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The strange case of the two Sullivans

How many "Dan Sullivans" does an election need? One would seem plenty, but Alaska is going to the polls with two "Dan Sullivans" on the ballot -- one the sitting Republican U.S. senator in a nip-and-tuck battle to save his seat, and the other a random guy whose only discernible purpose in ...

Driving culture has changed

No part of our culture seems to be untouched when it comes to changes in etiquette, general kindness and compassion. Including driving. Research doesn’t show that people are worse drivers. It does indicate, though, that driving culture has changed. And it shows up many times when I’m on ...

Social (In)Security

"We will always protect Social Security, Medicare!" says President Donald Trump. That would be nice. But when I look at these programs' balance sheets, I don't see how he's protected anything. Both Social Security and Medicare are on track to run out of money. Politicians mostly ignore ...

Can Brazil and Venezuela tolerate opposition?

Latin American democracy is being put to the test in Brazil and Venezuela. At stake is whether the left-wing government in either country can countenance the idea of legitimate opposition. The day after losing Brazil's presidential election, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro had his personal and ...

The BCS wasn't perfect, but did it get something right?

Although I always complained about the BCS era of college football, when the Coaches' Poll and the AP Poll rankings were used with computer algorithms that factored in strength of schedule and win-loss records to crown a national champion, I'm now beginning to think this 16-year period really ...

First and last: How life prepared me to lead

A few days ago, my wife and I sat and watched Neil Young sing "Old Man," a song written decades ago by a young man who looks at an older one and recognizes himself. I have heard it many times over the years, but this time it landed differently. I am closer now to the old man in that song than ...