Category: Thomas Jefferson

How to Be a Better Conversationalist, According to 5 American Presidents

When an American president speaks, it is heard around the world. Their words of wisdom are just as applicable to our everyday conversations. Be Open-Minded When he said, “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better,” Abraham Lincoln understood that one’s instinctive dislike of someone might have been formed in ignorance….


July 4: The Best Birthday

With July Fourth only a few weeks away, it’s time to start planning how to make this year’s Independence Day the best ever. No other special date inspires quite the same deep emotions as Independence Day, when we celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Fun…


The Pursuit of Happiness

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson penned one of the most revolutionary sentences ever written: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These words fly in…


Conrad Black: A Tale of Two Countries: The Trajectory of Conservatism in Canada and US

The following is a speech delivered by Conrad Black at the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference 2023 in Ottawa on March 24, 2023. I have been asked to give a summary of the development and current condition of conservatism in the United States and Canada. Please allow me to begin with a bit of…


Is There a Doctor in the House?

“First, do no harm.” Although this admonition never appears verbatim in the Hippocratic oath—a classic translation states that healers of the sick “abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous”—most of today’s health care professionals take these words to heart. They avoid harm by examining and diagnosing patients before proceeding to a treatment. Unfortunately, a lot…


History Off the Beaten Path: A Natural Wonder With Distinguished Ties

On my way up to see Pennsylvania family and friends from my home in western North Carolina, I spotted a small road sign in Rockbridge County, Virginia on Interstate 81 that piqued my interest. I pulled down a simple road and into a parking lot that indicated it was the entranceway to the official state…


To Promote Viewpoint Diversity, Elon Musk Should Emulate Thomas Jefferson

Commentary To say that Elon Musk’s tenure at Twitter has been polarizing would be an understatement. He bought Twitter at a time when the social media giant was actively putting its thumb on the scale of public discourse and seemingly punishing right-wing accounts. Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, compared the Trump…


Dining with Thomas Jefferson: Travel Back in Time for a Lively Evening of Wisdom and Whimsy

In 1962, our young, charismatic president John F. Kennedy was entertaining the year’s Nobel Prize winners at the White House. He said of the group, “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas…


Not Just Paul Revere: The Unknown Story of the Night Rider in Virginia Who Warned the British Were Coming

It was the spring of 1781, and war had come to Virginia. Many Virginians were fighting elsewhere with George Washington’s forces, weakening the ability of the state to resist British advances. King George’s troops, some of them commanded by defector Benedict Arnold, had earlier that winter conducted raids and fought skirmishes with Americans along the…


Wild Adventures: the Heart-Pounding Legend of Lewis and Clark’s Mission to Map Out America’s Frontier

The vast prairie stretched in front of the Lewis and Clark expedition, teeming with life and promising new discoveries. In present-day Nebraska, they spotted and described little furry animals we now call prairie dogs. Lewis was amazed by their burrow networks and sheer numbers. One day, Lewis observed a jackrabbit bounding across the plains. “It…