Columnists
	Book review: Obama’s Iraq war saga 0 Comments Last Updated: 12:10 AM 09/02/10 - In his Oval Office address Tuesday night announcing the end of combat operations in Iraq, President Obama said “It’s time to turn the page” and start focusing on rebuilding the American economy. - Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Placing blame in Beck’s U.S. 1 Comment Last Updated: 11:58 PM 09/01/10 - Ever since I watched Glenn Beck’s Fear-extravaganza on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial last Saturday, I’ve been trying to figure out who ran off with America. - Connie Schultz, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Baby boomers raising a ‘Generation Text’ 1 Comment Last Updated: 11:09 PM 08/31/10 - When we were kids, we all wanted to be heroes. Maybe it’s a generational thing, but it seems that many young people today are not that interested in significance. - Carlton Fletcher, metro editor (Full Story)
	Goodbye E-6, we'll miss you 0 Comments Last Updated: 10:56 PM 08/31/10 - Most people have no idea what “E-6” is. To avid baseball fans, E-6 is the way to record an error by a shortstop on your scorecard. But there is another E-6, in photography. This E-6 is the developer in which color slides are processed. - Thomas Sowell, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Tomahawk chops down on the Braves 4 Comments Last Updated: 4:47 PM 08/29/10 - I watched, as I’m sure many Atlanta Braves fans did, in disbelief as the Braves blew a 9-1 lead and eventually lost 12-10 to the Colorado Rockies Wednesday. Upon reflection, it hit me that this awful collapse is pretty much a microcosm of the Braves’ season. - Carlton Fletcher, metro editor (Full Story)
	Issues are the last refuge of the liberal 0 Comments Last Updated: 10:50 PM 08/28/10 - Liberalism under siege is an ugly sight indeed. Just yesterday it was all hope and change and returning power to the people. But the people have proved so disappointing. - Charles Krauthammer, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Obama agenda draws political lightning 1 Comment Last Updated: 12:35 AM 08/28/10 - Mike Reagan, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	American ‘Titanic’ taking water 0 Comments Last Updated: 12:34 AM 08/28/10 - James W. King, Guest Commentary (Full Story)
	Where's Freddie? 2 Comments Last Updated: 1:05 PM 08/31/10 - Furman Bisher wonders why the Braves don't call up Freddie Freeman (Full Story)
	Just what is missing from this story? 0 Comments Last Updated: 12:11 AM 08/27/10 - As I was perusing headlines that seem seldom to change — mosque, immigration, sacred ground, 9/11, more mosque — an unlikely trio intruded upon my malaise: Paul Newman, Rodney King and John Lennon. - Kathleen Parker, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	You will never be that cover girl 0 Comments Last Updated: 12:07 AM 08/27/10 - Any American who cares about women should know about Jessica Coen and wish her a long and fruitful life. She is fighting for our girls, one magazine cover at a time. - Connie Schultz, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Lower expections eases disappointment 0 Comments Last Updated: 10:50 PM 08/25/10 - If our expectations about politicians and government are lowered, we will then start expecting less from them and more from ourselves, then our prospects for happiness will likely be much improved. - Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Primary differences matter 0 Comments Last Updated: 7:51 PM 08/25/10 - Republicans are in the midst of an insurrection. Democrats are not. This vast gulf between the situations of the two parties — not some grand revolt against “the establishment” or “incumbents” — explains the year’s primary results, including Tuesday’s jarring outcomes in Florida and Alaska. - E.J. Dionne, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Citizen filibusters no way to run government 1 Comment Last Updated: 11:36 PM 08/24/10 - Every planned government meeting should be turned into an open community forum at which anyone with a personal gripe — be it a legitimate concern that might affect a number of citizens or a personal vendetta that impacts no one but that individual — can subject all who are gathered to his or her airing of grievances. - Carlton Fletcher, metro editor (Full Story)
