No bones about it, Donald Trump is a steamroller. He defeated 16 Republican candidates, despite being a political novice. Jeb Bush’s $150 million war chest couldn’t insulate him from Trump’s insults; nor could Hillary’s much vaunted ground game and experience. Now Trump is in the Oval Office, and has shown no sign of taking his […]
Six Quick Takes On President Trump’s Spe
#1 Thank you for making your speech short. Really, the days when folks enjoyed hearing long orations have passed. #2 I am glad you thanked the Obamas for being “magnificent” to you during the transition. Offering “gracious aid” to an incoming president is part of the orderly transfer of government. I hope you’ll be as helpful when […]
First Among Equals: How George Washingto...
George Washington was born to middling stock in Virginia in 1732. He was a “conventional Virginia provincial” whose world had a stable social order and agrarian political economy. A planter class led this stratified society. These gentlemen dressed, spoke, and behaved differently from others, and their mores owed much to the English motherland and to […]
Michael Lewis, “Obama’s Way,” Vanity Fai
Michael Lewis produced a long piece that gives the reader some sense of the day-to-day reality of the modern American presidency. It is manic—issues, many non resolvable nor worthy of a President’s time, are thrust upon his agenda. One of the hallmarks of the modern presidency is this expectation that the president must be involved […]
Kristie Miller, Ellen and Edith
For some time I have been struggling to find a near-synonym for “uxorious.” It is an ugly old word that rebukes a man for being “overly fond” (Webster’s) or “submissively fond” (OED) of his wife. Its earliest written usage (1598), by Joseph Hall, bishop of Norwich and poet, growled of “mannish housewives [who] make a […]
Ronald Reagan and Education Policy
Available in paperback and e-book formats from the retailers below. Order an author-signed paperback ~ Peek inside the book This book is a brisk read of 42 pages (7,600 words long). Description: Ronald Reagan entered the presidency promising to return K-12 education policy back to states and localities. Ironically, Reagan ended up both expanding and […]