Albany Herald

Super Committee was anything but

November 26, 2011

When it comes to spending and borrowing, Congress is like a dieter who padlocks his own refrigerator. It sounds like a good plan, but then if you have the key to the lock, just how effective is it? Not at all, it turns out.

LORAN SMITH COLUMN: Fowler was a heck of a Dawg

Herald Guest Columnist looks back on the remarkable life and career of former UGA great Willie Fowler, who died of Alzheimer's last week.

PSA tests help men make good health choices

Is there a time when knowing what’s going on with your body is counterproductive?

Phoebe has delivered on quality health care

This week the Hospital Authority of Albany and Dougherty County will hear comments on the lease agreement to transfer operations of Phoebe North to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.

Militant activist 101: Stir up the people

For those of you who’ve jumped on the “shocked and offended” bandwagon after reading William Wright’s comments during a MADCAP (Wow ... some things are just too easy) public gathering, a parable

Letter writing an overlooked art

We all need to be worried about the health of the postal service and, as good neighbors, we all need to pitch in and do what we can to keep the mail comin’.

Storms will occur in nature and family be prepared

I was watching a news program recently and there was a story about one state’s improved emergency preparedness and management efforts in the event of a hurricane.

Phillips set for performance of a lifetime

A small-town guy has taken the national stage by storm, making it to a final performance in Los Angeles for the gold -- in this case, the title of "American Idol."

Citizen and government recall fable

In the Aesop Fable "The Grasshopper and the Ant," there are moral, economic and political lessons for our time, or any other.

Rain gives crops a heavenly start

My wife and I moved back to Georgia almost exactly two years ago. The night we arrived, we brought with us from Mississippi a bounteous, torrential rain. (Mary Lee still cannot believe that she drove a U-Haul truck, pulling a vehicle, 400 miles through it from Jackson, Miss. I wish I had a picture.)

Ending brings new beginning

‘Come in,” a deep, low voice mumbled from behind the closed bedroom door and I turned the knob and slowly pushed it open to reveal my first born, now a teenage man child, propped against pillows and watching television, a computer on his lap.

Faux-raging for a story continues

What a difference four years make.

Election offers a choice of capitalisms

In this election, we're not having an argument that pits capitalism against socialism. We are trying to decide what kind of capitalism we want. It is a debate as American as Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson, and Henry Clay -- which is to say that we have always done this. In light of the rise of inequality and the financial mess we just went through, it's a discussion we very much need to have now.

Private businesses looking for space

On Tuesday, a private company is expected ship out a special delivery of supplies to a unique custome

Hospital Authority should bid

Competition, which forces businesses to provide the best quality product at the lowest price, is a cornerstone of any free market society. Health care is no exception. The Albany-Dougherty County Hospital Authority, which is responsible for

‘Idol’ makes money, not careers

Real-life rumors (Oh, glorious Facebook!) I heard last week as Phillip Phillips hysteria swept Southwest Georgia: n Dave Matthews had contacted Phillips and told him he’d bring the budding singer on his current tour if Phillips would leave “American Idol.”

Opinion