If there was a funeral notice, I missed it. No obituary appeared in any of my daily papers. But make no mistake about it: In the spring of 2011 in the United States of America, our collective sense of moral outrage must now be officially dead.
Hopefully, everyone reading this column successfully made it through another April Fool's Day. It is difficult for me to have any serious conversation on the first day of April because I'm always worried that I will be made a fool in the end.
Across the country, American families and businesses are feeling the impact of higher gasoline prices. But while some politicians may claim they have a quick fix, the truth is that in the years to come, prices will continue to go up more than they go down. There are only long-term solutions.
Those of us who have been around the block a few times will remember the last time gasoline hit $4 per gallon a new industry sprang up. Drivers could buy magnets to attach to fuel lines to allegedly boost a car's gas mileage by 20 or even 30 percent.
Every American should look at Libya through the prism of the 1988 Pan Am 103 terrorist bombing that left 270 people dead. Moammar Gadhafi - the man whom Ronald Reagan called the mad dog of the Middle East - ordered an attack that killed mostly American civilians in a bombing over British soil. Yet rather than be beaten by more powerful nations, he lived to crow about it.
The tragic death of Costa Mesa city worker Huy Pham after jumping from atop the City Hall building last week - hours after receiving a layoff notice - should serve as a wakeup call. In these depressing economic times, everyone needs to remember that our jobs are not who we are. That might seem like a simple concept, but it isn't. Our culture is centered on ambition and "The ...
Three plus years ago when I left the Navy, I remember thinking "I will never tell anyone to join the military." I thought the only thing I learned from my five years in the Navy was that I could accomplish a lot without having to deal with the rigors of military life.
The earthquake and subsequent tsunami which ravaged Japan last week were unqualified tragedies.
Geology has surely been in the news lately, with the price of petroleum moving relentlessly upward, a threat to global economic recovery because oil is so central to industrial society the world around.
The hearings that will determine whether eight current and former Bell city leaders will stand trial for misappropriating more than $5 million is a prime example of the "not my fault" mentality that has become commonplace in America today.
I have a confession to make: I used to be a smoker.
Of all the jobs that American citizens might do, and of all the careers for which they may train, only one profession is constitutionally protected. The First Amendment to the Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of speech and of the press; and by "the press", they meant journalism.
Dear governors, welcome to Washington! We are delighted you are visiting us for the National Governors Association Winter Meeting this weekend.
On Saturday morning, I received an e-mail from my cousin, informing me that he – while on a family trip to London – had been mugged and effectively left for dead.
Every couple believes in "happily ever after" when they're in love. As they plan their future together, the thought of separation never enters their minds. But all too often, one or both partners will one day decide the best course of action is to go their separate ways.
For the majority of Turlockers, preparing grand feasts for the holidays is nothing new. But a deeper, often overlooked and undervalued, power of those feasts may come as a surprise. The fact is, in any food, mixed in with the pinch of spice and seasoning is the unique ingredient of unification. Food brings together world leaders, as they may convene at a dinner over the Millennium Development Goals. Food draws together communities, as ...
Steve Fossett was a successful American businessman and a multi-millionaire. He also was a risk taker.
Artificial or real. It's the seasonal version of the plastic or paper question.
Medical science increasingly has some evidence of a principal your mother warned you about: there really is too much of a good thing. A few folks throw themselves headlong into aerobic exercise. Most of these hard-core endurance athletes start young. Many fall by the wayside in middle age, but there are also those who keep going, completing marathons and similar events well into retirement age. What happens to the heart muscles of ...
Gas - as one Valley billboard proclaimed last summer - is $1.10 per gallon.
Some election cycles it seems that nothing changes. The incumbents are reelected, or candidates with the same ideology take their place. On Nov. 6, Turlock voters elected to replace incumbent City Council member Mary Jackson with newcomer Steven Nascimento. What, if any, change will this bring to the City Council? While Jackson has, in the past, supported more traditionally Democratic ideals and Nascimento is currently a district director for Republican State Senator ...
Thursday was our nation's 223rd Thanksgiving.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau I just reached "middle age," or the approximate mid-way point in the expected lifespan of a female living in the United States. This factoid is surprising to me because I feel like I just graduated high school a few years ago. This warp in my time perception also extends to other events in my life. I still talk about when I was a Journal sports reporter "a ...
It's open season on law-abiding Californians.
With another Presidential Election safely tucked away for four more years, some folks may be relieved to revert once again to their set of typical tasks. But try as we might to return to normalcy, one concept seems to forever trickle into our lives - patriotism. Are we patriotic enough? Or perhaps the more important question: do we need to be? I would like to believe that patriotism is just as relevant ...
Every year, our country comes together on Veterans Day to honor the brave men and women of our armed services who risk their lives daily to protect our freedoms and to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice defending our country. America would not be what it is today without the heroism and sacrifice of those individuals bravely serving our country. Our service men and women risk their lives to protect our country and ...
The republic is still standing.
The fact I'm typing this on an i-Pad may lead one to believe that I would be right at home with a Kindle. I'm not.
Detroit's city leadership is probably relieved that the Tigers didn't win the World Series.
The scariest time of the year is almost upon us.