By JESSE McKINLEY and KIRK JOHNSON
Published: November 14, 2008
SACRAMENTO — Less than two weeks before Election Day, the chief strategist behind a ballot measure outlawing same-sex marriage in California called an emergency meeting here.
“We’re going to lose this campaign if we don’t get more money,” the strategist, Frank Schubert, recalled telling leaders of Protect [...]

Truly, Harry Potter is one of the great stories of our generation.  In a culture that is disconnected with a sense of a meta-narrative, Harry Potter gives us a glimpse into what it means to be shaped by the power of story.  What is it about this story specifically that has captured our cultured and [...]

My wife and I went to the local department store to get costumes for our children. We could not believe what the prices are anymore. As a child I remember Halloween costumes being nothing more that two pieces of plastic colored to look like your favorite villain or hero. With a plastic mask painted as [...]

Andy Williams captured me at my eighth grade graduation dance.  I danced with Jerri to the Williams rendition of “Moon River.”  I remember thinking that life could not get any better - and as it turns out - it did not.  All of that aside, Andy Williams came into the lives of millions over the [...]

Truly amazing, we were graced with Elvis. Elvis Presley came into my life through Ed Sullivan. The Sunday evening custom in our home was chocolate cupcakes with white icing while we watched Ed Sullivan.
My older brothers and I could not sit still on the old wood floor - while my mother and father wondered what [...]

I was a huge fan of Joan Baez in the 1960’s. But I did not really understand her music or her message. I thought I did - I was one of those adolescents who believed he had a total grasp on the rights and wrongs of life - but I was sadly mistaken. I am [...]