“I’ll tell you,” Franklin Roosevelt once told a friend during the toughest years of his presidency, “at night when I lay my head on my pillow, and it is often pretty late, and I think of the things that have come before me during the day and the decisions that I have made, I say to myself — well, I...

Last month I posted a commentary asking you to respond to recent events in Washington. I asked you to tell me your thoughts; what you believed leaders in Washington should do; more importantly, what together we can all do. One reader shared, “We are all exasperated to the point of exploding at this reductive and ideological stance taken by Congress, particularly the so-called ‘Tea Party.’ I...

Not long ago, I was involved in a political discussion about the extent to which the federal government should be involved in social issues. The conversation ended with a question directed at me: What’s the purpose of the Civil Rights Act? I was so stunned by the suggestion of that question that I fumbled my answer… badly. I said something like, “Well,...

Is this the future of politics? Here is Texas Governor Rick Perry on evolution: “It’s a theory that’s out there. It’s got some gaps in it.” Here is former Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell talking about women in the military: “By integrating women into particular military institutes, it cripples the readiness of our defense. When you have a woman in that...

Of all the stories concerning the attack on America September 11, 2001, I’m always drawn to stories of firefighters. 343 firefighters died in the World Trade Center towers 10 years ago; many after charging up 110 flights of stairs. 60 police and 8 paramedics died, as well. Cary Sheih was working in the towers on a project for the Port...

Tenzin Gyatso is the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. He is both head of state (in exile) and the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He is admired and esteemed worldwide as a man who has championed policies of nonviolence. His consistent compassionate nonviolence, even in the face of great aggression, led to his receiving the Nobel Prize for Peace...

Two years ago I wrote a commentary that asked: how do we restore America’s Integrity? Today, we’re not only challenged by an uncertain economy but uncertain leadership in Congress. Some representatives believe it is more important to hold to a pledge made to a special interest group rather than work for what is best for the country as a whole....

If the crisis over the debt ceiling in Washington has shown me anything it’s the fact that there are few in Congress that I would invite to dinner based on recent actions. Worst among them, Missouri Representative and Democrat, Emanuel Cleaver was quoted by online newspaper Roll Call as calling the debt bill “a sugar-coated Satan sandwich.”  Besides being a representative, Cleaver...

Americans are angry like never before. These are two of the messages that appeared during yesterday’s Meet the Press on NBC: “I think we now have elected officials that are afraid of their support bases, rather than wanting to represent them. Why does it seem that compromise is a dirty word, these days?” “I have never been less confident about the future.”...

“I place but little dependence on the honesty and truthfulness of a large portion of the Senators. A majority of them are small lights, mentally weak, and wholly unfit to be Senators. Some are vulgar demagogues… some are men of wealth who have purchased their position… [some are] men of narrow intellect, limited comprehension, and low partisan prejudice…”– unknown Washington...