There’s an ugly truth that keeps nagging us. As much as we might like to, it cannot be ignored.

The Olympics audience came to see the best in the world play badminton. Yes, it is an Olympic sport. Instead they saw athletes serving into the net and duffing shots out of bounds, just like, well, backyard amateurs.

University of Maine President Paul Ferguson said he repeatedly heard two things before he moved east from California to take the top job at Maine’s flagship university.

When the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the now-infamous Citizens United ruling that unleashed a deluge of unaccountable corporate cash into the political system, the court had a pollyannaish view of what would happen next.

Several Roman Catholic organizations have challenged Obama administration rules requiring religious colleges and hospitals (but not churches themselves) to offer preventive health care, including contraceptive coverage, with no deductibles or co-pays.

Every day in Washington, government officials — at the Pentagon, the State Department, the White House, Congress or the CIA, to name a few — talk to journalists about information that is considered sensitive.