The Greater Good

08/28/2026

Thrilled to announce that Ben Sasse will headline the Governor’s Summit on Sept. 29 in Kearney!

A Fremont HS grad, Ben has served as a US Senator, led Midland University and the University of Florida, and authored national bestsellers.

His strength through adversity is an inspiration to all Nebraskans.

We’re deeply honored to have Senator Sasse as this year’s keynote.

Register for the 2026 Summit today: https://govsummit.nebraska.gov/.

08/28/2026

This Week in 1776: August 28
THE GREATER GOOD

**The Revolution Nearly Ends in Brooklyn**

Seven weeks after declaring independence, the United States faced an uncomfortable discovery.

Declaring a nation was considerably easier than defending one.

On Aug. 27, 1776, British and American forces fought the Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn—the first major battle following the Declaration of Independence and the largest engagement of the Revolutionary War.

It went badly for the Americans.

British Gen. William Howe had landed thousands of British and Hessian troops on Long Island several days earlier. Gen. George Washington knew an attack was coming, but the wooded terrain and several roads through the heights surrounding Brooklyn made it difficult to determine exactly where.

Howe found the weakness.

During the night of Aug. 26, a large British force quietly marched east and then north through the poorly guarded Jamaica Pass. Local Loyalists helped guide them through the unfamiliar terrain.

By morning, British troops were behind the American left flank.

The result was devastating.

American units suddenly found themselves attacked from multiple directions. Some fought desperately to escape encirclement. Others were captured. Hundreds were killed or wounded, and more than 1,000 Americans were taken prisoner.

Among those who distinguished themselves were soldiers of the Maryland Line. A few hundred Marylanders repeatedly attacked a much larger British force near the Old Stone House, helping other Americans escape toward the defenses at Brooklyn Heights.

Watching the fighting, Washington reportedly asked, “Good God! What brave fellows I must this day lose!”

By the evening of Aug. 27, the surviving American army had retreated behind its fortifications at Brooklyn Heights.

And there it was trapped.

The British army stood in front of Washington. Behind him was the East River. British warships controlled the surrounding waters.

The revolution was barely a month old, and a substantial portion of the army defending it was in danger of capture.

Yet Howe did not immediately storm the American defenses.

Perhaps remembering the enormous British casualties suffered while attacking fortified Americans at Bunker Hill the previous year, he chose instead to tighten his siege.

That decision gave Washington something extraordinarily valuable:

Time.

During the next two nights, Washington would make one of the most consequential decisions of his career.

Rather than defend Brooklyn for political pride or sacrifice his army simply to demonstrate resolve, he would abandon the position.

On the night of Aug. 29-30, under remarkable secrecy and aided by favorable weather and fog, Washington's army would cross the East River to Manhattan. Thousands of soldiers, horses, artillery pieces and supplies would escape before the British realized what had happened.

It was not a victory.

It was something the young republic needed even more at that moment: survival.

The episode also revealed something about Washington that would become increasingly important during the war. He could learn from failure.

The Americans could not defeat the British by defending every city, road or hill at any cost. Britain possessed too many soldiers, too much money and overwhelming naval superiority.

Washington's most important responsibility was therefore not always to hold territory.

It was to preserve the army—and with it, the revolution.

That lesson reaches beyond military history.

The men who had signed the Declaration did not create a functioning republic on July 4. They created an extraordinarily ambitious political experiment that would survive only through adaptation, compromise, competent leadership and, occasionally, the willingness to admit that a plan had failed.

On Aug. 27, 1776, the United States suffered a crushing defeat.

But the American experiment did not require its leaders to be infallible.

It required them to recover from being wrong.

08/22/2026

This Week in 1776
THE GREATER GOOD

***The British Come Ashore***

For weeks, Gen. George Washington and his Continental Army had watched the enormous British military force gathering around New York.

On Aug. 22, 1776, the waiting would end.

As this week drew to a close, British Gen. William Howe was preparing to move thousands of troops from Staten Island across the Narrows to Long Island. The invasion would begin the following morning near Gravesend Bay, in what is now Brooklyn.

It was an extraordinary display of military power.

British warships controlled the surrounding waters, while transports carried an army of British regulars and German auxiliaries commonly called Hessians. Eventually, roughly 20,000 troops would be committed to the Long Island campaign.

Against them stood George Washington's far less experienced army.

The strategic importance of New York was obvious. Its magnificent harbor provided Britain with a natural base for the Royal Navy. Control of the Hudson River could potentially divide New England—the heartland of the rebellion—from the colonies farther south.

Washington therefore believed New York had to be defended.

The problem was geography.

His army was scattered among Manhattan, Long Island and positions along the surrounding waterways. British naval superiority allowed Howe to move soldiers relatively quickly while Washington had to anticipate several possible attacks at once.

