As legendary oil investor T. Boone Pickens tells the story, Republican Bob Dole wanted him to head up his 1996 presidential campaign in Texas. In return, Pickens wanted to be Dole's chief adviser on energy policy. ...more

July 21, 2008

A self-identified African-American caller to a Washington, D.C., radio station characterized the recent anti-Hillary Clinton outburst by the white liberal Chicago priest, Michael Pfleger, as a "minstrel show." ...more

June 4, 2008

National Public Radio recently reported Chicago Tribune Company Chief Executive Officer Sam Zell's harsh criticism of the chain's Washington news bureau for being unprofitable and covering Iraq too much. ...more

May 9, 2008

Editor's note: This parable about taxes has circulated on the Internet for years, attributed to various professors and economists. Its authorship remains unclear, though Snopes.com says it was first printed in a letter to the editor in The Chicago Tribune. It may be well-traveled, but this little lesson retains its relevance and charm. ...more

February 18, 2008

Had any good choreplay lately? ...more

January 31, 2008

Let's Make Some Deals From the Chicago Tribune: The president at the microphone Monday night for his final State of the Union address? Last month, 32 percent of the Americans surveyed told Gallup pollsters they approve of his performance. Those who disapprove: 65 percent. And the members of Congress arrayed before him? Their approval rating is 23 percent. That's better than the Ebola virus, but when their disapproval rating is 71 percent, you're nobody's heroes. ...more

January 30, 2008

The family that owns Norfolk, Va.-based Landmark Communications is exploring a sale of the company's businesses, including The Weather Channel and nine daily newspapers. ...more

January 4, 2008

Real estate mogul Sam Zell strode into Tribune Co.'s ornate headquarters in his trademark jeans and cowboy boots and declared that things will be different at the debt-laden, 160-year-old newspaper and TV company. ...more

December 22, 2007

A half-man, half-goat ceramic figure supposedly sculpted by 19th century French artist Paul Gauguin has delighted aficionados visiting the Art Institute of Chicago for a decade, but now the museum says "The Faun" is a fake. ...more

December 14, 2007

Sometimes it's easy to know when it's time to replace that dusty carton of ground nutmeg or cinnamon. Um, the fact that it's dusty is one clue. Another is a price tag on the bottom that reads "19 cents" (ah, the good old days). ...more

November 28, 2007