The Brion McClanahan Show

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com I received a couple of emails/Tweets that just had to be used for podcast fodder. The first focused on "immorality" of Confederate monuments and the second on the supposed pristine history of the Republican Party. The two cannot be divorced so I crush both stupid positions in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com Former SCOTUS Justice John Paul Stevens (99 years old) published an op-ed last week called the U.S. vs. Heller decision the worst of his tenure on the bench. Why? Because he thinks it distorted the 2nd Amendment. This is an absurd position, but one that deserves attention. I discuss in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support https://learntruehistory.com Tulsi Gabbard has taken a beating from the establishment. The mainstream media has resorted to "fake news" and she is at odds with her Party on foreign policy. This is typical and unfortunately stupid. But what can we expect from the modern imperialists. I discuss Gabbard in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan/com/support http://learntruehistory.com A piece by Billy Binion at Reason.com argues that the time has come to remove Confederate monuments if the people of the city say they want them removed. One listener asked if this agreed with my think locally, act locally mantra. I respond in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com John Howling at Chronicles wrote a piece recently extolling the virtues of tariffs. He claims it is a matter of "piety" to favor protective measures because it helps "family, folk, and fatherland." This makes tariffs policy an economic vs. moral argument. I dive into this dichotomy in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com A couple of listeners sent two very good questions over the last week. The first asked if the "guarantee clause" in the Constitution authorizes the general government to use force in the event that a State alters its government from a republican form. The second wondered if the founding generation had differing views on the power of the general government in relation to slavery in the territories. Both questions seem unrelated, but they are, in fact, fundamental to antebellum constitutional disputes. I discuss both in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com Frank Distefano thinks American political parties are heading for a "realignment" based on a dispute over the meaning of the "American Dream." Is this true? Maybe, but perhaps the parties will realign over something else. I discuss in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com A listener sent me a long email with three very good questions about the founding generation. Rather than respond in written form to one person, I thought it would be beneficial to respond in a way that everyone could enjoy. If one student has a question, chances are several have the same questions. This was a fun episode, so keep those questions coming.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com Yoram Hazony argues in a piece for First Things that the solution to our political problems is the adoption of what he calls "conservative democracy." This is a thought provoking piece, but one that falls apart in its core insistence on "nationalism." We don't need "conservative democracy." We need a return to federalism. I discuss in detail in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com A leftist professor wants to limit executive power. This should not be news in the Age of Trump. Every leftist wants to do that, but this leftist might be slightly different. Professor Julia Azari wrote a piece for Vox arguing that the Constitution doesn't do enough to limit executive power and suggests amending it to do so. This is interesting. I suggested the same thing several years ago. I discuss in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com Thomas Jefferson is under attack. Who didn't see this coming? There are, however, people who try to defend the man, but they do so very poorly. One such case is a recent opinion piece in the Richmond Dispatch that gave an offhanded nod of approval to a bunch of Hofstra students who want to take down a Jefferson statue on their campus. How stupid but typical. I discuss in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com Facebook is now "Fact Checking" posts. This is bad news for a variety of reasons, but maybe most embarrassingly because they are using a former CNN reporter to do the fact checking. What could go wrong with that, particularly when they are "fact checking" the civil war [sic]. I hit this issue head on in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com Adam Gopnik at The New Yorker has written one of the most stupid (but typical) pieces on Reconstruction. The presentism, the historical revisionism, and the downright laughable assertions are so cringe worthy, I had to podcast about it. It also makes for a great introduction to my newest course at https://mcclanahanacademy.com Reconstruction and Recreation. This episode was too fun to put together.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com Conservative scholar Daniel Mallock blames identity politics, in particular Southerners, for the sectional conflict and "civil war." Is he correct? In short, no, at least in regard to the South. He also supports a type of neoconservative nationalism that would find favor with leftists like Jill Lepore. I discuss in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.

https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com Harvard professor Jill Lepore thinks we need to write more nationalist histories of the United States, but they have to be a certain type of nationalist histories. She gets so many things wrong in a recent article for foreignaffairs.com that I had to take her positions apart.