	Health care is no spin game 1 Comment Last Updated: 11:24 PM 08/24/10 - There is so much political spin, and so many numbers games being played, when it comes to medical care, that we have to go back to square one and the simplest common sense, in order to get some rational idea of what government-run medical care means. In particular, we need to examine the claim that the government can “bring down the cost of medical care.” - Thomas Sowell, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Nothing’s as creative as experience 0 Comments Last Updated: 9:55 PM 08/21/10 - I was channel surfing late one night last week and came across “Dazed and Confused” on one of the cable networks that turns one-and-a-half-hour movies into three-hour-plus movie/commercial marathons. Didn’t matter, I still had to watch. - Carlton Fletcher, metro editor (Full Story)
	Filibusters put brakes on government train 0 Comments Last Updated: 9:55 PM 08/21/10 - The shortsightedness of some politicians and political commentators has always amazed me. Take, for instance, the recent talk of changing the U.S. Senate’s cloture rule. - Jim Hendricks, editor (Full Story)
	Obama takes a big tumble 1 Comment Last Updated: 12:33 AM 08/21/10 - The most destructive gap for President Obama is not the Republican lead on the generic congressional ballot, or even a job disapproval that has surpassed approval — it is the gap between aspiration and reality. - Michael Gerson, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Children need more time in classroom 0 Comments Last Updated: 12:26 AM 08/21/10 - Critics of the nation’s public schools sometimes overstate their shortcomings, insisting that educational standards are lower than they used to be. That’s quite unlikely. - Cynthia Tucker, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Relocating mosque would be act of respect 1 Comment Last Updated: 11:18 PM 08/19/10 - It’s hard to be an Obama sycophant these days. Your hero delivers a Ramadan speech roundly supporting the building of a mosque and Islamic center at Ground Zero in New York. Your heart swells and you’re moved to declare this President Obama’s finest hour, his act of greatest courage. - Charles Krauthammer, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	City officials keep expenses under budget 0 Comments Last Updated: 11:07 PM 08/18/10 - Perhaps at no other point in American history has society been more acutely in tune with government spending. For better or worse, it seems as though every dollar that flows from Washington, Atlanta and the fifth floor on Pine is scrutinized, questioned, queried, catechized and inquired upon, before, depending on your political persuasion, being decried or justified by the masses. - J.D. Sumner, government writer (Full Story)
	Britain sinking in sea of red ink 2 Comments Last Updated: 8:50 PM 08/18/10 - British Prime Minister David Cameron is calling for reinforcements to help him deal with the country’s massive debt, which has been caused by nonstop spending, severe recession and declining tax revenue. - Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	‘Free ride’ is in the eye of the beholder 2 Comments Last Updated: 10:49 PM 08/17/10 - “Welfare,” I’ve come to see, is in the eye of the beholder. - Carlton Fletcher, metro editor (Full Story)
	Ground Zero for freedom 3 Comments Last Updated: 10:46 PM 08/17/10 - It is hard to imagine that anything has gone unsaid about the so-called Ground Zero mosque, but we seem to be missing an important point. The mosque should be built precisely because we don’t like the idea very much. We don’t need constitutional protections to be agreeable, after all. - Kathleen Parker, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Ground Zero no site for mosque 14 Comments Last Updated: 10:37 AM 08/14/10 - - Charles Krauthammer, syndicated columnist Click here to join the discussion on the Herald's Facebook page (Full Story)
	City manager not bothered by criticism 3 Comments Last Updated: 11:39 PM 08/13/10 - While serving in the U.S. Army, Alfred Lott dealt daily with the nation’s major media players: the CNN correspondents, political columnists at major newspapers, the celebreporters whose faces regularly appeared on network newscasts. But even that experience did not prepare Lott for the Albany media. - Carlton Fletcher, metro editor (Full Story)
	Don’t know nuthin’ bout ’rithmetic 0 Comments Last Updated: 12:02 AM 08/14/10 - It is generally true that you get what you pay for, but not necessarily when it comes to higher education. A new study scheduled for release Monday about the value of a college education, at least when it comes to the basics, has found the opposite to be true in most cases. Forget Harvard and think Lamar. - Kathleen Parker, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Angry nativists search for scapegoats 3 Comments Last Updated: 11:35 PM 08/13/10 - - Cynthia Tucker, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Spending the last bipartisan activity in D.C. 0 Comments Last Updated: 11:03 PM 08/12/10 - As Republicans take their case to the voters in November about the Obama administration’s massive overspending and record debt, they should seriously consider what could be a rare bipartisan objective: cutting defense spending. - Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Office enforces city and county ordinances 0 Comments Last Updated: 8:25 PM 08/11/10 - Code Enforcement Director Mike Tilson is acutely aware of the slings and arrows that get fired his direction from the public angry about sign ordinances and junk cars. Tilson arguably has one of the most underappreciated and little-known departments under the city and county’s umbrella. Tilson’s job is to enforce the growing stack of city and county ordinances. Creating them is left to the politicians. - J.D. Sumner, government writer (Full Story)
	First lady critics have double standard 3 Comments Last Updated: 7:11 PM 08/11/10 - The members of the media who savaged my stepmother Nancy Reagan for buying new china for the White House — dinnerware that will last for decades — have for the most part either ignored the cost and the significance of Michelle Obama’s regal visit to Spain or downplayed it. - Michael Reagan, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Vacation poor idea, but not crime 4 Comments Last Updated: 6:46 PM 08/11/10 - Observing the Michelle Obama vacation controversy unfold, one is of multiple minds. - Kathleen Parker, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Lott: I’m leaving with Albany in better shape 5 Comments Last Updated: 10:11 PM 08/10/10 - Asked during a recent extended conversation to list his accomplishments in office, Albany City Manager Alfred Lott had a ready list. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of two columns based on a one-on-one interview of Albany City Manager Alfred Lott by Metro Editor Carlton Fletcher. Part 2 will appear Sunday. - Carlton Fletcher, metro editor (Full Story)
	Choice is more than ‘luck’ 0 Comments Last Updated: 9:14 PM 08/10/10 - One of the biggest fallacies of our time is the notion that, if all groups are not proportionally represented in institutions, professions or income levels, that shows something wrong with society. The very possibility that people make their own choices, and that those choices have consequences — for themselves and for others — is ignored. Society is the universal scapegoat. - Thomas Sowell, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Palin, Johnston need day jobs 1 Comment Last Updated: 12:14 AM 08/10/10 - It seems we’re stuck with Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin as fixtures on the pop culture scene. They’re enjoying celebrity — or notoriety — too much to fade back into Alaskan obscurity. Cynthia Tucker, opinion columnist (Full Story)
	Loss of moral compass ails America 1 Comment Last Updated: 12:13 AM 08/10/10 - A nation that does not see in law a right to life for its unborn children and a court that allows more than 50 million of them to be killed claiming a nonexistent “penumbra” in the Constitution is not about to acquire a moral — much less a constitutional — backbone when it comes to same-sex “marriage.” Cal Thomas, opinion columnist (Full Story)
	Handel banking on Palin endorsement 1 Comment Last Updated: 8:01 PM 08/07/10 - In her quest to hold off the challenge of Nathan Deal in Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial runoff Tuesday, Karen Handel is, it seems, playing the estrogen card. - Carlton Fletcher, metro editor (Full Story)
	Bad habits sown now reap bleak future 0 Comments Last Updated: 7:55 PM 08/07/10 - For most, “hunger” is a metaphor for a list of wants rather than needs. We hunger for more — more time, more money, more of what the next guy has. Imagine the physical and emotional distress of true hunger. Now imagine suffering that pain as a child. An empty stomach makes a child feel empty emotionally, overlooked and forgotten. Even worse, it stunts their growth, harms their school test scores, spurs behavioral problems and increases school nurse visits. Nearly 17 million American children struggle against hunger. - Rachael Ray, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	White House shouldn’t legislate 0 Comments Last Updated: 12:14 AM 08/07/10 - Charles Krauthammer, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Enforcement of ethics rules needed 2 Comments Last Updated: 12:10 AM 08/07/10 - Cynthia Tucker, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Capitol statues a history lesson 0 Comments Last Updated: 1:01 PM 08/06/10 - My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., where we visited monuments, museums and government buildings in that grand and powerful city, returning home with renewed pride in being a citizen of this great, yet imperfect nation. Creede Hinshaw, faith columnist (Full Story)
	Looking Back -- Aug. 8, 2010 0 Comments Last Updated: 12:38 PM 08/06/10 - Classes have already started in some locations and others will begin soon. Here is a look at a variety of education-related topics. Mary Braswell, features columnist (Full Story)
	That devilish prankster really wasn’t me ... honest 0 Comments Last Updated: 12:17 AM 08/08/10 - I was the victim of false accusation last week. I didn’t do it. “We knew it was you,” they said as I walked into my day job. There, on the counter next to the copier and the electric stapler and the little boxes where we find our mail, was a newsletter. There, on the front of the newsletter, was a picture. A picture of Rhonda. With horns. Mandy Flynn, features columnist (Full Story)
	Obama's promise: Mission accomplished? 0 Comments Last Updated: 11:32 PM 08/05/10 - President Obama claims to have kept his campaign promise to cease American combat operations (though not U.S. troop presence) in Iraq by the end of this month. But it’s not about his keeping promises about a war and an objective he never supported. It’s about whether the mission has been a success. And the answer to that question is we don’t know yet. - Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Dropping babies, leaving principles 0 Comments Last Updated: 11:30 PM 08/05/10 - Rather than shout, I’ll just ask the question in a civil way: Dear Republicans, do you really want to endanger your party’s greatest political legacy by turning the 14th Amendment to our Constitution into an excuse for election-year ugliness? Honestly, I thought our politics could not get worse, and suddenly there appears this attack on birthright citizenship and the introduction into popular use of the hideous term “anchor babies,” children that illegal immigrants have for the alleged purpose of “anchoring” themselves to American rights and the welfare state. - E.J. Dionne, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	The real heroes battle on far different fields 0 Comments Last Updated: 11:40 PM 08/04/10 - I don’t know what it is about American football coaches, but they talk more about “cowards” and team members with “courage” than just about any other people occupying space on God’s green earth. - Mac Gordon, guest columnist (Full Story)
	To squeal or not to squeal: When is spending ‘pork’? 2 Comments Last Updated: 11:05 AM 08/05/10 - It’s a term that has become cliché in the government lexicon and is a favorite barb to cast between warring political opponents, but is the “pork” that flows into states a good or bad thing? - J.D. Sumner, government writer (Full Story)
	Let’s take the Internet back from the liberals 0 Comments Last Updated: 11:16 PM 08/04/10 - When Ronald Reagan and his then-wife Jane Wyman adopted me, they gave me the name Michael Reagan. That’s what parents — adopted or natural — do. They name their offspring, natural or adopted. Reagan.com, and I offered to make all of its services available to whoever wished to take advantage of them for a modest fee. Somehow, this modest enterprise enraged the loonies on the far left. I was accused of using my father’s name — and mine, you know, the name my parents gave me. - MIchael Reagan, syndicated columnist (Full Story)
	Mosque has no place at Ground Zero 6 Comments Last Updated: 8:07 PM 08/04/10 - Occasionally, I am forced to forego humor and seriously approach that which troubles us here in the good ole U.S. of A. Today is one of those days. T. Gamble, features columnist (Full Story)
	McCartney’s music lets us come together 1 Comment Last Updated: 11:50 PM 08/03/10 - I talked with a couple of people — obviously folks who can still stomach the fact that we’d let an African-born Muslim in the White House ... and, yes, that was sarcasm — about the edited PBS broadcast last week of Paul McCartney’s performance at the East Room of the White House. After watching artists perform some of his most memorable compositions, the 67-year-old former Beatle showed them all how it was really done. - Carlton Fletcher, metro editor (Full Story)