Today is the day we honor those who have served our country, both the troops and their families. On days like this there are always debates about how to honor them, with views as diverse as the political spectrum. Some honor them by fighting for peace while others do so with flags. But there is one thing I think we can all agree on. Those who are killed or wounded in service to this country deserve the deepest...

by Rafael Jesús González, M.Div: University of Creation Spirituality, California ministry to the poor. Veterans Day When the First World War officially ended June 28, 1919, the actual fighting had already stopped the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month the previous year. Armistice Day, as it was known, later became a national holiday, and in 1954 (the year I graduated from high school),...

Please forgive me for visiting yet again the clown car that the Republican Party has become, but I can’t help myself. Writing about these wackjobs is like shooting fish in a barrel, although I have to occasionally remind myself that this is not a political version of The Office but a bunch of . . . er, clowns who will stoop as low as it takes to try to deny our Islamofascist president an encore. I initially...

The ring, a circle that has no beginning and no end, has been a symbol of undying love, fidelity, loyalty and of life itself through the ages. But the ring can also represent patriotism, bravery and sacrifice as in a military service academy ring, a combat aviator’s ring, the ring on a fallen soldier’s finger — a Ring of Honor. As we observe Veterans Day and honor all the men and women who...

Memo to Clint Eastwood: This admirer of your mature work is going to pass on the new Hoover movie. Even public monsters have inner lives, but some are beyond my capacity to care about, such as those of a man who built a self-glorifying empire by blackmail in Washington, ruining reputations, holding Presidents hostage in a personal police state and relentlessly hounding the century’s greatest exemplar of human...

In a few short hours last night, the board of trustees of Pennsylvania State University exorcised demons that had haunted a campus fondly known as Happy Valley for 13 long years. Legendary football coach Joe Paterno was fired outright despite his pleas to retire on his own terms after an extraordinary 62 seasons and more victories than any major college coach. University President Graham Spanier also was sacked. The...

People on the fence about whether the Penn State University board of trustees overreacted in firing legendary head football coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier might pause long enough to familiarize themselves with the background of the case. It is not a pretty picture. In 1998, campus police and Centre County law enforcement authorities investigated an allegation that Jerry Sandusky,...

John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Penn State and their sexual abuse intrusion cases are not alone is being peered at by a Grand Jury in Pennsylvania. See excerpt from EWTN news Feb 15 of this year 2011 below detailing Grand Jury findings on abject neglect of credible complaints of sexual intrusion of children in Catholic Diocese… one wonders what the h.e. double hockeysticks is in the water in Pennsylvania. But, then, it must be in the...

Although I’m not an alum of Penn State, during my 10 years in Pennsylvania I spent a lot of time at State College (“Happy Valley”), given that I worked in the dairy industry (and it’s the land grant institution). Maybe that’s why this story turns my stomach inside out. Or maybe it’s the inhuman nature of the tale. In case you’re tuning in late, on Saturday a grand jury...

Graham Spanier and Joe Paterno Legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno announced today that he plans to retire at the end of the football season, but that could be derailed when the university’s board of trustees, including Governor Tom Corbitt, meets on Friday in the wake of a sex abuse scandal that has implicated top school officials. Meanwhile, a newspaper reported that university President...

Analysts trying to gauge the mood of voters heading into 2012 based on the results of contentious ballot issues in yesterday’s low turnout off-year elections should be forgiven if they awoke this morning with hangovers because from all appearances the Democrats defied expectations in beating back a Republican agenda that only one year ago had helped return control of the House of Representatives to...

You’d think the political class would learn. American voters generally do not take kindly to partisan overreach. Yes, there are exceptions, but yesterday was a reminder that Americans tend to be more centrist than either hard core liberal or hard core conservative. For those who think yesterday was a reinvigoration of the Democratic Party and rejection of the Republican Party, do not be too quick to forget...

To say that Herman Cain has now completely made an ass of himself does a disservice to donkeys everywhere. With one of the four . . . uh, now five women who have accused Cain of sexual harassment providing a detailed and credible account of him groping her in a parked car in the context of him offering her a job, a second woman about to go public with a detailed account because she is angered that Cain remains...

This week is Veterans Day and a time for all of us to remember those who have served. But it is also worth remembering those who serve back at home. Families make HUGE sacrifices for our nation, they give up months and years with their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives. Beyond that many see their loved ones come home wounded, having to spend weeks or months in painful and difficult rehab...

In news that is likely to have an impact on the world economic situation, Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi has announced he will resign as PM once key economic votes are cast later this month. The votes will be on austerity packages demanded by other European nations. In the short term the news has seemed to have a positive impact on US markets (the news came after European markets closed). Berlusconi has been...

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has denied Texas motion for summary judgment on the Republican-drawn maps for U.S. House of Representatives, State Senate and State House. The order reads in part: Having carefully considered the entire record and the parties’ arguments, the Court finds and concludes that the State of Texas used an improper standard or methodology to determine...

A letter to the editor I quoted in “Homeless Veterans” created a lot of discussion — the overwhelming majority of it on how we can honor and help our veterans. Several readers suggested ways in which we can help veterans both with volunteerism and with our wallets. USA TODAY says: There are many ways we honor members of the armed services. We rise and applaud them at sporting events, wiping our eyes...

The revelations that the storied Penn State football program harbored a serial child rapist for over 40 years and that presidential wannabe Herman Cain is almost certainly a serial groper and harasser of women would not appear to be connected, but they very much are. By all rights, the arrest of longtime Penn State defense coordinator Jerry Sandusky on rape charges and the university’s athletic director...

The Shame in Happy Valley by Eugene Robinson Washington Post Columnist WASHINGTON — Legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said, “I did what I was supposed to.” In fact, nobody at Penn State did what basic human decency requires — and as a result, according to prosecutors, an alleged sexual predator who could have been stopped years ago was allowed to continue molesting young...

About three weeks ago, Reuters quoted Afghan President Hamid Karzai saying: “God forbid, if ever there is a war between Pakistan and America, Afghanistan will side with Pakistan,” Karzai also said: “Afghanistan will never forget the welcome, the hospitality, the respect, and the brotherhood showed by the Pakistani people towards the Afghan people…Pakistan will never betray their brother.” According...

Sometimes so much can be said with so few words. How about with 29 words: “Homeless veteran” should be a cultural oxymoron. The mere thought of it is profane. What kind of civil society leaves its defenders on winter streets, even for one night? * Just 29 little words. What a powerful, poignant message. Think about it this Veterans Day. * A November 5, 2011, Letter to the New York Times Editor by Mark...

Trap and Release by Peter Funt PHOENIX – When uninvited raccoons damage the lawn behind my house, I trap them, drive about five miles, and release them into the forest. Recently a guy saw me and asked that I stop. “We have our own raccoon problems,” he explained, adding that he also traps the critters. “So where do you take them?” I asked. He described a spot that turned out to...

Violet’s dad has passed away. This means Charlie’s mother is, I believe, the only parent still living. According to family he was often asked to quote his epic line “Violet you’re turning violet Violet” and did so with great pleasure. Of course the sad thing is that he had decades of service in the entertainment industry but is only remembered for this. However if we can all take...

The Family Research Council, a social conservative advocacy nonprofit headed by Tony Perkins, has awarded Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), a Tea Party freshman in Congress, a 100 percent rating as a “True Blue” member of Congress because of his “unwavering support of the family”: “We thank Cong. Walsh who has voted consistently to defend faith, family and freedom,” said the Council’s President, Tony...