My love of reading came early, and not just from my teachers. While we did Dick and Jane in school, my most important first grade reader, however, was something rather different: a large format, beautifully bound, copiously illustrated tome called…
If Donald Trump were imprisoned and then found dead, hanging in his cell, his repp-stripe tie serving as a noose, would you be surprised? I wouldn’t be. The Justice Department would redouble its commitment to protect democracy, promising to imprison…
Much is being said right now about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. The reason, of course, is the new film on Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan. The film has opened old debates and wounds about Oppenheimer’s communist…
PLYMOUTH NOTCH, Vt. — On Aug. 2, 1923, President Warren Harding unexpectedly fell ill and died while visiting San Francisco. Five hours later, America had a new president: Calvin Coolidge, a man driven by humility, respect, civility, and compassion. At…
It’s the Fourth of July. Time for another celebration of America’s truly iconic holiday celebrating the Declaration of Independence. But it should also be a day to remember the very first Fourth, a full 247 years ago — which decidedly…
One of the most revealing signs of dementia is the complete loss of one’s memory. This condition disrupts one’s knowledge of the past and understanding of one’s self and the world, bringing about a terrible identity crisis. The loss of…
Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, newest Republican candidate for president, and Iraq War veteran (as a Navy JAG), said a poignant thing in a recent speech in Iowa that is worth recalling this Memorial Day weekend. Addressing the mounting attacks…
“[T]he soldier above all other people prays for peace,” said Gen. Douglas MacArthur, “for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.” Peace came to American soldiers in the European theater of World War II on…
Just about everyone these days believes that the political Right is in disarray. It does not know what it is for or against. It is both rejecting every old principle and clinging to any solution that might give it power…
