Welcome to the second installment of Hit and Miss, a column that takes a look at the positives and negatives in society.

So here’s an obvious hit: Independence Day! Yes, the Fourth of July represents a lot of things to us today. Many of us enjoy a day off work, getting together with family and friends, watching parades or fireworks, and, yes, even those ubiquitous holiday sales that mark our consumer society. (more…)

“Contemplative living is living in right relationships with one’s self, God, others and nature to fully experience our ultimate sense of purpose, well-being and an appreciation of life.”
~MertonInstitute.org

Not long ago, I was one of the many so-called “apathetic” Americans who dislike watching the news and quickly flip the station when infomercials about hunger or animal cruelty come on the TV. (more…)

This July 4, Americans will celebrate Independence Day. As many of us take time over the holiday to honor the men and women who defend our freedoms as well as our veterans, I am pleased to note that Congress has approved, and the President will soon sign into law, the bipartisan GI Bill for the 21st Century. The measure was authored by my colleague Senator Jim Webb, and I was pleased to be an original cosponsor of the legislation when it was introduced in the House. (more…)

This marks the first in what will be a weekly column in which I examine a hit (something positive) and a miss (something negative) happening in our society. This column may look at individuals, teams or organizations, corporations, legislation—anything that can be critiqued as being a hit or a miss. They won’t always be local, but for this first week I wanted to start out with a local flavor.

So on with this week’s recipients: (more…)

It’s time we caught up with our support of Brave New Foundation’s interview series “This Brave Nation.”

In this, the third of five installments, we hear from one of our favorite heroes, teen Internet activist Ava Lowery, as well as the Executive Director of the ACLU, Anthony Romero. Watch it here.

And in the fourth episode, 88 year old music legend Pete Seeger speaks with Majora Carter of the Sustainable South Bronx. You can catch it here.

Last year, the U.S. Congress approved, with my strong support, and the President signed into law a measure making the single largest investment in college financial aid since the 1944 GI Bill, helping millions of students and families pay for college. Among its many provisions, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act provides for cutting in half the interest rates on need-based federal student loans by 2011, and on July 1, the first phase of this rate cut becomes effective, cutting interest rates on student loans from 6.8% to 6.1% and making loans more affordable for low and middle income students. (more…)