The Bonfire Lesson
The fire had burned down to a bed of glowing coals that night, the way fires do when the wood has settled into embers and the heat rises steady and quiet. My grandkids sat around me in a loose circle, wrapped in blankets, their faces flickering with amber light, their eyes wide the way young eyes get when they sense that the old man is about to say something he’s never said before. The cicadas hummed in the trees, and the air smelled of maple and river birch smoke, and for a moment I felt the years folding in on themselves – all the decades I’ve lived in Murfreesboro, all the changes I’ve watched come and go, all the things I’ve held in my chest because no one seemed to want to hear them.
Nights like this don’t come often anymore – nights when the world slows down long enough for an old man to speak and for children to listen… Continue reading
Most Americans have no idea their state has a constitution. They cannot name a single right it protects. Ask where their rights come from, and they will either plead the fifth or point to the federal Bill of Rights. What they do not know is that colonies first, then states, had declarations of rights before the federal government existed, often more expansive than anything the federal document would guarantee. 
Parents of school-age children often see the same puzzle at home and at school: a capable kid hesitates, melts down over mistakes, or waits to be rescued. The tension is real, adult support can steady children’s emotional development, but too much steering can quietly teach doubt. Child self-confidence matters because it becomes the engine behind lifelong success traits like persistence, decision-making, and healthy risk-taking. With the right parental support strategies, confidence grows into everyday independence. 
Americans today have reached unprecedented heights of prosperity, but our economic system rests on a foundation that was built centuries ago under the direction of the nation’s first president, George Washington.
Once again, a commitment made by President Trump and the congressional candidates who rode his coat tails and campaigned on his MAGA platform has gone unfulfilled. In fact, they’ve done the exact opposite.
While Emily Bute isn’t a mom yet, she has already made one decision for her future kids: she will not be sending them to public school.
I was conversing with an 80-year-old neighbor recently who taught and coached for decades in public schools in New York City and here in Virginia. When I mentioned having taught seminars in literature, history, and Latin to homeschoolers, he instantly brought up socialization, a word I’ve heard linked to homeschoolers since my wife and I began educating our oldest child at home 40 years ago.
Over the past sixty years, there has been a significant shift, in how historians perceive President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In a survey conducted in 1962, Eisenhower was ranked 22nd among Presidents, considered just an average leader, comparable to Chester A. Arthur, and slightly superior to Andrew Johnson. However, by the 1980s, his standing had risen to 11th place, and by 1994, he had climbed to 8th. This position has remained consistent, as evidenced by current polls of presidential historians. Among Presidents who served in the last 75 years, he was surpassed in ranking only by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. So, who was the real Dwight D. Eisenhower? 
It is taken, in many cases, to be fact that the reason the Constitutional Convention was called and that the Constitution was ratified was because of the failure of the Articles of Confederation system. The folks at Heritage have made their position clear:
Across the country, teachers are sounding the alarm about a new kind of gap in the classroom: kids who can code on a tablet but cannot tie their shoes, write a legible sentence, or remember their own phone number. The viral stories are piling up, and so is the parental anxiety, as families realize these “basic” skills are not guaranteed anymore. Underneath the panic is a harder question, though, about what schools and homes are actually prioritizing in 2026. 
Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father, believed money could not bring lasting happiness. His life showed that desire grows with wealth, not contentment. Franklin, from modest beginnings, achieved great influence through self-education and public service. He established institutions and made scientific discoveries. His focus was on purpose, learning, and self-control, not accumulation. This perspective remains relevant today. 
Some conservatives are now bending over backwards to try to justify their calls for more federal intervention in local law enforcement around the nation. This has been problematic for many because some of these people also have pretended to be in favor of decentralization, local control, and a strict reading of the Constitution when it suits them.
