Before we talk about this week’s topic, Native American constellations, let’s announce the WINNER of our second LOOKING UP STAR CHART CONTEST!

Politicians who should know better are speaking out in opposition to a federal trial in Manhattan.

Trying to solve the wrong problem inhibits your ability to solve the real problems. With orphans in politically and economically overstressed countries, that is especially true.

I don’t know how all of you feel about shopping. I only go shopping out of duress or a dire need to purchase something to wear at the last minute for some occasion. Otherwise, I avoid malls like the plague.

The phone rang. My mother found the phone in her small apartment and answered it in her rushed, anxious, elderly voice, always glad to get a call. The voice on the other end said, “Hi Grandma. This is your grandson Mark.”

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.

“Ceci’s Oath,” it's titled. Essentially, the sum of the words is an e-mailed list of a young child’s promises. Every oath should include a little wiggle room. And perhaps every child should take an oath, Ceci’s grandmother suggested.

I’ll admit it: Sometimes I don’t watch football purely for the love of the game. In fact, a lot of the time, I just want to hear ESPN commentator Chris Berman yell that someone just got “jacked up!” Or I’m listening for the ever-popular “He could … go … all … the … way!” that signals a big play. Lately, though, it seems like I could just as easily watch football with the mute button on.

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. 

At a rare public appearance in lower Manhattan this week, God offered his strongest support to date for the unparalleled and "blessed" wealth accumulation at Goldman Sachs, reaffirming that He, the Almighty, was "just doing Lloyd Blankfein’s work."

I recently joined the church choir. I should mention here that I don’t really sing. Oh, sure, I do a pretty good Dolly Parton imitation, and I LOVE singing in my car to everything from Aerosmith to Air Supply, but that is not, as far as I know, the same thing as being a trained singer.

Thanksgiving the holiday has changed a lot since 1621.

Sarah Palin’s long-awaited book “Going Rogue: An American Life” went on sale this week. The former governor of Alaska and 2008 running mate to Republican presidential candidate John McCain has been nothing short of a lightning rod for attention, and the release of her book has only further fueled the fire.

I’ve been hearing voices lately. And they’re not inside my head. They’re loud, persistent, disembodied voices emanating from the inanimate, and it’s creeping me out.

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. 

How would you feel if you lost your job to a cartoon character? That's kind of what happened to noted sportscaster Al Michaels. Michaels is the famous voice America has been hearing on Monday Night Football for years. Next year, he'll be broadcasting Sunday Night Football on NBC. And he'll have that NBC job all because of a cartoon character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

We have three full years before Dec. 21, 2012, arrives, yet there’s already a growth industry in what movie critic Richard Corliss calls “disaster porn.”

When teaching a child, providing information or giving a directive, keep it simple. Young children process information very well when it is clear and precise.

Few things can be both as satisfying and infuriating as sleep. When you’re really tired, nothing is better than sinking into bed, closing your eyes and letting the world drift away until your alarm goes off. Sometimes, however, it’s not so easy; sometimes sleep decides to elude us.

I ran into a Friday the 13th-esque moment of bad luck on Friday the 13th.