Some Native American tribes referred to the U.S. cavalry as “long knives” because they carried swords or sabers. The modern version of a long knife is a politician who claims to represent a certain collection of principles but violates them time after time. He or she is guilty of knifing the gullible constituents in the back. To be candid the mortal wounds are not always the fault of the weasel-like politician. Sometimes the voters just “assume” that a candidate accepts their point of view…

Today as you go about your tasks, you are living history. Today is Tomorrow’s history and next Century’s ancient history. Perhaps if you are caught up in a momentous event today, you may become a footnote in history. There is a methodology for historical analysis called the new social history which attempts to view history through the eyes and sensations of ordinary people. Their primary criticism of traditional historical methods is that they focus too often on “great leaders and…

You are probably familiar with the fable about the Emperor’s New Clothes. If we were writing a story about today’s gallant knights who are running for office to save our nation, we would probably note that they’re wearing tin-foil armor. They are clothed with the fragile protection of expediency that they expect us to assume is principle.  Every candidate from every party or movement is to some degree a flawed warrior. For those of us who must choose our standard bearer, we are faced with…

As the proud (very, very proud) grandfather of 3 (soon to be 4) wonderful young people and children, one of my greatest concerns is what type of legacy I will leave for them. I don’t mean legacy in the way that most career politicians use the term….a notable political achievement. No, the legacy that I seek is the one that is firmly implanted on their hearts and their characters. Each of them has unique talents and abilities that equip them well for becoming producers and contributors as…