Category: History & Culture
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No, The Presidential Election Process Does Not Have a Legitimacy Crisis
Ms. Katy Collin in an article in the Washington Post goes on to state how the electoral college is not fair and disenfranchises millions because it gives certain voters a disproportionate amount of say in the process of choosing a president while the voice of other voters are given much less weight. One of the…
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Is the 2016 Election really about the Supreme Court?
There are currently 8 justices on the Supreme Court. The oldest ones are as follows: Ruth Bader Ginsburg – age 83 (liberal) Anthony Kennedy – age 80 (seen as a swing vote between the conservative and liberal wings of the Supreme Court) Steven Beyer – age 78 (liberal) Of course, the 9th seat, currently vacant,…
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The Tribal Groups of Vietnam
If you haven’t seen this stunning collection of many of the tribal groups in Vietnam, please click HERE to see them. They are beautiful. French photographer, and Hoi An resident Rehanh, is making an effort to photograph all 54 tribal groups in Vietnam, many of them on the verge of extinction with only a few hundred people…
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Everyone is as Smart as the Polls. And That’s Pretty Dumb.
I get a kick out of so-called experts calling the U.S. presidential election while we are still in August, nearly a month away from the first debate, with an already unprecedented, topsy-turvy primary season behind us. I heard someone say basically this yesterday: “Oh, look at the polls! Clinton is going to win. It’s over.”…
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Napoleon and the French Revolution (Part II)
You can read Part I HERE! In this part, I explore some of the criticisms leveled at Napoleon. Is it still fair to call him a revolutionary at heart when he was crowned emperor? The criticisms of Napoleon’s actions are not few, and it should be noted that he went to great lengths to hold on to…
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Napoleon: The Revolution & the Catholic Church
In this essay segment, I explore Napoleon’s connection to the French Revolution and Roman Catholicism. Even though he accepts the role of emperor, bringing civil rule to an end, perhaps he was more revolutionary than we tend to think. It might be easy to dismiss Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign as a clear shift away from the…
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Rights, The Declaration of Independence, & the Louisiana School System
In this fascinating article by Tom Lindsey Is the Declaration of Independence Based on a Lie which I’ve started using in my history and government class, Lindsey brings up a rejected bill in the Louisiana State Assembly which would have required school students to recite a portion of the Declaration of Independence before school. Representative Norton, who…
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Yale Misses the Boat
I was reading an article about an African-American dish washer at Yale who smashed a stain-glass window depicting John C. Calhoun and an image of slaves harvesting in a field. The custodian was arrested and charged with destroying private property. He was offended by the racist depiction of America’s past decided to do something about…
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The U.S. Government is Not Broken. And Here’s Proof!
Two weeks ago when the U.S. Senate voted not to pass any new gun legislation after the Orlando attacks, here are two of the social media posts which came across my news feed: “An amazing victory for the 2nd Ammendment! (sic) Thank you Senate for doing one thing right” “Our Republic works for the lobbyiests…
Author Mark W Sasse 