Steve Bannon wants you to know that he’s a “good Catholic.” Given his M.O. as an extremist flamethrower, I find that more than a little unsettling, and I’m sure Pope Francis is rolling his eyes about now. Bannon also describes himself as a “street fighter.” (What happened to turning the other cheek, Steve?) Bannon has honed his fighting skills running...

In the final part of my conversation with Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) from July 29, we discuss principles, money in politics and avoiding partisan traps. Lichtman: Here’s one thing that frustrates many voters, me included: political decision-making appears to be calculated toward getting re-elected where appealing to the base of supporters becomes the overriding priority. How do stay true to...

A brief conversation with U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), led to a 50-minute discussion concerning health care and his participation in the Problem Solvers Caucus. Elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Carbajal previously served three terms as a Santa Barbara County Supervisor and served in the Marine Corps Reserve. He currently sits on the Armed Services and Budget Committees. Our...

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’ve gotta be very careful here because I am not a meteorologist… not the National Hurricane Center… not a climatologist or meteorologist. All I do is analyze the data that they publish. …when it comes to a hurricane bearing down on South Florida, I’m the go-to guy.” – Rush Limbaugh, Sept. 5, 2017 I’ve gotta be very careful here, because...

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...

Charlie Gard is only 11 months old, but his short life has stirred a controversy concerning the ethical limits of medicine. Charlie has a rare, genetic and incurable disease that has now involved doctors, three British courts, the European Court of Human Rights, as well as hundreds of thousands of petitioners, including Pope Francis and President Trump. The bottom line...

In the early evening hours of October 25, 2007 in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, Army Staff Sargent Salvatore Giunta and seven troops were returning to camp when they were ambushed by Taliban fighters from all directions. “There were more bullets in the air than stars in the sky,” Giunta said. “A wall of bullets at every one at the same time...

“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...