By Doyle McManus Los Angeles Times Barack Obama is in danger of giving deliberation a bad name. The decision about whether to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan was never going to be easy, but events — and a collision of egos in Kabul — have c ...Read More

By Matthew Leatherman For the Salisbury Post Any coach will tell you that losses provide better teaching moments than wins — and that, despite this fact, they always prefer winning over losing. Nidal Hasan's terrorist attack at Fort Hood amounts to a ...Read More

Q: How can I prepare myself for high altitude activities? A: High Altitude Training (HAT) is to get your body ready to perform at levels, whether it is competitive or recreational, with less oxygen (O2) in your blood and muscles. First I want you t ...Read More

The recent cricket escapade at North Rowan High School got me to wondering: What are some other some other senior pranks that have made headlines in recent years? No surprise that a quick search via the Internet turned up reams of student shenanigan ...Read More

A sampling from the Web: "Why are these Muslim invaders allowed to carry on freely in this country ... protected by outreach, Obama, and PC mental illness?" "Simply put, most Muslims in non-Islamic countries have an evil axe to grind and a scurrilous ...Read More

Government and military officials have issued statements since last week's shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas that have nothing to do with the reality of what occurred, what is occurring and what our enemies would still like to have occur all over ...Read More

Recycling has become a hot topic of late. Many people believe that we are using our planet's resources faster than it can replenish them. The obvious answer is to reuse those resources over and over. It seems like common sense, but is amazing how m ...Read More

The good news: Both parties finally agree on an important element of public policy. The bad news: What they agree on is doing nothing real about the deficit. True, the country is still staggering from the hammer blows of a severe recession. With unem ...Read More

"Two years ago we had the office party at a fancy nightclub. Last year it was downsized to the executive conference room. This year it's going to be separate checks at the Olive Garden. What's next? The bus station?" Paul did not look happy. He misse ...Read More

Government and military officials have issued statements since last week's shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas that have nothing to do with the reality of what occurred, what is occurring and what our enemies would still like to have occur all over ...Read More

A sampling from the Web: "Why are these Muslim invaders allowed to carry on freely in this country ... protected by outreach, Obama, and PC mental illness?" "Simply put, most Muslims in non-Islamic countries have an evil axe to grind and a scurrilous ...Read More

By Robin M. Perry Special to the Post I have always had a great love, respect and passion for my elders. Perhaps it began growing up in Chicago with a really cool grandmother nearby who worked at Marshall Fields until they found out she was 80 — a ...Read More

By Clarence E. Hill American Legion When then-Gov. Ronald Reagan introduced returning POW John McCain at a speaking engagement in 1974, the future president asked, "Where do we find such men?" He was speaking of many veterans, when he answered, "W ...Read More

By Caitlin Crawford for the Salisbury Post The Rowan-Salisbury School System is requiring seniors to complete a graduation project before allowing them to walk across the stage to receive a diploma. The project includes an eight- to 10-page paper re ...Read More

RALEIGH — Love him or hate him, no one will ever accuse Tony Rand of being a slacker. For better than a decade, the Fayetteville Democrat has been the chief workhorse in the state Senate, the go-to policy guy, the bad cop to Senate leader Marc Basnig ...Read More

BOSTON — It's been 11 years since I looked through a photo album smuggled out of Afghanistan by a brave young woman. "This is a doctor," she said, pointing to one picture. "This is a teacher." It was impossible to tell one woman from another under th ...Read More

By Arthur I. Cyr Scripps Howard News Service Warren Buffett has just closed the largest deal of his spectacular career with an agreement to purchase the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad for $26.3 billion. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway already own ...Read More

You've heard it before. Someone gets a speeding ticket and complains that police should be out chasing "real" criminals instead of them. Not me. A trooper clocked me going 66 in a 55 mph zone a few years ago, and all I could say as he handed me th ...Read More

By Art Steinberg Special to the Post The Hefner VA Medical Center is the third-largest employer in Rowan County, and its past and present employees and patients have contributed to Salisbury's economy. The community-based facility serves 287,000 ve ...Read More

Some "tweets" from the 2009 elections: From the local race for the sales tax: What Happened to Conventional Wisdom? Out of the top five Republican-precincts (based on party registration), four precincts voted for the Sales Tax, while out of the ...Read More

Vets deserve the best care we can give WASHINGTON — A couple weeks before Veterans Day, I went down to the World War II Memorial on the Mall to join Bob and Elizabeth Dole and a group of elderly soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen from her hometown ...Read More

I grew up in the 1940s on a farm in rural Randolph County with three brothers and a sister.Our thirst for fun and adventure and our natural creativity was realized in the out-of-doors, which imprinted rich lasting memories. Although we were on summer ...Read More

My thoughts are with Maya these days. Maya Chamberlin is a beautiful, smart 4-year-old from California I've never met. But she's on my mind. She's the daughter of a childhood friend. From Sam's photos and stories, I know that Maya is a singer. A danc ...Read More

By Meghan Daum Special to the Los Angeles Times Dr. Christopher Thompson, a driver who abruptly stopped his car in front of two cyclists in Los Angeles last summer, was found guilty of six felonies and a misdemeanor this week. The trial, which lasted ...Read More

Cricket incident required some skill While I don't condone the illegal actions of the local students perpetrating the "cricket incident," it did show good organizational skills in pulling off their stunt. As punishment, I suggest they all be req ...Read More