I always look forward to the weekend after Thanksgiving because it marks the traditional kickoff of the holiday season. Once the leftover turkey has been refrigerated, the shopping can begin, the tree can go up and the holiday specials can take over the TV. At least, that’s how it used to be. Apparently I missed the memo informing us that the Christmas season now begins almost two full months before the holiday itself.

The polling firm Gallup reported this year that 39 percent of Americans accept the truth of evolution, that 36 percent have no opinion on it, and that 25 said they don’t believe it. With such apathy toward the natural world, it’s no wonder children from other nations have surpassed American students in science and technology.

I can't avoid Oprah anymore. I don't click with most pop-cultural phenomenons. Though you might find this amazing, I somehow get through life without Dr. Phil, a ShamWow, Lady GaGa, a slap chop, Cesar Millan or a Snuggie. Just call me a clueless Neanderthal, but I just have no need to waste my time or money on such schlock. And for the longest time, I could simply ignore Oprah.

Fed up with a culture of negativity that produces complaints 24-7-365 about the economy, politics and the mundane matters of everyday life, a Missouri congressman decided he'd try to do something about it. Democrat Emanuel Cleaver introduced a resolution with a simple message: Cut the griping. He wants to see the day before Thanksgiving in future years declared Complaint-Free Wednesday, dedicated to setting the criticism aside and acknowledging that whining does nothing to solve problems.

If you are a woman between the ages of 40 and 50 facing whether to have a mammogram every year, every other year or not at all, we won’t tell you what to do. That’s a decision between you and your doctor. Of this, though, we are sure: The controversy over a recommendation by a government panel of doctors and scientists is a needed reminder that our tools to detect and predict the course of breast cancer are not precise enough.

During the Civil War, a peculiar and brutal Confederate legion terrorized Union camps in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Eventually, Union leaders called on a regiment from Peoria to take care of the problem. The key battle has largely gone forgotten in the South, but that might change.

While explaining to my co-workers how I had poisoned my unsuspecting husband, Jim, I was quick to point out that it was purely an accident. They were quicker to point out that most people behind bars for the same crime had probably used that very same defense. But Jim didn’t die, and I’m sure he was too blinded by puppy love at the time to even consider prosecuting me. In fact, he didn’t even tell me I had poisoned him until 15 years after that near-fatal night.

One man's opinion: The videos that are too funny to believe are not believable.

Well, it's over, there are no more waffles. I am going to pause for a moment to let that news sink in and give you the time, if you are so moved, to kill yourself, because this waffle fiasco is pretty definitively the worst thing to happen to our collective breakfast-related condition since the lunchtime mauling of Sonny the Cocoa Puffs bird in that panther cage (he was so young and chocolatey).

As readers know, I’ve been generally supportive of U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, over the years. I especially applaud his hard work aimed at restoring America’s manufacturing sector to prominence. But today, I will disagree with him. I can’t support Manzullo’s position on an Obama administration plan to move al-Qaida and Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Thomson prison, 70 miles from Rockford. I think Don and the staff are suffering from Obama Derangement Syndrome, a common Republican virus.

For all the disagreement and debate over health care lately, it ought to be satisfying that many Americans can still find some common ground on which to unite. Unfortunately being united in confusion isn't necessarily a good thing. Such was the case earlier this week when a federal panel, the Preventive Services Task Force, issued a new set of recommendations for women on the type of screening they ought to undergo to test for breast cancer.

The recent announcement that five Sept. 11 terrorist attack suspects would be moved from the Guantánamo detention center to be tried in New York City has caused quite a stir.

After leukemia began mercilessly sapping the life out of her young body, Joey Stott of Lena, Ill., knew she needed a miracle to survive. That miracle turned out to be Tom Wilhelm of Colorado. Tom had signed up as a marrow donor through BeTheMatch.org, joining a growing registry of 12 million people willing to give a small piece of themselves to save the life of someone they have never met. 

Chris Britt's editorial cartoon for Friday, Nov. 20.

After enduring hell on earth, little Tabitha Gee now thrives amid at least three blessings. The 4-year-old is out of the hospital and will recover from her injuries, the only survivor of a quintuple murder that wiped out most of her family in September.