What is odd to me is this: the new ad uses some of the same language of the old one. Except they decided not to use this: “I mean, when the head of the Ku Klux Klan, when all these weird groups, come out in favor of the candidate of my party, either they’re not Republicans or I’m not.” A … Read More
Titanic Sinks In Real Time
It’s hard to imagine what it felt like to be on the RMS Titanic after the ship struck an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean more than a century ago. But a new game aims to put you as close as possible. The game, called “Titanic: Honor and Glory,” follows a fictional character named Owen Robert Morgan,…
The Tubman Freakout
Seriously? That’s Fox’s Greta Van Susteren saying that Obama is needlessly “dividing the country” by replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20, with Harriet Tubman. Has this woman lost her mind? Dividing the country between who and who? Or is it personal (she does resemble Jackson)? Then, Van Susteren had a suggestion as to how the Obama administration could have avoided “dividing the country”: … Read More
Hamilton on the Appointment of Justices to the Supreme Court
[The President] shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the … Read More
Original Intent
From The New Yorker: December 5, 1791 James Madison House of Representatives Dear James, How is it almost 1792?! Quick question on the right to bear arms thing in your “Bill of Rights”—the wording and punctuation are slightly confusing. Did you mean that the right of the people serving in the militia to keep and bear arms shall not be … Read More
35 Years Ago Today: Lennon Killed
An important voice was silenced. I wrote about this 10 years ago: I was not then, and am not now, a huge John Lennon fan. But that was one of those few watershed moments in life where you have to sit back and wonder — aloud — “why”? All he did was talk and sing about peace and love. Of … Read More
60 Years Ago Today
A black lady sat on a bus. No, not Claudette Colvin. The one who came nine months later, on December 1, 1955. Yeah, Rosa Parks. The lighter-skinned one. That whole thing was planned, you know. Rosa Parks (who died in 1995) wasn’t a nobody; she was an activist. She knew the bus driver too. Knew him to be a real jerk. … Read More
Bush 41 On Cheney and Rumsfeld
Dad was a far better president than sons. Of course, Dad could never be elected in today’s uber-conservative GOP. But I always had a soft spot for the elder Bush. And here’s why. According to the New York Times: …the elder Bush told biographer Jon Meacham that Cheney “had his own empire there and marched to his own drummer.” Calling … Read More
40 Years Ago Today — Game 6: Red Sox v Reds
It’s arguably the best major league baseball game ever played, and it was played 40 years ago today. The Reds-Red Sox rivalry revived national interest in the national pasttime. And when you look back at all the hall-of-famers playing — Johnny Bench, Pete Rose (okay, not a hall of famer, but….), Carl Yastremski, Fred Lynn,. Luis Tiante, Carlton Fisk…. Boston’s Carlton … Read More
Well Played USA Today
Today is “Back To The Future” Day. In the movie Back To The Future II, Marty McFly gets in the DeLorean time machine and travels from 1985 to October 21, 2015. At one point, he sees a copy of the “future” USA Today (that’s how he learns the date). So what does the actual USA Today look like for today? … Read More
The Problem With Trump-Bush-9/11 And Clinton-Benghazi-9/11
I know I’m not the first to bring it up, but there is a huge disconnect going on right now when you tie together to seemingly separate stories. Trump is saying that since 9/11 happened during Bush 43’s watch, Bush 43 bears some culpability. This makes Jeb Bush act all defensive, because (he seems to argue) the President cannot micromanage … Read More
Killing Reagan
I’m shocked — shocked — that the Bill O’Reilly book about Ronald Reagan contains many historical inaccuracies large and small.
A Century Ago
For no reason other than my amusement, here are the headlines from 100 years ago…. The Red Sox won the World Series (they would win again in 1916 and 1918, but that was it for the 20th century)… and WWI was heating up.