Our English language is rich with wonderful words. A fulsome vocabulary is a gift, for sure, bestowed on those who have been afforded an education that emphasizes the need for a well-stocked inventory of words. That said, being a prolix virtuoso or ostentatious in one’s word usage can be simply a turn-off. (I Read more
After 69 years of life on this terrestrial ball, I’ve learned a few things. Like many people, I’ve made more than my fair share of mistakes in life. Bad judgment, impulsivity, self-aggrandizement, and plain old stupidity. Some wags have suggested that God watches over drunks and fools, others adding children, third basemen, and Read more
There are ten recognized Federal holidays in the United States. I love all of them. As a Christian, I particularly look forward to Christmas and Easter, although the latter isn’t recognized as a Federal holiday. Some would say we should include other religious holidays, but I’ll leave that to another writing. As a Read more
Many Americans marvel at what is Congress’s seeming inability to rise above partisan politics to do the work of the people. Whether failing to pass needed legislation to address genuine problems in our government or mustering the will to implement budgets on time, Congress seems to always fall short of the Read more
As Veterans Day just happened, it occurs to me that a discussion about the draft—otherwise known as conscription—is in order. I think this is particularly so for two reasons. First, do we have a military—specifically an Army—that is reflective of all of America? Second, shouldn’t the responsibility for the defense of our nation Read more
As I consider the strife we are witnessing in America today, I am left wondering if we can aspire to the ending passage of President Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address of 4 March 1865, only a month before he would be struck down by an assassin’s bullet. As compelling as his concluding Read more
The 2016 election was, to state it mildly, a shock to people who believed that Hillary Clinton would easily win and that President Donald Trump had no chance. He won, and Clinton advocates cried foul, citing her popular vote count as greater than Trump’s. It was to no avail. Trump won the Electoral Read more
In his first inaugural address in 1932, President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” These words were designed as encourage a nation that had been deeply shaken to its roots as a result of the Great Depression. It was an event that was experienced Read more
There has been much discussion in recent years around the role of judges and justices, particular those on the Supreme Court of the U.S. We are seeing that discussion play out vividly in America even today, much of it partisan in nature. Modern liberals want judges who will be focused on Read more
When Associate Justice Antonin Scalia sat on the Supreme Court, he advocated for an originalist interpretation of the Constitution based on the words that actually appear in it. He was not a proponent of judicial activism, but rather of judicial constraint. Do the facts of a case comport to the letter Read more