U.S. presidents’ love affair with baseball dates back to George Washington, who wrote in his journal that during Valley Forge he “sometimes throws and catches a ball for hours with his aide-de-camp.” Every president since Washington, except Teddy Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge, had a passion for base ball, as Washington then referred to the game. […]

THE CONVERSATION — Through a year of war in Ukraine, the U.S. and most European nations have worked to help counter Russia, in supporting Ukraine both with armaments and in world energy markets. Russia was Europe’s main energy supplier when it invaded Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin threatened to leave Europeans to freeze “like a […]

Bombarded by stories of a fringe-driven GOP, power-crazed Putin, serial killer-terrorized nation and climate change-threatened world, it would be easy to fall into a Job-like funk. “Do your thing, Mr. Grim Reaper, I’m done.” But that’s not the way I roll. I’d rather savor life’s sweet offerings than succumb to the daily madness. Here are […]

Was George Washington woke? When I write my annual tribute to America’s great leader as his birthday is celebrated, he has come under attack from critics who find he was not woke enough. He was a slave owner. That view overlooks much of his exceptional life. Even by today’s understanding, Washington could qualify for being […]