Nelson Mandela Is Not Quite Dead

"Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated."Nelson Mandela1985Nelson Mandela has been hospitalized for about three weeks now. His ailment is a familiar one for him — respiratory issues that date to his decades in a South Africa prison.In the last seven days, there have been heightened concerns about his condition, which was downgraded from serious to critical.When a 94–year–old man...

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Ich bin ein Berliner

"All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner.' "John F. KennedyJune 26, 1963Most of the presidents who are remembered fondly by history were eloquent speakers, and most people, even those who don't know much about history, can tell you something about their greatest speeches.Those speeches often were delivered before dramatic backdrops — like when Lincoln...

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When Clinton Hit Back

"What we're doing is sending a message against the people who were responsible for planning this operation. ... [If] anybody asks the same people to do it again, they will remember this message."Secretary of Defense Les AspinWashington PostJune 1993Believe it or not, there was a time — not so long ago — when American presidents wouldn't hesitate to act if a single American was threatened, much less actually injured or killed.Such a case occurred...

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A Cancer Growing on the Presidency

"We have a cancer within, close to the presidency, that's growing."John Dean to Richard NixonMarch 21, 1973When the Senate Watergate Committee convened in mid–May 1973, wrote Theodore H. White in "Breach of Faith," the committee's vague objective was to investigate 1972 presidential campaign activities.In five weeks of hearings, the committee had heard some intriguing testimony but nothing that could directly link Richard Nixon to the crimes that...

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Paula Deen

Well, so much for tolerance and compassion.The Food Network fired popular cooking show host Paula Deen after she admitted under oath that she had used the "N–word" at some time in the past, but "[i]t's been a very long time."Deen apologized for having used that word however many days, weeks, months or years ago it was. In fact, she apologized twice. Apparently, that wasn't good enough for the Food Network, who fired her anyway and now must deal with...

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Ride, Sally Ride

Nearly a year ago, Sally Ride, America's first female astronaut, died of cancer at the age of 61.It's a shame she couldn't have lived another year because today is the 30th anniversary of her historic trip into outer space, and it would be fascinating to get her perspective on how things in general have changed for women in the last three decades.Things have changed for both genders in terms of space travel; actually, things have changed quite a...

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Beneath the Dignity of a Great Nation

Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames.US News|Weird News|More ABC News VideosI really don't know — as I have said here before — when I developed my personal fascination with history, especially American history.But whenever I did, I certainly reached the conclusion at roughly the same time that America was a great nation — or, at least, a great idea for a nation.It isn't a perfect nation, but it has always aspired to be one. When its faults have been brought to the attention of its people as a whole, sincere efforts have usually been...

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The Peaks in a Scandal Investigation

"Somewhere between my ambition and my ideals, I lost my ethical compass."Jeb MagruderMore than a quarter of a century passed between our births, and I was still a boy when he appeared before the Senate Watergate Committee 40 years ago today.It's fair to say I didn't completely understand what was happening. Nevertheless, I understood enough that I must say I kind of empathized with Jeb Magruder. I couldn't really help it.He had had a meteoric rise....

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Good Riddance to the Night Stalker

"I love to kill people. I love to watch them die. I would shoot them in the head and they would wiggle and squirm all over the place and then just stop. Or I would cut them with a knife and watch their faces turn real white. I love all that blood."Richard RamirezOrdinarily, it is not my habit to rejoice upon hearing that another human being has died.But there are exceptions to that rule. And Richard Ramirez is one of them.If you are under 35, you...

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The Shooting of Robert Kennedy

Five years ago, just a few days before the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, I wrote of my memories of that time.Today is the 45th anniversary of that event, and I have no new revelations about it to share. Neither, it seems, does anyone else, although I have been fascinated by the articles I have found on the subject.Five years ago in Newsweek, for example, Evan Thomas wrote about the looming "what if" from 1968: What if...

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