Former President Barack Obama used his platform at the Democratic National Convention to assail sitting Republican President Donald Trump as a threat to “our democracy.” Trump responded, IN ALL CAPS, via Twitter. If you like history hot and in your face, like a pizza straight out of the oven, 2020 always delivers. Last night was […]
Archives
-
Obama vs. Trump: Presidents Collide in Real Time
20 Aug 2020
-
2020: The Year the Senate Died?
03 Aug 2020
Pity the history teachers of the future who must deal with the calamities of 2020. But the year’s politics may not be defined by a pandemic or the potential end of a shambling presidency; instead, the United States Senate is leaping toward the gaping maw of democracy, and our government may never recover. Former President […]
-
American Cities Break and Burn: We Need a Creed
30 May 2020
I live in a village with three stop lights, one of which blinks when school is out of session. I am a white college professor on a mostly white campus within a white religious tradition. The smoke, shattered glass, and pepper spray now etched into too many urban landscapes are alien, but so is having […]
-
The President and the Pandemic
15 Apr 2020
I have the ultimate authority. President Donald Trump, April 13, 2020 Mt. Trump was built with a shovel. It started with “rapists and thieves,” which was quickly followed by “I like people who weren’t captured.” The dirt pile became a hill and grew into an overwhelming peak. “I got a beautiful letter.” “Mexico is gonna […]
-
**Over several posts, I hope to look at 1) what the Constitution says about impeachment, 2) presidential impeachments in history, and 3) how President Trump’s actions should be judged in light of the Constitution, history, and other standards frequently brought to bear.** The third presidential impeachment trial unfolds before us. Our Senators will soon cast […]
-
**Over several posts, I hope to look at 1) what the Constitution says about impeachment, 2) presidential impeachments in history, and 3) how President Trump’s actions should be judged in light of the Constitution, history, and other standards frequently brought to bear.** Impeachment is often described as the nuclear weapon of the legislative arsenal. Though […]
-
Trump & Impeachment Right Now
07 Nov 2019
We are still early in the impeachment saga, but we are at least beginning the next phase. Over the past weeks, Democrats have been conducting a closed investigation into some key evidence and witnesses. The “closed” nature of it was to the public and to members of Congress not on the particular committees (Intelligence and […]
-
Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Three days will determine the fate of the presidency. If the Trump Administration ends in disgrace, and that is a large if, these three days will mark the beginning of the end. If President Trump emerges victorious in 2020 and seizes another term in office, these were the days when the Democrats […]
-
The Mailbag! – Vol. 12
21 Jan 2019
Matt’s Marvelous Mailbag seeks to provide marginally adequate answers to much better questions about politics, economics, social life, theology, or any potpourri you see fit to have answered. Send questions to mailbag.bereans@gmail.com. I have to start out this week by recommending a piece of classical music: Samson and Delilah Act 2 by Saint-Saens. Even if opera isn’t […]
-
The Mailbag! – Vol. 11
14 Jan 2019
Matt’s Marvelous Mailbag seeks to provide marginally adequate answers to much better questions about politics, economics, social life, theology, or any potpourri you see fit to have answered. Send questions to mailbag.bereans@gmail.com. Well, it took long enough, but it appears that winter has officially gotten with the whole “snow” business, and, depending on where you […]