GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — It is difficult to discourage and impossible to manage Justin Amash because he, unusual among politicians, does not want much and wants nothing inordinately. He would like to win a sixth term as congressman from this culturally distinctive slice of the Midwest. He do…

Dear Dave: Why do I need a will if I’m still young and haven’t acquired a lot of wealth? — Laura

WASHINGTON — A concern for human rights and democracy has often been seen as an add-on to our country’s foreign policy, an attractive veneer over the usual realpolitik. But President Donald Trump is demonstrating that a supposedly “America First” policy focused entirely on trade and divorced…

After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, investigators discovered that the lone man assigned to guard the president, John Parker, had abandoned his post to watch the play from an adjacent box at Ford’s Theater. Worse, at intermission, Parker adjourned to a nearby saloon to have drinks wit…

Dear Dave: When it comes to buying life insurance, should the coverage amount be based solely on current earnings? I have good reason to believe my income is going to increase significantly soon. — Wesley

Politicians and pundits are promoting familiar explanations, excuses and demands following the tragic mass murders in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. From more gun laws, to blaming President Trump, conservative talk radio and Fox News, we've heard it all before.

WASHINGTON — Regimes, however intellectually disreputable, rarely are unable to attract intellectuals eager to rationalize the regimes' behavior. America's current administration has "national conservatives." They advocate unprecedented expansion of government in order to purge America of ex…

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party may not have pulled the triggers, but they still bear some responsibility for the weekend’s atrocities. The only way to keep military-style weapons of war out of the clutches of would-be mass killers is to take away…

My children don’t remember 9/11. My youngest hadn’t been born; her siblings were 3 years old and 17 months old. They know what that date signifies, have seen the footage and visited the site, but they don’t know what it means. They cannot fathom the devastating cultural dislocation that occu…

Former South Carolina governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has urged President Donald Trump and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., to stop exchanging insults over conditions in Baltimore.

The Democratic debates illustrate the limitations of the modern format: Two 10-candidate matchups over two nights could not accommodate all of the aspirants. Confrontation makes for better TV than dialogue and, thus, the media’s pre-debate hype reminds us of World Wrestling Entertainment. Th…

Dear Dave: My husband and I have been married five years, and we’ve decided we want to have children. We’ve both been working full time since our wedding, and we were wondering if we should adjust our emergency fund and retirement investing to accommodate all the upcoming life changes that g…

Calling someone "racist" has become the default position for liberal politicians and certain members of the media who wish to deflect attention from real problems.

Winnow: verb. To expose (grain or other substances) to the wind or to a current of air so that the lighter particles (as chaff or other refuse matter) are separated or blown away.

It was the Detroit Donnybrook. Tuesday’s Democratic debate was choppy but passionate, opening up wide philosophical divisions within the party’s presidential field and providing sound bites critical of progressive ideas and candidates that Republicans are certain to use in 2020.

The Washington Post, which has done everything in its dwindling power with articles, editorials and columns denouncing, demeaning and attempting to destroy President Donald Trump, appears to have temporarily — but only temporarily — raised the white flag. A headline following former special …

Dear Dave: I had about $12,000 in debt when my husband and I got married three years ago. Since that time, we’ve been given cash gifts from my parents from time to time, and we keep having discussions on how to use this kind of money when it is given to us. I’d like to put it toward paying o…

The Founders of the United States of America warned against massive federal debt, but, to our detriment, their political descendants are not paying attention. The Founders speak to us from their graves to condemn and warn of the consequences now that President Trump and Congress have come to…

WASHINGTON — The Democratic presidential circus pitches its tent in Detroit this week. It will be especially entertaining if the presidential aspirants are asked some questions like these:

WASHINGTON — Sometimes big problems can be solved simply.

For safety reasons, fire marshals control the number of people who can occupy a building at any one time. We’ve seen what happens when crowds get too large and a fire breaks out, causing panic and often death. So why not control the crowd illegally entering America?

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump addressed a group of so-called “digital leaders” invited to a social media summit at the White House.

Dear Dave: My wife is so charged up after reading your books, and now she is determined to get us out of debt. I know this is good idea, but I just don’t have the passion for it she does. There are also some things I really don’t want to give up. Do you have some suggestions for getting moti…

The phrase "America, Love It or Leave It" has a pedigree dating back at least to the McCarthy Era. In the '70s, the phrase was employed again against those protesting America's involvement in the Vietnam War. The left has its own version, vowing to leave the country if a Republican is electe…

SAN FRANCISCO — A 29-story office building at 123 Mission St. illustrates the policy puzzles that fester because of these facts: For centuries, tobacco has been a widely used legal consumer good that does serious and often lethal harm when used as it is intended to be used. And its harmfulne…

You had to be there 50 years ago, and I was. As a young reporter for a local TV station in Houston, I frequently visited NASA (“the space base,” we dubbed it), met many of the astronauts and reported on their exploits.

Dear Dave: I’ve never hidden debt from my husband, but I do hide money from him on occasion. I don’t hide it for my personal use, but I have been setting money aside for emergencies without his knowledge. He’s not terrible with money, and he works very hard, but he always seems to find somet…

Two summers ago on a visit to Budapest, I asked the spokesman for the Hungarian government about the growing problem of migrants coming into Europe. He told me Hungary doesn't have a migrant problem because they don't have welfare programs. So, he said, migrants continue their travels to oth…

WASHINGTON — With a disgust commensurate with the fact, Michael Bennet, the Colorado Democrat, says that during 40% of his 10 Senate years the government has been run on "continuing resolutions." Congress passes these in order to spare itself the torture of performing its primary function, w…

PLYMOUTH NOTCH, Vermont — Rep. Justin Amash has left the Republican Party and will now represent Michigan’s third congressional district as an Independent. In a Washington Post op-ed, he wrote: “I’ve become disenchanted with party politics and frightened by what I see from it. The two-party …

We all know how much President Donald Trump loves photo ops with strongmen. The latest was his high drama pose with Kim Jong Un, on the north side of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, last week.

WASHINGTON — “Surreal” was the word Ivanka Trump used to describe North Korea, which she briefly visited this past weekend with dear ol’ dad.

CAPE NEDDICK, Maine — To suggest on the Fourth of July that we need to consider the downsides of patriotism is to risk a heresy far more troublesome than challenging the merits of baseball, fireworks and hot dogs.