OFFBEAT: Christopher Kennedy Lawford speaking March 16 at VU dinner event

Christopher Kennedy Lawford, whose parents are the late Patricia Kennedy Lawford and her actor husband Peter Lawford, is coming to Valparaiso University in March to speak at a dinner event in the ballroom of the Harre Student Union.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Obama’s second term provides opportunity for reflection

The start of the New Year, and also of President Barack Obama’s second term, is a good time to pause for perspective on the sources of the current political constellation in our country. To help understand the recent national electoral success of Obama and the Democratic Party, study Al Smith.

GUEST COMMENTARY: The ordeal of David Petraeus and us

Just-resigned CIA head David Petraeus occupies a crucial crossroads. This does not refer to the global media glare now seeking to dissect every aspect of his private life, in excruciating detail.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Cuban missile crisis lessons continue

October is the scary month, and not just because of Halloween. Exactly one-half century ago, the Cuban Missile Crisis during Oct. 22-28 dominated global news as Washington and Moscow sparred right on the edge of thermonuclear war.

DOUG ROSS: Foreign policy affects more than pocketbook

If you believe George Santayana's maxim that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," you might want to pay more attention to this year's elections. There could be serious consequences.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Obama-Romney debate important but not decisive

"Are you better off?" Ronald Reagan rhetorically asked the audience during his 1980 debate with President Jimmy Carter. President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney should each take a lesson from Reagan’s performance.