Not too long ago I ran across a documentary movie made by Spielberg, not the guy you are familiar with—Steven—but his sister, Nancy. It was called Above and Beyond. Most American Jews were interested in what was going on in the founding of modern Israel in 1948. Some, as Above and Beyond tells it, did […]
May 26, 2019
Latin American History 101 or Maduro and AOC in American Life Since Venezuela is now in the crosshairs of many countries today for enabling a dictator, Nicolás Maduro, to drag the country down to starvation in a socialist dictatorship, let’s look at the big picture. Latin America was a term invented by French historians in […]
December 2, 2018
A few years ago, I discovered a Hispanic in my home. Awkkk, what’s happening here? The invasion of the Mexican gardeners? Confession: when I first came to Tuscaloosa in 1972 to teach Latin American history at UA, there were hardly any Spanish speakers in town, other than a few odd balls like me and the […]
September 16, 2018
Surprise has always been one of the determining ingredients in any battle or war. We can go back to Biblical times when David and Goliath met up on the field of battle. The Philistines were most assuredly surprised by the short fight they witnessed between their giant champion and the shrimp Hebrew shepherd boy with […]
June 17, 2018
Can we legislate morality? How about any of the great intangibles, like ethics or integrity, that make a culture work right? Martin Luther King, Jr., a giant in the modern civil rights movement, stated quite clearly that “morality cannot be legislated.” But he then added “behavior can be regulated,” implying that behavior can be one […]
June 17, 2018
Not too long ago I read a sweet piece in the WSJ by the distinguished historian David McCullough’s doctor. One quote struck me as so truth-filled that I share it with you. “…things worked out [back then],” McCullough said, “because individuals behaved in certain ways, with integrity and resilience.” I thought, yes, how true. Then […]
June 17, 2018
One of President Trump’s campaign goals was to make America great again. Another goal was to tame or throw the alligators out of Washington, by which most of us take that to mean reduce and bring the gigantic federal government down to scale. The “Deep State” is controlling us. According to my instant source of […]
November 30, 2017
Once again, Columbus Day has come and gone and I managed to refrain from writing another column on the great discoverer. I thought I had said everything I needed to say about the real, historical Columbus so much at odds with the Columbus that the modern indigenous community has invented in the past few years, […]
July 5, 2023
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