• The gambling problem isn't going away
Astate legislator calls it a chance for "closure," but his proposal for a state-

• Let's not get carried away with 'no gifts'
Permit me to say that I hate the commercialization of Christmas as much as anybody.

• When juries make sausage, watch out
And now, my take-aways from last week's Herman Thomas verdict, in which the former circuit judge walked out of court a free man.

• Watching the jury, hoping for justice
If there's anything more fascinating than watching experts try to interpret a jury's behavior, it's watching lay people trying to interpret a jury's behavior.

• Why Obama opted to go to New Orleans
It was disappointing when President Obama zipped in and out of New Orleans last week without so much as a touch-and-go landing on the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama.