Category Archives: History

Remembering our history

Posted on June 8, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Commentary by Heather Cox Richardson (thanks to Mary Lou P.) Ed Note: You can click this link to find all 10 episodes of Journey to American Democracy | Ten Steps to Revolution. All lessons to be remembered. From HCR’s newsletter: … Continue reading →

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CNN To Exclusively Air Live George Clooney’s Five-Time Tony® Nominated Broadway Play “Good Night, And Good Luck” on Saturday, June 7 at 7pm ET Across CNN Platforms

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Mary Jane F. NEW YORK – (May 15, 2025) – CNN announced today that Good Night, and Good Luck, the critically-acclaimed new play by George Clooney and Grant Heslov that has shattered box office records and is now nominated for five 2025 Tony Awards, will air … Continue reading →

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“I do not want to see the Republican party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny—Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear.” Margaret Chase Smith

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Commentary by Heather Cox Richardson “I would like to speak briefly and simply about a serious national condition,” Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine told her colleagues on June 1, 1950. “It is a national feeling of fear and frustration … Continue reading →

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May we remember

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Jim deMaine

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We Are Not Being Asked to Run Into Cannon Fire. We Just Need to Speak Up.

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Jim deMaine

By Drew Gilpin Faust in the NYT Ms. Faust is the author of “This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War” and a former president of Harvard University. Frederick Douglass thought Decoration Day — the original name for Memorial … Continue reading →

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Quo vadis, Pope Leo XIV? – commentary by Heather Cox Richardson

Posted on May 9, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Ed note from ChatGPT: “Quo vadis?” is Latin for “Where are you going?” or more literally, “Where are you marching?” It’s famously associated with a Christian tradition involving Saint Peter. According to the apocryphal Acts of Peter, as Peter was … Continue reading →

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Ten Famous American Horses

Posted on May 4, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Heather Cox Richardson I had thought to post a picture tonight and then realized that today was the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby. The event was launched in 1875 as horse racing—with its famous Black jockeys, who won more … Continue reading →

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Are we on the cusp of a new religious revival?

Posted on May 3, 2025 by Jim deMaine

By David Brooks Opinion Columnist in the NYT – article titled “How to Survive the Trump Years With Your Spirit Intact” I had forgotten how exhausting it is to live in Donald Trump’s world. He’s not only a political figure. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Government, happiness, History, Mental Health, Religion | 1 Comment

See (and hear) the memorable Mel Blanc

Posted on May 2, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Bob P.

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The Nosh: A restaurant wokking tour through Seattle’s CID (Tai Tung, Bruce Lee’s table and more)

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Jim deMaine

You may have eaten a meal in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, but how much do you know about its history? Click here for a quick video tour. Host Rachel Belle sets out on foot for the popular Tastes of the Chinatown International District tour … Continue reading →

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The Ugly Historical Echoes of Kennedy’s Comments on Autism

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Jim deMaine

By Jessica Grose Opinion Writer in the NYT (thanks to Ed M) Last week Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held his first news briefing as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, to address a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and … Continue reading →

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‘Don’t Fight the Stupidity’ and Other Relevant Bonhoeffer Advice

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Jim deMaine

by Tim Snyder in Sojourners (thanks to Mary Jane F.) As a theologian, I get nervous when reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer becomes all too relevant. I’m the kind of theologian who would rather not find myself in what some scholars refer … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Essays, Ethics, Government, History, Religion | Comments Off

📢 An Activist’s Prayer to the Fearless Women Who Came Before—and Stand Among—Us

Posted on March 22, 2025 by Jim deMaine

by Laurie Woodward Garcia and People Power United (thanks to Bob P.) 🗽People Power United is a grassroots group of over 250,000+ members in all 50 states-powered by people like YOU. We champion progress and power to the people. Click here to … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday, Maine

Posted on March 15, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Heather Cox Richardson March 15 is a crucially important day in U.S. history As the man who taught me to use a chainsaw said, it is immortalized by Shakespeare’s famous warning: “Cedar! Beware the adze of March!” He put it … Continue reading →

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From Churchill to Trump – a terrifying transition

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Commentary by Heather Cox Richardson (thanks to Mary M.) In the gym of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946, former and future prime minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill rose to deliver a speech. Formally titled … Continue reading →

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Remembering Skyline resident Alan Black

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Mary M. — from The History Link Supporter Spotlight: Alan F. Black Charitable Fund We are filled with gratitude for the Alan F. Black Charitable Fund’s wonderfully generous support of the Forest History Project, which, when combined with … Continue reading →

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Understanding RFK Jr.

Posted on February 11, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Ed note: Since the time of Pasteur, Lister, Koch and Semmelweis we’ve all (but for a few) accepted the germ theory of disease. One of those few who does not accept established science is RFK Jr. Yet, he’s about to … Continue reading →

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The Pediatrician’s Lament

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Eleanor R. Menzin, M.D. in The New England Journal of Medicine “It’s your fault!” the renowned infectious disease attending told the cluster of students and residents. In the late 1990s, the varicella vaccine was relatively new, and uptake was disappointingly low. “You … Continue reading →

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Commentary on Day One

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Ed note: Somehow the Trump cartoons don’t seem funny to me anymore. They reflect the negativity that is now reality and evoke sadness rather than humor. Historian Heather Cox Richardson helps me see the present in an historical context. As … Continue reading →

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Two great presidents’ masterful inaugural speeches

Posted on January 20, 2025 by Jim deMaine

By David Adler in the Seattle Times Special to The Idaho Statesman When Donald Trump assumes office Monday, as the 47th president of the United States, he will mark the solemn occasion with an inaugural address. While not required by the … Continue reading →

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Yes, there are heroes

Posted on January 20, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Commentary by Heather Cox Richardson You hear sometimes, now that we know the sordid details of the lives of some of our leading figures, that America has no heroes left. When I was writing a book about the Wounded Knee … Continue reading →

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Dick’s Drive-In begins serving Seattle hamburgers on January 28, 1954.

Posted on January 17, 2025 by Jim deMaine

In History Link – thanks to Pam P. On January 28, 1954, Dick’s Drive-In opens to begin serving hamburgers, french fries, and milkshakes on NE 45th Street in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. Dick’s comes to represent the quintessential 1950s, a cross … Continue reading →

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Can you read cursive? It’s a superpower the National Archives is looking for.

Posted on January 12, 2025 by Jim deMaine

Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY If you can read cursive, the National Archives would like a word. Or a few million. More than 200 years worth of U.S. documents are in need of transcribing (or at least classifying) and the vast … Continue reading →

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