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WHY LEGITIMATE POLITICAL DISCOURSE NEEDS SOME SCHOOLING

February 5, 2022 by

Since I’m an expert on political discourse I’ll tell you how I became such an expert After reading this, see if the same criteria applies to others who claim expertise in legitimate political discourse. For me, it all started in second grade. Experts, believable experts, need early references.

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READING HISTORY BOOKS YIELDS MORE THAN BARGAINED FOR

February 3, 2022 by

Reading history books is about more than validating the opinion you already have. George Washington, first president and father of our country, chopped a cherry tree down and confessed because he would never lie? Honest Abe Lincoln never told a lie? No one questioned their honesty? Reading history books could answer those sort of questions, […]

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FOR TEACHING HISTORY, FIRST LEARN HISTORY

December 29, 2021 by

My first awareness about teaching history came during a senior seminar class on the origins of WWI. I was a night school student finishing off history degree requirements; a ‘take classes at noon’ student, a ‘whatever class fits the right time slot’ student. It was the usual schedule for irresponsible college dropouts who get married, […]

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SPORTS LITERACY FOR BOOMERS: KNOW WHEN ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

November 19, 2021 by

Sports literacy runs through all sports, not just your favorite team, or my favorite team, though that would make things so much easier. It’s more than the Yankees, the Cowboys, or the Celtics; more than the Mariners, Seahawks, and your Portland Trail Blazers. On Friday nights it’s more than the high school football playoffs, more […]

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SELF INTEREST? DON’T FORGET THE ‘ENLIGHTENED’ PART

November 6, 2021 by

‘Self interest’ is the biggest driver in human history. Think about it. Self + Interest = “Waddabout me?” But, you know this. They aren’t cuss words, or accusations, like ‘selfish interest,’ or, ‘selfish bastard,’ because this is where the enlightened part is supposed to kick in. “Enlightened self interest,” or, “Whaddabout me and you?” That’s […]

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FEELINGS MATTER, A REVIEW OF WHY ON SAUVIE ISLAND

October 9, 2021 by

Feelings matter when you see yourself in a forty year old reflection. In the image I’m looking through a window with another window shining on the other side. Every year for decades a crew would go to Sauvie Island and prepare a historical house for the upcoming season. Every room was cleaned, inventoried, and filled […]

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EVIL HISTORY IS TOO PAINFUL FOR STUDENT READING?

July 11, 2021 by

Evil history includes a list of everything you wish you’d never heard of. It’s the story of man’s injustice to his fellow man, and woman, and non-binary person. If you’ve lived long enough, you’ve heard some evil history; add a few more years and you’ve lived some of it, and the aftermath. Everyone has a […]

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HISTORY MATTERS WHEN YOU’RE NOT LOOKING

June 2, 2021 by

History matters more to history majors? We like to think so, but history matters to everyone else, too. It matters with personal history, house history, town history, business history, and the big history between nations. The key to remember is that it always starts small. And it starts with one question: What happened?

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LIFE STORIES: WHEN PERSONAL HISTORY IS NOT ENOUGH

April 10, 2021 by

Life stories come in every form and flavor from hot to cold, bland to sassy, truthful to made up. Tell the same stories long enough to the same people and they start to wonder: “How many times have we heard this stuff?” “Do they know they’ve told the same story over and over?” If you’ve […]

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HISTORICAL ADVICE: THIS IS WORTH SOMETHING, ISN’T IT

March 3, 2021 by

Historical advice usually comes from a book, or a class where some gray bearded funky old man in a musty suit jacket rambles on and on in a cloud of dandruff. Doing history is different than studying history. History museums Do History for everyone else. Museum visitors walk from exhibit to exhibit, floor to floor, […]

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