Archive By Section - Columnists
Gary Horton: Post Recession Americans
A funny thing happened during the tumult of the past few years. Economic heat and pressure have morphed us into "Post Recession Americans."
Jonathan Kraut: A new kind of politician heads to Sacramento
Each year my wife and I host a little holiday party to raise awareness and funds for the SCV Winter Homeless Shelter.
Tom Purcell: It's time to stop separating along idelogical lines
"It's no wonder many Americans are uneasy about the way President Obama is growing our government and eroding our liberties. Aren't most Americans conservative?"
Rick Jensen: Democrats see opportunity in Newtown violence
Ed Rendell, former Pennsylvania governor and influential Democrat, drew no gasps of surprise or shocked response from his fellow liberal travelers when he recently articulated the left's position that "the good thing about Newtown is, it was so horrific that I think it galvanized Americans to a point where the intensity on our side is going to match the intensity on their side."
David M. Shribman: Obama must set direction and agenda
This is a tale of two speeches. They occur three weeks apart. One is outdoors, one indoors. In one the president faces West, where he was born, reared, came of age, and where his outlook - great possibilities, new beginnings - is rooted.
Steve Lunetta: What to do about guns
Note from the author: In the first of a two-part series on gun control, Steve looked at the possibility of opening the discussion on controlling assault-type weapons. In part two, he was going to look at what can be done to prevent young men from turning into shooters. Of course, President Obama heard about the series and had to interject his own two cents. Now Steve has to make it a three-parter.
David Hegg: A search for reasonable thinking
If you have been keeping track of our national conversation over the past few years you are probably keenly aware of the current drought in reasonable thinking in our country. At the center of this decay is the erroneous belief that differences of opinion amount to bigotry.
Tim Myers: A sad start to the New Year in the SCV
In grade school in the rural county seat of Bloomfield, Iowa, I delivered the daily Des Moines Register, the newspaper of record in the entire state of Iowa, and in the 5th grade I began reading the newspaper before school.
Live from City Hall: New ways to communicate
In recent months, Santa Clarita has welcomed thousands of new residents into the city through the annexation of several areas, including: North Copper Hill, Copperstone, Fair Oaks Ranch, Jakes Way, South Sand Canyon, and the future Vista Canyon.
Alice Khosravy: What about the students?
In September of 2012, I submitted an article entitled "California's education tax battle" that discussed the merits of Proposition 30 and 38.
Michael Reagan: Obama ignores the rational answer
What do Al Hunt of Bloomberg News, David Gregory of "Meet the Press" and President Obama have in common - besides their liberal politics?
Defense budget should be cut the right way
Republicans, and many Democrats, are upset by the prospect of so-called sequestration cuts to the nation's defense budget. Pentagon chief Leon Panetta is so alarmed that the day before the Senate took up what became the "fiscal cliff" agreement, he called a key Republican lawmaker, Sen. Lindsey Graham, to express deep concern that the cuts might go into effect. As it turned out, Congress put them off for two months.
Peter Funt: Washington's latest kerfuffle
Washington's latest kerfuffle, at a time when political kerfuffling is epidemic, concerns the number of women in President Obama's inner circle. Some say there are too few.
Joe Gandelman: Swartz is Internet's collateral damage
FONTANA, Calif. - It was April 9, 2005 when I met the young person who impressed me so much I'd talk about him for 7 years. I was moderating a panel discussion of bloggers at Stanford University on "eDemocracy: The Role of blogs and Online Activists in 2004" The young person: 19-year-old Aaron Swartz.
Village Idiot: Gender gap at the movies
Sue is dying to see "Les Miserables"; I can't wait to see "Django Unchained." She wants to see "Django" as much as she wants to eat giant sea slugs, and I want to sit through the three hours of "Les Mis" as much as I want to help her shop for purses.
Articles by Section - Columnists
Byron York: Winning Hispanic vote not enough for GOP
After six months of mulling over November's election results, many Republicans remain convinced that the party's only path to future victory is to improve the GOP's appeal to Hispanic voters.
Michael Berger: Bill helps colleges meet student needs
Higher education is undergoing significant changes such as we've never seen before. And while we're charging forward to integrate technology in the classroom, offer online learning, and enhance the academic support available to students outside of the classroom, we find ourselves being held back by a relic of the past.
David Hegg: We need a society of heroes
The past months have been a constant barrage of stories about tragedy. Horror in Newtown, bombs in Boston, flooding in the Midwest, fires in SoCal … all bringing loss of life, loss of property, and loss of our sense of wellbeing. But in every case there were also stories of exceptional devotion to duty, to courage, and to an essential ingredient in healthy society: sacrificial service.
Tim Myers: A battle in a war already lost
On May 2, 2013, I took the day off from work to watch the Foothill League tennis tournament. (Results of this tournament posted elsewhere in the pages of this newspaper. Just sayin'!)
Peter Funt: The wider our options the more narrow our interests
I've never heard a hotel guest argue that he should pay less if he declines to swim in the pool. And I've yet to encounter a coffee drinker who believes a latte would be cheaper if shops quit providing wi-fi to customers who don't use it.
Marsha McLean: Live from City Hall
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Santa Clarita will be on center stage with an international audience. We are thrilled to have been selected as a host city for the 2013 Amgen Tour of California with both a Start and Finish stage.
Rick Jensen: Do we still need Dept. of Education?
When executives of corporations are caught aiding and abetting criminal behavior of their employees, the executives are prosecuted and the businesses are destroyed.
Tammy Messina: Intolerance fuels hate and bigotry
Hate. It's a strong word. It's a strong emotion. And it's often used to describe Republicans.
Jason Stanford: Will Obama beat the 6-year itch?
If the 2010 elections weren't bad enough for Democrats, here comes the "six-year itch."
Tom Purcell: No-fault Internet addiction
nline chat host: Good morning, cyber pals. As you know, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the psychiatric "bible," is to be released this month.
Will Durst: To drone or not to drone
Put on your tinfoil hats, everybody. Or didn't you get the memo? It's paranoia time in America again.
Gary Horton: Victimhood: the new secret to success
Picture a modern-day Adonis with flowing, jet-black hair and rugged features for which women swoon. Picture an entrepreneur – a master of his own high-tech business.
Jim Mullen: It’s time for spotty training
My wife and I forgot to have children. We are so busy going to movies, plays and concerts, buying nice things for the house, taking long vacations without looking at a school calendar, reading all the latest best-sellers and going to restaurants with nice white tablecloths that it simply slipped our minds.
Rick Jensen: A slippery slope
Your 9 year-old daughter runs out of a public swimming pool shower, crying because a 45 year-old naked man is lounging in the sauna, "full monty." You call the police. The police arrest you for violating the man's rights and send both you and your daughter to "behavior modification counseling."
David Hegg: Ethics and a quality life
The basic question in the study of ethics has always been that of determining right and wrong, moral and immoral. Some find right to be that which aligns with authoritative truth or standard, while others base morality on the consequences of individual actions. The former - deontologists - and the latter - consequentialists - have argued back and forth for centuries, and the battle rages on today in academia.
