Once again, I have found the latest round of “debates” on the legacy of the Confederacy baffling 155 years after the Civil War ended. Once and for all, we need consider the Confederacy for what it was and where it now belongs. The lesson on how to accomplish that comes from the Germans and how they treat their dark history. First of all, you will not find any Fort Hitlers, Camp Himmlers or Goering Air Force Bases in Germany. You will not find swastikas displayed in Germany, at least legally,

For me, like I suspect many of you, COVID-19 has given me cabin fever. I’ve baked more fancy desserts than my partner and I need to eat. I’ve taken up drawing and painting (with painfully poor results). I’m driving my dog bonkers with all the walks I want to take each day. I haven’t tried making sourdough bread yet, but I’ve seen enough pictures on Instagram to know I’m in the minority there. For me, this pandemic is an inconvenience.

For me, like I suspect many of you, COVID-19 has given me cabin fever. I’ve baked more fancy desserts than my partner and I need to eat. I’ve taken up drawing and painting (with painfully poor results). I’m driving my dog bonkers with all the walks I want to take each day. I haven’t tried making sourdough bread yet, but I’ve seen enough pictures on Instagram to know I’m in the minority there. For me, this pandemic is an inconvenience. For others, this time is painfully difficult. Victims of

I won't deny it: I like old guys, the furry, four-legged variety that enjoys lying in a sunny spot, naps for hours, eats well and commandeers their people's beds, heads or laps. Yes, I love older cats.

I won't deny it: I like old guys, the furry, four-legged variety that enjoys lying in a sunny spot, naps for hours, eats well and commandeers their people's beds, heads or laps. Yes, I love older cats. See, I volunteer at our animal shelter socializing cats; I play with them, pet them, bribe them with treats and do my best to get them used to being with people. Kittens get all the attention because they're cute, meow loudly and play a lot. Middle aged animals are very attentive to their

There is a patron saint for virtually everything. And now the Internet may be about to get its own.

There is a patron saint for virtually everything. And now the Internet may be about to get its own. There are two contenders. On the one side, you have St. Isadore -- a 6th century bishop of Seville whose life’s work involved developing a 20-volume encyclopedia encompassing all human knowledge. Isadore was informally recognized as the patron saint of the web by Pope John Paul II. On the other side, there is Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who helped spread Roman Catholic teaching with his

Maps have defined my knowledge of the universe around me: road maps for driving, contour maps defining territory for army maneuvers, sectional charts for flying airplanes along designated paths to keep the planes separated, and solar and stellar maps to orient directions on sea or land. A peopled, inhabited, built up terrain.

Maps have defined my knowledge of the universe around me: road maps for driving, contour maps defining territory for army maneuvers, sectional charts for flying airplanes along designated paths to keep the planes separated, and solar and stellar maps to orient directions on sea or land. A peopled, inhabited, built up terrain. I speak the language of maps. I know their origins and their references. My universe is disappearing. A digital one is building. A readout or a voice, or both, now tells me

The last several weeks, we’ve been witnessing “The New American Majority.” Stacey Abrams coined this during her 2018 campaign for Governor of Georgia as she built a unique political and social coalition. I believe it’s just the kind of broad-based coalition our country needs to work together combatting long standing policies and actions of injustice in our country. In the recent protest events, we’ve watched such a coalition in the bright faces of people of color, of engaged young people, in moderate to progressive white folks -- some carrying babies -- to seniors standing strong or sitting proud in their wheelchairs.