Official Washington has gone completely unhinged. Our leaders have convinced themselves the cure for our economic woes is to pump out incomprehensible sums of money for no particular purpose in the vague hope that something good will result. Reasonable prudence, common sense and the lessons of history have been brushed aside.

In the town of Madison, Florida, you can find the Colin P. Kelly memorial, a striking sculpture of four angels, their wings unfurled in the wind. The memorial was dedicated in 1943 to the name and heroics of a B-17 pilot whose plane was shot down just days after Pearl Harbor. Pilot Kelly did not survive the crash, but thanks to his courage and skill, all his crew did, jettisoning safely from the plane. After the memorial was dedicated in Madison Square Garden, it was then moved to Kelly's hometown - Madison - where it remains today. Few people know the angelic statue's namesake, however. It is better known as the "Four Freedoms Monument."

What does it mean to live in a free country? It means individuals are free from coercion to choose the conduct of their lives provided their choices do not diminish the equal rights of fellow citizens.

The democracy movement in Burma seems to have been defeated, at least for now.

If there was a stock-market-like ticker that tracked the trajectory of freedom in 2006 — let’s just call it the “Freedom Index” — it would have been an off year, in our opinion.

In an authoritarian nation, individual freedom is subordinate to the state’s authority. Dissenters risk their lives and personal fortunes. In the People’s Republic of China, those risks are ongoing.

This week marks the 127th anniversary of the birth of the founder of Freedom Communications, Raymond Cyrus Hoiles.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — To begin: This is not a story about Ron Paul.

It's exciting that the world is so excited about Barack Obama. I'm excited, too. That he achieved the presidency says something good about America.

Faced with continuing industry weakness in advertising spending, Freedom Communications Inc. announced Friday a companywide furlough program. Employees at all levels of the company, including those at the Tribune, will take five days off work, without pay, between April 1 and June 30.

Our View: Arizonans can be proud that they live in one of the “freest” states in the Union, as measured by keeping government out of our lives and taking as little of our tax money as possible.

WASHINGTON - Aretha Franklin couldn't hold back the tears. Carol Burnett pranced coquettishly for the cameras. Muhammad Ali, though unable to walk unassisted, mimed boxing jabs with President Bush.

Today marks the 129th anniversary of the birth of the founder of Freedom Communications, Raymond Cyrus (R.C.) Hoiles.

Invoking the image of the civil rights movement of a half century ago, the Rev. Al Sharpton promised Wednesday to recreate it in Arizona if a new immigration law takes effect, filling the jails here with protestors.

Gov. Jan Brewer said Wednesday she is planning a stimulus package to jump-start Arizona’s weak economy.

A front-page story Saturday about a Gilbert referendum to stop a proposed retail shopping center almost had us double-checking our birth certificates and driver’s licenses to make sure we still are living in the good ol’ U.S. of A.

Just as it’s necessary sometimes to stand up to a bellicose neighbor, it’s also important to know when to mend fences. And after more than four decades of being on the outs with Cuba, it’s time to pry the door open.

If an inauguration speech is supposed to set a philosophical tone and style for a new administration in power, then Arizona’s new governor, Jan Brewer, couldn’t have done any better Wednesday.

Freedom Communications and Thirteenth Street Media have expanded their negotiations to include the sale of all Freedom newspapers in the Valley, Freedom officials announced Tuesday.

I just got back from a speaking tour in China as part of a cultural exchange through the U.S. State Department, talking to college audiences about my political cartoons and what it's like to be an editorial cartoonist in America.

In the latest labor report, 368,000 more Americans have stopped looking for work, artificially skewing the unemployment stats down. The recent report of 8.1 percent tricks the brain of the casual thinker. Try thinking about this: 12.5 million of your fellow Americans are out of work (Labor Department). Perhaps you are one of them or your child. See: www.money.cnn.com (2012 August jobs report).

We in the conservative movement are still licking our wounds from the last election. As we do some soul-searching, it should be easy to answer one question: Do we side with those who think no tax is high enough, or are we on the side of America’s entrepreneurs, professionals, farmers, ranchers and small business owners?

Steve Stanek: One of the worst decisions in U.S. Supreme Court history is now linked with one of the worst economic development failures in history. We should not be surprised, as “economic development” failures cover the country. 

Great minds expose the issues in our current economic and cultural war. Problem is, most of us are not paying attention. Distractions are consuming. A current one is watching Cher’s son, Chaz Bono, on “Dancing With the Stars.” On that note, I’m wondering if he wishes he’d just stayed home. It’s painful to watch, yet la-la-land really is a magnet. And there I digressed, or did I?