Nikki Haley’s Unforced Error

A poor answer to a softball question has created unnecessary controversy.

Haley and the Politics of Slavery [Updated with Video]

Why can’t some of us handle the truth?

Ancient Tabs

These have been hanging around for a while.

The Senate Dress Code

Much ado about nothing?

Tuesday Tab Clearing

Some of these have been open for a while…

Florida Backs Down, Allows AP Psychology

Sanity has prevailed.

Florida Curriculum Politics Update

A tale from the DeSantis’ Woke Wars.

Hippie VW microbus Hippie VW microbus

The Good Old Days

Back when people were kinder and man’s word was his bond.

DeSantis Keeps Telling Us Who He Is

Doubling down on state standards on slavery.

Still Thinking about the Past

On Florida’s updated standards regarding slavery.

Tulsa Historical Note

A quick follow-up to a previous post.

Thinking about the Past

Thoughts after reading Part 2 of the Reuter’s series, “Slavery’s Descendants”

America’s “Family Secret” or Just Plain Denial?

Slavery is an inextricable part of our past, whether we want to talk about it or not.

SCOTUS Ends Affirmative Action

The inevitable has happened. Now for the fallout.

Whitewashing Juneteenth

It’s becoming just another day off work!

Hidden Cost of Renamings

Getting rid of Confederate tributes is long overdue. It ain’t cheap.

More on Alabama Districts

Diving into the structure of Alabama’s districts and highlighting deep problems.

Fear and Censorship in Education

Teachers are frustrated over interference from outside.

The Democrats’ Patriotism Problem?!

Whither American civil religion?

Education Politics

Inane, effective, and part of a far broader ideological debate.

Zealots and Pluralists

A moderate Republican almost diagnoses the problem.

Calcified Democracy

A deep dive into why our politics are so broken.

Reparative Semantics? Or Gobbledygook?

Do last year’s words belong to last year’s language?

One of Last Ties to Slavery Passes at 90

Possibly the last child of an American enslaved person has died.

The Confederacy and Today’s Military

It goes deeper than base names.

Fear of a White Scholar

President Biden had a meeting with some historians. The horrors.

Judicial Supremacy vs Popular Constitutionalism

Who should have the final say on the law of the land?

Originalism and the Declaration of Independence

The implications of modes of interpretation.

Minority Rule in a Winner-Take-All System

How long can the unsustainable be sustained?

Commercializing Juneteenth

The longstanding celebration that become a national holiday last year is being exploited for profit!

January 6 Committee Public Hearings: Day 1

The laying out of the case begins.

The Identity Politics of Identity Politics

Who gets to claim Latino heritage?

Two Years After George Floyd

Very little progress has been made towards racial justice.

The Least Dangerous Branch?

The apparently eminent demise of abortion rights has reignited an old debate.

Respectability Politics

A Black columnist argues that Will Smith set back a whole race.

[Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson] [Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson]

The Right Is Having A Hard Time Framing Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson As An Extremist

If this is the best they have, they don’t have a lot

Merriman Smith ‘Canceled’ Posthumously

A man most have never heard of is being reassessed more than a half-century after his death.

When Concern Trolling, Always Check For Unintended Uncomfortable Parallelisms

It’s always a good idea to reread a text before referencing it, especially if you’re a history Ph.D. like Newt Gingrich

Portrait of a Robert E. Lee astride his horse, Traveller. Lee is bare-headed, wearing a military uniform, sitting very erect with his sword at his proper left side. His proper left hand is on the reins, and his proper right hand hangs down, holding his hat. The horse is in a walking pose with his proper left front hoof raised. On the front of the base is a relief depicting a fighting eagle with wings expanded, surrounded by clusters of oak leaves. On the back of the base is a relief of a garland. Portrait of a Robert E. Lee astride his horse, Traveller. Lee is bare-headed, wearing a military uniform, sitting very erect with his sword at his proper left side. His proper left hand is on the reins, and his proper right hand hangs down, holding his hat. The horse is in a walking pose with his proper left front hoof raised. On the front of the base is a relief depicting a fighting eagle with wings expanded, surrounded by clusters of oak leaves. On the back of the base is a relief of a garland.

Two Confederate Statues Meet Their Fate

Two controversial monuments are gone.

Justice for Ahmaud Arbery

A just verdict—but just a verdict.

Is Autocracy Really Winning?

A depressing magazine piece argues it is.

Robert Moses Bridge Story Debunked

A favorite anecdote from Robert Caro’s first masterpiece is likely untrue.

Evangelical Politics in the Time of Polarization and Covid

A piece in The Atlantic inspires thoughts.

The Power of Mythology

It does not create better deliberation.

Who Decides American History?

Legislatures and school boards politicize what our kids are taught.

An Example of Illegal Voting

An arrest underscores what the problem isn’t.