The Oprah Bowls

If you think participation awards are only for youth sports, think again. This year there are 44 college bowl games including the playoff games. And with 125 Division-1 schools, approximately two-thirds of all college programs had their seasons extended one more month. You know the arguments. On the negative side: These shiny bits of plastic … Read more

Dipping into the Private Dole

…Or why I oppose congressional term limits. The recent passing of former Kansas Senator Robert Dole is one more of those occasions on which I had an opportunity to reflect on past experiences. In February 1996, I was responsible for facilitating Senator Dole’s appearance at the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington, D.C. Responsibility … Read more

A Nation Divided

Yesterday’s Supreme Court session at which the justices heard arguments in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was just the latest salvo in the culture wars which continue to demarcate two very distinct camps or tribes within the American populace. Perhaps it is no coincidence that, on the same day, Harvard University … Read more

A Thanksgiving Carol

As Craig Ferguson used to announce at the start of each of his late, late show monologues, “It’s a great day for America.” [NOTE: Ferguson became a naturalized U.S. citizen on February 1, 2008, an experience chronicled in his memoir America on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot. He took particular pride in … Read more

All the World’s a Stage

BLOGGER’S NOTE: Today marks the first entry in a new category “Comic Relief,” a subcategory of “Random Thoughts.” The reason for this addition is my sense of ennui associated with the current state of affairs in the United States and around the world. It feels we are in the middle of a five-act Shakespearean tragedy … Read more