I will be brief; this is not complicated: the death of Queen Elizabeth II represents the end of an era, for she is figuratively and almost literally the last of the Greatest Generation and the epitome of grace, class, and devotion to duty, honor, and country. And all of it for seven decades in the […]

Colin Powell arguably traveled one of America’s least probable paths in history.  Peggy Noonan calls it his “Great American Journey”, and it was a great one, for him personally and for his country.  And his success on this journey was no doubt due to his determination that, as he wrote, “I am not going to […]

We lost an exceptional man this week with the passing of Donald Rumsfeld, who was at once one of the most consequential and controversial of our public servants at the cabinet level, having twice served the country as Secretary of Defense and as special envoy to the Middle East under a third president.  George H. […]

December has traditionally been a month of rest for The Texas Pilgrim, but I could not let the momentous significance of last week’s tribute to President George H. W. Bush pass without comment.  It has been suggested that the pomp and circumstance of the events in Washington, Houston, and College Station would not have been […]

We have just witnessed an extraordinary week.  I can’t remember a longer public goodbye in such exalted national venues than was accorded John McCain.  I won’t make any judgment on whether or not it was warranted, but very few presidents have received such treatment.  Of course, he was a hero by any definition of that […]

The news of the impending death of Charles Krauthammer, released in the form of his noble letter to his readers several weeks ago, followed by the event itself, was a devastating blow to the intellectual community and to the quality of reasoned public discourse at a time when we most need it.  This is a […]

Former Texas Governor Mark White, who died last week, was the most active correspondent with The Texas Pilgrim over the years.  When I clicked the “publish” button for each monthly issue, I could count on his rapid response with an often lengthy e-mail of commentary and questions on the policy issues, frequently disagreeing with what […]

In the wake of Muhammad Ali’s death a couple of days ago, there has of course been saturation coverage of his life and legacy, and he certainly led a life that warrants the attention.  There is no doubt that he was an exceptional athlete and a world icon as a larger than life personality, about […]

The loss of Justice Antonin Scalia is huge–for his family, for the Supreme Court, for American jurisprudence, for constitutional fidelity, and for the country at a crucial time. Here was a man who was larger than one Justice among nine, for the dynamic he represented with his intellectual strength and depth and his personality permeated […]