I was introduced to the news of Barack Obama’s vice presidential pick by reading a Yahoo! news headline after waking up on Saturday. It said something like “Obama Picks Ultimate Washington Insider.” A Google search …

The Olympics are already more than halfway over. As usual, they have provided valuable life lessons for athletes and viewers alike. A small sample includes: Sports are more interesting and broadcast-worthy when Americans are good …

I am a member of Coop America, which is one of those liberal, save the planet, use your economic power to buy green and socially conscious stuff organizations. Being a member means that I pay …

Here’s a half-baked thought: Perhaps Michael Scott is a contemporary stereotype of a white person. Michael Scott is the ultimate nightmare boss, played by Steve Carell on The Office. But he’s not the mean kind …

I may have grown up in suburbia, but I’m not completely ignorant about farm life. After all, some years I spend an entire afternoon at a county fair. As a child I played some wicked …

The News-Gazette commentary section gave us a double helping of crazy this past Sunday from nationally-syndicated columnists. On the whole, that makes it a light day of crazy for the News-Gazette commentary section, which is …

In his column Single People Suck last week, Ryan touched a nerve among single people when he highlighted a billboard in Champaign that praised the economic advantages of being married. He believed this was an …

Every parade should be like the Washington Street Parade. It should be led by a single fire truck, followed by a homemade sign. The band should be filled with neighbors who value community and know …

During a trip to Colombia this spring, I heard a common theme from a number of Colombians with whom I spoke: In order to help Colombia’s drug violence problem, I should, as an American, work …

Last summer, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Tom McNamee listed his choices for the ten best Chicago movies of all time. His list appears to be lost to history via a content-reshuffle at the Sun-Times Web site, …