It's hard to believe, but some people forget that I'm a big ol' honkin' nerd. Not just about words, but knowledge in general. I can get lost for days diving down rabbit hole after rabbit hole on something that's piqued my interest.

And presidents? Well, there are many I admire. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and many others top my list, but one has always edged out most for me: Teddy Roosevelt, so much so that I frequently use quotes of his in my columns.

One reader was troubled by that: "In her column defining Patriotic Duty, Miss Looper actually quotes Theodore Roosevelt and conflates it into a justification for her stance on DEI! Theodore Roosevelt, the 'manliest' American President to ever hold the office! The same man of whom the Oxford Academic writes: 'No single figure in American history better demonstrates the influence and power of masculinity in history than Theodore Roosevelt.' The same man who also said this: 'Of course the effect that a thoroughly manly, thoroughly straight and upright boy can have upon the companions of his own age, and upon those who are younger, is incalculable. If he is not thoroughly manly, then they will not respect him, and his good qualities will count for but little.' The same man who spoke this of his father: 'I was a sickly and........

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