There has been talk out of the White House about revamping the typical schedule of American public schools by lengthening the school day and holding class more days a year.

There has been talk out of the White House about revamping the typical schedule of American public schools by lengthening the school day and holding class more days a year.

Hollywood celebrities destroy themselves by making up their own rules, and frankly, the rest of us can see we wouldn’t want to be members of their club.

Last week I discussed hospitality in the wake of a crisis, but fortunately there’s no reason to wait for an emergency to open our community to strangers.

I’ve followed with some interest the bumbling around that has occurred in Congress and the Supreme Court regarding what constitutes “free speech.”

John Kiser is coming to Camelot for a discussion of his book, “Commander of the Faithful,” (and maybe a bit on “The Monks”) at the Culpeper County Library on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m.

From death comes life, and from life comes death. This cycle can be found in biology, religion, physics and even economics.

One of Creigh Deeds’ ads says that a college paper Bob McDonnell wrote in 1989 shows McDonnell wants to take Virginia “back to the Dark Ages.”

Would Culpeper be ready if 6,000 international travelers were stranded in town for five days?

I recently received an e-mail from Jerry Beckett, commander of American Legion Post 330. The e-mail forwarded some information about a man who served his country in three wars: World War II, Korea and Vietnam. His name is Lewis Lee Millett, Col., USA, Retired. He lives in California.

Proposed Medicare cuts for 2010 threaten access to lifesaving medical services for millions of heart and cancer patients.

It can be a daunting task learning about the issue of health care and the proposals to “fix” it.

Watch for falling prices and negative comments when getting near any Walmart.

To Sens. Warner and Webb, Congressman Cantor (and you also, Gov. Kaine, since you are the Democratic National Committee chairman): Would you please get the answers to these questions and post them on your Web site, because so far this debate has been sorely lacking in facts and substance.

I told my wife and neighbor last year that I didn’t think America was ready to elect a black president. Obviously, I was wrong. But if only I’d said Americans weren’t ready to “have” a black president.

Those who do not learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them.

A lot of British men are going to brow bars to get threaded. Yeah, that’s what I thought, too, but it doesn’t mean that at all.

I saw a bumper sticker once that read, “Raising children is like getting pecked to death by a chicken.”

I have now published 50 columns in this newspaper on subjects as far ranging as gun control, individual rights, death, taxes and so on.

Jason Campbell is not the only person in Washington whose ability is being questioned; medical insurance companies are being criticized more heavily than ever. Why?

On Sept. 15, 1787, George Mason and James Madison were delegates from Virginia to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, which was presided over by their fellow Virginian, George Washington.

A few years ago, NBA stars Charles Barkley and Dwyane Wade drummed up business for T-Mobile by posing the question “Who’s in your 5?” Now, blogger and former retailer Cinda Baxter is hoping to have a much bigger impact by asking “Who’s in your 3?”

Some six months ago I wrote a column asking the question “Why Afghanistan?” and have been following events there since that time.

According to the Washington Post, the Obama administration is pushing to transfer some of the terrorist detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into Virginia for trial in a U.S. federal criminal court, possibly in Alexandria.

Note: Inspired by President Barack Obama’s recent speech to the nation’s school children, columnist Scott Hollifield decided to give his own back-to-school address. So far, no schools have accepted his offer and all media outlets have ignored him, but that did not stop him from releasing this transcript of his prepared remarks in an effort to stave off criticism and outrage that has not yet materialized.

Both newspapers and broadcast TV will look a lot different in the next few decades, but I think the changes in TV will come a lot more rapidly than for newspapers.

Afghanistan is about as removed as one could imagine from being at the center of a First Amendment controversy.

Remember what U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said about the health care reform bill at the National Press Club on Aug. 4?

Culpeper has been so swept up in Martin’s-mania lately, it’s hard to remember that it is just a grocery store. And a pharmacy. And a gas station! Oh my! How did we ever live here without this store?

“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal ... ”