You Can Thank John Marshall
If you like the Supreme Court’s striking down Donald Trump’s tariffs—or if you hate it— you can thank John Marshall. In 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall established the Supreme Court as the arbiter of the Constitution. Congress and the President can give their interpretations of the Constitution, but it is the Supreme court that ultimately […]
Gettysburg by AI
Abraham Lincoln was a busy person who needed ways to conserve his energies. When it came to drafting the Gettysburg Address, he was very lucky not to have had artificial intelligence taking over the task. I asked a popular AI tool, Chatgp, to draft a 272 word dedication for a cemetery on a battlefield in […]
The Day I Became an Older Person
I’ll never forget the day I became an older person. I remember the exact moment. May 5, 1970 on a Tuesday morning. One of those crisp Spring days when the trees grow buds and the grass is fresh. Tuesday after the shootings at Kent State University. I was the youngest faculty member in my department […]
Ken Burns and the American Revolution
I’ve been watching Ken Burns’ “American Revolution” documentary, and, if you missed it, I strongly recommend it when it comes back in reruns. I know. The documentary has been criticized as a politically correct commentary. If you didn’t know better, it could easily lead you to conclude that the success of the Revolutionary War was […]
The ICE Invasion of Minneapolis
Like millions of people around the nation and in my home state of Minnesota, my heart goes out to the families of Renee Goode and Alex Pretti who were shot dead by federal agents during the ICE invasion of Minneapolis this past month. My wife Sandy and I also had a child murdered by gun […]