As parents, we are challenged to be role models for our children. If that weren't tough enough, we must also help guide our kids to selecting others as role models. For example, we teach kids to respect people in positions of authority: teachers, principals, police officers, mayors, senators, and presidents. Yes, presidents. It's hard to believe this time of year that our leaders vying for the highest public office act the way they do. With that in mind, Mitt Romney made a statement recently that is causing me to break my own rule of not writing about politics. If he were to win the election…

There is certainly something admirable in being a strong athlete—no matter what the gender. Will Lucas is one such athlete who rang the top bell in his sport this week. At age 12, he pitched a no-hitter in the Little League World Series. Age 12. Most pro-ball pitchers can’t say that. In 1950, a young Kathryn Johnston tucked her hair in her cap and posed as a boy in order to play. She was the first of many, until the Supreme Court upheld a 1973 ruling to allow girls. Studies have shown that after Title IX, girls’ participation in high school sports increased by 900 percent, and in college by …

Roe Conn hit the nail on the head when he said Monday the events of this week are the very best and worst that America has to offer. He was referring specifically to the flawless Mars landing within the same 24 hours as the horrific Sikh temple shooting outside Milwaukee. When we expand that lens a little wider, we also see the incredible accomplishments happening now in London. At age 16, Gabby Douglas became the first African-American gymnast to earn all-around gold. Michael Phelps is now the most decorated Olympian of all time. Kayla Harrison overcame horrific sexual abuses by her …