Recent Posts: Transformational Citizenship
Author Archives: Bennett Minton
Penance for a former influence peddler
The national news is depressing, with one party—and its Supreme Court majority—determined to prevent voters it doesn’t like (and doesn’t want) from participating in democracy. So I bang my head against the wall (on Zoom) in Salem, my state capital, … Continue reading
Advice to a (small ‘d’) democrat
A friend asks for facts about Joe Biden, without mentioning Donald Trump, to help her decide. Not comprehensive, but this is what I wrote her after spending 15 minutes on the question (and a few more refining for this post): … Continue reading
Posted in election campaign, Joe Biden, presidential election 2020, Uncategorized, Voting Rights Act
Tagged Donald Trump, Joe Biden
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The lies our textbooks told us
A link to The Washington Post version of my post on the Virginia government’s effort to rewrite history. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/slavery-history-virginia-textbook/2020/07/31/d8571eda-d1f0-11ea-8c55-61e7fa5e82ab_story.html. Published in the Sunday opinion section on August 2, it drew more than 1900 comments. My sampling suggests people were inspired … Continue reading
Posted in Civil War, slavery, Uncategorized
Tagged Adam Wesley Dean, Brown v Board, Civil War, Donald Trump, Dorothy Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward, Francis B. Simkins, J. Lindsey Almond Jr., James J. Kilpatrick, Lewis F. Powell, Massive Resistance, Spotswood Hunnicutt Jones, Voting Rights Act
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Exhuming history, exposing lies
As I watched Richmond city workers, surrounded by cheering protestors, remove a hundred-year-old towering bronze of Stonewall Jackson on horseback from its base on Monument Avenue, tears streamed down my face. On the 157th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, … Continue reading
Posted in Civil War, slavery, Uncategorized
Tagged Adam Wesley Dean, Brown v Board, C. Vann Woodward, David Brion Davis, Donald Trump, Dorothy Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward, Francis B. Simkins, Harry Flood Byrd Sr., Heather Heyer, J. Lindsey Almond Jr., James J. Kilpatrick, Lewis F. Powell, Massive Resistance, Spotswood Hunnicutt Jones
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On becoming a nearly-senior citizen
Today I turn 62. A birthday is a moment for reflection, especially when on this one the government asks, “Would you like a smaller pension now, or a bigger pension later?” And I mull: How much longer is Social Security … Continue reading
Posted in climate change, Uncategorized
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Snapshots of a myth
Defenders of statues of Confederate generals and soldiers contend these monuments should not be removed, ever, because they are “history.” Monuments have nothing to do with history. They are snapshots of a narrative. My favorite monument-narrative is the Lincoln Memorial. … Continue reading
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Uncategorized
Tagged Civil War, Lincoln Second Inaugural Address, Robert E. Lee, slavery
1 Comment
The twilight of LGBT discrimination
The June 15 Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (Georgia) has a sweeping logic that, if applied to other areas of law, will mean the end of legal discrimination against people who identify as LGBTQ. Justice Neil Gorsuch, … Continue reading
Posted in civil rights, LGBT rights, Supreme Court, Uncategorized
Tagged Howard W. Smith, LGBT, Neil Gorsuch, Robert Kennedy
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Will Florida end this battle against voting?
The saga of the restoration of the voting rights of Florida ex-felons continues, but it may be nearing an end. The crux of Federal District Judge Robert Hinkle’s May 24 opinion in Jones v. DeSantis, about the legislature’s attempts to … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, voter suppression, Voting
Tagged Amendment 4, Due Process, Equal Protection, Jones v. DeSantis, Judge Robert Hinkle, Rick Scott, Ron DeSantis, SB7066
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‘That government is best which is most indifferent’
In their book, Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism, Ann Case and Angus Deaton study the rising premature death rate from suicide, drug overdose and alcohol liver disease. Four findings: The rate has steadily fallen over 30 years … Continue reading
Posted in Obamacare, Supreme Court, Uncategorized
1 Comment
An opportunity to enrich the opportunistic
Published March 30, 2020, in Tax Notes Federal, weekly magazine of Tax Analysts Inc., where I was a reporter and editor in the early 1990s. This is a story about billionaires, how Congress makes laws, how city development officials work … Continue reading
Posted in Congress, Tax, Uncategorized
Tagged Cory Booker, Economic Innovation Group, Enterprise Zones, Opportunity Zones, Sean Parker, Tax Fairness Oregon
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