Tag Archives: U.S. History

Running Against Hooverville–The Presidential Blame Game

In the immediate aftermath of the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961, President John F. Kennedy stood before the nation accepting the total blame for what had happened. He referred to an old saying about victory having a thousand fathers, … Continue reading

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President Obama’s Vocal Minority Speech

1 December 2009 and 3 November 1969: the desire to contain a vocal minority and the determination to mobilize a silent majority. I’ve looked at a lot of the coverage of the President’s speech at West Point last night, and, … Continue reading

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Mass Appeal

Unguided Missal? Mass composer Leonard Bernstein in 1971. Last week on The New Yorker’s website, music critic Alex Ross wrote three articles based on newly released Freedom of Information Act-obtained government documents regarding inquiries into composer-conductor-polymath Leonard Bernstein’s politics. They … Continue reading

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Helen Gahagan Douglas Redux

I apologize in advance for the shameless bit of name dropping that is about to take place…..but I remember asking Henry Fonda why he so disliked RN — was it because of Vietnam (the conversation took place the spring of … Continue reading

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