Writing
Aaron 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 MoreAmerican Emperor: October 4!
We now have a schedule and a cover! Simon & Schuster will release my new book on October 4: American Emperor: Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America. The book explores the…
Read MoreWashington Independent Review of Books — Launched
I invite you to visit The Washington Independent Review of Books (http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/), the newest voice in the community of readers and writers. We are launching The Independent today as a…
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 MoreConan Doyle and the Tax Man
I’m thoroughly enjoying a biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, by Dan Stashower: Teller of Tales. Stashower reveals the source of Holmes’ uncanny ability to deduce a person’s biography in the…
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