I’ve mentioned before that one of the most formative and important courses I ever took in college—or anywhere—was called “Russian Intellectual History.” I signed up not because I was so fascinated by the subject itself (although I always liked Russian … Continue reading →
The current New York production of “Julius Caesar” in which Caesar is portrayed as a Trump-like figure is no ordinary propaganda. Caesar is a particular figure with particular characteristics. Why was he assassinated? Because the assassins thought he had become … Continue reading →
You may already be familiar with a recent incident at Evergreen State College in Washington state that resembles so many other incidents at colleges lately. At Evergreen, an angry mob of students confronted a professor for standing against racism, and … Continue reading →
When the news report that Trump had shared some intelligence information with the Russians first broke, I wondered whether other presidents had done much the same thing with other countries, or whether this action was unprecedented. My guess was that … Continue reading →
[NOTE: The following is a very slightly-edited copy of an early post I wrote on this blog (May, 2005)—twelve long years ago, and it does not seem like it was only yesterday. But I think you’ll see how very relevant … Continue reading →
Chris Wallace is shocked, shocked: Speaking with Shepard Smith Friday, the Fox News Sunday anchor offered his stunning take on the developments of the past week ”” from James Comey”˜s firing as Director of the FBI on Tuesday to Friday … Continue reading →
The NY Times writes: What is playing out, said Robert Litwak of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, who tracks this potentially deadly interplay, is “the Cuban missile crisis in slow motion.” But the slow-motion part appears to be … Continue reading →
If you had to study American history, you may recall that the 1803 SCOTUS case of Marbury v. Madison established the right of federal courts to review acts of Congress and declare them unconstitutional: This conflict raised the important question … Continue reading →
Today is Presidents’ Day. Or is it “Presidents Day”? Or even “President’s Day”? You can find all those variations online, although if you parse them they mean very different things. It was significantly easier before 1971, the year they consolidated … Continue reading →
Yesterday I happened across a photo from the late-nineteenth century Klondike Gold rush of the part of the Chilkoot Pass that was known as the Golden Staircase. You can see why the photo caught my attention: Here’s one that’s more … Continue reading →
Here’s a comment from “SteveH” in August of 2015, about the future political prospects of the GOP. I noted it down at the time and planned to discuss it in a post, a post that I drafted but never got … Continue reading →
Eliminating the Electoral College is the next goal of the left in its never-ending quest for political domination, although at the moment it’s still reeling from the shock of losing the presidency and just about everything else. Attacking the Electoral … Continue reading →