While Americans struggle to make ends meet, while school boards face threats for doing their jobs, while democracy itself stands on a knife’s edge, Donald Trump retreats to his private clubs. It’s not that he plays golf—it’s what he walks away from. It’s the fire he leaves raging behind him, the chaos he continues to stoke, and the willful neglect...

“That was a shocker,” said Douglas Kent. “What I saw… was that if you were deep-rooted, you survived. Native or not, it didn’t make a difference.” Kent was talking about trees. But he could have been talking about people—about our institutions, our communities, even our democracy. When fire tears through a landscape, it doesn’t care where the trees came from....

In 1950, Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine stood alone on the Senate floor and delivered what would become one of the most courageous speeches in American political history. At a time when fear and smear were the tools of the day, she called out the reckless accusations and bullying tactics of Senator Joseph McCarthy. The Senate, she said, had...

In a time when too many are willing to trade truth for tribalism and principle for power, it’s easy to lose sight of what we stand for—not politically, but personally. Long before politics, before the noise and division, there is character. And character is built on conscience. What follows is not a list of rules, but a set of beliefs...

In 1994, while doing research on the creation of the Lone Ranger for my first book, I spent four days with Fran Striker, Jr., the son of the creator. It still surprises me how few people know that an unassuming, imaginative writer from Buffalo, New York created, developed, and wrote the Lone Ranger, Green Hornet, Sgt. Preston of the Yukon, and many others.  » Read more...

In 1951, The Day the Earth Stood Still delivered a stark warning: humanity’s survival depends on its ability to overcome fear and embrace cooperation. More than 70 years later, that message remains as relevant as ever. The film’s central conflict—whether we choose peace or succumb to fear—mirrors the choices we face in today’s political and cultural landscape. The film tells...

Several times, I’ve been asked why I spend so much time writing about President Donald Trump. Two reasons (I’ll get to the second later): So many of his actions go far beyond the pale of ethical propriety. It’s not just that the lines are crossed, it’s how shamelessly they’re erased. Let’s focus on one issue: a conflict of interest. It’s...

“The mob is easily deceived, for it judges by appearances.” Aristotle’s words speak to a dangerous flaw in human nature: how easily fear can be stoked, trust compromised, and institutions dismantled from within. In 1947, amid growing fears of communist influence, President Harry Truman issued an executive order authorizing a “loyalty investigation of every person entering civilian employment” in the...

Respect is the foundation of a cohesive society, building trust, understanding, and cooperation. Manners—rooted in courtesy, and civility—shape how we engage with and treat others. Last week, Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife were attending a concert at The Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington. As soon as they took their seats, they were met with a chorus...

Super Bowl ad space is always enormous. This year, a 30-second commercial slot cost approximately $7 million, and that doesn’t include creative and production costs for the commercial itself! (Budweiser spends roughly 11-19 million in creative and production costs—if they don’t use a celebrity—but hey, it’s beer.) But look at what advertisers are getting: 121.1 million potential buyers across platforms...