The Brion McClanahan Author & Historian Blog

The left seems to think Donald Trump made up the slogan “make America great again” as a dog whistle for “white supremacists.” The (il)logic behind this buffoonery rests on the premise that Trump wanted to take America back to the 1950s, a time when segregated schools dotted the American landscape, black children couldn’t drink at the same water fountains as white children in the South, …more

Americans are angry. They are angry at their government, their neighbors, their schools, their football team–particularly if you aren’t an Alabama or Georgia fan. Or perhaps you’re angry at the SEC or the PC stupidity from modern universities. Some of this is rational. Universities are a cultural wasteland, and in the South are now governed by a carpetbagging bunch of idiots. Americans also should not …more

I’ve said many times that the correct response to the American monument Taliban should be “No, shut up.” But fair is fair, and the main argument that have made against traditional American monuments, but particularly Confederate monuments, has been that the monuments represent bad history and false “myths.” With that in mind, perhaps it’s time to tear down or “contextualize” other monuments. Take for example …more

Sarah Silverman and Ken Burns are in agreement on one thing: America is in bad shape. Burns thinks things are as bad as they were in the 1850s on the eve of war. Silverman just wants to create two separate countries. Huzzah! Silverman is an award winning actress most famous for her voice work in Disney films, but she is an outspoken leftist who is …more

Last week, Virginia removed the statue of Robert E. Lee, a national historic landmark that stood for over a century in Richmond. The same statue Douglas S. Freeman saluted every day while he was working on his monumental study of the man. “New Virginia” doesn’t deserve Lee. This was destined to happen, particularly since some “conservatives” have joined the chorus for taking down Confederate monuments. …more

We know Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate isn’t constitutional. Joe Biden knows it isn’t constitutional. But that didn’t stop him from telling OSHA–yes, OSHA because this is an occupational safety hazard–to issue the mandate to private companies with over 100 employees while the USPS, Congress, and his staff aren’t required to get the vaccine. It also led to the usual barrage of Twitter lawyers to point …more

People might think it’s counterproductive to keep debating the importance of John C. Calhoun to the American political tradition. It’s not. The Straussians are troubled by Calhoun. This has led to people like Hugh Hewitt calling Calhoun an “evil” person and the reason America went off the rails. Larry Arn, President of Hillsdale College, agrees. Just listen to this interview from July. This is nothing …more

I wrote last week that we should celebrate every small victory from the Supreme Court. That still applies, but when the Court gets something right twice in less than a month, something good might be happening. I wouldn’t get your hopes up. SCOTUS will always let you down in the end, but two correct majority opinions will get your blood pumping. The Court refused to …more

Even a blind squirrel can find a nut every now and then. Just like the Supreme Court can get one right, but it’s so infrequent we should celebrate small victories. Last week, the Supreme Court struck down the CDC moratorium on evictions. I told you a couple of weeks ago that Biden knowingly supported this move by the CDC even though he admitted it was …more