Preserving, Protecting and Defending Our Constitution

It is ironic that we should observe the 225th anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Constitution at this time.I know some folks who think the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are one and the same. That simply isn't so. The Constitution was created in 1787 and ratified in 1788. The Bill of Rights wasn't even created until 1789. America was very much a work in progress at that time — as it still is.The 225th is a milestone — even if it lacks the...

Read More

When Nixon and Dean Conferred

From the day in July 1973 when their existence was publicly revealed until the Supreme Court ruled against him a year later, Richard Nixon fought to keep the tapes of his Oval Office meetings and his telephone conversations private.In the end, of course, he wasn't entirely successful. But none of that was known 40 years ago today.My memory of the summer of 1972 is that very little was known by a public that, by and large, really didn't seem to care....

Read More

The Life of Mother Teresa

"People are often unreasonable, irrational and self–centered. Forgive them anyway."If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway."If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway."If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway."What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway."If you find serenity...

Read More

Three Years Later ...

Today is Labor Day. It is a holiday that has always been significant for me but for different reasons at different stages of my life.When I was a child, it meant that the summer was over (even if the summer weather was not), and it was time to go back to the classroom. When I was 7 or 8, I grieved for the loss of my freedom.As I got older, Labor Day became a three–day weekend, an opportunity to relax and take a day off — and, perchance, watch some football.It took on a whole new meaning for me when I was terminated from my full–time job four years...

Read More

Clint Eastwood

Let me be very clear about this.Clint Eastwood has never been my favorite actor.I've seen many of his movies over the years. Some I have liked better than others.But that is the thing, you see. I've never regarded Eastwood as anything other than an actor. Oh, I know he was mayor of a small town south of San Francisco for a couple of years in the 1980s, but he's not an actor/entertainer/politician like George Murphy or Arnold Schwarzenegger — or Ronald Reagan.Politically, Eastwood has always leaned toward the Republican Party, but he has often taken...

Read More

The Triumph of Hope Over Experience

That is said to be writer Samuel Johnson's assessment of a man who married for a second time after the death of his first wife ... to whom he had been unhappily married for many years.I have come to the conclusion that it has many potential applications to Barack Obama and his campaign for a second term — but I'm having some difficulty narrowing it down to the best one.You see, I have long felt that it is an accurate appraisal of any voter's decision...

Read More