Covid-19 Ushers in New Era, So Far Characterized By Bipartisan Cooperation

One way of looking at the speed with which Congress and President Trump overwhelmingly approved the $2 trillion stimulus package to address the corona-virus crisis is that the times demanded bipartisanship, and Congress proved itself up to the challenge. The Senate voted 96 to 0 and the House voted by voice acclamation to approve the …

1918 Flu Pandemic Killed Millions. What Can We Learn?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCF_ePFYPDU CBS News: "The pandemic of H1N1 virus in 1918 infected about one-third of the world's population, causing at least 50 million deaths, including more than a half-million in the United States. Martha Teichner reports." "Historical documentary about 1918 Swine Flu or Spanish Flu and the role of World War I in spreading the disease …

Does Impeachment History Provide Guide for Future? Yes and No

In assessing the first impeachment of President Trump in 2019 and 2020 Senate trial, many observers mainly remembered the impeachment of President Clinton, which backfired politically against Republicans in the short-term. They lost congressional seats in the 1998 midterms. Even John Boehner, one of the leaders of the Clinton impeachment, said decades later in his …

Who Was Most Important Person of 20th Century? Gavrilo Princip??

When pondering who was the most important person of the 20th century -- a great question for an essay in world history, btw -- Adolph Hitler, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Mao Tse Tung come initially to mind.  Most definitely NOT Gavrilo Princip. Who? You may ask. But if not for him, …

80 Turning Points Since 1923

Time magazine highlighted 80 turning points in history since 1923. The problem with this sort of list is that it encourages readers to believe that major changes happen overnight, and in the "black swan" theory of history -- that events crop up suddenly, without warning, that life frequently changes dramatically for everyday citizens. That's not …

Philosophical Underpinnings For Studying History

Did Cleopatra’s Nose, Henry the VIII’s Libido, Richard III’s Horse and Your Ancestors’ Luck Make Crucial Historical Differences? Exploring Divine Providence, Retribution, Destiny, Predestination, Teleology and Chaos Theory Chaos Theory or Butterfly Effect Has Idea of Progress Disappeared? Why Counterfactuals Are So Popular ‘Inevitable’ Triumph of Democracy, Capitalism Now Very Much in Doubt Golden Age for Dystopian Fiction Power of Counter-Factual …

Was 9/11 Avoidable, Preventable?

Al Qaeda's attacks on the US on September 11, 2001, seemed like a black swan or a bolt out of the blue at the time, an unprovoked, sudden and shocking event that dramatically changed Americans' perceptions of the contemporary world. Osama Bin Laden and 19 hijackers, 15 of them from Saudi Arabia, changed the world …

Black Swan Theories Become Fashionable

Political pundits in 2016 tried to attribute their failure to accurately assess the chances of Donald Trump winning the Republican nomination and election by asserting that it is a "black swan," meaning a totally unanticipated event that suddenly and completely alters world history. Jack Shafer wrote in Politico that "the Trump phenomenon is a Black …