Just when you thought our political leaders could not divide us any further, they have now turned on themselves. Right now, both parties are dealing with internal conflicts. The Democrats are struggling between the so called “progressives” (I still believe they are not using that term correctly) and the "moderates." One recent difference is between … Continue reading Divided Parties →

One key job of historians is to find patterns.  Most things in history are circular and come and go throughout time.  The majority of what I do with this column is to try to show that current events have happened before and that nothing is new.  Knowing this can help us make better decisions in … Continue reading Crime and Policing Patterns →

Court Packing In the pantheon of great American presidents, a few are always at the top. Lincoln usually comes to mind, then Washington, and Jefferson. In the 20th century, the president who makes every list is Franklin Roosevelt. What makes FDR interesting is that, unlike Lincoln, FDR was beloved in his own time. Because of … Continue reading Court Packing →

All Americans should be concerned about President Biden's recent executive order on gun control. Try to forget for a moment, if you can, whether you agree with Biden or not and try instead to focus on the procedure. Biden is falling back on the two justifications that other presidents have used to skirt the Constitution, … Continue reading Executive Orders-Part III →

Possibly one of the most important fights of this new century is being waged right now in the halls of Congress, in state houses across the nation, and with lesser significance on social media. The question is about voter accessibility and who has the right to determine it.  With COVID-19, voter accessibility was expanded and … Continue reading Jim Crow Voting? →

Though I am a Virginia Kid, the West has always had a huge impact on my life.  My parents were both born in the West, my dad had exclusively lived in the West, while only partially for my mon.  They lived in the West as newlyweds and had myself and my three siblings all in … Continue reading How the West Was Lost →

With the beloved children’s author Dr. Seuess being the latest on the chopping block of what is being called “cancel culture,” it is once again worth taking a look at things historically. First, was Dr. Seuess racist? Yes. I have not even investigated the supposedly racist books, but I know he is a product of … Continue reading Cancel Culture →

As the U.S. House of Representatives voted recently to strip Marjorie Taylor Greene of all her committee assignments, I was reminded of two sections of the Constitution. The first is Article 1, Section 5, which reads, “Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence … Continue reading Congressional Freedom of Speech →

A couple of years ago, after President Trump backed out of the Paris Climate Treaty and the Iran Nuclear Deal, I wrote a column for "Historically Speaking," justifying his actions because those deals had been made by executive orders so could legally be overturned by executive order. At the same time, I argued that modern … Continue reading Executive Orders II →