Last weekend I had an entirely different topic planned for this week. Then, we had perhaps the weirdest week in American presidential history. Let’s start with a chronology. Trump, through a series of bizarre actions, makes public that he is under investigation for violating the Espionage Act August 8, Monday: The FBI, pursuant to a warrant, […]

Historian Richard Hofstadter, in his classic 1964 work offered an eerily accurate description of today’s politics. Hofstadter conducted a thorough review of American politics from before the founding of the nation through McCarthyism. He noticed a pattern among a small impassioned minority on the fringes of the political spectrum. He called their behavior the “paranoid

The following sections are excerpts from this book: Contraceptives were largely illegal in the colonies. After the United States was formed, most states enacted laws prohibiting the advertising, sale, and distribution of contraceptives. As a practical matter, while there were a large number of convictions under the anti-contraceptive laws, contraceptives and information about birth control

It’s much easier to prove something in the televised congressional hearings and the media because much of the evidence presented there would not be admissible in a criminal court. The heightened standards in criminal court are because more is at stake. In a criminal trial, a defendant stands to lose constitutional rights such as liberty,

Before the January 6 Committee Congressional hearing, I appeared on NBCLX news. You can see the clip here. Here is an edited-down version of the transcript. Q: “Let’s set the backstory here. Is this committee just kind of fact-finding, or is it supposed to find and announce things that could lead to criminal charges? Congress

This is a long one, so grab a cup of ☕️ and make yourself comfortable. On Dec. 21, 2012 – one week after Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut – National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre announced during a press conference that “the only way to stop

People are constantly telling me some version of, “I wish I had your faith in Merrick Garland. I sure hope your faith is rewarded.” Others tell me some form of, “I wish I had your faith that the system is working as it should.” First, I’ll talk about “faith” versus “confidence in democratic institutions.” Then

First, some history for perspective. (Stick with me. I promise this will be worth it). Nineteenth-century American society was a patriarchy: a social hierarchy with White men at the top and Black women at the bottom. Laws reflect cultural values. As the culture changes, laws change. Laws in the 19th century reinforced the patriarchy. Example: A

I first posted this on March 13, 2022, and then revised it through May. The updated version is here. Contents: What Merrick Garland and DOJ Officials Say Is Happening What We Know from Public Reporting is Happening Media’s Love Affair with Former Prosecutors Frequently Asked Questions Nobody can Guarantee a Particular Outcome Rule of Law

I. The Progressive or Liberal View Correct. A good way to understand today’s politics is by considering the different views of American history. The liberal, or progressive view, can be visualized as an upward slope. According to this view, the founders started with some pretty good ideas: The idea of a government based on rule

There’s a thing called Do Something Twitter. These are people on Twitter who loudly demand that those in power DO SOMETHING to save democracy. I’ll give a few examples. After Hayden Brown reported that Biden talks energetially about the importance of democracy, Sarah Kenzdior (who has appeared on news programs and presents herself as an

First, the definition of cynicism from my Oxford American Dictionary: Cynic: A person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest rather than acting for honorable or unselfish reasons. A person who questions whether something will happen or whether it is worthwhile. Right-Wing cynicism Cynicism is a characteristic of fascism. The best way to

This blog post started as a video. You can see it here. In the struggle to save democracy, there are some who insist that Democrats should “fight like Republicans.”  This is sometimes framed as “Democrats are bringing a knife to a gunfight” or “you have to fight fire with fire” or “it’s time for hardball tactics.”

This blog post started out as a YouTube video. You can see it here. This week we learned that a lawyer who was working with Trump to try to overturn the election detailed a six-step plan for how to hand the presidency back to Donald Trump. The lawyer is John Eastman, a former clerk for