See also What This Cruel War Was Over.
History
America, History, Military
Memorial Day 2020
by JOHN ADAMS •
Advertising, Babbittry, Bad Ideas, Boosterism, Culture, Economics, Economy, History, Poverty
Boosterism, ’30s Style
by JOHN ADAMS •
Although the Roosevelt Administration was (whatever its other mistakes) candid about the economic conditions it faced, there was in the ’30s, as there has been over the 2010s in Wisconsin, a delusional impulse to happy talk – regardless of economic conditions – among some politicians and some business groups. Margaret Bourke-White‘s Kentucky Flood depicts the…
America, Bigotry, History, Mendacity, Politics, Race, Wisconsin, WISGOP
WISGOP Treasurer Brian Westrate ‘Well Understands’ Nothing
by JOHN ADAMS •
A horde of ignorant, but racially motivated, men infest the Wisconsin GOP. Brian Westrate is a good example of playing to this bad condition: in an attempt to discourage racist Republicans from displaying Confederate banners at a protest, he erroneously (and outrageously) contended that he did “well understand that the Confederacy was more about states…
America, History, Politics, Trump, Unfit
Great American Speeches
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cats, History, Weird Tales
Friday Catblogging: During the 1918 Pandemic, Family and Cat Wearing Masks
by JOHN ADAMS •
See During the 1918 Flu Epidemic, Pet Parents Put Masks on Their Cats.
America, Coronavirus, History, Politics, Public Health, Trump
How to Handle a Crisis
by JOHN ADAMS •
All worthy responses begin with, and depend on, candor.
Architecture, History
Pantheon
by JOHN ADAMS •
Pantheon, Rome, Italy https://t.co/yH2viW2UzB via @360cities — John Adams (@DailyAdams) April 15, 2020
America, History, Impeachment Trial
Every Completed Senate Impeachment Trial in American History Has Had New Witnesses
by JOHN ADAMS •
An analysis from the Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington reveals that every impeachment trial completed in the Senate’s 231 year history has featured witnesses who had not testified in the House: Every impeachment trial completed in the Senate’s 231 year history has featured witnesses who had not testified in the House, according to…
America, History, Television, Wisconsin
On the American Experience: McCarthy
by JOHN ADAMS •
Tonight, on the American Experience on PBS, an episode on Sen. Joe McCarthy: McCarthy chronicles the rise and fall of Joseph McCarthy, the Wisconsin senator who came to power after a stunning victory in an election no one thought he could win. Once in office, he declared that there was a vast conspiracy threatening America…
America, Blogging, History
But We Never Went Away…
by JOHN ADAMS •
Writing at NiemanLab, Joanne McNeil offers a prediction for 2020 in A return to blogs (finally? sort of?): One reason we might see a resurgence of blogs is the novelty. Tell someone you’re starting a new newsletter and they might complain about how many newsletters (or podcasts) they already subscribe to. But tell them you’re…
America, History, Holiday
A Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1863
by JOHN ADAMS •
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail…
Art, Diversity, History
Recreating a Famous Painting, 241 Years Later
by JOHN ADAMS •
John Trumbull’s founding-era painting, Declaration of Independence, is one of the most famous in America. Recently, Ancestry.com commissioned the recreation of Trumball’s scene in a photograph with the descendants of the Declaration’s signers. The recreation is truly hopeful:
Art, Cats, History
Friday Catblogging: Not a Real Lion, Yet Impressive Nonetheless
by JOHN ADAMS •
See Leonardo da Vinci’s mechanical lion goes on display in Paris.