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...

Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz is my kind of leader. He’s responsible to the bottom line, sure, but he’s also cognizant of the many issues facing the country. In 2013, at the company’s annual meeting, a shareholder stood up to criticize Starbucks support of marriage equality, declaring, “In the first full quarter after this boycott was announced, our sales and our...

Jeff Flake is the junior U.S. Senator from Arizona whose recent book, Conscience of a Conservative, has received some harsh criticism, mostly from conservatives. “A Book by A Fake Conservative with No Conscience.” – The Tennessee Star “Jeff Flake is no Barry Goldwater. He’s a sellout Liberal.” – Conservative Review Editor-in-Chief Mark Levin Here’s part of a note addressed to...

Four Red Sox fans were removed from Fenway Park in Boston last night after they unfurled a large banner over the Green Monster which read, “Racism is as American as Baseball.” In an anonymous e-mail statement, one of the protestors wrote: “We are a group of white anti-racist protesters. We want to remind everyone that just as baseball is fundamental...

I awakened the other day to a message from New Hampshire Technical Institute Professor Stephen Ambra: Hi, Jim — Not sure if you signed up for Gabe’s post…but one of things I look at on a daily basis… I click on the link, and was taken to Wake Up To Politics, sub-head: This Is Your Wake-Up Call. And the intriguing...

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...

In one twenty-one day period, we witnessed the worst and the best this country can demonstrate. August 11, 2017 began as a quiet day in the suburban town of Charlottesville, Virginia, and ended as a violent clash between several hundred Neo-Nazis, White Nationalists, Ku Klux Klan and counter-protestors. During the violence, self-proclaimed white-nationalist James Alex Fields, Jr., drove his car...

In a vigorous and powerful speech to the Senate yesterday (July 25), Arizona Senator John McCain wasn’t a Republican or Democrat; he spoke as an American and political figure fitted with the responsibility to do something for “the public good.” He spoke less about the health care debate that brought the Senate to a vote, and more about their lack...

“I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace: to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete.” – Ronald Reagan “For the first time in the seven-decade effort to avert a nuclear war,” The New...

Political heroes are rare. The last genuine political hero, Senator Philip S. Hart, is remembered on the front of an office building in Washington, D.C. as: “A man of incorruptible integrity and personal courage strengthened by inner grace and outer gentleness…. His humility and ethics earned him his place as the conscience of the Senate.” Last Friday (June 30), another...