“… And you could use my words against me and you’d be absolutely right.” – Sen. Lindsey Graham, in remarks to Senate colleagues shortly after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Here’s what the “principled” Senator repeated to The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, at the magazine’s sponsored conference just two years ago: “If an opening comes in the last year...

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice who was a fierce advocate for gender equality, died last Friday. In a statement released by the nation’s highest court, read, “Our nation has lost a justice of historic stature,” Chief Justice John Roberts said. “We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations...

Apologies to readers. Due to the many conspiracy theories and scandals reported on an hourly basis it’s hard to keep up! Let’s begin with the “latest.” While Oregon continues to suffer under unprecedented wildfires that are consuming neighborhoods at a record pace, another firestorm is moving at light speed. Some Oregon Facebook members are posting messages like this: “Has anyone...

A recent story in Forbes magazine reports, “Some 56% of Republicans believe that QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory, is mostly or partly true, according to a new Daily Kos/Civiqs poll released Wednesday…” Early in his campaign, Trump suggested that Ted Cruz’s father may be linked to the Kennedy assassination. How did he know? He read it in the “well respected”...

Sitting before the Senate Watergate hearings on June 25, 1973, former counsel to Richard Nixon, John Dean, described a meeting with the president. “I began by telling the president that there was a cancer growing on the presidency and that if the cancer was not removed the president himself would be killed by it.” In our current context, the president...

During times of crisis, U.S. presidents have always offered words of inspiration, and fortitude ensuring that “we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty,” President John F. Kennedy declared at his inauguration. Here are some lesser known but powerful words, nonetheless. “We always...

John Lewis has been memorized as the conscience of the Congress. Who will pick up that mantle, now? Who will stand for principle over political expediency? The answer is easy but the work will be hard. WE the people are the conscience of America. We always have been. No matter the crisis, we have always summoned the faith to act....

Three exemplary Americans died in less than a year. Three Americans taught us the importance of commonality: Congressman Elijah Cummings; Congressman John Lewis; and Rev. Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian. All three were stalwart civil rights leaders. All three advocated the message of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” All three, and thousands...

Some citizens in Wolfford, Texas see the refusal to wear a mask to protect others as a principled stand. “I’m not doing it because I woke up in a free country.” “… we’re done with all that.” “…we don’t care.” Facing a tidal wave of defections from advertisers angered by the hate speech that appears next to their names in...

Amid multiple crises, Independence Day is a good a time to refresh with words that inspire, motivate, and define who we are, not by political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, or religion, but a country established by immigrants seeking liberty. “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other...