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...

I write today to correct an injustice of my own making. In a recent post here poking some fun at former VP Mike Pence and his recent book deal, I said that Pence had  " fled Capitol Hill with secret service protection while a crowd chanted for his death." Actually, it now appears that he did not "flee Capitol Hill." In fact, although he allowed his security detail to move him to a secure room within the Capitol complex, he did insist on staying there, while the detail apparently tried to talk him into getting into his limo and letting them take him to the VP residence. If the story is accurate , then we have to say that Pence made just the right call. By staying in the building, Pence allowed for the resumption of the normal constitutional process once the mob wave had receded.  So, whatever we think of him -- I hope regular readers here will appreciate that I'm not a fan -- reasonable people must concede that at one juncture in his life, one that may prove i...