There is no such thing as sex with a child. There is no such thing as sex with an underage girl. I feel like this should go without saying, but as I look through national reporting on the Jeffrey Epstein case, it seems like I need to be shouting this from the rooftops. In case you missed the news, Billionaire Epstein has been accused (again) of sexual assault and sexual exploitation of children. He has a range of high-profile acquaintances, including former and current presidents, actors, and

A few weeks ago, when I was driving in Northern Virginia visiting Civil War battlefield sites, I happened across a sign for James Madison's home, Montpelier. After thinking about it for a few seconds, I decided to drive the 28 miles to Orange, Virginia to visit the home of the founding father I've read the least about. During the guided tour, which was well worth the $20, I learned that I both wanted and needed to learn more about the brilliant Mr. Madison. Also, during that tour, I got to see

As an unabashed liberal, I've always found it ironically amusing when a position I take is supported and endorsed by a conservative. That was the case recently with David Brooks, columnist for the New York Times, who appears each Friday on NPR's All Things Considered. Discussing the proposed citizenship question on our upcoming census, Brooks began by stating it would be within the scope of any administration to request such a question. No surprise there. But it was his next comment that really

“Human consciousness does not emerge at any depth except through struggling with our shadow,” says Fr. Richard Rohr. Years ago, I attended a leadership workshop where our facilitator, Don, began with asking us to think of a person that annoyed us and to name that behavior. Well, that opened everybody up! “I hate the way Sally brags about her accomplishments!” “It annoys me when Pete always has to state another point of view to what I’m saying!” “My temperature rises whenever Sam interrupts me to

During the awards ceremony at my son's Chinese school, I was struck by how the advanced teacher praised the students who were being recognized. Instead of focusing on their achievements, she described how hard they had worked, how they had faced difficulties and overcome them, and how they had improved during the semester. This ceremony was significant for me because it showed how much U.S. culture has ceased to value work. While as an educator I pride myself in using the microcosm of the

On Thursday of last week, this nation celebrated its 243rd year of independence from British rule. This independence was the culmination of an 8-year war, fought on American soil, known as the American Revolution. It was during the American Revolution that the Constitution of the United States was established. The articles of the Constitution would serve as the foundation of how this new autonomous country interpreted the concepts of freedom and liberty, among other things. This national holiday

This July 4th I was the first person awake in our household, which is always a good feeling, to be first at something. Even before I pushed the button on our old coffee maker, I looked out the window and noticed we had visitors. Three Tom turkeys stood in a slant of morning sunshine on the dewy grass. The big Toms weren’t up to much. Not pecking, not lekking, not fretting. Just basking in that slant of light. It’s rare to see wild creatures in repose, but that’s the word that came to mind. The

A new Ipsos study finds that millennials are listening to more radio than other generations are. Many of them spend more time on audio than they do on social media. To be sure, they aren’t listening to radio on radios. They’re doing it on their phones. This puzzles me, since I thought phones were designed to be cameras. This millennial rediscovery of radio is a good thing. The almighty image leaves little to the imagination, unless we’re talking about a Picasso. But on radio, when you hear a

In his farewell address in 1961, President Eisenhower spoke about the danger of the growing defense industry and how it might influence the military. He coined a term -- military industrial complex -- to focus attention on this serious issue.

And now, a little lesson. The definition of oppression is “the systematic institutionalized mistreatment of one group over another for whatever reason.” Whew! What a mouthful. I share this because among several comments Mitch McConnell made about reparations for slave families, he also argued it would be difficult to determine who to pay because "waves of immigrants" come to the country who have faced "dramatic discrimination." OK, Mitch, far be it from me to give you a history lesson. Slaves