Recent Character Commentaries

Featured image for “James Comey, Part 2”
James Comey, Part 2
Continuing my look at the interviews of James Comey on the release of his book, Higher Loyalty, Truth, Lies and Leadership. By far, the most interesting Q&A came between the former FBI director and students from William and Mary College in a Town Hall format broadcast by CNN. This exchange offers more discussion covering the legality of the release of...
Read More
May 8, 2018
Featured image for “James Comey, Part 1”
James Comey, Part 1
How we, as a country, ever reached a point where we would have to choose between the credibility of a man who was a former U.S. Attorney, U.S. Deputy Attorney General, and Director of the FBI, and the credibility of a sitting U.S. president marks a sad chapter in American history. At the end of the last part of this...
Read More
May 7, 2018
Featured image for “I Stand with the Mermaids”
I Stand with the Mermaids
Barbara Bush died last week. The 92-year old former first lady had been struggling for the last few years with health issues, and when the family recently announced that she would not seek further medical treatment, the disclosure of her death did not come as a surprise. Peggy Noonan, former speech writer to Ronald Reagan, wrote (Apr. 21), that “Barbara...
Read More
April 23, 2018
Featured image for “On Assignment”
On Assignment
One of the most unforgettable and tragic news stories of the last 60 years took place on November 22, 1963. I never saw it until years later because I was sitting in my High School Homeroom class in New Rochelle, New York. It began with a sober voice over announcement by Walter Cronkite. “In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired...
Read More
March 26, 2018
Featured image for “Crucial Years, Revisited”
Crucial Years, Revisited
This is the second of two commentaries about Maj. John Baldwin (Ret.) chest surgeon extraordinaire. Wednesday’s commentary talked about Baldwin’s quick thinking and skillful hands as a young resident. This piece story goes back in time to 1951. In 1951, nuclear testing continued with a 1-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flat near Las Vegas, Nevada. President Harry Truman relieved General...
Read More
March 23, 2018
Featured image for “Now, You’re a Doctor.”
Now, You’re a Doctor.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the brush-fire of the moment that we forget about what’s really important – the people around us who contribute to our lives in special ways. I’ve been lucky to not only have met but developed deep friendships with many people through my work; people who demonstrated, through moments in their lives, the courage,...
Read More
March 21, 2018
Featured image for “No. 12”
No. 12
Baseball season begins in just 10 days, and what better way to begin than with a great baseball story. Football may be America’s most popular game, but baseball is forever. Actually, that’s the title of a new book by former Washington Post columnist and peace studies teacher Colman McCarthy. Baseball Forever is a collection of stories McCarthy has written over...
Read More
March 19, 2018
Featured image for “What Greater Cause?”
What Greater Cause?
In his latest book, The American Spirit, historian David McCullough had the rare privilege of addressing a joint session of Congress in 1989. McCullough has observed much in his 84 years, and written much more about the past in books, and the present in speeches, and what he observes, he relates in stories that make the past come alive. On...
Read More
October 20, 2017
Featured image for “Responsibility and Respect”
Responsibility and Respect
Two things happened last week that received little attention, but are vital to our progress toward a more perfect union. Last Thursday (Sept. 28), Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch spoke to The Fund for American Studies, a conservative, non-profit educational organization that teaches “the principles of limited government, free-market economics and honorable leadership.” “In his remarks,” The New York...
Read More
October 2, 2017
Featured image for “What is Essential is Invisible”
What is Essential is Invisible
During the month of August, comfortably ensconced in my “cone of silence,” I spent most of the time reading a variety of books. While all of them speak to various ethical values, many of the authors were simply good storytellers. After listening to an interview of former Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill, I became interested in reading his account of how...
Read More
September 11, 2017