Author Archives: Bennett Minton

The Oregon Trail, updated

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Bennett Minton

As a history student and native of the South, I’ve spent most of my life immersed in our Peculiar region, the soil in which the blood of Black and White was mixed. The foundation of American capitalism was slavery, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Manifest Destiny, Oregon Trail, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Lobbyists parachute into Portland to protect federal tax break

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Bennett Minton

Text of my letter published in the August 30 Tax Notes Federal, a policy journal that covers Congress. (I was a congressional correspondent and later news editor in the 1990s.) Portland, Oregon, is a continent away from the backroom deals … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

After watering our parched gardens, we offered an accounting

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Bennett Minton

Dear Tax Fairness Oregon Supporters: We have been remiss in our correspondence with you. As our steering committee spent the legislative session plowing through bills and testifying on 41 of them (some more than once), we didn’t set aside time … Continue reading →

Posted in Oregon taxes, taxes, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on After watering our parched gardens, we offered an accounting

Penance for a former influence peddler

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Bennett Minton

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 →

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Advice to a (small ‘d’) democrat

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 , | 1 Comment

The lies our textbooks told us

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The lies our textbooks told us

Exhuming history, exposing lies

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

On becoming a nearly-senior citizen

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 | 5 Comments

Snapshots of a myth

Posted on June 20, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 , , , | 1 Comment

The twilight of LGBT discrimination

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 →

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