Jamesian Philosophy Refreshed

Many were despairing of such an event. But jury selection is now underway. The former President, Donald Trump, is now being tried in a court whose judgment is not subject to any presidential pardon. He is not being tried for insurrection. He is being tried for falsifying business records. But he is on trial -- his odd de facto immunity from any such proceedings is at an end.  Nothing even remotely like this has happened in our country since 1807, when Aaron Burr went on trial.  Burr was not a former President, of course. Burr was a former Vice President. Another difference: Burr was tried by a federal court. He could presumably have pardoned himself had he been convicted there and had somehow thereafter been elected President. So ... not an exact likeness to the current situation.   But let's talk a bit about Burr. He was the guy who inspired the 12th amendment, changing the way vice presidents are selected, largely so that Jefferson could replace him with George Cl...

A year ago, I saw the following question on Quora. "Why did Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote a musical about Alexander Hamilton? Was he popular at the time of the Revolution or during his presidency?" I am going back to that old post now, chiefly because it helps me illustrate what a big-hearted soul I am.  I wrote a reply to that question (or, strictly, those questions) that barely even mentioned the fact that, no, Hamilton never had a "presidency".  Instead, since I am a big-hearted soul, I gave that gaffe a pass and focused on what makes Hamilton a gripping musical.    For the record, though, the display of ignorance there tears me up inside.  I have to imagine this is a fairly young person betrayed by a disastrously bad education system, one that obviously has not conveyed the basics of the life of one of our founders.  On a slightly related point: I overheard a conversation not too long ago in which the guy on his cell phone in a restaurant near me was talkin...