There is nothing Papaw Jordan likes complaining about more than property taxes. It infuriates him that the government can make him pay for a piece of property he owns, the only home he has in a country where — from colonization to the the “manifest destiny” of westward colonial expansion, […]

How can a book be filled with broad generalizations, cynical misrepresentations, and ill-defined parameters — yet still feel true?  I’ve been grappling with that question ever since reading “White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy.” Published earlier this year, authors Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman argue that rural America […]

I became president of the Outlet Alliance, our version of what was then popularly known as a gay-straight alliance, my freshman year at Western Kentucky University. I held this position for three semesters before concentrating on my role in the Student Government Association.  In my capacity as the SGA Director […]

You may not have felt it, but last week, Appalachia experienced a political earthquake. The epicenter is Huntsville, Alabama, where Democrat Marilyn Lands won a special election for the seat in Alabama House District 10. The seat was left open after  Republican David Cole resigned following his conviction for voter […]