Thanksgiving is the most American of holidays. But there is something almost un-American about it. It is a day opposed to striving, to getting more. We stop adding up the numbers in our accounts. We freeze in place to give thanks for whatever is there. Today's big issue is "affordability." ...

Rahm Emanuel wants to take leadership of the Democratic Party and capture its nomination for president in 2028. He shares his thoughts in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed. It's the first time a Democrat has made me smile since President Bill Clinton announced in his 1996 State of the Union ...

"Government requires make-believe. Make believe that the king is divine, make believe that he can do no wrong or make believe that the voice of the people is the voice of God. Make believe that the people have a voice or make believe that the representatives of the people are the people. Make ...

The word that best describes how former Vice President Dick Cheney, who wielded the responsibilities he undertook in public affairs over a long career, began improbably early in life and extended into years of repudiation by his fellow partisans, is "unintimidated." He was unintimidated by ...

Few documentary films have the natural authority of a Ken Burns production. The narrator of his works, Peter Coyote, is as close as we have today to "the voice of God," the phrase once associated with legendary CBS anchor Walter Cronkite at the height of broadcast news. This makes it ...

Among my growing list of improper uses of the English language is the response I get when telling a restaurant server or anyone else "thank you." The usual response has been for as long as I remember, "you're welcome." For the young, especially, it has become "no problem." Why would thanking ...