Barack Obama is a gifted storyteller, and he's always used his own life as a text, a parable, a lesson. Read More

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when every news organization in Washington was feeding out of Kenneth Starr's soft little hand like a Shetland pony. Read More

There will be an event on Capitol Hill this week that will tell us a lot about the future of comprehensive immigration reform. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the Senate Gang of Eight reform proposal. It doesn't have any great official purpose; the Gang bill hasn't even made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, much less the full Senate, and is not before the House. So the House committee ... Read More

A world-famous entertainer announced that she and her boyfriend were splitting up in one of the saddest tweets I've ever read: "We have decided to go our separate ways. Please respect our privacy." Read More

You don't have to be a member of the tea party to be outraged over the Internal Revenue Service's special and unwarranted scrutiny of conservative groups. I'm not, and I am. Read More

The Internal Revenue Service has been the object of jokes for decades. The one that sticks in my mind, because it's relevant, is Jerry Seinfeld's TV character talking about being called in for a tax audit. "Have you ever been audited?" he asks Elaine. "It's the financial equivalent of a complete rectal examination." Read More

Get ready for some fun and excitement this week because I have all sorts of business news in store. Read More

Finally, an issue Republicans and Democrats can agree on: The Justice Department went too far in secretly obtaining phone records from the Associated Press that covered parts of two months and more than 20 separate lines. Read More

Thirty or so years ago, I reported from a New York state prison for juvenile delinquents on how American teens were being held behind bars without any consideration for their constitutional rights. To what extent has this changed in states today? Read More

In memory of former Lifestyles editor Janice Howard, we reprint this article written by Janice about growing up in Warren County. Read More

When I first signed up for Facebook, I was thrilled to get back in touch with old friends, distant relatives, high school classmates and old co-workers. I'd check in to find out they had new children, new spouses, new lives, new hobbies, and new kitchens. It was like having a little newspaper that only printed news about people I actually knew. Read More

Are snowboard instructors key to American immigration policy? Well, they're important enough to be specifically included in the Senate bipartisan Gang of Eight immigration reform bill. Read More

After disappearing during his term in office and bringing scandal to his family and state, former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford is going to Washington, having won election to Congress. And that's far from the worst story reflecting the current character of our nation. Read More

The older I get, the more I appreciate Mother’s Day – and the more I appreciate my own mother, Gertrude. She was born in 1907 in the old Goodbars community, the fifth of 10 children – five boys and five girls. Read More

We’re once again in the market for a new vehicle – or maybe the better term is a newer vehicle. I’m not exactly sure what we’ll end up with and, to tell the truth, I’m sort of dreading the process. Read More