There are few things the old me liked more than a meaty discussion about the American Founding. The history was interesting for its own sake but also essential guidance for the present and future. Or so I believed for decades. The other day, a podcast in my feed addressed these matters and I ...

The autopen has been around in one form or another since Thomas Jefferson was president. According to shapell.org, "In 2005, George W. Bush was the first president to enquire with the Department of Justice if it was constitutional for the president to sign a bill using the autopen." He was told ...

We Americans, it seems, continue to live in two separate countries. Consider two items in the news this week and the inconsistent responses they evoked. One was the conviction in Florida of Ryan Routh, the second man who attempted to assassinate then-candidate Donald Trump in mid-September ...

"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ... " — First Amendment to the U.S. ...

It’s not easy, but please look at the photograph accompanying this editorial. It shows a formerly enslaved man in Louisiana displaying whipping scars on his back during the Civil War. Made in May 1863 and widely published two months later, it presented gruesome evidence of slavery’s ...

On Monday, Donald Trump issued an ignorant warning to pregnant women whose doctors prescribe Tylenol, a brand name for acetaminophen. "Don't take Tylenol. Don't take it," he said. "Fight like hell not to take it." And when in pain, "Tough it out." The idea that Tylenol use in pregnancy may ...