Columns

Wishin' and Hopin' America Avoids Another 1960's Reckoning

With apologies to Dusty Springfield (1939-1999), I was "wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'" that America could escape a repeat of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's, but now I'm not so sure. There's too...

January 29, 2026 · Mac Gordon

Felder's Balance

How much of a down-to-earth garden variety gardener are you? Do you do things horticulturally by the efficiency-oriented book, or follow a meandering path of gardening mostly for pleasure? I do a bit of both, being...

January 22, 2026 · Felder Rushing

The Warmth of Collectivism

"Replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the rich warmth of collectivism!" says my new socialist mayor. Sounds so nice... No more greedy capitalists hoarding wealth. People share. It's the socialist dream....

January 22, 2026 · John Stossel

My Dad's Tears

I only saw my Dad cry once. Seeing tears running down his face bothered and confused me. We were watching television. I was just an elementary school kid and hadn't understood all that had gone on the week before. On...

January 22, 2026 · Daniel Gardner

Southernisms: Sink Soup and Other Frugal Things

I am a child of the Great Depression. While technically I didn't exist during the "Hard Times" of the 1930's, my parents certainly did, having gotten married in 1935. Folks in the American South had been mostly...

January 22, 2026 · Dwalia South, MD

Felder's Weed Wars

Most gardeners are being faced this month, like it or not, with a hard choice regarding winter weeds in the lawn. No matter your preferred approach of weed-free, wildflowery, or doing bits of both in different areas,...

January 15, 2026 · Felder Rushing

Hollywood vs. Individualism

Many popular movies make a constructive point: If you work hard enough and push through tough times, you can achieve your dreams. In "The Pursuit of Happyness," a struggling father tells his son, "Don't let anyone tell...

January 15, 2026 · John Stossel

Unfortunate Radical Reactions

As Americans shift into prolific identity groups, the rest of us find ourselves rolling our eyes and shaking our heads a lot. "Why did he say that? Didn't he know?" Social constructs excuse reactions that used to be...

January 15, 2026 · Daniel Gardner

When Speakers Shut Doors to the Press

State House Speaker Jason White's decision to bar Mississippi Today's access to his office is reminiscent of President Trump's indefinite ban of the Associated Press from his environs. Perhaps that's where he got the...

January 15, 2026 · Mac Gordon

Swiss Chard, Broccoli & Kale Thrive in Winter Gardens

Some of the best vegetables you can grow here in the South don't mind a little chill. When the heat finally fades, our gardens enter a season of vibrant greens, crisp harvests and some truly beautiful foliage. In...

January 8, 2026 · Eddie Smith

Swiss Chard, Broccoli & Kale Thrive in Winter Gardens

Some of the best vegetables you can grow here in the South don't mind a little chill. When the heat finally fades, our gardens enter a season of vibrant greens, crisp harvests and some truly beautiful foliage. In...

January 8, 2026 · Eddie Smith

Felder Fesses Up

This is the week where I usually do my annual Felder Fesses Up, in which I chronicle my previous year's garden follies and foibles. But it wasn't so bad after all. Mostly, in my attempt to reduce garden chores to...

January 8, 2026 · Felder Rushing

Doomed?

While campaigning, President Donald Trump said, 'We're a nation in decline.' Now that he's president, the left agrees. 'We are witnessing the collapse and implosion of the American empire,' says Cornell West. Are the...

January 8, 2026 · John Stossel

What a Mess. Stay Tuned

What a mess! Now we have to pick sides again. Now we have to blame the other side again for what they started. It is their fault, you know. If they hadn't done that in the first place, we wouldn't have had to fix...

January 8, 2026 · Daniel Gardner

When the Welcome Mat Moves: Data Centers Head for the Rural South

Data centers servicing the flourishing digital information processing industry are finding mixed welcomes as they search for business locations across the Rural South. Job-hungry economic developers have rendered...

January 8, 2026 · Mac Gordon

Twists and Turns, Happy New Year

So, we have reached another new year. Another journey into the known and unknown; strange and stranger, weird and weirder. And, of course, I have a few thoughts on this. There are a lot of questions you may ask yourself...

January 8, 2026 · Judy Causey Love

Felder's Evergreens

Ever on the lookout for stuff I can reuse or recycle from holiday decorations, Christmas is second to none. Even better than composting Halloween pumpkins. Back when I used to go with fresh-cut trees to decorate, I...

January 1, 2026 · Felder Rushing

Socialism vs. Capitalism

People criticize capitalism. A recent Axios-Generation poll says, 'College students prefer socialism to capitalism.' Why? Because they believe absurd myths. Like the claim that the Soviet Union 'wasn't real socialism.'...

January 1, 2026 · John Stossel

The More Things Change Whatever

As I write this 'end of the year/beginning of the year' column, please remember President Biden still had one month left in his term at this time last year. Frankly, it's too daunting to think about 'Bidenomics' and all...

January 1, 2026 · Daniel Gardner

Remembering John Gordon Roach, Jr., Late McComb Attorney and His Love of Gas Station Cuisine

John Gordon Roach, Jr., would be proud Mississippi's 'gas station cuisine' is drawing the raves he believed it deserved. My friend John Gordon, the late McComb lawyer who served our people and institutions with...

January 1, 2026 · Mac Gordon

Felder's Christmas Cactus

STOSSEL My Christmas cactus finally came into bloom – right on time, luckily, with no help from me. One of the easiest garden arguments, other than the right folk name for Philadelphus (mock orange or English dogwood)...

December 25, 2025 · Felder Rushing

Christmas from the Beginning

by Daniel Gardner, Special to the Gazette “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God...

December 25, 2025 · Daniel Gardner

New Year's Resolutions, Predictions & Prayers for 2026

Resolutions, predictions, hopes and other thoughts as this New Year arrives. May God keep, protect and bless American military personnel standing sentry tonight on posts and ships across the globe, wishing they were...

December 25, 2025 · Mac Gordon

A Mississippi Christmas Wish List, From Bowl Games to Better Health

A MISSISSIPPI CHRISTMAS WISH LIST, FROM BOWL GAMES TO BETTER HEALTH by Mac Gordon, GAZETTE Contributing Editor I don’t want or need much for Christmas, but I am carrying around a short list just in case someone asks....

December 18, 2025 · Mac Gordon