After Kevin McCarthy’s abrupt withdrawal as front-runner to be the next Speaker of the House, Republican strategist Frank Luntz offered a dire assessment of House Republicans. “I started working up on Capitol Hill in 1993 under Newt Gingrich. So, it’s been more than 20 years, and it was confused up until the last three or four days. It is now...

Whenever another mass shooting takes place, we hear the same litany: “Not one more mass shooting. Not one more child shot. Not one more innocent life cut short prematurely by gun violence.” Blacksburg, Lafayette, Chattanooga, Charleston, Newtown, Aurora, Isla Vista. Look at the list of school shootings in the United States. On the media: interviews with police, students, victims’ families,...

“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”  – St. Augustine Before his elevation to the head of the Catholic Church, Jorge Bergoglio began as a Jesuit priest from Argentina. Since his investiture as Pope in 2013, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis — in honor of Francis of...

When a gay couple asked Rowan Country Clerk Kim Davis on who’s authority she was acting when she declined to issue the couple a marriage certificate, she responded “under God’s Authority.” As a consequence, Federal Judge David L. Bunning jailed Davis after refusing to follow the orders of the court and her duty as an elected county official. According to...

I want to thank Sarah Mazerik for her thoughtful response to my July 2, commentary (It’s the Law), regarding the recent California law requiring that most children attending public or private school be immunized against contagious diseases. Mrs. Mazerik is an admirable example of a concerned and responsible citizen/parent doing their due diligence regarding an issue that can affect both...

Even the most reliable news sources can, at times, be inaccurate and so can I. On July 2, 2015, I wrote a commentary (It’s the Law), discussing the pending passage and subsequent protests against California State bill SB 277 which was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. The law mandates that most children who attend public or private school...

Before leaving on summer vacation, I thought I’d leave on a high note. While the majority of Congress has been stuck in perpetual partisan gridlock, it might surprise you to know that there are a group of Senators who are getting things done and… they’re all women. Chief among them are Senators Claire McCaskill, Amy Klobuchar, Kelly Ayotte and Shelley...

Last Wednesday, I wrote about the “sweet deals” of perks and privileges accorded the U.S. Supreme Court Justices. While I believe they do an incredibly difficult job for little compensation, nonetheless, I believed that, ethically, they should release their expenses as well as the names of individuals or groups who pay those expenses on a variety of free trips around...

The speed at which attitudes and actions have changed, particularly in the South, about the Confederate battle flag has been staggering. Since the senseless shooting deaths of 9 individuals attending a bible study class in a Charleston, South Carolina church on June 17, we’ve gone from the state’s governor calling for the removal of the flag from the capitol grounds...

Holding a protest sign which read: “My Child, My Choice,” Sarah Mazerik was one of many individuals protesting outside the California State Capitol after the Assembly approved a measure requiring all children going to both public and private school to get the required health vaccines before attending. “Adopting one of the most far-reaching vaccination laws in the nation,” The Los...