In the last week there were two big sports stories that invite us to think about what defines winners and losers. The Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots were accused of deflating footballs in their 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC title game. Especially in the cold and rain, underinflated balls (did I really just write that?) are easier to handle. ...

From Odyssey Networks' Faith on the Record series: Following our President's recent call for a more fair tax system, I explore why Americans, a generous people on the whole, get stuck debating how much individual taxpayers owe. Is it because we harbor too many doubts about our leaders? "It's not about fairness, it's about trust." Watch my video below for more insight and discussion. ...

Sometimes, political tradition points the way toward wise personal practice. Okay, maybe not that often, but when it works, as it did this week, it really works! ...

It is a very serious time in France, especially for the Jewish community. And yet, at the center of the storm is a very unserious entity, the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Its editors may be best known for caricatures of Muhammed (venerated as a prophet by many throughout the world), but they made their living by ridiculing just about anything anyone took seriously, including...

Today we remember Martin Luther King Jr., last century's premier exemplar of morality in public life. There will be ceremonies, speeches, television specials, editorials - and there will be very serious protests and demonstrations: Millions of Americans are outraged by the shooting deaths of young Blacks, by racial economic inequality, by a return to segregation in our education system, by the...