Leadership
The Shores of Tripoli, Again
The riveting news of rebellion in Libya, and possible American involvement against Tripoli, brings to mind the first time American forces attacked the North African shore, in the early 1800s. The…
Read MoreAaron Burr at 255: Still Ticking People Off
Repeatedly over the last several months, Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota has blamed Aaron Burr for her lurch to the Far Right. Her epiphany came during her college years in the…
Read MoreStanley Nelson, Hero
There are unassuming folks around us who do great things. Stanley Nelson is one of those people. The editor of the weekly Concordia Sentinel in northeast Louisiana, Nelson has for…
Read MoreViolence and Andrew Jackson
I have posted at Huffington Post a quick overview of the longstanding tradition of violence among our political leaders. Indeed, our leaders have included some bloody and short-tempered folks, from Burton Gwinnett in 1777 to Strom…
Read MoreAmendment Fetish: The Repeal Amendment
While proclaiming undying fealty to the Constitution, the Tea Party movement and its allies are touting a hot new amendment to that otherwise perfect document, which goes by the oxymoronic…
Read MoreAmendment Fetish: The Seventeenth Amendment
Adopted in 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment changed the way American choose their senators. Until then, each state legislature selected that state’s two senators for six-year terms. After 1913, the voters…
Read MoreThe Amendment Fetish: The Problem of the States
The swelling Tea Party movement embodies a fascinating contradiction. Its leaders profess a near-religious awe for the U.S. Constitution. This has led to stunts like the reading of the Constitution on…
Read MoreAaron Burr Leaves the Senate
The Washington Post ran a piece on Saturday about how current senators ignore the deeply-felt farewell addresses of their departing colleagues. Having just completed my manuscript about Aaron Burr’s Western expedition, which…
Read More"The Summer of 1787" and the Middle Kingdom
The capitalist tilt in China continues! ANA Beijing has agreed to publish The Summer of 1787 in a Chinese language edition. Though I am optimistic that this development presages a…
Read MoreAre You Ready for Some Sesquicentennial?
It may end up seeming as long as the Civil War itself. We are warming up for the extended observance of the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States. (“Celebration”…
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