Our politicians serve up endless entrees of panique du jour. Of course, what we are supposed to be terrorized about differs, depending on whether you're looking at the left-hand page of the menu, or the right.

Regarding the campaign commercial, yes -- more like that, please. It's an important distinction that's crying out to be defined: while the Republicans might be good at coming up with scary bumper sticker slogans, the Obama team can actually do the job.

This week, a group of more than 130 former legislators, both Republicans and Democrats, released a letter urging for civility and encouraging candidates, once elected, to focus on cooperation to face our country's greatest challenges.

When you throw religion, politics and a seminal tragic event in modern American history into a pot, it's going to get sticky, messy and potentially unpleasant. Such a cocktail requires a thoughtful discussion.

The victim, Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca, was either "a straight-A student" or a "repeat juvenile offender" with a "history of involvement with human smuggling," depending whose story you believe.

We all understand that Americans have a short attention span, and an even shorter memory, but the Republicans are really counting on it as they exploit the post-underpants bomber freakout.

As we enter the back-to-school phase of the calendar, I want to share some good news and offer some unsolicited advice to our nation's education top cop.

Do you really want to limit vaccinations only to people who have legal documents, or would you rather everyone get inoculated? Remember, those you exclude will likely have some sort of contact with either you, your kids, or the food you eat at some point.

The debate over health care reform has turned to politics of fear and fear-mongering, instead of focusing on facts and reality.

National leaders deliberately sparked fear and anger over a consultation about death and sensational media threw fuel on the fire.

All we want is to be cared for at a price that we can all afford. But if we cannot afford and access our doctors and nurses, then the healthcare system fails us.

So life is scary. What ever happened to courage, the prime martial virtue that conservatives were supposed to praise and practice?

The minute Ted Kaczynski makes a run for it out of the Supermax in Colorado is the minute I'll agree that it's unsafe to bring the Gitmo detainees to the US.

We in the US are currently engaged in a "war on terror," but this does not give a democratic and free country license to be overwhelmed by fear of its own Muslim and Middle Eastern citizens.