At last, after wandering for weeks in the desolate wasteland known as "American Idol's" audition rounds, we have emerged into the deafening, hyperbole-ridden circus known as "Hollywood Week." This is not actually an improvement, because it seems as though we're actually hearing less singing now than we did...
Mike Ragogna | Posted February 9, 2012 | Entertainment
A Conversation with Melissa Manchester
Mike Ragogna: Melissa, how are you?
Melissa Manchester: It's going well, Mike. How are you?
MR: Doing very well. Your latest release, Playlist: The Very Best of Melissa Manchester, isn't a typical Greatest Hits or Very Best Of collection...
Crystal Bell | Posted February 9, 2012 | TV
Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 1, Episode 14 of ABC's "Revenge," entitled, "Perception."
From the minute "Revenge" premiered, the entire season has been leading up to one simple question: Who shot Daniel Grayson?
"Perception," this week's episode, may not have given us...
Amb. Marc Ginsberg | Posted February 9, 2012 | World
"We do not want further militarization of the situation in Syria." So sheepishly declared an Obama Administration spokesman today when pressed why isn't the U.S. prepared to help defend defenseless Syrian protestors by providing humanitarian and perhaps financial and logistical support to the Free Syrian Army.
My how the...
David Wild | Posted February 9, 2012 | Entertainment
Size matters, and Music's Biggest Night is this Sunday on CBS - the 54th Grammy Awards hosted the coolest friend I have - the great LL Cool J. This is going to be a Grammy night to remember. Am I biased having worked on the show for the past...
Lyle Denniston | Posted February 8, 2012 | Politics
In a continuing series of posts, Lyle Denniston provides responses based on the Constitution and its history to public statements about the meaning of the Constitution and what duties it imposes or rights it protects. Today's topic: same-sex couples and marriage.
The statements at issue:
"There's no reason...
MeiMei Fox | Posted February 8, 2012 | Impact
Have you ever thought about where your underwear comes from?
If you're an eco-conscious, socially responsible shopper like me, you probably buy organic dairy and free-range grass-fed meats, as well as earth-friendly dish soaps, detergents, and shampoos. You might also have your fruits and vegetables delivered each week from...
C. M. Rubin | Posted February 8, 2012 | Education
Just imagine being able to offer very poor Indian children a chance in life: the...
Eric X. Li | Posted February 8, 2012 | World
This piece was published in the South China Morning Post on Feb. 9, 2012.
Hong Kong -- A specter is haunting Hong Kong. And it is not communism. It is the sight of undesirable women roaming the streets of this acclaimed world city. They exhibit specific physical attributes. First were...
Laura Prudom | Posted February 8, 2012 | TV
We're all familiar with the age-old adage, "Less is more;" but find me a TV fan who wouldn't eagerly take an extra 12 (or 24, or 48, or non-stop until Jim Parsons passes out from exhaustion) episodes of their favorite series, instead of a long and laborious summer hiatus.
...
Angela Glover Blackwell | Posted February 8, 2012 | Politics
Quality and affordable transportation access is more critical than ever for linking everyday Americans to jobs, schools, grocery stores, hospitals, and other vital services. Yet Congress is preparing to vote on a proposal that would strip away all investments in public transit and walking infrastructure -- leaving countless communities disconnected...
Christopher Holshek | Posted February 8, 2012 | Politics
Mitt Romney, the likely challenger to President Obama this fall, has had a few public-speaking gaffes. There is one theme, however, that Romney has hit on -- and will likely many more times -- that should be taken much more seriously. It is the conservative contention about American decline. Beyond...
D. R. Tucker | Posted February 8, 2012 | Politics
It's only fitting that the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional on the same day that the Boston Globe reported on a Boston-area black church proclaiming acceptance for members of the LGBT community. From coast to coast, it seems, equality is...
Alyssa Jung | Posted February 8, 2012 | Sports
The new season is officially here! As soon as I woke up on Monday after the Super Bowl, I rejoiced. NFL 2011, peace out. I'd say it's been nice but I'd be lying. It was kind of nice for a little bit and then it got really bad, really fast,...
Daoud Kuttab | Posted February 8, 2012 | World
Unlike his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, the current Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is not known for hoarding power or being authoritarian. Abbas will most likely end his revolutionary/professional career in retirement and not in a direct struggle with his enemies.
But in spite of his power-sharing style of management, Abbas finds...
Stanton Peele | Posted February 8, 2012 | Science
Have you heard about the earth-shaking new study "proving" that addicts inherit a brain dysfunction that causes them to have poor impulse control? Published in the most prestigious fundamental research journal in the world, Science, investigators at Cambridge found that siblings, half of whom were drug-abusers/addicts and half...
Ruth Conniff | Posted February 8, 2012 | Politics
Russ Feingold raised hackles when he criticized President Obama's reversal on raising money through a Super PAC.
"I think people will see it as phony that Democrats start playing by Republican rules," the former Democratic Senator from Wisconsin told Sam Stein of The HuffingtonPost:
"People will see...
Donna Labermeier | Posted February 8, 2012 | Fifty
The question, "Do you love yourself?" is, in fact, not a simple question at all for possibly the majority of people on the planet. For many, it can be a terribly painful question.
As Valentine's Day looms just around the corner, we must all realize that the most important thing...
Laura Giangiulio | Posted February 8, 2012 | Impact
Hollywood stars have a unique gift. It's not the ability to make audiences laugh (or cry), or the free swag constantly bestowed upon them. Their gift comes from the power to promote whatever they support to millions of people through talk shows, weekly magazines, and ever-growing social media followings. 

Understanding...
Coya White Hat-Artichoker | Posted February 8, 2012 | Gay Voices
I am a queer Sicangu Lakota woman living in Minneapolis. I grew up on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota and have spent most of my adult life in the Midwest. I came out when I was 18 years old, with great privilege and safety at a queer youth center in...
Laura Prudom | Posted February 9, 2012 | TV