Frederick Fisher is a name many won’t recognize, but the incident he sparked in 1954 is widely attributed for bringing down one of the biggest political bullies of the last century, Senator Joseph McCarthy.  At the time a young attorney with the prestigious Boston firm Hale & Dorr, Mr. Fisher’s one indiscretion was to join the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), a left-leaning...

The former President credits God for saving him from the assassin's bullet, claiming, "God was on my side." It might surprise a few to know that I actually agree and I, along with so many others, thank God that he was not killed that day. No, I have not had a sudden conversion to the MAGA religion. (That is what it has become.) I previously believed that nothing could be worse for democracy than...

We need to have a serious conversation about when life begins. As I’ve argued before, that question has very serious consequences for public policy. As we now see in the recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court, it threatens the opportunity of women who have fertility issues with the possibility of becoming pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF). This tragedy is a direct result of...

In 1951 20th Century-Fox released its epic Biblical drama of the supposed love affair between King David and Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of the nation’s generals. It is a tale worth retelling today for many reasons, not the least of which is to correct the Biblical record on what really transpired between those two in the ancient story. But why retell that story today? Because it says...

It wasn’t particularly surprising when Governor Ron DeSantis made Critical Race Theory (CRT) enemy number one in the culture wars.  That is precisely the kind of reaction that CRT predicts as part of the systemic racism of our institutions.  To be clear, it is fair to debate whether CRT is a valid theory that accurately depicts the history of racism in our society just as...

Note: This article also appears in the Eugene Weekly's online edition. On the morning of January 6, 2021, Nancy Pelosi spoke to members of the Democratic caucus via video conference.  She closed the meeting with these words: Today is the Feast of Epiphany, January 6,   the Magi, the rest of the world seeing the birth of Christ.  Let us pray in any way that you do,...

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I’ve always considered myself more of a “social justice” guy than a “law and order” person.  Not that the two are necessarily in opposition, but growing up in the Civil Rights era and amidst Vietnam War protests, I found that law and order were usually on the wrong side of justice.  Rather curious then that I find myself now longing for the triumph of law and order...

The Supreme Court overturns Roe and Texas now counts fetuses as “persons.”  Naturally a woman carrying such a person in Plano, Texas does the math and quickly deduces she and yet to be born person meet the requirement for driving in the HOV lane ("high occupancy vehicle", meaning two or more people).  Logical, right?  No, said the officer giving her the ticket, only persons “outside...

My column on gun violence in schools for the Eugene Weekly. Photo: REUTERS/John Ernst