Columns

WASHINGTON -- Distilled to a slogan, politics of late goes something like this: "I'm more fertile than you are."

Barack Obama has just taken his first baby steps into a war in Syria that may define and destroy his presidency.

Are Americans becoming more libertarian on cultural issues? I see evidence that they are, in poll findings and election results on three unrelated issues -- marijuana legalization, same-sex marriage and gun rights.

Education policy must now, and always, be state-driven and implemented at the local level.

Egotistical musicians often exaggerate their political influence, none more than the nattering, narcissistic rapper Kanye West. He has compared himself in global stature to Apple founder Steve Jobs and has titled his latest album "Yeesus."

I recently had the opportunity to take my 8-year-old son Jackson to see the movie 42 -- the story of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

Our former presidents haunt our popular culture. We plaster their portraits on dollars and cents. We carve their faces on a giant rock in South Dakota.

WASHINGTON -- As soon as the Constitution permitted him to run for Congress, Al Salvi did. In 1986, just 26 and fresh from the University of Illinois law school, he sank $1,000 of his own money, which was most of his money, into his campaign to unseat an incumbent Democratic congressman. Salvi studied for the bar exam during meals at campaign dinners.

WASHINGTON -- It is reassuring that in the midst of so much government dysfunction, the IRS has resolved the question of when and whether to tax tanning beds under the Affordable Care Act.

There are many who complain that big government is the root of all our problems.

It would be nice to write a column in praise of President Obama for his vigorous conduct of the war on terror -- to praise his willingness to look for "dots" to connect amid all the electronic noise of the communications web.

What were they thinking?Legislators this year enacted a law that essentially replaced college preparatory instruction with developmental education.

The recently proposed acquisition of Smithfield Foods by a Chinese company not only marks the largest acquisition of a U.S. company in history, but also highlights a strategic move by the worlds second largest economy to ensure they have enough food to feed their growing population over the long term.