Archives for March 2023

The men who may have sabotaged Jimmy Carter’s re-election

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In 1980 former Texas governor and presidential candidate John B. Connally, and former Texas lieutenant governor Ben Barnes, traveled to Middle Eastern capitals urging the region’s leaders to tell Iran not to release the American hostages until after that year’s […]

Michael Walzer on “liberal” as an adjective

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Close readers of this blog will recall that I recently added some quotes from Michael Walzer to my commonplace book. The quotes come from Walzer’s latest book The Struggle for a Decent Politics: On “Liberal” as an Adjective. Walzer is […]

The Author’s Corner with Kimberly R. Kellison

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Kimberly R. Kellison is Associate Professor of History & Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Baylor University. This interview is based on her new book, Forging a Christian Order: South Carolina Baptists, Race, and Slavery, 1696–1860 […]

Evangelical roundup for March 20, 2023

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What is happening in Evangelical land: Iowan conservatives are remembering that Trump blamed the pro-life movement for GOP midterm loses in 2022. More here. The Kings College and a Canadian billionaire. A UK Bible college fired a theologian for tweeting […]

Freedom, financial and otherwise

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These days, there are a lot of people pursuing “financial independence.” They want to retire at 40, they want to build “generational wealth,” they want to “never work another day in my life.” The spirit is everywhere, with inspiration from […]

Sunday night odds and ends

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A few things online that caught my attention this week: Lincoln’s hair Robert Kaiser reviews Benjamin Carp, The Great New York Fire of 1776 The local paper The social significance of the Harlem Globetrotters The “new, new” social conservatives don’t […]

Commonplace Book #250

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Debs’s call for united political action and, to a limited degree, unified economic organization…in no way reflected a growing class awareness on his part. Rather, his increasing anger drew strength and justification from a specific American tradition that stressed economic […]

A massive blob is coming for Ron DeSantis!

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But is it “woke”? 🙂 OK, the blob is not coming specifically for DeSantis. But it is coming for Florida. Here is Jackie Wattles at CNN: A gargantuan mass of seaweed that formed in the Atlantic Ocean is headed for […]

When Billy Sunday came to town…

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Grocers closed: So did “Ready-Pay” stores: Tea-rooms stayed open: Automobiles were needed: So were special trains: People climbed through roofs and windows: Lumber was sold: New bleachers were erected at fair grounds: Executions were witnessed: Ice cream was named: Labor […]

On the “fuzzy border” between history and journalism

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As a trained historian who serves as the co-founder and executive editor of an online website of opinion, I resonated with New York Times reporter Clay Risen’s recent piece at Perspctives on History: “Professional Crafts: The Fuzzy Border between History […]

Why were so many cows mutilated in the 1970s?

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Head over to Livia Gershon’s piece at JSTOR Daily to learn more about the 1970s “cow mutilation mystery” and the work of historian Michael J. Goleman. Here is a taste: In the 1970s, ranchers all over the country began reporting […]

What is popular this week at Current?

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Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Way of Improvement Leads Home blog: Here are the most popular posts of the last week at The Arena blog: