I must admit that I am a fan of George Clooney. He was hilarious as the fast-talking con man in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and Up in the Air is a criminally underrated classic. Also, he’s Batman,...

In light of the recent turmoil occurring in the U.S. government, it might be hard to make people laugh about anything remotely related to politics, but last week Jimmy Kimmel attempted to do so. What he...

For a juvenile offender who spends her or his high-school years in the justice system, it may seem like there’s no hope in getting back on track in school and life. The prison exit seems more like...

The U.S. Treasury estimates that by Oct. 17, it will no longer be able to fund the government unless it is allowed by Congress to resume borrowing money. For that to happen, the House and Senate will have...

America has a dysfunctional coming-of-age ritual with alcohol. It’s tacitly OK to start drinking in your late teens, as long as you don’t get caught. That makes access to alcohol, while not...

The economic recovery has been long and slow for most people. Official unemployment numbers are slowly inching their way down, though partly because some are giving up on trying to find work. A huge fraction...

Some meandering thoughts as we meander through a federal government shutdown (although, with 400,000 civilian workers called back to work in the Defense Department, that’s half the federal workers...

As we have progressed as humans, the world has evolved around us, and the ways in which we measure our successes have grown and changed with the times. Though we no longer measure success by which man...

As the U.S. government shutdown enters its second week, not much seems to have changed for most Americans. The Postal Service is still running, as well as other essential functions. But one government...

The NHL season is upon us, which means Iowa City is filled again with a plethora of Chicago Blackhawk jerseys. Team spirit is fine, but another Blackhawk season raises the old question again: Why are these...

I was talking to my best friend last night about how messy my room was a week ago and she said to me, “You need to learn to cook and clean, or you’ll never find a good man.” Neither...

What one thing do Congress, the National Rifle Association, and the general public all overwhelmingly agree on? Mental illness is largely responsible for gun violence. Much of the discussion around gun...