Ramblings of a Warped Mind

The recent political battles over congressional districts reveal something deeper about the structure of American society than about the politicians […]

The Day the Editors Disappeared A few summers ago, imagine a water main breaking somewhere in Knox County. Within minutes,

Too Much Democracy, Not Enough Republic Closed primaries will not save Knox County politics. Closed primaries will not end polarization.

Permanent Memory, Forgotten Wisdom, and the Psychological Cost of the Endless Archive A generation—so-called Gen Z and soon Gen Alpha—raised

A reader recently asked me a fair question: “What books most influenced More Republic, Less Cowbell?” The answer surprised me

Every book grows from a shelf of older books. No serious writer emerges from a vacuum. Every argument carries fingerprints

On June 12, 1987, Ronald Reagan stood before the Brandenburg Gate in divided Berlin and delivered one of the defining

The Gray Line We Should Not Cross A short video circulated this week out of Knox County. In the video,

I will be at the Knoxville Book Festival May 2–3Knoxville Convention CenterKnoxville, Tennessee I will have a booth set up

American democracy rests on a simple premise that once required no defense: political parties choose their own candidates. Knox County