Ronald E. Yates 
A couple of years ago, I penned a column on the vanishing history of Western civilization in America’s colleges and universities. Specifically, I noted that the National Association of Scholars had published a comprehensive report titled “The Vanishing West,” which traced the decline and near extinction of Western Civilization history …
All authors are emotionally engaged with their protagonists. I am no exception. I want readers to love my characters as much as I do. That means creating a flawed, three-dimensional protagonist who still has “things to work out.” The Finding Billy Battles series follows Billy from his roots in Kansas, through …
Between 1978 and 1982, I spent a lot of time as a Chicago Tribune foreign correspondent in Central American countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, and Nicaragua — all of which were experiencing vicious uprisings and revolutions. From time to time, I post one of the stories I wrote …
One day, perhaps 50 years from now, historians will look back on the years between 2020 and 2025 and conclude that America chose to abandon common sense and established fact despite significant advances in artificial intelligence, science, medicine, and technology. They will marvel at AI advancements, including the rapid scaling …
The new Muhammad Ali postage stamp is now available, issued by the United States Postal Service. It is a commemorative Forever Stamp honoring the boxing legend and humanitarian, putting his image into circulation nationwide. Twenty-two million stamps are being printed, each featuring Ali in his fighting prime. In the black-and-white photo …
Not since slave-loving Democrats provoked the succession of Southern states from the Union have Democrats demonstrated such hatred for America, but that is exactly what is happening today in Minnesota and Minneapolis. Led by Gov. “Tampon” Tim Walz and Boy Toy Mayor Jacob Frey, Minnesota and Minneapolis are now havens …
In 1961, an Oscar-nominated film, “The Hustler,” starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason, told the story of two pool hustlers out to beat the system and each other. At one point in the film, “Fast” Edie Felson (Newman) and Minnesota Fats (Gleason) engage in a marathon game of “straight pool …
During a discussion in a journalism class I was teaching at the University of Illinois a few years ago, I posited the following question: What do you think has been the greatest, most impactful invention in the world during the past 1,000 years? The answers, as you might expect, were …
If today’s Congressional Democrats were around on Dec. 7, 1941, I wonder if they would have voted against declaring war on Imperial Japan—the nation that attacked the American Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing 2,403 Americans. Does that sound like an outrageous question? At first glance, yes, it does. …
The following is a compilation of Thanksgiving trivia from The Old Farmer’s Almanac & the Indianapolis Star. My thanks to both of these fine publications. It’s Thanksgiving Day, and millions of Americans will celebrate by tucking in for a big meal with friends and family, by watching football games, and maybe …