Good morning, it’s Friday, February 16, 2018. Nine years ago today, a modern version of the Boston Tea Party emerged in U.S. politics. It took place in Seattle, not at Boston Harbor, and although it didn’t have anything to do with tea or British trade tariffs, it certainly concerned taxation. Taxes have long been a touchstone for fiscal conservatives in […]

Good morning, it’s Thursday, February 15, 2018. Today, Americans must absorb the shock — and resist the numbness that comes with familiarity — of another mass school shooting by a murderous young man with an assault rifle. As of this writing, the names of the victims have not been made public except for the assistant football coach at Florida’s Stoneman […]

Good morning, it’s Thursday, February 14, 2019. At 12:15 p.m. on this date in 1983, a crewman on the Neptune Jade, a 750-foot freighter on its way to Asia, noticed a blip on his radar screen. It signified the presence of another vessel 24 nautical miles away, which wasn’t unusual in that busy Bering Sea shipping lane. Except for one […]

Good morning, it’s Monday, February 12, 2018 — the birthdate of perhaps our greatest president. “I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky,” Abraham Lincoln wrote to Jesse W. Fell in December of 1859. “My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families — second families, perhaps I should say,” Lincoln continued. “My mother, who died in […]

Good morning, it’s Monday, February 4, 2019. I hope you enjoyed Sunday’s low-scoring Super Bowl. Whatever one’s feelings about head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, the New England Patriots’ sustained run of excellence can only be admired. So, congratulations are in order for the Pats and their fans. With the Red Sox victory in the 2018 World Series […]

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, January 30, 2019. The frigid temperatures that have blasted the Midwest are descending on the East Coast today. We used to call this a “cold snap.” Now the media is full of explanations about the “polar vortex,” which certainly sounds more ominous. In the San Francisco Bay Area, where Fred T. Korematsu and I both grew […]

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, January 30, 2018, the birth date of one of America’s most beloved presidents. Franklin Roosevelt, now immortalized with an extensive monument near the National Mall, would have been 136 years old today. Monuments can be tricky things, however. Like old photographs — and even literary classics or our favorite Hollywood movies — they are works of […]

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, January 29, 2019. Five years ago this week, I interviewed two members of Congress — one Republican, one Democrat – who’d made a point of sitting together during President Obama’s State of the Union address. The bipartisan seating arrangements were recommended by the good-government group No Labels. If this gesture seems dated only half a decade […]

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, January 23, 2018, and the short-lived government shutdown is over — for now. Today’s date in history serves as a reminder that, to many people, “America First” is not merely an expression of pride in the Unites States and its accomplishments. The phrase also has another, more sinister, historic connotation that its supporters would be wise […]

Good morning, it’s Thursday, January 10, 2019. On this date in 1982, the San Francisco 49ers announced a 15-year run of sustained excellence with a thrilling 28-27 win over the much-feared Dallas Cowboys. The NFC championship game was hard-fought and competitive throughout — and didn’t end until Cowboys’ quarterback Danny White fumbled near midfield with a few seconds left. But […]

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, January 9, 2018. So the Oprah-for-president craze begins. Will this prove a temporary blip, soon forgotten? Or a powerful tsunami that (again) turns U.S. politics on its head? History teaches us that we don’t always immediately recognize the turning of the tide when it first happens. Today’s date, for example is when the actual first shots […]

Good morning, it’s Monday, January 8, 2018. To quote the Cowardly Lion, “Unusual weather we’re having, ain’t it?” Then again, we don’t need a sudden snowstorm in a mythical poppy field in “The Wizard of Oz” to remind us that weather can be unpredictable. The polar vortex and “bomb cyclone” serve that function. On this date in 1913, the coldest […]

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, January 8, 2019. President Trump has scheduled his first prime-time Oval Office address tonight, presumably on the ongoing government shutdown. Meanwhile, college football has its new national champion, Clemson University, which many commentators believe has eclipsed Alabama as the supreme college program. Perhaps, but as they say in my favorite sport: “Wait ’til next year!” Historically, […]

Good morning, it’s Thursday, January 3, 2019, Day 13 of the latest government shutdown. Seven years ago today, Iowan Republicans made their preferences known in that state’s quadrennial presidential caucuses. The results were a surprise — and confusing. The night of the caucuses, state GOP officials reported that Mitt Romney narrowly edged past upstart Rick Santorum. And I do mean […]

Good morning, it’s Thursday, December 27, 2018. Another eventful — if not altogether reassuring — political year is winding to a close. The federal budget process remains a mess, and I’m not even talking about the partial government shutdown. Year after year, Congress spends money like a drunken sailor while collecting far less in taxes than is needed to feed […]

Good morning, it’s Thursday, December 14, 2018. On this date in 1799, the “father of our country” passed away at Mount Vernon. George Washington was 67 years old. In those three score and seven years, Washington the soldier led his countrymen in battle as they shed the yoke of empire, and Washington the statesman helped establish a republic. He would […]

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, December 12, 2018. On this date in 1799, George Washington did what he did on most days since retiring from the presidency: He toured his sprawling estate on horseback to examine and direct Mount Vernon’s myriad farming activities. It was a Thursday and the weather was nasty. Snow was falling as Gen. Washington began his rounds […]

Good morning, it’s Monday, December 11, 2018. Eighty-two years ago today, a thin and handsome man known to his beloved as “David,” but to the British people as Edward VIII, became the first English monarch to voluntarily abdicate the throne. He did so for love, which seems quaint today. As Tina Turner might say, what’s love got to do with […]

Good morning, it’s Thursday, December 7, 2018. Whatever is happening today in our nation’s fractious capital, or in violent hotspots around the world, today’s date is a reminder that this country has experienced truly dark and frightening days and that we saw our way through even if it took a long time. For Americans living on this date 76 years […]

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, December 6, 2018. On this date in 1910, Theodore Roosevelt was uncharacteristically idle. He’d returned in late summer to the United States after a year on safari in Africa and touring the capitals of Europe, then embarked on an American speaking tour, and now was home at Sagamore Hill contemplating the next phase of his life. […]