There were two fundamental rules driven home on a daily basis throughout my Catholic education from kindergarten to my senior year of high school, and they were taught either explicitly or through the immersion within Catholic culture. The lessons were straightforward: the Catholic Church is not a democracy, and the...

Another shooting tragedy took place in the United States, this time at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., and once again, as the chaos and confusion begins its descent, Americans are left wondering what has happened and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. If previous occurrences...

When one thinks of the City of Detroit, many possible images scrounge to the surface. Perhaps it's the Detroit Tigers set to make their second World Series appearance in six years. Maybe it's the resurgent Detroit Lions returning to the Monday Night Football party on a regular basis after an...

I watched in agony as the NFL's replacement officials botched a call in the final seconds of Monday Night Football's match between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, costing Green Bay a critical victory. As a hardcore Packers fan, I had experienced such misery only once before, and that...

There has been plenty of coverage of America's economic downturn in recent years but there has been one glaring hole: the perspective of the recent college graduate attempting to wade through such uncertainty. Considering one year has passed since my graduation party where my Master's thesis served as the guest...

What hasn't Tim Tebow, the star quarterback for the Denver Broncos, inspired in the past few weeks since becoming an NFL starter? Tebow's infamous genuflection, or "Tebowing," has led to at least one institution recognizing it as an official term. Students in New York were suspended...

The 1985 Chicago Bears will go down in history as one of the most dominant teams to ever endure the rigors of an NFL schedule. That same Super Bowl squad has another distinction most championship teams lack: a cancelled White House visit. Days after the Chicago Bears thumped the New...

Nearly two months ago I had a blog posted on the Huffington Post criticizing the advertising campaign for the then-newly released movie Bad Teacher starring Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel. The ad campaign included a television trailer implying the drop in America's educational ranking around the world is...

At theaters all across America this weekend, a new comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Jason Segal hit the big screens. While a movie debuting on a Friday is nothing new, the content of this film stands out from the rest. The Bad Teacher title gives a subtle hint about the...

Since the Great Depression the Republican Party has perceived by the American public as the party that's weaker on economics but stronger on defense. With 2012 coming closer, Republican candidates hoping to earn a four-year trip to the Oval Office understand they need to be strong on economic policy. How,...

I'm a middle class white male and have been for a long time, at least as long as I can remember. Truthfully, those classifications have never really played a significant part in my own self-identification, and they never really became an issue until the self-awareness that comes with the late...

Well, in fairness, it didn't really ruin my relationship with my girlfriend. I wouldn't necessarily call it strained, either - more of an awkward, silent standoff where we walk in circles around one another while giving a suspicious stare. I should give a little background as to how a restaurant...

It never seems to fail. Just when you feel that you've moved on to a better era, a dark and sinister character from your past appears and offers a subtle reminder of how you once used to live. Like an ex-significant other who you painfully run into on the street,...

The results of the latest Census will be released on Tuesday, which has large ramifications for America's political landscape. Though the results have yet to be released, Republicans are quietly optimistic that the Northeast portion of the United States -- traditionally associated with the Democratic Party -- will lose six...

A new study has recently been released by the Pentagon that suggests the risks believed to be associated with having openly gay men and women in the military are relatively negligible and wouldn't create lasting problems within the military. The study includes the thoughts of those currently serving and boasts...

As my two year anniversary with my girlfriend drew near, my frustrations began to mount. I have always been a sucker for big time gifts, and I wanted to do something that would truly knock her socks off. Cleaning her apartment while she was at work and making her a...

With August right around the corner, the doldrums of summer are finally here, and that can only mean one thing: MTV's Jersey Shore is upon us. Despite claims Jersey Shore portrays Italian-Americans in a negative light, the show has increased in publicity and viewership. One such American upset with the...

The frustration and embarrassment of the sexual abuse scandal that has plagued the Catholic Church added another chapter recently, this time in Belgium. The quiet European nation was rocked by news their longest standing bishop, Roger Vangheluwe, was to resign after admitting to sexually molesting a young boy. To add...

Though it may seem counter intuitive, there's a major advantage to being the political outsider in our power-sharing system. When a person or political party is stripped of their power, it offers an opportunity -- whether desired or not -- for self-reflection. After the heartbreaking presidential loss of 2000 and...

I belong to one of the most coveted demographics in the world: a sports-loving American who has never been able to latch on to the world-dominating sport of soccer. We sit stateside, an untapped media market of nearly 300 million people up for viewership grabs, and remain lackadaisical. And there...