Photo by Pexels.com January 20, 2026 Let's take a little quiz. Which statement is true? The January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol was instigated by George Soros and Nancy Pelosi. Only a few of our founding fathers were slaveholders. Troops from Alabama attacked Atlanta in the Civil War. World War II started when… Continue reading Sins of omission: 1865 and today
Tag: history
Six degrees of fake patriotism
December 23, 2025 Americans celebrate holiday with recent migrants Have you heard the phrase Heritage American? At first I thought it meant furniture, like Colonial, Traditional Revival, Empire, and Postmod Pretentious (I made up the last one). Unfortunately, it's a loathsome idea that's gaining steam on the right: that descendants of white, pre-Civil War colonists… Continue reading Six degrees of fake patriotism
Unfriendly ghosts
November 11, 2025 Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com In sepia, the image sears into my thunderstruck brain. The man staring up at me from Ancestry.com has my high forehead and deep, penetrating eyes, the same long jaw and a head too large for his shoulders. His mouth is narrow and unsmiling, his hands on… Continue reading Unfriendly ghosts
The kids are all right. So am I.
October 24, 2025 Another birthday is in the books, a great dinner with friends setting me off on my next journey around the sun. I sure needed the lift, because it appears I'm supposed to be sorry for all the trips in my past. According to the young people in this New York Times video… Continue reading The kids are all right. So am I.
McCarthy’s ghost haunts the Voice of America
August 5, 2025 Senator Joseph McCarthy (l) with Trump’s future mentor Roy Cohn in the 1950s If you know about Trump’s campaign to destroy the Voice of America along with PBS/NPR, or you’re merely outraged at his assault on free speech everywhere, this article by the Columbia Journalism Review is a blockbuster: "Joseph McCarthy’s War… Continue reading McCarthy’s ghost haunts the Voice of America
Revolution remembered
April 15, 2025 When we celebrated the Bicentennial of our founding in 1976, I was fresh out of college, underemployed, and generally too busy to care. Now we're sliding into the 250-year Semiquincentennial (yes, that's a real word), beginning at Lexington and Concord with the anniversary of the shot heard 'round the world on April… Continue reading Revolution remembered