Times have changed. Even though the likes of Beck and Limbaugh still frequently throw around the word "communist" as a favorite epithet, the Cold War has entered its third decade of being spoken of in the past tense. School children aren't taught to "duck and cover" under their desks in...

Only a few months ago strategists were urging their candidates in Mississippi to stay clear of the "Personhood" initiative they'd be sharing space with on the ballot. More than a few candidates, believing it was the only safe path, chose to take a public position in support of...

Some of my fellow Mississippian want to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War with license plates honoring Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Forrest, born into a large, poor family was a self-made man amassing a fortune through cotton planting, land speculation and slave trading. He was one of...

The Republican house isn't built on a strong foundation of rock, but rather shifting sands. And the foundations are settling noticeably as the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) holds its yearly conference in Washington. Make no mistake, schism is official within the world of conservative politics.

CPAC has...

While American troops will be working through the Christmas holidays, putting their lives on the line for our safety and while millions of Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of the "Prince of Peace," Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) brazenly choose to distort and manipulate this most...

Today Speaker Pelosi let it be known she would seek to remain as Leader of the House Democratic Caucus come the new Congress in January. I applaud this decision. Keeping Ms. Pelosi as House Democratic Caucus Leader is the smartest move members of that caucus could make. Her tenacity speaks...

Democracy is truly a beautiful thing. In America we fight it out, folks vote and our government shapes itself accordingly. We move forward.

Democracy can be hard, too. The harsh realities of money and its undue influence on working folks and middle class Americans simply seeking what's best for their...

A great deal of electronic ink has been spilled this past week about the recent Pew poll where about 1-in-5 Americans said they thought Obama was a Muslim. Everyone is asking how this happened and what could the White House have done differently to prevent it?

In hindsight most...

The churches I grew up in have remarkable Veterans Day celebrations. They are like Father's Day, Mother's Day and Valentine's Day all rolled into one. I love those celebrations. The church choir sings "God Bless America," and the preacher or deacon calls out the various branches of military service: Army,...

America has often been the leader in innovation and the driving force of change throughout our history. One of the pressing issues of our time is climate change, and as South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has said in the past, "We refuse to accept the argument...

The edges of the American political and social landscape are loud right now. Too many Americans have retreated to their corners willing only to hurl names and labels and insults across the great divide to those with opposing opinions.

This is not healthy for our nation. Not the opposing opinions;...

The edges of the American political and social landscape are loud right now. Too many Americans have retreated to their corners willing only to hurl names and labels and insults across the great divide to those with opposing opinions.

This is not healthy for our nation. Not the opposing opinions;...

The unfolding coal mine disaster in West Virginia has me constantly checking the news for updates on the plight of our fellow Americans who are victims of this latest tragedy.

It seems that every few years we find ourselves going through the same motions, experiencing the same feelings and faced...

This past week, Glenn Beck publicly revealed that his staff is moving beyond simply twisting the news for ideological ends to now funding opposition research and internet attack campaigns with the stated purpose of destroying the personal credibility of pastors who dare to question statements made by FOX...

If I had been Paul banging out parts of the New Testament, in the days of yore, certainly I would have claimed myself as a "Southerner of Southerners" from a cotton growing family.

My father, "Big Daddy," was the Sheriff in my native Mississippi County in the 1960s, 70s and...

I missed my 20 year high school class reunion down in Mississippi because I was with Nancy Pelosi at the World War II Memorial's grand opening. In those days I worked for the Speaker and one of the areas I managed for her was issues and outreach to our nation's...

Pungent piles of Republican nay-saying to the American jobs and stimulus package are getting so deep in Washington that shovel-ready jobs are needed to shovel it all to the dump. Could this be the Republican job creation...

Governor Palin and her brand of Republicanism are about to overcook my grits.

She and those who drink from the same mug have decided that you are not a real American, maybe you are even anti-American, if you...