Thanksgiving in America
"Government requires make-believe. Make believe that the king is divine, make believe that he can do no wrong or make believe that the voice of the people is the voice of God. Make believe that the people have a voice or make believe that the representatives of the...
Court And Congress Hammer Out Truce on Gay Rights
America could finally be on its way to hammering out a truce between advocates for same-sex marriage and religious opponents who want no part of it. It's a tall order. Congress is the architect of one part of the truce. The Senate is advancing a bill, with bipartisan...
A Southern Classic for Any Holiday – The Mint Julep
The iconic Confederate drink, then and now, is the Mint Julep. Captain Frederick Marryatt (1792-1848) was a Royal Navy officer, a well-respected novelist, and an acquaintance of Charles Dickens. He often wrote about America, which he had visited several times. The...
News From Around the South 11/14 to 11/21
SOUTH CAROLINA: Faith Leaders Bless Ground Of New International Africa American Museum Standing at the edge of the Cooper River where thousands upon thousands of enslaved Africans had been brought long before, Bishop Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith of Ghana thought about the...
The FBI and Zero Click
During the Trump administration, the FBI paid $5 million to an Israeli software company for a license to use its "zero-click" surveillance software called Pegasus. Zero-click refers to software that can download the contents of a target's computer or mobile device...
The Anti-Semetic History of the Union Army in the Civil War
Max Glass, a recent immigrant from Hungary, had an unhappy Civil War. Tricked out of his enlistment bonus when he joined the Eighth Connecticut Infantry — recent arrivals were soft touches for scam artists — Glass was then “abused for reason [sic] that I never...
Election Good, Bad & Ugly
The Good: We have divided government. Since Democrats no longer control Congress, they can't bankrupt America quite so fast! The Bad: Prediction markets, which I touted as the best guide to elections, didn't do so well. Yes, they correctly said Republicans would take...
News From Around the South 11/7 to 11/14
ALABAMA: Learning the ways of the time at Inzer House Red hot metal straight from the fire was hammered and coaxed into usable and necessary things that made living in past centuries more possible. Things like hinges to hold doors on homes and barns, and tools...
Florida, The New Capital Of The Red South
In what was an overall frustrating election night for Republicans, in which the oft-predicted "red wave" failed to materialize nationally, there was one state above all that provided a clear beacon of hope. That would be my adopted state of Florida. In the Sunshine...
A Long-Deserved Tribute to Native American Veterans
Roughly 2,300 steps link the circuitous walk from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian to the stately entrance of the United States Capitol. This walkway along the National Mall is a historic part of Washington, D.C., heavily trafficked by...
Obiter Dicta
“Government requires make-believe. Make believe that the king is divine, make believe that he can do no wrong or make Read More
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SOUTH CAROLINA: Faith Leaders Bless Ground Of New International Africa American Museum Standing at the edge of the Cooper River where thousands upon thousands of enslaved Africans had been brought Read More