Georgia's decision to go forward with the execution of Troy Davis in the face of an international outcry calling for time, clarity and justice has, once again, galvanized anti-death penalty consciousness here at home. What passes for fairness in parts of this country, and make no mistake, we're talking about...

Raised in the Catholic Church, I was a pretty confused kid. Father O'Reilly, one of the priests at St. Peter's, the church our family attended most of the time, spoke with such a pronounced brogue that I couldn't follow him. But I didn't understand the Mass either, so I smiled...

Hey, how you doing?

What's new? Been to Cuba lately?

Oh, that's right, you're only a U.S. citizen; you can't.

You can't. How stupid is that?

I guess they worry you'll catch communism or something. But you know what? Canadians and Europeans go there all the time without catching...

In Washington, Tea Party types and their Republican acolytes kept threatening to shut down the government, their mantra, a paraphrase of the old Reagan canard, "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem."

In Florida, their spiritual doppelgangers, Pastor Terry Jones and his Islamophobic Christian...

For a people that claims to treasure children, Americans have an odd way of showing it. The sharp line between people of faith who oppose abortion and those who believe it sometimes necessary is seen by many as the primary moral argument in the United States today. But the vitriolic...

Something to think about.

I find myself wondering if it's possible that the recent Helen Thomas scandal is based on a misunderstanding.

I, like most people I've heard address what happened, cringed when I saw the video of Ms. Thomas' response to the...

You've probably never heard of Greg Wilhoit. Which is too bad, because he's a hero. His story is one of the great unacknowledged tragedies of modern America. As sometimes happens with the quiet, unsung heroes, he's fighting for his life today. And not for the first time.

Greg is one...

As president of the board of Death Penalty Focus, an abolition organization, I find myself discussing executions a lot.

Whether to kill a person who commits a violent crime is a thorny question for some, I know, so I don't mind talking about it. Thoughtful consideration of the subject is...

My name is Mike Farrell. I'm an actor.

Many years ago, I was lucky enough to realize an ambition to portray John F. Kennedy, the first US President I was old enough to vote for. Made for PBS, the project was JFK, A One-Man Show, produced by...

Buried on page A23 of Sunday's L.A. Times (7-26), an article says ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has set up camp on the Nicaraguan side of his country's border with that neighboring state, hoping his family will be allowed to visit him there. Where, in the face of this continuing...

Arnold says the people spoke at the polls. They did, but he wasn't listening. Of course, English isn't his first language; celebrity is.

We didn't say our rich, healthy, girly-man dissing, celebrity governor should terminate welfare. Unlike some, we don't hate the poor.

We didn't say turn California into Mississippi....

President Obama's decision to spare CIA torturers from prosecution stands the Nuremberg principles on their head. "Good Germans" who were only following orders' are not exempt from the bar of justice. Individuals must be held responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Justice Robert Jackson, Chief United States...

El Salvador: Same Old, Same Old?

What's going on down south? Is it the 'same old, same old' in different form?

Yesterday, Archbishop Jose Luis Escobar Alas of San Salvador, echoing the assassinated Archbishop Oscar Romero, asked Salvadorans to stop the wave of violence that has shaken the country during...

The Hollywood-centric "Membership First" (MF) faction that has controlled the Screen Actors Guild's National Board for most of the last five years consistently uses tactics - misinformation, tough talk, over-promising and ineptitude - that undermine the union's credibility. Today, blustering and posturing instead of negotiating have clearly painted us into...

"You really do hate America!" This was the parting shot from a man I had just debated on a television show shortly before the invasion of Iraq. Because he's a notorious right-wing blowhard, I laughed it off as the ravings of a crackpot in extremis.

Little did I know......

This Piece Was Co-written by Donald A. McCartin

We are an unlikely pair -- not "The Odd Couple," but close. Forty-five years ago, one was a successful lawyer practicing in Orange County, the other an aspiring actor living there because his new wife taught at Laguna Beach High School.

Fyodor Dostoevsky once said, "The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons." Try it here in the U.S. But wear boots; it's a sewer.

You may know that our prisons are appalling. If you don't, you should; you're responsible. But even with what...

Mr. Bush claims that rumors of plans to attack Iran are 'baseless gossip.' So why am I still worried?

Five years ago we established Artists United to Win Without War because of concern about the veracity of Mr. Bush's claims about Iraq. We were alarmed at the hawkish tirades from...