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Deepwater Horizon, Chernobyl, Bhopal

by Jonathan Dresner

The crisis stage of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster may be coming to an end, if all goes well, but the consequences of the massive oil and gas spill will unfold for the foreseeable future.  The environmental devastation, economic damage, social changes and infrastructure implications are difficult to predict, but it's quite certain that the regional effects will have global consequences.  There have been any number of attempts to use historical analogies—case studies of the past—to ga

The Gore Separation as an Iconic Baby Boom Act

by Gil Troy

News that Al Gore and Tipper Gore are separating after forty years of marriage has unnerved many.  Despite our collective cynicism, especially about

This Memorial Day, a Modest Plea for More Honest Military Recruiting Ads

by William Astore

Visiting my local cemetery, I walk quietly through the serried ranks of identical military gravestones, all adorned with American flags, a few adorned with flowers or religious figures or other mementos left by friends or family. For me, it's a moving reminder of the debt we owe to America's veterans, especially those who gave their lives in the defense of this country. Contrast this somber sight to the upbeat Army recruiting ads I'm bombarded with as I cruise the MLB and ESPN websit

A Vanishing American Remembrance?

by Ed Hooper

The city of Yonkers, NY, has canceled its Memorial Day parade this year. What's the news in this? It's the cause cited by city officials—not lack of funds, of parade participants or of budget, but simply that no one is showing up to see the parade any more, a story that's repeating itself in cities across the nation. Strained budgets have been the most cited reason for past cancellations of Memorial Day events. But the truth is that the observance is fading as an American holid

Skewed Wealth Distribution and the Roots of the Economic Crisis

by David Barber

Recently, Robert Shiller, a professor of economics at Yale University, penned a New

Rethinking the Rand Paul Controversy

by Kenneth W. Mack

Since Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul questioned whether, on constitutional grounds, he would have voted for Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he has been subjected to a barrage of historically-minded criticism.  Paul’s critics have expressed doubts about the nominee’s professed endorsement of the goal of Title II, which was to guaranty equal access to many public accommodations without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.  To them, his

A Salute to the Generosity of Our Soldiers

by William Lambers

This Memorial Day offers a chance to remember the heroism and sacrifice of American soldiers. Let's also remember their generosity in the most difficul

Populist Interest in the Constitution is Nothing New

by Jeff Shesol

The Constitution is getting a lot of attention these days.  Depending on your perspective, our national charter is being trampled, twisted, shredded,

Rand Paul Could Use a Lesson from My Father on Discrimination

by Lawrence S. Wittner

Rand Paul's criticism of the federal civil rights legislation of the 1960s can be better evaluated by looking at the workings of similar legislation

Mysterious Forces

by T.H. McGraw

Children aren’t keen on spankings.  Occasionally, though, when kids persist beyond the borders of minimal respect or safety, a reintroduction of the physical laws of life can pull them mercifully and lovingly back to us, hopefully before real harm has occurred.  There are many who would not agree; but then, living the good life these days seems to embrace a higher precept, that of permissiveness. We wondered about deep drilling for oil.  Can we completely cont

Reflections on President Obama's University of Michigan Commencement Speech

by Walter G. Moss

On May 1, 2010, before a crowd of about eighty thousand people in the University of Michigan Stadium, President Obama gave one of his best speeches since becoming president. It was a commencement address that attempted to outline a proper government role and detoxify the present toxic political atmosphere. At the same time, he furnished his audience with some historical context—e.g., quoting a newspaper that wrote if Thomas Jefferson was elected, "Murder, robbery, rape, adultery, a

The Supremes and the Single Girl

by Mary L. Dudziak

Since when is marriage a job requirement?  It hasn’t been on the United States Supreme Court, but this hasn’t kept some commentators from speculating about the single status of the Court’s latest nominee, Elena Kagan.  On Airtalk today on NPR, Larry Mantle went so far as to ask Mark Tushnet:  “On the personal side did you have any sense of whether she was in a relationship, or dated?” &nbs

Gulf Spill Serves as Referendum on the High-Energy Existence

by Brian Black

As I write this, more than 200,000 barrels of oil per day is estimated to be gushing from the remnants of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, approximately one mile beneath the

The Politics of Mother's Day

by Rebecca Jo Plant

Credit: Wiki Commons.Growing up in the 1970s in suburban Kansas City, Mother’s Day meant rising early with my father and sister to make breakfast and speaking in hushed voices as we crept upstairs with a carefully prepared tray.  Or it meant being allowed to use a paring knife to gather a bouquet of tulips from the backyard garden.

Where’s The Mule for Victims of Slavery?

by Jean Pfaelzer

Last month Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell apologized for forgetting slavery when he launched Confederate History Month.  But what forms a true act of accountability for lost generations, stolen bodies, and unpaid l

Reforming Seigniorage the Key to a Sustainable Economy

by Eric Zencey

Chances are that unless you’re a total financial wonk, you’ve never heard the term “seigniorage.” But you should, because doing the right thing with it could help solve several major, interrelated problems. As a concept, seigniorage is as old as money. It’s the difference between the face value money and its cost of production; it’s the profit that comes from creating money. When money was coined in valuable metals, seigniorage wasn’t very sign

History's Mad Hatters: The Strange Career of Tea Party Populism

by Steve Fraser and Joshua B. Freeman

On a winter’s day in Boston in 1773, a rally of thousands at Faneuil Hall to protes

Cinco de Mayo, from the Battlefield to the Beer Bottle

by Jeffrey M. Pilcher

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican victory in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, against the invading French army of Napoleon III.  Mexican peasant soldiers prevailed that day largely because of their combat experienc

Chicago v. the Second Amendment

by Stephen P. Halbrook

Last month, the Supreme Court heard arguments on whether Chicago must respect the Second Amendment “right of the people to keep and bear arms.” Mayor Richard M. Daley argues that it does not apply there, and that in “an urban landscape, the 2nd Amendment b

Facing Opportunities and Obstacles in Space

by Jonathan Coopersmith

President Obama's plans for the future of America's civilian space programs, outlined in his speech last week, have been attacked for being too bold and relying too much on private enterprise.  The reality is that they're not bold enough. The end of shuttle flights this year, as scheduled by President George W. Bush, and President Obama's proposed cancellation of its successor, the over-budget Constellation program, have received the most congressional an