Brief History of The Maginot Line
A series of fortifications designed to keep Germany “the beast that sleeps on the other side of the Rhine” violate French territory. The Maginot Line was built between 1929 and 1940. It was built to [...]
Battle of Britain July-Oct 1940
Although I have read endless accounts of the Battle of Britain, I can never fully accept that four years before I was born a battle for the survival of civilization was fought where the “side [...]
Black Confederate Soldiers: A Surprising Fact
The existence of Black Confederate soldiers almost sounds like an historical contradiction. Given that the South initiated the Civil War to preserve slavery, it is hard to imagine that (1) Southern leaders would utilize black [...]
Eugenics: Psuedoscience Designed to Eliminate “Inferior” Human Beings
I am always troubled when our country does not live up to its wonderful ideals. Fortunately, over time we have confronted our errors and terminated errant policies; however, mistaken policies have caused needless hardships for [...]
Some Universities Fraudulently Use Federal Grants
On August 16, 2005, the Wall Street Journal reported that since 2003, Northwestern University, Harvard University, John Hopkins University, the Mayo Clinic and the University of Alabama at Birmingham have agreed to civil settlements. [...]
Nationalism: Nothing is More Powerful Than an Idea Whose Time has come
There are many different definitions of nationalism. From the perspective of an individual, nationalism is a feeling of identification with and dedication to a particular nation-state to the exclusion of all other nation-state. Nationalism is [...]
Freshwater and Foreign Policy: New Challenges
According to the foreign policy association, the United States needs to implement new ideas, technologies, and institutional skills to solve the world’s mounting water problems. The United States currently has no consistent or comprehensive [...]
Apache Chief Geronimo, 1829-1919
Geronimo, one of the most famous, and maybe infamous, Indian chiefs and warriors died in a prison hospital in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was both feared and admired by his cavalry adversaries. One of [...]
Al Smith “The Happy Warrior”: Trail Blazer for JFK (1873-1934)
Al Smith, four times Governor of the State of New York, who rose from the sidewalks of New York, was the first Roman Catholic to represent a major political party for the presidency of [...]
Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties are Bankrupting Our Future
Peter Peterson, the Former Chairman of the New York Economics Council, Lehman Brothers, and the Blackstone Group, has articulated in his book Running on Empty the growing financial crises that confront the United States. [...]
Firing of General Douglas MacArthur
“Old Soldiers Never Die: They Just Fade Away” On April 11, 1951, President Harry Truman backed by the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff relieved Douglas MacArthur, a five-star general who had [...]
Tour de France: The World’s Greatest Bicycle Race
The Tour de France is the world’s greatest bicycle race, currently extends some3500 to 4000 kilometers and is divided into twenty stages. It began as a wild adventure for only the heartiest of riders [...]
Guglielmo Marconi: Inventor of a Political System of Wireless Telegraphy
Today, when Marconi hopefully emerges once again into a great company, we might want to recognize its namesake. Guglielmo Marconi became the inventor of the first practical system of wireless telegraphy. He developed the short [...]
Henry Ford and The Model T: 100th Anniversary
Henry Ford (1863-1947) invented neither the automobile nor the assembly line, but recast each to dominate a new era. Indeed, no other individual in this century so completely transformed the nation’s way of life. By [...]
Henry the Navigator 1394-1460
1394-1460 In the current political environment where we are sensitive to our multi-cultural history, it is difficult, particularly in a short essay, to put in perspective the contributions of the Spanish, Portuguese, and other European [...]
Primo Carnera
“Man Mountain or Tin Man” Born 1906 Sequals, Italy Died 1967, Sequals, Italy He was a phenomenon, the most colossal boxer ever to win the world heavyweight championship. They called him the “Man Mountain, [...]
James Ewell Brown Stuart (1833-1864); Eyes of the Confederate Army
James Stuart (Known as Jeb Stuart) was the dominant cavalry officer of the Civil War until his death. General George Patton appreciated his flamboyance and charisma. Stuart provided invaluable service to the Confederate Army during [...]
John Dewey, Chief Prophet of Progressive Education (1859-1920)
Dr. Dewey was an American philosopher and educator, whose writings and teachings had a profound influence on education in the United States. Dewey’s philosophy of education (pragmatism) focused on learning-by-doing rather than rote learning and [...]
John Marshall, Arguably the Most Important Judicial Figure in American History
Arguably the Most Important Judicial Figure in American History 1755-1835 John Marshall was arguably the most important judicial figure in American history. As the chief justice on the United States Supreme Court, serving from 1801-1835, [...]
Growth and Globalization of the U.S. Fixed Income Markets Summer 2000
When I spoke to Jeff Smith, Managing Director Bank of America Capital Markets, about addressing this group of global fixed income managers, I was reading William Manchester’s biography on Douglas McArthur, an American Caesar. [...]
Justice Hugo Black, A Great Supreme Court Justice (1886-1971)
Justice Black during his long career on the Supreme Court, some 34 years, displayed a lifelong reverence for the Constitution. Perhaps no other man in the history of the Court so revered the Constitution as [...]
Lyndon Johnson: Flawed Giant by Robert Dallek
I recently completed Robert Dallek’s book, Lyndon Johnson, Flawed Giant. The author made the observation that a cross-section of historians rate Johnson an average president despite his incredible achievements in orchestrating the legislation of many [...]
Marco Polo, Italian Traveler and Explorer (1254-1324)
Marco Polo was the first European to cross the entire continent of Asia and leave a record of what he saw and heard. His autobiography “The Travels of Marco Polo” is probably the most famous [...]
Mies van Der Rohe (1886 – 1969)
Creator of Architecture for a Technological Society (1886-1969) “Architecture is the will of an epoch translated into space” Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a man without any academic architectural training, was one of the great [...]
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (Father of the Turks) 1881-1938
Father of The Turks (1881-1938) Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was the military and political leader who brought about the end of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of modern Turkey. Ataturk laid the foundations for a [...]
Nixon and Kennedy, The Rivalry that Shaped Post War America
In reading the book, Nixon and Kennedy, The Rivalry that Shaped Post War America, I learned the unexpected. That is, I expected the author to point out dramatic differences between these two formidable politicians on [...]
End of the Revolution by Dick Armey
Op-Ed Article Dick Armey Former Republican House majority leader from 1995-2002 Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2006 Dick Armey wrote an op-ed article in today’s Wall Street Journal that discussed the rout of the Republicans [...]
French Revolution: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity
“After me the Deluge” Louis XV (1718-1774) Several years ago, when I was visiting the Palace of Versailles, the guide repeated a famous quote regarding this grand edifice. “Louis the 14th built it; Louis the [...]
The Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, May 1868
In May 1868, the Senate came within a single vote of taking the unprecedented step of removing a president from office. Although the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson was ostensible about a violation of the [...]
Deadly Embrace: Nazi-Soviet Non Aggression Pact
Deadly embrace: Hitler, Stalin and Nazi-soviet non-aggression pact. I want to talk about the Nazi-soviet non-aggression pact, because this shotgun wedding changed the world forever. To cut to the quick, it jump started World War [...]
Dachau, the First Concentration Camp in Germany
“Dachau, 1933-1945”, will stand out for all time as one of history’s most gruesome symbols of inhumanity. There our troops found sights, sounds, and stenches of horror beyond belief, cruelties so enormous as to be [...]
Cuban Missile Crises: October 1962 Nuclear War Countdown! “Rather Be Dead than Red”
I had not seriously thought about the Cuban Missile Crises for many years until I saw the movie, Fog of War, which focuses entirely on the reminisces of Robert McNamara, former Secretary of Defense. Needless [...]
Theodore Herzl (1860-1904), Father of Modern Zionism
“In Basle I founded the Jewish State. Maybe in five years, certainly in fifty, everyone will realize it.” Theodore Herzl was the visionary of Zionism. Born in Budapest in 1860, he was a thoroughly assimilated [...]
Theodore Roosevelt: Bully Father (1858-1919)
I have just read a delightful book about the fabulous relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and his six children. President Roosevelt truly delighted in life and in his children. We might have had greater presidents (not [...]
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)
Vincent Van Gogh, postimpressionist painter, works are perhaps better known than those of any other painter. His brief, turbulent, and tragic, life is thought to epitomize the mad genius legend. During his lifetime, Van Gogh’s [...]
Visiting Gettysburg
Because so many of my friends have enjoyed visiting Gettysburg over the past few years, I wanted to encourage others to visit this historic battle site. I believe a one and half day is long [...]