Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.                   – John Adams, in his defense of British soldiers wrongly accused of the so-called “Boston Massacre.” In my 2011 e-book, Shameless, I wrote that supporters of political critics Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Glenn...

“What Kaepernick did was totally uncalled for and disrespectful, but America gives him the right to do it. I am tired of all of these multi million-dollar athletes and celebrities who do nothing to improve conditions putting down the country that has given them the opportunity to get to where they are.” “Congratulations to Colin Kaepernick for making a statement...

“When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness and decency.”      – British author Samuel Johnson While there are benefits to political correctness in the context of respect and civility, it does go too far when it stifles free speech. In a letter to incoming students at the University of Chicago, John...

“Vulgarity? Mr Carson wouldn’t be vulgar if they put him on a seaside postcard.”   – Mrs. Patmore to Mrs. Hughes regarding the propriety of Downton Abbey’s head butler Donald Trump has consistently reminded us all that we are too politically correct. During the first Republican Debate, FOX News anchor Megyn Kelly called Trump out for his consistently degrading language. Kelly:...

Ahhhhhh… the cool mountain air, a calm… ripple… of water peacefully moving over the lake. Oh… it’s you! While on summer break, I thought I’d offer a few links to commentaries that garnered the most attention by readers over the past seven months. First place, with the most views thus far, was my three-part series from April, Trust and Confidence,...

One of the many reasons I prefer non-fiction is the simple fact that truth often is stranger than fiction. Our latest example is that great national embarrassment, Donald J. Trump. Time after time, Trump has shown a breathtaking ability to see, read, hear and deduce things that the rest of us mere mortals are either blind to or cannot comprehend....

The day before the Democratic National Convention convened in Philadelphia, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, announced that she will resign after the release of thousands of internal e-mail exchanges among Democratic insiders that demonstrated a clear bias towards Clinton during the primaries. “Many of the most damaging e-mails,” The Washington Post writes (July 25), “suggest the committee...

It’s three days before the Democratic National Convention, one day before Senator Tim Kaine was selected as Hillary Clinton’s VP, and I had been invited to have lunch with the presumptive nominee, herself! Bob, a Clinton surrogate, picks me up at my hotel. “You sure are lucky, Jim. A lot of people would kill for a chance like this.” “Yes,”...

Before leaving on summer recess at the end of the month, here is an assortment to read and ponder. Ginsburg Guff – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had the temerity to exercise her First Amendment right of free speech by calling out Donald Trump as a “Faker.” As The New York Times reported (July 10), “I can’t imagine what this place...

It’s remarkable how many Republicans have come down from the mountaintop of conservative values and demonstrated a complete turn-around in their opinion of Donald Trump. One year ago this month, former Texas Governor Rick Perry had this to say of Trump: “…A toxic mix of demagoguery and mean-spiritedness and nonsense that will lead the Republican Party to perdition if pursued....