Among the many coronavirus casualties of 2020 has been the world of sports. There was no NCAA basketball March Madness. The NBA season was stopped about two-thirds of the way through. Major League Baseball never made it out of spring training. The one sport that appeared as though it might escape unscathed was football. Published June 19, 2020
On Dec. 8, 1980, a young man named Mark David Chapman approached Beatles legend John Lennon for an autograph. By Chapman's own account Lennon was very kind to him. Specifically, he said Lennon was a "very cordial and decent man." Five hours after the pleasant encounter, Chapman put four hollow point bullets into Lennon's back and killed him. The news shocked the world. Who would assassinate a universally loved musician? Published June 12, 2020
CNN is wrong. What we are seeing night after night are not peaceful protests. No matter how many times the cable news outlet repeats it, we all recognize the riots are violent, dangerous and cannot be allowed to continue. Published June 2, 2020
It is generally accepted that the role of graduation speakers each year is to provide hope and optimism while discussing the future of those graduating. Graduates are told the conclusion of their academic career is the beginning of a new chapter in life. The speaker typically offers advice on success, an anecdotal story or two and an upbeat view of what is possible. Published May 19, 2020
When the coronavirus began to spread all over the United States, the reaction was different from state to state. The decisions being made by governors and state legislatures were not always consistent with the message coming out of the CDC and the coronavirus task force in Washington. Different rules and restrictions applied depending on where you lived. Published May 8, 2020
The House of Representatives adjourned from their regular duties on March 14. Since that time, like much of America, individual House members have been home. Most have not spent any regular time in their office or with their staff, and certainly haven't been voting on the nation's business. Published April 30, 2020
Coronavirus continues to ravage the globe with more than 2.6 million confirmed cases worldwide and closing in on 200,000 deaths. Published April 22, 2020
The airline industry is currently pleading Congress for mercy -- in the form of taxpayer money -- in light of a disastrous turndown in business from the coronavirus pandemic. But much like the unforgiving servant in a parable of St. Matthew's Gospel, it has failed to show compassion to its own customers who were thrown into hardships from the same pandemic. Published March 27, 2020
The coronavirus has exposed millions of people to potential illness. It has also exposed something equally alarming and extremely concerning for the long-term health of the world as we know it. The coronavirus has exposed the death of statesmanship. Published March 13, 2020
Just over a year ago, long before the term coronavirus had entered our collective vocabularies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that in just a few short weeks of the 2018-19 winter season, the flu had sickened between 6 million and 7 million Americans. Published March 9, 2020
On Friday, President Trump named Rep. Mark Meadows, North Carolina Republican, as his new White House chief of staff. Mr. Meadows sat down with Tim Constantine and talked about how the self-proclaimed "nobody from nowhere" has earned his stripes in American politics and finds himself with more influence than he ever imagined. Published March 8, 2020
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) bills itself as the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world. According to the American Conservative Union, over 19,000 people attended CPAC 2019, some of whom had not missed a single conference since Ronald Reagan gave the first CPAC keynote speech way back in 1974. Published February 23, 2020
There was a time in America when a Little League baseball team that won its local championship was recognized for excellence with trophies for each player on the team. The intended message was that if you work hard, if you work together as a team and if you see your goal through to completion, you will reap the benefits. Published February 4, 2020
My elementary school years were in the 1970s and high school years in the 1980s. It was an era when cities and towns had Christmas displays, high schools often had a prayer before sporting events and no one objected if you suggested God bless someone who sneezed. Published January 14, 2020
The kick off of calendar year 2020 indicates the official launch to the presidential election season is just weeks away. Published January 9, 2020
After traveling 9,600 miles from Washington, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham found that foreign leaders were impressed by President Trump's defiance of impeachment. Published December 15, 2019
The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers have a rivalry that transcends any set of players, any coach, any individual season or frankly, most logic. It is based on history, passion and geography. Such is the nature of great sports rivalries. Published November 21, 2019
There are 15 post-Soviet states ranging from Armenia to Uzbekistan. Russia is the largest and most well known. The others have widely varying degrees of success and stability. Ukraine has been in the headlines in the United States a great deal lately, but while it struggles with corruption and Russian interference, one other post-Soviet state is thriving. Published November 8, 2019
Two stories have largely dominated the news from the Middle East the last couple of weeks. The first was the Turkish invasion of northern Syria and the second has been high profile public protests in Iraq. Published November 6, 2019
When a U.S. president concludes his term in office, the American media inevitably spend an enormous amount of time speculating about what his legacy will be. What will that particular president be remembered for? History has a way of sifting things down to broad basic themes with the passage of time. Published November 4, 2019
