The events of Charlottesville have me thinking about my role as an historian and teacher. This was reinforced by these comments by James Alex Fields Jr.’s high school history teacher. I don’t think any one teacher can be responsible for the ideas of a single student. But perhaps if I teach more broadly I can… Continue Reading
An old division is rearing it’s head again in the Democratic Party. It’s gone public in the disruption of Bernie Sanders’s speeches by #blacklivesmatter protesters, first at Netroots Nation in July and then again in Seattle on Saturday (see here). For those who consider themselves left, liberal, or sympathetic to these movements in general, such disruptions can… Continue Reading
In honor the 4th of July weekend, I’m sharing this post I wrote last year at this time: I recently had the opportunity to sing “American the Beautiful.” The lines that most hit me are in the third verse: Oh, beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved, And… Continue Reading
Ted Cruz recently announced his candidacy for President with a speech that had everything: feel good back-story, what he stood for, what he stood against, a shout out to Reagan, etc. I went into it hoping to see what he had to offer… I left a bit queasy. The first reason for my uneasiness is… Continue Reading
The long effort to roll back voting access (previously here and here), Obama’s recent speech at Selma, and now Oregon’s step toward automatic voter registration has again called my attention to our voting rights. So here’s my contribution: a draft constitutional amendment on voting. Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are… Continue Reading
Hillary Clinton is the only horse the Democrats have in the 2016 presidential race, and everyone knows this. True, there were those who thought she was the “inevitable” candidate in 2008, but there was also an awareness at the time of rising stars such as Barack Obama, who were just (incorrectly) thought to be a… Continue Reading
You may have seen this image (originally from reddit) and the accompanying article from the Washington Post about what gerrymandering is, and why it is a problem. But the real problems are articles and images that challenge gerrymandering while conflating space and population, ignoring other considerations, and assuming the existence of an easy solution that simply doesn’t… Continue Reading
I am going to keep this week’s post shorter than my last dissertation. This week’s fallout, OK, ONE of this week’s fallouts has been the “Cotton” letter. The letter, written by freshman Senator Tom Cotton (R- AR) and signed by 47 Senate Republicans stating that whatever agreement the Iranians might reach with the US in… Continue Reading
Here is what happened in the two weeks since I wrote on the GOP response to ISIS. Counting on Our Foolishness – A follow-up by Wood himself discussed the feedback he’s already received on his first piece. A quick and decent read, even if filled with frustrating academic back-and-forth about terminology and rankings, that struck… Continue Reading
The more I teach and think about our history, the more I teach and think about race. It is really inescapable, as highlighted by three events this past week (in reverse order): President Obama’s masterful speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday (video, text). The Justice Department’s scathing report on race in the Ferguson criminal justice… Continue Reading
I’ve stated in my bio on this site that I’m a big fan of the weekly political wrap on the PBS News Hour with Mark Shields and David Brooks. It happens each Friday during the last 12 minutes of the nightly News Hour broadcast, usually hosted by News Hour co-anchor Judy Woodruff, and it’s my… Continue Reading
Header image by Tom Plewe © 2015
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