Christopher Nolan is Making a Movie About Robert Oppenheimer, and Variety Wants Me to Care

See how far you can get into their marketing gibberish before you give up. There’s so many things wrong with this. First of all, Robert Oppenheimer was not an heroic figure, however poetic his turn to the Baghavad-Gita was upon viewing what his science had wrought. He was a lab coat surrounded by lab coats.… Read More Christopher Nolan is Making a Movie About Robert Oppenheimer, and Variety Wants Me to Care

19 Nov 202119 Nov 2021 Andrew2 Comments

Please Stop Using The Indians in Immigration Arguments

This tweet by Mickey Kaus reminds me of an irritating chesnut that pro-immigration types love to trot out whenever they encounter disagreement. It usually takes the form of “Well, it’s a shame that the Indians didn’t think of border control!” Or something equally smug. It’s stupid for two reasons: The Indians did think of that.… Read More Please Stop Using The Indians in Immigration Arguments

24 Sep 2015 AndrewLeave a comment

I Get Bad Reviews

I’m starting to think I should keep all my short-form content free on Amazon. Sarah Hoyt advises it, and now I’m starting to wonder if the price of zero would spare me reviews like this: No true fan of Aaron Burr would like this book., November 23, 2013 By jaybee43 Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?) This review… Read More I Get Bad Reviews

2 Dec 2013 AndrewLeave a comment

The Myths of Gettysburg

150 years ago, today, my great-great-great-grand-uncle, Dallas Patrick, a private in 11th Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry (40th Volunteers), was taking part in the largest land battle ever to take place on the North American continent. I’ve been to Gettysburg on several occasions, and some part of me would kind of like to be there to see… Read More The Myths of Gettysburg

3 Jul 2013 AndrewLeave a comment

Little-Known Facts About Aaron Burr

Early Advocate of women’s education and abolition. Presided over the Senate’s first impeachment trial, that of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase. Even Burr’s enemies’ praised his conduct of the trial. One Senator wrote that Burr had presided with “the impartiality of an angel and the rigor of a devil.” Had it in his head that… Read More Little-Known Facts About Aaron Burr

31 Dec 2012 AndrewLeave a comment

So Which President, Living or Dead, Would You Like to Drink With?

Face in the Blue has a most excellent question of great historical and political import: In a Mass Knife Fight to the Death Between Every American President, Who Would Win and Why? Which brought to my mind the bit of campaign fluff about whether Barak Obama is the kind of guy the average American would enjoy… Read More So Which President, Living or Dead, Would You Like to Drink With?

13 Sep 20126 Oct 2014 Andrew1 Comment

I Get Into Arguments About the Civil War and Gun Control.

Daley Gator and I have a long exchange in the comments of his blog about the origins of the Civil War. A friendly Progressive and I discuss gun control in the wake of the Aurora Shooting. And the circle of life rolls on.

22 Jul 2012 AndrewLeave a comment

Scrapping With the British Navy

The usual round of books and look-backs on the War of 1812 commenceth. Austin Bay seizes upon a book on the naval war between the US and Britain: In 1812, Great Britain presented U.S. war planners with a very challenging strategic problem, one with contemporary irony given America’s 21st century military might: How do you… Read More Scrapping With the British Navy

17 Jul 201217 Jul 2012 AndrewLeave a comment

Conrad Black Says Some Rather Silly Things About the American Revolution

In National Review of all places. (h/t: Memeorandum) I’m skipping over the “you know, the wogs never had it so good as under the Raj” part of the article, and deal merely with this: The colonists had the better of the argument with the British, but individual Americans did not have substantively more liberties at… Read More Conrad Black Says Some Rather Silly Things About the American Revolution

4 Jul 20126 Jul 2012 Andrew2 Comments

The War of 1812

It was our first official war, and we very nearly lost it. Today it is remembered chiefly for giving birth to the poem that became our national anthem. It wasn’t the most important war even then: Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, which occurred the same year, was far more significant. But there are some resonances that… Read More The War of 1812

18 Jun 2012 AndrewLeave a comment