I have long wished the Confederate states had been allowed to secede. My reservation is that secession would have prolonged slavery. Although I have read arguments that even in an independent South, slavery couldn't have endured, the institution
Politics
All Lies Are Not Equal
You lie, I lie, we all lie. Especially politicians, right? Is there anywhere a handhold of truth we can cling to? In Nana Krame Adjei-Brenyah's apocalyptic story, "The Era," included in Best American Short Stories 2019), truthtellers have taken
Must Politics Dictate Art?
I’ve just finished reading the 2018 edition of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s venerable Best American Short Stories (BASS), and I feel I’ve been brought up to date with my politics, above all, the political grievances I ought to feel. But should
Guns and Supposes
Arguments can bring out the contrariness in me: “Yes, but suppose…” By “arguments,” I don’t mean fights. I mean the honest effort to challenge beliefs and preconceptions. Friends who recently returned from France told us that people there are
Blue Sky Over Texas
1 In yards opposite each other on a Texas suburban street were a Ted Cruz and a Beto O’Rourke sign. My wife’s brother fantasized about going out in the middle of the night and switching the signs. But he’d told them about it and so couldn’t act on
Donald J. Trump’s Short but Unabridged Dictionary of American English
A+. The grade I gave myself in the friendly confines of Fox Television for my performance as president; equivalent to my Wharton MBA. See “Fox Television”; cf. “Wharton.” Attorney General. My personal lawyer. See “personal lawyer”; cf.