What does it mean to live a life well-lived? For me, I want my epitaph to read, “He done did good.” It’s how we would say it in Texas.

I think we are here on planet Earth in this physical realm to do as much good as we can in the time we have. Doing good means being good to each other at home, at work and in the community.

You don’t have to endow a new hospital or museum. It is not about wealth. You don’t have to discover a new law of physics or write a best-seller. It…

The Biden Administration has signaled that the U.S. might get tough on U.S. war crimes, including torture. The Department of Defense Inspector General sent a memo to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to the Special Operations Command advising them that it was initiating an inquiry into whether the specials forces have training in place to ensure that they comply with the laws of war and are holding accountable any who break the law.

This is a welcome shift away from Mr. Trump who intervened in a war crimes prosecution, granted clemency to eight service members and military contractors who…

President Biden’s first priority, among many firsts, is to restore our democracy. One symbolic act he should take is to tear down the walls, physical and emotional, that have made Washington, D.C. more like a fortress than the seat of democracy.

The U.S. Capitol police this week proposed permanent fencing around the Capitol to increase security following the right-wing insurrection on January 6th. Last year, the White House erected fencing and concrete barriers to block off all entrances to Lafayette Park in the wake of the peaceful protests of the murder of George Floyd. Both barriers should come down.

In…

There is something sacred and magical standing before a new President as he (and one day she) is sworn in by the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. There is a sense of promise and urgency as we pour, fairly or not, all of our hopes into the vessel of democracy standing before us.

I have done it four times, freezing my toes in the bitter cold, on the grounds below the Capitol steps. I heard Bill Clinton in 1993 urge “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.” I…

There are worries that President Trump will pardon himself, his family and friends, and the insurrectionists as he leaves office. He has already pardoned or granted clemency to a host of bad actors including Joe Arpaio, Scooter Libby, Paul Manafort, Mike Flynn, Michael Milken, Duncan Hunter, and Roger Stone.

The extent of the pardon power is not known and would have to be decided by the Supreme Court. The mainstream press and talking heads would be well-advised not to report that the pardon power is absolute. …

What does courage look like in the face of insurrection fomented by the President?

Courage is not Betsy DeVos or Elaine Chau resigning a Cabinet post two weeks before it ends.

Courage is not Mitch McConnell calling for fellow Senators to uphold the electoral college vote after weeks of dismissing the election results.

Courage is not the mainstream media blaming both political parties for the deep divisions in our nation when the Democrats promote democracy and the Republicans undermine it.

Courage is not opening the barricades to let in rioters.

Courage is not plucking Nancy Pelosi’s name plaque off her…

I don’t like death, and 2020 has brought plenty of it.

I used to not mind it. At age two, I faced a life-or-death surgery because I had seven spleens fused together that didn’t allow my blood to coagulate. My earliest memory was of the surgeon lowering the big white light over my head and asking if I could count numbers yet. “Yes!” I said indignantly. “I bet you can’t count backward from ten?” I rose to the challenge: “10…9…8…7…6…” I was out. The life-or-death surgery did not freak me out because what else did I know about life? …

We have been holding our breath for four years as American democracy, rule of law and human rights have been battered. Here are some of the ways we can build back better.

The incoming Administration should appoint a Director of Human Rights as an ex-officio member of the Cabinet to ensure that human rights are given due consideration in all policy decisions. While the U.S. promotes human rights abroad, those considerations are too often overridden by supposed economic, foreign relations or security imperatives. Human rights needs a voice at the table and the backing of our leaders.

Human rights and…