It’s Valentine’s season, so let me begin with a quick personal note. I’ve written here previously about our struggles to bring my fiancée, Jasmine from Germany, into the …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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2/17/21
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[Note: The following is offered with a deep bow of appreciation to C.S. Lewis, author of “The Screwtape Letters,” which you really should read, whether you believe in Christian demonology …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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1/20/21
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A few years ago, a certain couple I know got divorced.
This isn’t big news, of course. Divorce is still fairly common in America, though the rate has been dropping in recent years (about 40 …
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(Applause.) Thank you. Thank you very much. Please… yes, thank you… please, be seated. (Applause continues.) Thank you again. (Applause subsides.)
My dear friends and fellow …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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10/28/20
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My friend Herbert (not his real name, of course) is, fundamentally, a very decent guy.
He works hard in a dirty job (he’s in one of the building trades), plays in some bands, is devoted to …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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7/29/20
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“Your fear is a ring in your noseby which you may be led around at will.”
— Hu Sei Dat
Columnists are not exactly essential. So, in these economically unstable times, I count …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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6/17/20
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When the flood callsYou have no home, you have no wallsIn the thunder crashYou’re a thousand minds, within a flashDon’t be afraid to cry at what you seeThe act is gone, there’s only …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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4/15/20
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The first contests of the 2020 presidential election season, in Iowa and New Hampshire, have come and gone. What had been a crowded and remarkably diverse field of candidates has been sharply …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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2/26/20
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So the holidays have come and gone; I hope yours were joyful and fulfilling. Maybe I missed it, but I don’t recall hearing much noise this year about the traditional Christmas star display over …
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They had to be dragged into it kicking and screaming, but Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats finally got around to giving America a nice holiday present by starting impeachment proceedings against …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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12/18/19
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Congratulations, America! We’ve made it through yet another election season. I hope that everyone found something in the recent results to be happy about, whether locally or nationally. I …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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11/14/19
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(Screwdisk is executive vice president for sales and acquisitions for HellCorp North America. Scumbucket is his nephew. The inspiration comes from CS Lewis’s “The Screwtape …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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10/30/19
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The recent kerfuffle now known as “Sharpiegate”—in which Donald Trump (or one of his staffers) clumsily edited a hurricane forecast map to include the possibility that Dorian could …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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9/18/19
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In his memoir “Woodstock Nation,” Abbie Hoffman paints a telling portrait of himself at the festival’s end, staggering aimlessly around the deserted, trash-strewn field, stoned out …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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8/28/19
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While I was growing up in the south in the ‘60s, and discriminatory “Jim Crow” practices were slowly being dismantled, I would frequently see signs at restaurants and gas stations …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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7/26/19
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I want to focus on, and draw some connections between, a few recent and upcoming dates.
Sunday, June 16, was of course Father’s Day. I hope you were able to celebrate it in a fulfilling way. …
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By SKIP MENDLER
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7/5/19
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Last time, you may recall, I talked a bit about Mississippi’s Rep. Noah Sweat and his famous “If By Whiskey” speech. The inspiration for that column came after some online …
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SKIP MENDLER
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5/15/19
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On Friday, April 4, 1952, a 29-year-old Mississippi state representative named Noah Sweat delivered a speech at a dinner banquet for his fellow legislators. He was nearing the end of his only term in …
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SKIP MENDLER
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4/17/19
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