Over the past few months, two issues have dominated the debate over how to reform our nation's ailing health-care system: reducing costs and expanding access to quality, affordable coverage for every American. For long-time advocates of universal care like me, the discussion is an encouraging sign that we're closer than...

My email has been overflowing this week from wonderful people concerned about the presidential campaign. They all have valuable input. Many are deeply worried about how the campaigns are proceeding, some people are in full fledged panic, many have good advice on 'what must be done immediately' and others...

Yesterday I went to some meetings in the Chicago Headquarters of the national Obama for President campaign. For nearly three decades I have visited the national headquarters of almost every Democratic candidate for president. And they have all been alike. Until yesterday.

The usual headquarters is clutter, organized chaos,...

This week in Turkey Hollow we had over six inches of rain in two days. As the Willowemoc River rapidly rose, another flood was on everyone's mind. It has been only two years since the last deluge hit neighboring Livingston Manor very hard. This time the water rose just to...

Many of us have known for years that it is indeed possible to withdraw our troops from Iraq in an orderly and sane fashion in a comparatively short period of time. Any doubts that this could be done were erased yesterday when Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced that Iraq...

1. The oil companies will lower gas prices before the election and then increase them right after the election. To add insult to injury, station windshield squeegees will be eliminated.

2. The Bush administration will be filled with demonstrative bluster and talk about troop withdrawal from Iraq. After the...

Over the thirty years I have traveled back and forth to Africa, I had never seen the notorious Wild Dogs. One of Africa's most endangered species, they are rare sightings and even more rare is the opportunity to spend time with them due to their constant state of motion. From...

Over the last weeks, I have been scratching my head wondering who would be a great Vice President for our nominee, Barack Obama. My thoughts have drifted from Governor Sebelius to Senator Clinton to Senator Edwards. All of them bring great strength to the ticket in different ways but one...

As the first day of June arrives, the general consensus here in Turkey Hollow, is that May was one of the coldest in quite some time. The sky spit down the last hours of snow, just about mid-month, much to everyone's dismay.

So it...

There are some situations so obvious that you almost feel you don't have to comment upon them. Then you wake up one morning and realize not only should you have expressed your opinion but you should have done it loudly and resoundingly and repeatedly. The odious concept of former Georgia...

The recent street protests in Burma, led by Buddhist monks, created the most striking images of dissent since Chinese citizens staged protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Photographs showed simple, serene monks holding upturned begging bowls and facing down armed troops. These images invoked the kind of courage we saw...

Evan Wolfson is a dear friend of mine. Almost more than any other, Evan is responsible for bringing the issue of marriage equality to the forefront of our struggle for civil rights. He is a courageous pioneer who has been relentless in this battle for marriage equality. Evan has agreed...

Driving from Austin to Johnson City, it dawned on me that I was soon to be at LBJ Ranch to be hosted by Lady Bird Johnson. The event was to raise funds for her son-in-law Senator Robb who was in...

I will never forget sitting in the first row of the California delegation at the 1984 Democratic Convention in San Francisco and watching Gary Hart, a young and vibrant United States Senator from Colorado, challenge Vice President Mondale for the Democratic nomination for president. While the Vice President was a...

As the 2008 campaign begins in earnest, most pundits are talking about e-mail and video announcements, mandatory trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, and campaign Web sites. But are they missing the big picture?

With a year to go, we already have an impressive roster of at least eight well-qualified...

It seems like months since John Edwards spoke at Riverside Church and challenged his former colleagues in the United States Senate to use their power to end the war in Iraq. He said that they have the power and should use it, and that the Senate had "a moral duty...