I would like any information you can provide about my old Teddy bear. Its head, arms and legs move. It is hard, so it must be stuffed with sawdust. The fur is a little worn, but it is in good shape for the age. ...more

December 27, 2009

This holiday season, it's not surprising that one of Hollywood's biggest box office hits is the revival of Charles Dickens classic tale, "A Christmas Carol." This Victorian-era story of good versus greed still clearly strikes a chord with audiences watching Wall Street pay out million-dollar bonuses while Main Street struggles to make ends meet. The dynamic can be found in our nation's capital as well, with some policy-makers often too eager to play Santa to special interests, at the cost of protecting our public lands from such travesties as the 1872 Mining Law. ...more

December 25, 2009

One professor called it spiteful. Another said it was far-fetched. Those were the reactions Wednesday to U.S Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite's request that President Barack Obama get the permission of Congress before he accepts the Nobel Peace Prize. ...more

October 29, 2009

Alexis Marie Ashby wanted a teddy bear with flowers or a heart. The 9-year-old patient at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Tampa got a black bear with a red heart sweater and quickly named it Valentine. ...more

July 1, 2009

James Whitmore, a leading character actor whose craggy face became a familiar one to film, television and stage audiences for decades and who won wide acclaim for a pair of one-man performances, as the humorist Will Rogers and a vinegary Harry S. Truman, died Friday at his home in Malibu, Calif. He was 87. ...more

February 8, 2009

James Whitmore, the many-faceted character actor who delivered strong performances in movies, television and especially the theater with his popular one-man shows about Harry Truman, Will Rogers and Theodore Roosevelt, died Friday, his son said. He was 87. ...more

February 6, 2009

Graciously conceding as vice president in 1980, Walter Mondale spoke of voters wielding "their staggering power." This year's energized electorate did that, thereby proving, among other things, that bad governance is good for turnout, a fact that should give pause to people who think high rates of voting are unambiguous indicators of civic health. ...more

November 8, 2008

There are two major political parties in America, but there are at least three major political tendencies. The first is orthodox liberalism, a belief in using government to maximize equality. The second is free-market conservatism, the belief in limiting government to maximize freedom. ...more

October 28, 2008

Every so often, not just every four years, but in a seemingly endless succession of election years, we're deluged, bombarded, and swamped with political posturing and pontificating. Each side tries to convince us poor ignorant peasants that their candidate walks on water and will make the civilized world safe from all predators while their opponent, if elected, will bring us to the brink of extinction. ...more

September 13, 2008

The long and divisive war in Iraq is about to resonate with presidential candidates in a way not seen so far in the campaign: The sons of both vice presidential nominees are assigned to go there soon. ...more

September 6, 2008