The first thing this morning, someone wished me “Happy MLK Day.” The person who greeted me was a 30-something-year-old man on one of my social media accounts. He was not alive a half-century ago, when Dr. King was a lightning rod in America. For him, Dr. King is another American…

Thanksgiving in America is this week. Do you know what happens on Friday? Yes, there are Friday sales, and yes, communities light their public decorations. Homes across the USA will put up their Christmas Trees, light the outdoor decorations, and nearly every department store will blast shoppers with Christmas music. …

Many of my subscribers don’t know the guy in the photo. Everyone in my hometown knows who he is. For those who are not local readers, allow me to introduce you. His name is Andrew Wheeler, Kankakee County, Illinois Board Chairman. He is a reformer, largely alone in his efforts…

I am not going to say a lot about the events of twenty-one years ago today except to mention with profound sadness that I suspect the day will stay with those of us who lived through it the same way Pearl Harbor stayed with my parent’s generation. As a child…

Starting today, consumers in Illinois will see lower gas prices, food prices, cuts, suspensions, and rebates of their income taxes. The state has balanced the budget for the first time in years, and now is starting to produce a surplus, the State of Illinois is suspending some taxes to help…

I suspect this article will irritate two groups of people: atheists, and Fundamentalist Christians. I’m not judging your religious beliefs, or lack thereof, rather I am often asked why I am not an atheist? I am asked this question nearly equally by the two above-named groups. Many of my friends…

I’m grateful to my children for raising me. I know it wasn’t always easy for them and I often disappointed them along the way, but I’ve always loved them from the moment my first child made her appearance one November afternoon in 1977. I was 27, and as I look…

I was born in the shadow of World War II. Each year, June 6, was a day everyone stopped and remembered this day in 1944. For many years I saw my mother shed tears on this day as she would take a photo of a young sailor from the bottom…

Today is a day we should set aside partisan politics and come together as a nation to honor those who died in war defending our freedom. When we ask how many American soldiers have died in war it is a surprisingly hard question to answer. We can only estimate since…