Michael is an attorney in New York, and the creator of Syncopated Politics, a blog focusing on the intersection of history and politics (with occasional side-trips to Supreme Court rulings, economic conferences, films, and opera). He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University (Political Science) and Fordham University Law School. He is fortunate enough to have married brilliantly and has two endlessly fascinating children, about whom he talks far too much. Email: mlissnyc [at] gmail.com
by Michael Liss I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me. —JFK September 12, 1960. Just eight weeks before the 1960 election,…
by Michael Liss Gentlemen, I’m putting the two of you on the hot seat with me. I want that third alternative! —Captain James T. Kirk, USS Enterprise, Stardate 3289.8 Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Ron DeSantis and Biden. Trump and Kamala Harris. DeSantis and Amy Klobuchar. Ron Scott and Elizabeth Warren. Greg Abbott and Pete…
by Michael Liss In interpreting what is meant by the Fourteenth Amendment’s reference to ‘liberty,’ we must guard against the natural human tendency to confuse what that Amendment protects with our own ardent views about the liberty that Americans should enjoy. –Justice Samuel Alito Elections have consequences. Sometimes those consequences may be unintended, but they…
by Michael Liss Carved in marble above the entrance to the Supreme Court Building is the motto: “Equal Justice Under The Law.” It is a noble sentiment, expressing the highest ideals of our nation. Here, in this building, before these nine robed figures, the one essential that soars above means, above influence, and above race,…
by Michael Liss Although Mother and Father were not much alike, both were revolted by vulgarity, boastfulness, conniving, and flattery. There was a family understanding that defeat was preferable to viciousness, that one’s achievements must be gained honorably. —Isaac Bashevis Singer I think we would all agree that Singer’s parents had all the right values…
by Michael Liss I have a terrific pain in the back of my head. —Franklin Delano Roosevelt, April 12, 1945. It was all so fast. Just moments earlier, FDR was sitting for an official portrait, reading the newspapers, writing a few notes. Now, after 12 years of turmoil, World War and Depression, he is gone,…
by Michael Liss Judge [Ketanji Brown] Jackson is an extraordinary person with an extraordinary American story[,] … [as well as] impeccable credentials and a deep knowledge of the law…, but I am unable to consent to the nomination. —Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) At least Ben was polite about it. The rest of Judge Jackson’s hearing…
by Michael Liss Whoever attentively considers the different departments of power must perceive, that, in a government in which they are separated from each other, the judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution; because it will be least in a capacity to…
by Michael Liss I come to praise bakeries past and present. And older men and women faithfully carrying out their duties to their grandchildren. Of bakeries, once too many to count in my city, but, like old loves, we remember Glaser’s (closed every August so the family could return to Germany), Gertels (each cake caused…
by Michael Liss Nearly 250 years is not quite Shakespeare, but if The Wealth of Nations were a play, we would say it has had a pretty good run. Is it a dusty old warhorse, to be read while sitting in a winged-back chair with a snifter of brandy, or still relevant today? Can it…
But this Nation was not founded solely on the principle of citizens’ rights. Equally important, though too often not discussed, is the citizen’s responsibility. For our privileges can be no greater than our obligations. —John F. Kennedy, May 18, 1963, Nashville May, 1963. JFK is in a centrifuge, buffeted by a series of challenges from…
by Michael Liss Do we Americans really have a shared, founding mythology that unites us in a desire to work together for the common good? I wrote that, last month, in “The Coupist’s Cookbook,” and was challenged in an email by a friendly but dubious reader. Is there a common history, a type of universal…
by Michael Liss Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog… It could have worked. It almost did. It may in the future. A lovely little coup attempt by Former President Trump and his posse. A little violence. A sprinkling of eager state and local “public servants” who planned…
by Michael Liss I live on an island. It happens to be a rather densely populated island, with a surface that seems largely covered by steel, masonry, glass, and architectural curtain wall, with nary a coconut or palm tree in sight. Still, it’s an island. We island dwellers engage in R&R differently than our suburbanite…
by Michael Liss It entered the bloodstream somewhere in Asia in the 1340s, killing ruthlessly and abundantly there—in India, Asia Minor, Persia, Syria, and Egypt. Trading routes, including the legendary Silk Road, were its primary arteries. In 1347, it penetrated Europe on 12 ships from the Black Sea, destination Messina in Sicily. The flotilla brought…
by Michael Liss We are all Republicans; we are all Federalists. —Thomas Jefferson, March 4, 1801 Inauguration Day, 1801. John Adams may have beat it out of town on the 4:00 a.m. stage to Baltimore, but the podium filled with dignitaries, none more impressive than the man taking the Oath of Office. Thomas Jefferson, Poet…
by Michael Liss Take mankind as they are, and what are they governed by? Their passions. There may be in every government a few choice spirits, who may act from more worthy motives. One great error is that we suppose mankind more honest than they are. Our prevailing passions are ambition and interest… –Alexander Hamilton,…
by Michael Liss My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me. —Benjamin Disraeli John Adams was not the kind of man who easily agreed, and it showed. Nor was he the kind of man who found others agreeable. Few have accomplished so much in life while gaining so little satisfaction from…
by Michael Liss There was a time when we had no political parties. It was brief, like the glow of a firefly on a warm late summer evening, but it occurred. There were no political parties at the time of the American Revolution, or when the newly freed colonies joined in the Articles of Confederation.…
by Michael Liss Let’s talk about voter suppression. Not about whether it’s good or bad or legal or moral (you can get more than enough of that virtually 24/7), but about what practical implications it might have. I have looked at the 35 Presidential Elections from 1880 to 2020 to see how tight they were,…