“Duty is ours. Results are God’s.”—John Quincy Adams In 1806, after a series of attacks by Britain on American ships carrying goods, Massachusetts Senator John Quincy Adams and his colleagues were outraged. American sailors were being captured and “impressed” into the King’s navy. When the American frigate Chesapeake was fired upon by a British ship, Adams was so incensed he...

The Date: September 28, 1955 The Place: Yankee Stadium The Event: Dodgers/Yankees, Game 1 of the 1955 World Series Every baseball fan has seen the video. Every baseball fan knows the outcome . . . or do they? I’ll come back to this. For my book, What Do You Stand For?, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns spoke to me about the...

It’s getting harder and harder to see the light at the end of a dark, relentless tunnel of anger and war at home and abroad. However, another story reminds us of hope and opportunities. Not long after I completed my second book, What Do You Stand For?, I came across another book that closely paralleled my own. With a forward...

Continued from Tuesday’s commentary, I offer two Senate leaders from the past. Tuesday, I spoke of the integrity of Republican John Williams. Today, I offer the character of Senator Philip Hart as excerpted with permission from The Buying of the Congress (1998) by Charles Lewis, whose response appeared in my book, “What Do You Stand For?” John Williams and Philip...

Embed from Getty Images Let’s face it, we’re a mess. We’re living moment to moment, crisis to crisis at home and abroad. Every time you watch the news it feels like another brick to the head. I want a respite from the endless bombardment of anger, hate, and violence. I want a moment of triumph where everyone stands up and...

My 90-year-old father was a Reagan Republican. When I told him that I was going to call to say hello to my uncle Don (his closest friend since grade school, so he was always referred to as our uncle), “Whatever you talk about,” he warned, “don’t mention politics. He’s a big Trump supporter.” Five years later, I would walk into...

Sherlock Holmes had just received a message from London informing him that Professor Moriarty’s gang had been captured. But “the Napoleon of crime,” as Holmes described, had escaped. Over weeks, the great detective had successfully tracked Moriarty to Switzerland. And there, above the roiling falls of Reichenback, the final combat took place. Locked in each other’s arms, Holmes and Moriarty...

In 1925, Dayton, Tennessee, became ground zero for religious extremism. High school teacher John Scopes was charged with violating a state act making it illegal to teach Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in any state-funded school. When noted criminal attorney Clarence Darrow appeared for the defense, the trial received national attention. But the prosecution employed its own legal titan—three-time presidential...

If you are a Trump supporter or are considering voting for the former president, you need to read and seriously consider the observations from the people who worked closely with him: “His understanding of global events . . . of US history was really limited. It’s really hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t even understand the concept...

Integrity frequently requires sacrifice. Some maintain the courage of their convictions; some don’t. The death of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny didn’t come as a surprise. One man is to blame and everyone knows it—a poisonous dictator who feared Navalny’s growing influence. When Navalny’s family asked to have his body returned to them the request was denied. However, Britain’s Telegraph...