Inaugurals Past and Present: Seeking Unity, Not Insurrection
It was less than six months after the infamous Watergate break-in when Richard Nixon, seeking his second presidential term, buried Democrat George McGovern in an electoral landslide and prepared to…
Read MoreDarkness at Dinner: Farewell to Mrs. K’s, Sergio’s and the rest
“Amidst all the vagaries of life, there’s death and taxes, and Mrs. K’s Toll House,” or so I wrote in a restaurant review for The Washington Post in August 1998.…
Read MoreA Plains Christmas and Pride in Charley, R.I.P.
A Plains Christmas It is so vivid in my mind, it seems like yesterday. But 40 years ago next week I boarded Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base…
Read MorePearl Harbor Day 2020
Dec. 7, 1941 – 79 years ago today – may indeed be a date that lives in infamy, even if barely remembered. A total of 2,403 died that day from…
Read MoreWe Gather Together–Apart
Happy Thanksgiving! (Or Happy Day After Thanksgiving, if you are seeing this on Friday) Today’s papers are filled with solemn holiday columns commenting on the sadness and irony we are…
Read MoreIn Praise of Chester A. Arthur
Let us now praise Chester Alan Arthur. The largely forgotten 21st president, a Republican vice president propelled into the office by the assassination of President John Garfield in 1881, Arthur served…
Read MoreShameless Self-Promotion, The Good Lord Bird, and Much, Much More!
Shameless self-promotion: Schiffer Publishing, which still has a healthy stockpile of my book, “Maryland Lost and Found…Again,” is advising its authors to take advantage of Prime Day (Amazon’s annual deal…
Read MoreSpecial Edition: Snag great books (signed) while supporting online book review
Snag Great Gifts (signed books, Zoom events) While Supporting Us | Washington Independent Review of Books http://bit.ly/33KVIU4 For highlights, click here. The Washington Independent Review of Books is a mostly…
Read MoreThe “Emperor” Has No Clothes, A Monumental Message, and More
Happy Labor Day Weekend! What an odd time to be celebrating labor’s contribution to the country when so many millions are out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic. Walking…
Read MoreWhat we took for granted
The other day, in the fifth month of the coronavirus pandemic, we went out for a latte. It was midday and time for a break from our self-imposed stay-at-home regimen…
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