009 session of the Georgia General Assembly ended earlier this month. The conclusion of the political hash-making carnival opened the barn door so the local Republican roosters could begin strutting around the barnyard.

It is a tradition on Sundays for my sister to load her table with food and fill her house with family and friends.

We all come spilling in from our various points of origination. Some of us have been to early church and Sunday School, some slept later and made it to Sunday School and late church, while my brother-in-law has been to early church, Sunday School and late church. He is devoted.

The General Assembly adjourned for the year on April 3. I have previously written an update on several initiatives that were passed during the last week of the session. However, I wanted to follow up with information on some additional measures that were passed by the General Assembly and are on the Governor’s desk awaiting signature.

The babies were coming, and as the arrival of our daughter and grandsons drew nearer, I was fidgety about having everything just so.

“Pastor, can a person who commits suicide go to heaven? Or is this an unforgivable sin?” The inquiring voice of the teen on the phone needed the answer.

It was a solemn and sobering event.

A few evenings ago, over 30 men and women gathered in Peachtree City, Ga., to, once again, raise their right hands, take a solemn oath, and swear to “uphold and defend the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America.”

Sneer, sneer, boo, hiss — and oh, boy! Did the “progressives” ever pour it on my governor, Rick Perry of Texas, for his playful reference at a Tea Party event to “secession” as an option possibly forming in the minds of sensible Texans.

There are times in a person’s life that are truly defining points, times that will be remembered forever: a first kiss, marriage, and the birth of a child.

While the rest of us may be worried about violent Mexican drug gangs on our border, or about terrorists who are going to be released from Guantanamo, the Director of Homeland Security is worried about “right-wing extremists.”

Texas Gov. Rick Perry rattled cages when he suggested that Texans might at some point become so disgusted with Washington’s gross violation of the U.S. Constitution that they would want to secede from the union. Political hustlers, their media allies and others, who have little understanding, are calling his remarks treasonous. Let’s look at it.

Stumbled over an article on one of my favorite subjects last week, the more amazing because of the case in point in our family.

By Rep. MATT RAMSEY
and Sen. RONNIE CHANCE

Last week, in Fayette County, we had the privilege of addressing one of the 2,000 tea parties held nationwide to mark “tax day” in America. Every year at this time, Americans are reminded of the outrageous absurdity of a tax code so complex that one must pay an accountant or some other service simply to comply with the law. Yet something is different this year, as Americans from sea to shining sea felt compelled to come together to publicly express their displeasure.

There was quite a bit of media coverage on the TEA (Taxed Enough Already) parties across the country, replete with signs, bumper stickers and t-shirts. Many of the events were rants on President Obama, assumed to be “Republican” TEA parties. Others were somewhat issues oriented. However, I thought the best witticism directed at Congress was the little toddler wearing a diaper and holding a sign saying, “I didn’t read the bill either!”

One of the things that always excites me about Easter is that it kicks off the spring and summer season so Sundays, until Labor Day weekend, will be the stuff of which memories are made. Especially for kids.

By Harold Brown

Earth Day approaches again, and with it the self-flagellation that comes with what passes for “environmental consciousness” across this nation.

Answers to your questions about life, religion and the Bible

Pastors get some of the most interesting questions from people they meet and people in their congregations. Here are a few questions that I have received in my years of ministry and via email for this column.