Category Archives: Politics and Civic Interest

The Thirty-First of March

Posted on July 21, 2026 by smellincoffee

I begin the first of presumably several books on LBJ by peering into his office as he made the decision to not run for office again in 1968. The door is opened by Horace Busby, a newspaperman-turned-speechwriter and confidant for … Continue reading →

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Jack and Bobby

Posted on July 20, 2026 by smellincoffee

“You and those Kennedys!” exclaimed the waitress at my usual lunch spot when she walked by to see me deeply invested in yet another title about the Brothers K.   I must admit, becoming obsessed with the Kennedy men was … Continue reading →

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The War against Truckers

Posted on July 14, 2026 by smellincoffee

A few months ago, video surfaced of a ‘truck driver’ deciding to execute a U-turn in the middle of a busy highway. If you are familiar with the physics of truck-trailers, you’d know immediately how insane and irresponsible a move … Continue reading →

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The Promise and the Dream

Posted on July 9, 2026 by smellincoffee

The Promise and the Dream is inherently interesting in being a joint biography of two men who were very active public figures in the 1960s – at first as near-antagonists, then as allies in spirit, and then brother-martyrs in death.  … Continue reading →

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Warren G. Harding

Posted on July 7, 2026 by smellincoffee

What do I know about Warren Gamaliel Harding? Mm….he’s the “return to normalcy” president, he pardoned Eugene Debs whom Wilson had put in jail for daring to criticize him, there was a huge scandal in his administration, and he died … Continue reading →

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Wilson

Posted on July 2, 2026 by smellincoffee

Does Woodrow Wilson deserve more than a two-hundred-page biography? Given his historic impact, yes. Am I gracious enough to grant him one? That remains to be seen. Do I really want to spend hours of my life reading about the … Continue reading →

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Communion

Posted on June 29, 2026 by smellincoffee

When J.D. Vance’s formidable grandmother died, his connection to Christianity went with it. Although he’d been raised going to church with her on occasion,  the faith had never become internalized;  as he deployed to Iraq, he was moving further and … Continue reading →

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The Unfinished Odyssey of Robert F. Kennedy

Posted on June 25, 2026 by smellincoffee

David Halberstam was already a seasoned reporter when he began covering RFK’s fatal 1968 bid for the presidency. The bid itself was almost dead on arrival; RFK dragged his feet on deciding, and continually probed those around him as to … Continue reading →

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Bad Blood

Posted on June 24, 2026 by smellincoffee

When LBJ mentioned that Joe Kennedy’s son Robert would be excellent at leading something like NASA, RFK recorded this in his diary. The master of the Senate thought he had potential! Only a few years later, however, RFK and LBJ … Continue reading →

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1960: The Election that Forged Three Presidencies

Posted on June 22, 2026 by smellincoffee

As the Eisenhower administration began drawing to a close and a new decade loomed, America had a choice: stay the course, or shake things up? Although JFK would claim in his 1961 inaugural that the torch had been passed to … Continue reading →

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