“Man is free at the instant he wants to be.” – Voltaire Looking up at the nation’s Capitol, two small children, a boy and girl, were standing at the bottom of the steps looking up, awed by the size and brilliance of the white building. Each began climbing the 365 steps to reach the top. When one had trouble, the...

Embed from Getty Images In three days, June 10 to June 12, the country endured 6 mass shootings: Yonkers, New York; Detroit, Michigan; White Center, Washington; Savannah, Georgia; Austin, Texas; and Chicago, Illinois, accounting for 6 dead and 38 injured. Year to date, Chicago has had 16 mass shootings. The non-profit research group, Gun Violence Archive, defines a mass shooting...

With the rate of vaccinations continuing to rise and the number of COVID-19 cases declining, Americans are jumping back into life. Yesterday, California’s governor announced that the state was open for business with a few guidelines. “Californians who are two weeks removed from their last vaccine dose will be allowed to go mask-free in nearly all settings,” The L.A. Times...

TIME magazine raised a critical issue with implications that go beyond last year’s election. “To the victor goes a nation divided. A nation split over its place in the world, over its basic values, over its future direction. … the Uncivil War is likely to continue. After such a venomous campaign, will it be possible to… reunite the United States?”...

…it’s about us. It’s about those who support him, those who mimic, tweet, or Facebook his outrage and lies, and those who remain silent. He’s no longer president. He no longer has direct control of our lives. There’s nothing left but the clown show of rallies where he reiterates the same tired lies and conspiracies to supporters who feed his...

Embed from Getty Images Thirty-one minutes and forty-three seconds into his speech at the GOP Lincoln-Reagan Dinner in Manchester, New Hampshire, former Vice-President Mike Pence said this about the January 6th insurrection of the Capitol building and President Trump: “…I don’t know if we’ll ever see eye-to-eye on that day…” That’s it? “Eye-to-eye”? What a feeble attempt at characterizing your...

For 3 long days, the battle raged. The following night, in a heavy rain, General Lee withdrew his troops from the battlefield of Gettysburg. The union had won a costly but critical battle and turned the tide of the Civil War. Four months later, Lincoln, a Republican, standing in the midst of a crowd, summed the words that would be...

Scientists have long warned of the consequences of climate change and the vital need for all of us to not only change our habits but support legislation that will reverse the damage. However, there is another looming crisis that is even more threatening. While Donald Trump has left office and is banned from social media, his influence continues to grow...

Last Friday, in a clear stand-off between Democrats and Republicans voting for an independent commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol, only six Republicans voted with Democrats supporting such a commission, 35 in favor to 54 against. Sixty votes were necessary for passage. Modeled after the 911 investigation, the commission would be composed of five Democrats and...

Social division, racial division, political division, economic division, lies, rage, violence. After another mass shooting, California Governor Gavin Newson said, “What the hell is going on in the United States of America? What the hell is wrong with us?” Before all this rage and violence exploded, too many were living lives of quiet desperation – desperate to be heard, desperate...