The recent trips that astronaut Dan Tani has made to his hometown of Lombard serve as a reminder of how much inspiration we continue to find in individuals who make incredible journeys.

Sometimes, you try to step up and do the right thing. Other times, you wonder if you screwed things up worse.

I wondered how much of the “disgruntled Hillary supporters” story being hyped in the news is real and how much is made up by pack journalists who have to fill 24 hours of cable TV “news” shows with manufactured controversies they can call “BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!

A couple of different theories have been expressed regarding soon-to-be Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's choice of Joe Biden to join him on the ballot, their owners largely determined by their respective political persuasions.

The torch has gone out in Beijing, but in many ways it has just been lit on China’s ambitions and influence in the world.

 

A bonus Chris Britt editorial cartoon.

Chris Britt's editorial cartoon for Tuesday, Aug. 26.

With her father about to undergo angioplasty in Arkansas, Sandy Sopin bought a ticket to fly from Seattle to Springfield, Mo., where she was to rent a car and drive to her parents’ home.

You've heard it for months now, and if you were among the thousands who packed downtown Springfield on Saturday, you saw it firsthand: The Obama campaign has stirred interest among young voters like no other in recent memory.

Out of every $1 the United States spends in Iraq, 20 cents goes not to America's military but to a private contractor. So says a Congressional Budget Office report released this month. The CBO analysis reveals the striking extent to which the Bush administration has privatized the Iraq war.

I’ve known of Joe Biden’s enthusiasm for making stemwinding speeches since August 1974, when the freshman senator from Delaware stumped in Winnebago County for fellow Democrat Doug Aurand, then seeking his first re-election as county treasurer.

In Saturday’s historic appearance of the team of U.S. Sens. BARACK OBAMA and JOE BIDEN at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., Biden actually talked a bit longer — about 17 minutes to about 16 for Obama — by my calculation.

Here we go again. When Barack Obama returns to Springfield on Saturday, so will the national spotlight. Springfield has been out of said national spotlight for, oh, two weeks now, so it is time.

It's time for one more performance by Captain Jinks and Salty Sam. After all, you demanded an encore.

As if we didn’t have enough things to worry about, now the government is up to another round of doomsday press releases. Before Independence Day the office fax machine churned out releases on picnic food poisonings, children being sucked into swimming pool drains, fatal car accidents, firecracker maimings and urged us to keep our pants tucked into our socks to prevent deadly West Nile Virus.