We are less than a week from the Big Day. It is probable that Barack Obama will be our next president and he will be welcomed by a liberal-controlled House and Senate. Although I haven’t made peace with the fact that Obama may win, and I’m certainly not happy about it, I have accepted it. What concerns me at this point are some of the peripheral issues we aren’t hearing about in the mainstream media. Specifically, freedom of speech and the Fairness Doctrine.

My son informed us at dinner last night that the entire third grade at his school voted in a mock presidential election. The result? Obama by a landslide -- 68 to 14. We chuckled and cheered, 'round the table, and talked about how we'll head to the polls as a family and vote for Obama.

Quick: Do you feel Title IX has increased opportunities for women in academic science as much as it has led to greater equity between men's and women's athletics programs? If not, how can you ensure its more even application in academics?

Let’s talk healthcare, shall we? I’m for it. I think we should have doctors and specialists and nurses and hospitals. What I am not for, and never will be no matter how you sugar-coat it, is nationalized or socialized or government-sponsored healthcare. Look at where we are today, folks. I’m hearing every side blame the government for the state of affairs. These are the people you want in charge of your healthcare? Not me, thanks.

I don’t have a sign in my yard declaring my vote for the Presidential election. I don’t have a bumper sticker on my car with my candidate’s picture. I’m not afraid to voice my opinions, but I’m growing weary of debating and defending them.

Late last month I looked at presumptive Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain's education plan and found it lacking. Now it's time to examine the education plan of his presumptive opponent, Democratic Senator Barack Obama. As always, I encourage you to read the plan yourself; you can see an outline of Obama's plan and download the full versions of his K-12 education and college affordability plans.

Thanks to a faltering US economy and a ground-breaking presidential election, the war in Iraq is no longer the nation's lead story, according to a new article in the most recent American Journalism Review. Considering that the war's $12.5 billion monthly price tag, the fragility of that nation's parliamentary democracy, and the strong differences between Senators McCain and Obama on the conduct of the war, some journalists and bloggers think we ought to be paying much closer attention.

If you don't have photo identification when you go to vote, but you're registered to vote, should you be turned away? Some Republicans have long advocated that the answer to that question should be 'yes.' I've lived in a lot of places in my life, especially when I was still a wandering TV reporter. I have never been asked for a piece of photo ID before I voted.

Recently, a newspaper reporter asked me to comment on the attitudes of African Americans toward Sen. Barack Obama's presidential candidacy. I told him I would share my thoughts on the understanding that I had not personally polled all 30 million of us. No doubt, he thought me tedious. But I think it is important, especially lately to note the particularities of our experience.

The United States jails about 1 out of every 100 of its citizens -- more than 2 million people, according to a report released late last month by the Pew Center on the States. Not only that, but the rate of incarceration has increased in recent years, further straining state budgets that are already tight. And what are we getting for all of that money? According to Pew, not very much. Perhaps it's time to listen to activists who have been saying for years that there has to be a better way.

Are Saturday Night Live and other comedy shows shaping news coverage of this year's presidential campaign? The host of CNN's Reliable Sources, Howard Kurtz raised this distinct possibility this morning. Here's a snippet from CNN's rush transcript: