Today's Politicos vs The Words and Deeds of The Founders

Here are a few things you might have missed from around the blogosphere. There are a lot of good people out there, writing good stuff. Every once in a while it behooves us to point a few of them out.

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Martin’s ruminations about knowing the nation’s past to preserve its future preceded the release of the national history exam results by a day.  The exam results were published on June 14th (Flag Day no less).

The National Assessment of Education …

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After a brief hiatus, the Friday crossword is back. This one is easy, and like most others of late, based on an article taken from the Niles Weekly Register.

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The takings clause is the people's bulwark in defense of private property. Despite its clarity, it has been a weak shield against the abusive exercise of determined power. Madison’s Convention notes show that the Framers spent little energy on rights, because delegates assumed a national government would adhere to Constitutional restrictions. We all know what happens when you assume ...

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Not so random thoughts on God and country.

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The grandson of WWII General George Patton has written an intriguing and boisterous account of the American Revolution. This book should be on the reading list of every Revolutionary War buff.

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Federalist No. 20 is the last in a series of 6 essays on the “Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union.” In this essay, Hamilton and Madison collaborate (you can tell by the writing) to show the struggles of a contemporary confederacy, that of the Netherlands. According to Hamilton and Madison, despite its singularity, the United Netherlands were prone to the same problems which plagued the other confederacies covered in the preceding 5 essays.

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"Centralized control in the U.S. Department of Education would upset the system of checks and balances between different levels of government, creating greater opportunities for special interests to use their national political leverage to distort policy." But centralized control is precisely what this administration seeks to achieve.

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On a recent trip to Washington, I had happened upon Mr. Pitch signing copies of his books in the lobby of the American History Museum. It was a stroke of very good luck for me, as I discovered his books are excellent, and he is an extremely erudite and generous guy. Mr. Pitch very kindly agreed to answer some questions about his book (reviewed here), his research, and even shared some of his insights into the book writing process.

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A few weeks back, it was my good fortune to visit Montpelier. It may have been my favorite of the presidential homes I visited (the others being Mount Vernon, Ash Lawn, and Monticello). At all of these places I especially enjoyed visiting with the guides and other folks who are clearly passionate about what they do. At Montpelier, Jim Walker generously agreed to share some of his knowledge of James Madison, the father of the Constitution.

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