THOMAS: No boundaries, big problem
One of the consequences of abandoning a standard by which right and wrong can be judged is our increasing inability to mete out punishment that fits the crime. In fact, too often we weigh extenuating circumstances rather than guilty actions.. In the case of the Boston bombers, observers search for
CEPEDA: The wise words of Uncle Ruslan
After a gut-wrenching week of terror, my award for bravery in the face of adversity goes to Ruslan Tsarni.. The uncle of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who are suspected of having carried out the Boston Marathon bombings, stepped into the spotlight and showed uncommon humility and fortitude.. Tsarni did
PARKER: Behind every post-scandal comeback is a forgiving wife. Mark Sanford's in trouble
Mark Sanford, the former governor who disappeared for five days, allegedly to hike the Appalachian Trail only to find himself in the arms of his lover (now his fiancee), is discovering that not every kid gets a comeback.
CEPEDA: Seeking middle ground on school safety
CHICAGO -- Safety in public schools has been much on the public's mind in the post-Newtown era.
MILBANK: Courage in short supply
WASHINGTON -- The gun bill was going down, but Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who reached a compromise to try to save it, went to the Senate floor Wednesday morning to give it one more try.. In an unorthodox tactic, he appealed directly to the woman taking her
THOMAS: Bombed and blamed in Boston
President Obama rightly asked us not to "jump to conclusions" about motives or responsibility for the two bombs that exploded Monday at the Boston Marathon, killing three and wounding more than 170. That request was pre-emptively ignored.
THOMAS: Thatcher reviled for attempts to strengthen the individual
The death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has prompted reactions from Britain's far left that takes bad taste to new extremes.
O'REILLY: Sympathy for the devil of drug dealing
As this column has been reporting, there is a growing movement in America to "reform" the nation's tough laws against drug dealing. The pressure is coming primarily from liberal and libertarian groups who see the use of narcotics as a personal choice, something that freedom should allow.. That opinion is
CEPEDA: Viewing a nightmare
CHICAGO -- History is littered with examples of innocents who were punished for crimes they didn't commit.. You don't have to think very hard to remember someone who made headlines for an atrocious act only to find out years later the person didn't do it.. When such a thing happens
PARKER: Beauty and the beast
WASHINGTON -- The recent kerfuffle over a secret recording of Sen. Mitch McConnell's campaign strategy meeting, which focused on opposition research about a likely opponent, actress Ashley Judd, has divided observers into two groups.
THOMAS: The lady was a champ
The lady Thatcher was a champ. MANCHESTER, England -- There is a story about Margaret Thatcher, which is probably apocryphal, but speaks volumes about the strength of Britain's first female prime minister, who died Monday at age 87.. Following her election in 1979, the story goes that Thatcher took her
CEPEDA: Unfortunately, we are what we eat
Unfortunately, we are what we eat. CHICAGO -- People don't know how to eat right. Almost from birth, the food we take in and the way it is marketed conspire to make us addicted and even sick. As a result, all but a few of us will face an early
THOMAS: Gun laws and human nature
Gun laws and human nature. In 1983, when President Reagan ordered the deployment of missiles in Europe as part of his "peace through strength" strategy to counter the Soviet Union, the very liberal town of Takoma Park, Md., declared itself a "nuclear free zone."
PARKER: Red carpet-bombing to save the girls
The striking juxtaposition of the preternaturally perfect Angelina Jolie, waifish and wispy in a ghostly gown, and the scrappy Pakistani schoolgirl Malala, her face cruelly misshapen by the effects of a Taliban bullet to the head, captures the confluence of feminine power assembled here to "lean on" the world to