The Americans had spent months constructing fortifications. On Long Island, troops occupied defensive positions around Brooklyn Heights and along a wooded ridge farther east.

Yet fortifications could not solve Washington's most serious problem.

He didn't know where Howe intended to strike.

The British commander had another advantage: patience.

Howe had no need to rush. He possessed a larger, better-trained army supported by overwhelming naval power. Washington, meanwhile, had to keep thousands of inexperienced soldiers supplied, healthy and ready while uncertainty wore on their nerves.

Conditions inside the American army were troubling. Disease had reduced its effective strength. Discipline remained inconsistent. Many soldiers had never experienced a major battle.

Still, Washington attempted to prepare them for what was coming.

In orders to his troops, he reminded them that they were fighting for something larger than another piece of territory. Only weeks earlier, Congress had declared the colonies independent. The army gathered around New York was now defending a new nation whose continued existence depended largely upon them.

There was also political uncertainty behind British lines.

Adm. Richard Howe, the general's brother, still hoped reconciliation might be possible. The Howe brothers had been given authority to offer pardons to Americans willing to return to British allegiance.

But events had overtaken that possibility.

Congress had declared independence. Americans were no longer asking Parliament to respect their rights as British subjects. They were claiming the right to govern themselves.

That made compromise increasingly difficult.

Throughout the summer, Americans had heard the principles of the Declaration read aloud in public squares and printed in newspapers.

Now those principles were about to encounter bayonets.

On the morning of Aug. 22, British boats would begin carrying troops toward the Long Island shore. Thousands would land with remarkably little opposition and begin moving toward the American defenses.

Within days, Washington would face the largest battle of the Revolutionary War—and one of the greatest crises of his military career.

July had been the month Americans declared that government derived its legitimacy from the consent of the governed.

August was about to pose a considerably harder question:

Could they defend that idea?

08/20/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1ESh8Jzu4i/

Because I rely on this fuel to heat my boiler, fireplace, and hot water heater, I will be voting for Initiative 177 come November.

08/16/2026

THIS WEEK IN 1776
The Greater Good

***Washington Waits as the British Tighten the Noose***

By mid-August 1776, Americans had enjoyed more than a month as citizens of a newly declared nation. In New York, however, Gen. George Washington had little opportunity to celebrate.

Across the water from his army stood the largest British expeditionary force yet assembled against the colonies, and it was becoming increasingly clear that the first great test of American independence was about to begin.

British Gen. William Howe had spent weeks gathering troops on Staten Island. His brother, Adm. Richard Howe, commanded a formidable Royal Navy fleet in the surrounding waters. Reinforcements continued arriving, including thousands of German soldiers—most commonly remembered as Hessians—hired by Britain to help suppress the rebellion.

Washington knew an attack was coming.

He did not know where.

The geography surrounding New York presented a defender's nightmare. Washington had to protect Manhattan while also guarding Long Island and the approaches along the Hudson and East rivers. British naval superiority meant Howe could move troops quickly by water, while Washington was forced to divide his considerably smaller force among several possible targets.

That uncertainty became almost as dangerous as the British army itself.

Washington repeatedly warned his soldiers to remain vigilant. Fortifications were strengthened, artillery positioned and troops shifted among defensive works. Yet the Continental Army remained a work in progress. Many soldiers were inexperienced. Disease was widespread. Desertion and expiring enlistments reduced the ranks, while discipline varied considerably from regiment to regiment.

By comparison, the British were professionals.

Many of Howe's soldiers had years of military experience. One of the world's most powerful navies supported them, and an enormous logistical operation centered on New York Harbor supplied them.

Still, the Americans possessed advantages of their own. They were fighting on familiar ground, defending a cause that had become considerably clearer since July 4. They did not necessarily have to destroy the British army. They simply had to remain in the field long enough to make reconquering America prohibitively expensive.

Washington was beginning to understand that distinction, although the lessons necessary to perfect that strategy would come at considerable cost.

Politics continued alongside military preparations.

The Howe brothers still hoped that the overwhelming display of British power might persuade Americans to abandon independence without a prolonged war. They possessed authority to offer pardons, but not to negotiate with the United States as an independent country.

That distinction was now impossible for Congress.

Only weeks earlier, its members had pledged their "lives, fortunes and sacred honor" to independence. Returning to British rule would mean admitting that the Declaration—and perhaps the sacrifices already made at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill—had been for nothing.

Neither side had much room left for compromise.

For civilians in New York, the uncertainty was equally unsettling. Families fled the city. Loyalists hoped the arrival of the British would restore royal authority, while supporters of independence feared what would happen if Howe captured the city. Commerce was disrupted, military fortifications transformed familiar landscapes and thousands of soldiers crowded into the region.

