Blog
The Conscience of a Conservative
“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” This declaration seems uncannily relevant today, when our liberties are under assault…
Read MoreJuneteenth Is Still Relevant
Lest We Forget! The slogan, invoked by unreconstructed rebel defenders of “the lost cause,” referring to the defeat of the Confederacy by the Union 160 years ago, has suddenly taken…
Read MoreA Biographer’s Craft
“Having a project is a gift, Not having a project is when you are in trouble.” — various These pearls of wisdom were recalled at the recent conference of the…
Read MoreD-Day+81 – Why they fought
D-Day – the 6th of June, 1944: “The Longest Day,” as it was called in the classic 1962 film of that name. Then came “The Americanization of Emily” (1964 –…
Read MoreAnniversaries of War and Peace
We seem to be in the midst of marking anniversaries when wars ended, gloriously or ingloriously. Gloriously May 8, 1945, some eighty years ago,, V-E Day was celebrated for Victory…
Read MoreCheer up. It’s Spring!
A walk in my suburban neighborhood as well as a peak at our own azaleas in bloom yields a revelation. Whatever chaos, uncertainty, fear and bad news overwhelms us, there…
Read More“The Winds of Doctrine”
The Sunday Bulletin‘s editorial on Math 6, 1966 was carefully crafted. Headlined “The Winds of Doctrine,” it introduced a ten-part series “The Left and The Right — A View from…
Read MoreJohn Feinstein, R.I.P.
NOTE: My longtime friend and fabled sportswriter John Feinstein died suddenly on March 13 of an apparent heart attack. I wrote this appreciation for the Washington Independent Review of Books.…
Read MoreBecoming Kay Graham
In February 1970, through a combination of persistence and luck, I came to work at the Washington Post. It so happened that my name is the same as the man…
Read MoreWill The Washington Post Die in Darkness?
“All the President’s Men” was on TCM the other night. Sadly, ironically, that title would now have to include Jeff Bezos. His latest turn toward the right, informing staff that…
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