Fifty-one years ago today, I was scrambling aboard a U.S. Marine Corps CH-53 Sea Stallion heavy-lift helicopter with some 70 or so other terrified people. We were being evacuated from Saigon as it fell to invading Communist North Vietnamese troops. April 29, 1975, is a day I will never forget, …
Tomorrow, April 29, I will be posting my recollections of the Fall of Saigon- an event I covered for the Chicago Tribune 51 years ago. I invite you to join me for this retrospective at ForeignCorrespondent or on Substack: https://ronyates.substack.com/. As many of you may know, the war in Vietnam …
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas delivered an insightful and important speech at the University of Texas recently that I wish every American could have heard. Because that wasn’t possible, I will do my best to report and interpret what Justice Thomas, a staid originalist and rigorous champion of the Constitution, …
Several months ago, I sent a note to Caroline Hendrie, Executive Director of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the 117-year-old organization that focuses on journalism ethics, defending the First Amendment, and providing professional development for both legacy and independent journalists. I have been a member of SPJ for more …
While many Americans may worry about how California Gov. Gavin Newsom might “Cali-fornicate” America should he manage to gain access to the White House in 2018, those of us who live in this mismanaged, Democrat-ruled dung-show are keenly aware that Gov. “Hair Gel” has already relentlessly trashed the “Golden State.” …
March Madness is done. Monday night, the Michigan Wolverines held off the UConn Huskies for the NCAA basketball title, and college free agency, otherwise known as “The Transfer Portal,” is now open and active. Let the bidding wars begin as leading players jockey for top dollar—sometimes as high as $3 …
I thought I had seen the last of traitorous Americans cursing our soldiers or calling for them to be killed when the last American combat troops were pulled out of Vietnam following the 1973 Paris Peace Treaty. After the disgusting display by anti-American, pro-Iran thugs in Philadelphia and the perfidious …
There is hope for women’s sports—at last. The IOC just announced a new policy that excludes transgender men (biological males) from the female category at the Olympic Games. That means we won’t have to watch women getting pummeled and mauled by men claiming to be women in Olympic boxing or …
A couple of things occurred to me while I was watching the World Baseball Classic championship game last week between the United States and Venezuela. The game was being played at the Florida Marlins stadium in Miami, which, when I last checked, was an American city. Yet, judging from the …
If there is one thing most authors have in common, besides the sheer agony that sometimes accompanies the writing process, it is the dreaded Rejection Letter from an agent or publisher. I don’t know who got this one from Harlequin, but it had to be devastating for whoever received it. …