Heavy snow fell the night before the inauguration. On Friday, January 20, 1961, I sat in my seventh grade homeroom class while the teacher rolled in a black and white television and announced that we would all be watching history take place today.  (Me, I always liked a good excuse to watch TV.) What I was unprepared for was how...

On Tuesday, January 20, 2009, Barack Obama becomes the 44th President of the United States. With the possible exception of Franklin Roosevelt, probably the only other person to face such a staggering high level of expectations was Babe Ruth following his purchase by the New York Yankees in 1919 for the equally staggering sum of $200,000.  (Roosevelt only cost $75,000...

The Economy, Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Healthcare, Taxes, Energy Independence – all are important actions Americans want to see accomplished by the next Congress and President. But, before they can begin to tackle an unprecedented “to-do list,” Congress needs to start by reforming how government operates. According to the Gallup organization’s annual Governance poll (Sept. 2008), “Just 26% say they are...

 » Read more about: Let’s Be Honest – End of the Year Special – From Fitz to Spitz to Blago, Oh My!  »...

Earl J. Hickey is a low-down, sneaky… well, maybe I better let him tell you. “You know that guy you see going into the convenience store… a sort of shifty-lookin’ fella who buys a pack of smokes, a couple of lotto scratchers and a tall-boy at ten in the morning? Well, that guy is me!” Just when you thought there were...

No, not that change.  We already know that in 11 days, former Illinois Senator Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States. I’m talking about a few other changes taking place in Washington. Former Idaho Senator Larry Craig has (finally!) given up efforts “to withdraw his guilty plea stemming from his 2007 arrest in a Minneapolis airport bathroom,” the Washington...

Years ago, long before the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson hosted a game show in which couples were brought on stage.  The man would be asked a series of questions and offered a choice:  he could either answer the question himself, or trust his wife to come up with the answer. The cash prize was limited, but what really held your interest...

Looking at two recent films, I was struck not only by the similarities in deception but how the underlying aspect of fear transports individuals to act in unethical ways. Frost-Nixon is about the final disintegration of a man’s character. (For some, that would be assuming Nixon had any character to begin with.) But what the film shows us is how easy it is...

The events surrounding Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s decision to appoint a replacement to the United States Senate seat previously held by President-elect Barack Obama grows denser and unnecessarily more controversial. The New York Times reported (Jan. 1) that Gov. Blagojevich “…had an emissary make a call on the Dec. 24 to Danny K. Davis, a Democratic representative and longtime African-American...