Amanda Gorman stole the show at the inauguration on Wednesday. After she read her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” I looked her up and followed her on Twitter. She had 80,000 followers. Plenty of other people knew about her before this week. By the time I sat down to write…

I couldn’t believe the news as it came in late Tuesday night. Just after Air Force One departed from Omaha’s Eppley Airfield following one of the campaign’s ill-advised gatherings, the news had not yet sunk in for the 25,000 supporters. Their rides back to the parking lot more than three…

Twenty-nine years ago, Justice Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Like many Americans, I vividly remember his confirmation more than anything he has said or written since. I see Anita Hill when anyone mentions him. Two years ago, it was Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s turn in another unforgettable…

“Prebuttal” is a word I first learned from former Speaker of the House John Boehner. He loved to issue his objections to Barack Obama’s speeches before the former president even game them. And that is a top-notch way to object. I passed Boehner walking on the beach shortly after his…

I had just dropped my two sons off at St. Christopher School in Speedway for the day. I was in the car and headed downtown to the Indiana Government Center South for work. That is when I heard the news on the radio that Flight 11 had hit the north…

Imagine it’s two weeks from now. Joe Biden has chosen his running mate and his choice does not scare or enrage anyone. And of course, that running mate is a qualified woman. The virtual GOP convention is about to start. As Donald Trump’s campaign manager, what exactly would you tell…

photo from lifestorage.com “Midnight in the Holy City, playground for restless souls,” sings Edwin McCain as a tribute to Charleston, South Carolina in “Holy City.” The tune goes on: “Graveyards for the sons of Fort Sumter, and the ghostly daughters wait for their boys to come home.” Northerners see Fort…

photo from edition.cnn.com In his 2010 book, The Last Train From Hiroshima, Charles Pellogrino quotes a survivor of the infamous American bombing of Japan at the end of World War II. The description given was how those who survived did so by taking care of themselves. We often hear stories…

photo from factretriver.com “On the far end of the Trail of Tears was a promise,” the majority opinion opened in the case of McGirt v. Oklahoma. Sometimes promises are hard to keep, especially when they are nearly two centuries old and made by the government. …