For some years now, Stephanie West Allen and I have marveled at how “presentism” has undermined the basic comprehension of history in context. It doesn’t make things any more, or less, right or wrong, but it gives rise to a false and distorted understanding of how and why things happened. Was Christopher Columbus just a horrifying colonial genocidal rapist? If viewed through today’s lens, perhaps. But he didn’t exist in today’s culture, and so should…

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Roger Stone’s counsel moved long-suffering D.C. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson to recuse herself. To absolutely no one’s surprise, she denied the motion. The defense does not argue that the jurors did not “serve[] . . . under difficult circumstances,” but it complains that the Court’s use of the words “with integrity” are disqualifying because there is a pending motion for new trial with respect to a single…

Imagine you’re in the parking lot of Los Pollos Hermanos after a chicken dinner that couldn’t be beat, and spot an odd looking box attached to your car. You’re reasonably familiar with your car, and know that it didn’t come with any such box. You move closer, take a harder look, and have no clue how or why that box is attached to your car. So you grab it, pull it off, and put it…

A story, an op-ed attached, came across my radar and I clicked because it looked interesting. And a screen popped up: You’ve reached your limit of free stories. You can subscribe for a mere (whatever). So I tried again, this time in incognito mode which often skirts the problem. Same screen, noting that I was in incognito mode and they were not going to let me beat their system. Fair enough. I completely understand the…

I learned yesterday of a resolution in the Tennessee House of Representatives that, if passed, would condemn CNN and the Washington Post as “fake news.” Micah Van Huss, representative for an area with two main roads and one stoplight, penned this poorly-worded series of “Whereas” clauses. The two-page screed takes issue with references to those who support our current president as “cultists,” praises President Trump for taking on the establishment for the working man, and…

As of this writing, the jury has been out for three days. But today is Friday, and Fridays are magic in jury rooms, so you never know. But for the outside world, the verdict came in on Day 1: Guilty. Even people who know better, like Conor Friedersdorf, took for granted that Harvey Weinstein was guilty when he interviewed me for The Atlantic. Friedersdorf: Let’s turn from the innocent to the guilty. I’ve wondered what…