This weekend marks the annual commemoration of this country's independence. The balloons, parades, fireworks, barbecues and flags can hide the fact that 233 years ago when the Founders placed their name on the Declaration of Independence they were knowingly signing a death warrant if their revolutionary efforts failed.

This fact...

Bernard Madoff stood in front of the judge just before receiving his sentence of 150 years for conducting the largest Ponzi scheme in history and read a personal statement. As he concluded, Madoff reportedly turned to the courtroom crowd, and said, "I am sorry," adding: "I know that doesn't help...

There is something about the criticisms levied toward President Obama on Iran that would be comical if they were not so serious. As protesters in Tehran have been met with the oppressive and brutal hand of its government, what is the proper tone that the president should strike? Should he...

If the California budget battles were a prizefight, the past several weeks was dominated by the pre-fight hype. This week begins the main event as each side puts forth their budget recommendations.

The Democratic-led Legislature will battle against Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger negotiating in a political climate that offers...

By the end of 2009 I predict President Barack Obama will sign something that will be touted as health care reform. Whether that something will be classified as universal health care, is yet to be determined.

With a bipartisan coalition of three former Senate majority leaders making their way to...

Can someone remind again me why Gray Davis was recalled by the California voters? I asked this question for the first time five years ago.

Back then, former Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill issued a statement that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget numbers were a "missed opportunity" to improve the state's fiscal...

This is my Sunday column, while it specifically addresses Alameda County, chances are others may find similar experiences in their area.

The family court system has, in theory, operated on the question, "What is in the best interests of the child?"

But the findings articulated at a one-day workshop...

Last week, I appeared on CNN's "No Bias, No Bull" to discuss the California Supreme Court's recent ruling that upheld Proposition 8.

One of the panelists on the program, citing what he called "overheated rhetoric" by those disappointed by the Prop. 8 decision, asked the following:

"In the big picture,...

Jack O'Dell is truly one of the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement and, thus, one of America's unsung heroes.

In a career spanning more than 50 years, he organized labor unions, wrote the first anti-Vietnam War editorial in a black periodical, and played critical roles in numerous civil...

"The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common...

As expected, the California Supreme Court upheld the slim majority that provided the margin for Proposition 8 to step outside of the boundaries of the constitution. In doing so, it has applied an asterisk next to the equal protection under the law clause at it relates to California's LGBT community.

What should we make of the reports that former defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld sent cover sheets to President George W. Bush quoting biblical verses?

Though it remains unclear if Rumsfeld were actually involved or personally sent the cover sheets to the president, I find the implications troubling.

While I personally...

To what extent can we still believe in the ideal of Jeffersonian democracy as America treads through its current series of crisis, economically and militarily?

Our public discourse seems to be dominated by a distrust of elected officials and a collective apathy on our part fueled by a sense of...

In 1963, Predident John F. Kennedy was initially leery of the proposed March on Washington. He was concerned the demonstration would place external pressure on his administration to act on civil rights legislation that he did not believe had the votes to pass in Congress.

Kennedy eventually endorsed the march...

Democrats could hardly control their glee, while Republicans offered the most implausible spin on the news that Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter would seek re-election next year as a Democrat.

Assuming Al Franken will someday become Minnesota's junior senator, Specter's departure from the GOP would potentially give the party of...

The Boston Tea Party is arguably the most famous direct action protest in United States history. In 1773, the British colony of Massachusetts stood up to the British government by refusing to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain. A group of colonists boarded three ships and destroyed the...

Too often public education is debated on the narrow terrain of what individuals already hold true.

The late University of California anthropologist John Ogbu was invited by concerned parents of the middle-class black community in Shaker Heights, Ohio to help ascertain why some black students in their highly regarded suburban...

What is it about the congressional seat that represents Oakland and Berkeley? Is there some radical potion that one consumes before occupying it?

Though radical tends to carry a definition of being an extremist, it is often a term given by the dominant culture because of the discomfort created by...

Richard Andrew Poplawski has entered the pantheon of individuals who demonstrate the absurdity of the human condition.

Who is Richard Andrew Poplawski? He is the person accused of killing three police officers in Pittsburgh, PA. 
I have only been to Pittsburgh once. Most of what I know about the city...

March Madness, one of the great sports phenomena in our culture concludes Monday night
For three weeks, the 65-team, single elimination men's college basketball tournament captures the nation's attention like no other sporting event except for the Super Bowl. Work productivity tends to slow down as priority is given...