U.S. History
What to do with the judges?
Just put a piece on Huffington Post on this question, which was prompted (for me), by having two potential impeachments against federal trial judges: Judge Thomas Porteous of New Orleans, who has been under investigation for a long time for a variety of peccadilloes over the years, including bankruptcy fraud and some very shaky dealings…
Read MoreSpeed Kills
Nope, not talking about meth, but about writing — specifically, writing in the twenty-first century. Like everything else in life, writing is accelerating. We don’t have to sharpen the goose quills and warm the ink to get started. We pound out blog posts and e-mails with abandon. Lots of people (not me) thumb their way…
Read MoreGovernor Scoundrels, Part II
One impeached-and-removed state governor stands out from the pack for sheer vitality and no-holds-barred assaults on his political adversaries. Governor John Walton of Oklahoma lasted only ten months in office in 1923, but they were action-packed. Sticking with the highlights: A “radical” Democrat with Socialist allies, Walton made his inauguration a people’s celerbration. More than…
Read MoreThe President Game
The historians participating in C-Span’s survey for ranking the presidents revealed one thing: even the pros are a little shaky about what to make of some of our nation’s leaders. Oh, the 64 historians who took part were pretty solid on the good presidents (Lincoln, Washington, the Roosevelt boys), and the rotten ones (Buchanan, Andrew…
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