Yet for several more days, nothing happened.

That may have been the most unnerving part.

Washington could see the ships. His soldiers could see the British encampments. Everyone understood that an invasion was imminent.

They simply didn't know when it would begin.

The answer would come soon.

Within days, British troops would cross from Staten Island onto Long Island. By the end of August, Washington's inexperienced army would face Howe's professionals in the largest battle of the Revolutionary War.

The Declaration of Independence had been written in Philadelphia.

Now, around New York, Americans were preparing to discover what it might cost to make those words true.

08/14/2026

https://www.aei.org/commentary/tocqueville-among-the-homeschoolers/

The civic case for school choice is just as important and persuasive as the economic case.

08/13/2026

https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/the-fortress-holds-why-the-actual-malice-standard-still-stands,262838?newsletter=262050&vgo_ee=bPrkPEcX8yuSIBa9ZtATLlQKFvRwQ4%2Fp3Od0LG05tY%2FSw4oVMx1SV4E%3D%3Aqa9jZTdoM3RbfT25Qj4Dxc9ciX2DvnvT

The Supreme Court’s decision to leave the landmark “actual malice” standard intact may have passed quietly, but its impact on press freedom, public debate and defamation law is enormous. In his latest “Democracy Desk” op-ed, Digital Media Laureate and E&P columnist Stuart N. Brotman explai...

08/09/2026

https://www.gingrich360.net/p/dsas-summit-reveals-a-movement-seeking?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=5930145&post_id=210260287&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1n32ce&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

DSA is not abandoning its maximalist goals; it is merely separating its long-term ambitions from politically marketable issues that candidates like Mamdani use to win support.

08/09/2026

https://www.k12dive.com/news/HHS-proposes-deregulation-of-Head-Start-early-childhood-education/827179/

The federal agency aims to give more control to states over the design of their early learning programs, but critics fear a weakening of the landmark program.

08/08/2026

This Week in 1776
The Greater Good

**The Declaration Gets Its Signatures as an Army Waits for War**

A month after Americans declared themselves independent, the words adopted in Philadelphia were finally receiving the signatures that would make the document one of the most recognizable artifacts in American history.

On Aug. 2, 1776, members of the Continental Congress gathered to sign the engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence—the large parchment version prepared after Congress approved the text on July 4.

John Hancock, president of Congress, placed his famous signature prominently at the top. Most of the delegates signed that day, although not all 56 signatures were added at once. Some delegates signed later, and others who eventually signed had not even been present when independence was approved.

The ceremony was important, but events outside Philadelphia were considerably more threatening.

In New York, Gen. George Washington watched an enormous British military force assemble around Staten Island. British Gen. William Howe had arrived with thousands of troops, and additional forces continued to strengthen his army. His brother, Adm. Richard Howe, commanded the Royal Navy supporting the invasion.

Together, the Howe brothers represented both the sword and the olive branch.

They had been authorized to seek reconciliation with the colonists, but their authority was limited. They could offer pardons to rebels willing to return to British allegiance, but they could not recognize the independence Congress had just declared.

That produced an awkward diplomatic problem.

In July, the British had attempted to deliver a letter addressed to “George Washington, Esq.” Washington's representatives refused it because the British would not recognize his rank as general. A second attempt, addressed more creatively to “George Washington, Esq., etc., etc.,” did little better.

Washington understood that the seemingly petty dispute involved something much larger. Accepting correspondence that treated him merely as a private gentleman would implicitly deny the legitimacy of the Continental Army—and perhaps the government that had created it.

Meanwhile, the military situation grew increasingly dangerous.

Washington had spread his forces across Manhattan, Long Island and nearby defensive positions because he could not know where Howe intended to strike. The geography made New York extraordinarily difficult to defend. Rivers and waterways divided American positions, while Britain's overwhelming naval superiority allowed Howe to move troops by water almost at will.

Washington also faced another problem: his army.

The Continental Army contained courageous men, but many had little military training. Some were militia serving short enlistments. Disease was widespread, discipline uneven and supplies frequently inadequate.

Across the water waited professional British soldiers and experienced German troops hired by Britain—commonly known as Hessians.

Yet Washington had little choice but to prepare for battle.

New York was politically and strategically important. Losing it without resistance could damage American morale and give Britain control of one of the continent's finest harbors.

So the Americans dug trenches, strengthened fortifications and waited.

The contrast during the first week of August 1776 was remarkable.

In Philadelphia, delegates were putting their names beneath some of the most confident words ever written about government and human liberty.

In New York, the army responsible for defending those words could look across the harbor and see the ships and soldiers of the most powerful empire on Earth preparing to attack.

The Declaration had announced that the United States was independent.

August would begin determining whether it could remain so.