Week of March 11, 2013

Up Front

HNN Hot Topics: Saint Patrick's Day Tags: Hot Topics , Ireland, Irish, Irish-Americans, St. Patrick's Day

Did the New Pope Collaborate with the Argentine Military Junta? David Austin Walsh Historians press for caution, avoid rushing to judgment. Tags: Argentina, Francis, junta, papacy

HNN Feature: The Official Historians of Congress

Matthew Wasniewski's Front Row Seat to History Kelsey McKernie Why the Historian of the House of Representatives loves his job. Tags: careers, House Historian, Matthew Wasniewski, profiles

Donald Ritchie: The Senate's Expert on the Senate Mariana Villa It's a challenging, but rewarding, task to document a 224-year-old institution. Tags: careers, Donald Ritchie, profiles, Senate Historian

News at Home

"Debt Crisis": The Myth Behind the Myth Ira Chernus's MythicAmerica Obama would have better luck with the budget when he remembers most Americans don't care about economic theory. Tags: Debt crisis, economics, growth, Paul Krugman

Compromise as the Constitution’s Foundation David Brian Robertson The very concept of a written U.S. Constitution is a compromise -- and it's a good lesson for our leaders today. Tags: Constitution, Founding Fathers, compromise, James Madison

News Abroad

The Epic Story of the C-130, the Air Force's Monument to Pork Jeremiah Goulka Or, how Congress learned to stop worrying and love spending money on planes even the Pentagon doesn't want. Tags: Congress, corruption, Pentagon, pork-barrel spending

Hugo Chavez's Sullied Progressive Legacy in the Mideast Juan Cole He confused anti-imperialism and anti-Americanism with a genuine commitment to improving the lives of the people. Tags: Hugo Chavez, Iran, Libya, Syria

A Modest Proposal to House Republicans: Cut the Nuclear Weapons Budget Lawrence S. Wittner The U.S. wastes hundreds of billions of dollars on a bloated nuclear arsenal. Tags: budget cuts, defense spending, nuclear weapons, Republican Party

In Defense of Lars Hedegaard Daniel Pipes The Danish historian was the target of an assassination attempt by radical Muslims; now he's the victim of character assassination by the New York Times. Tags: Denmark, Islamism, Lars Hedegaard, radical Islam

Senior al-Qaeda Veteran Captured, But His Successors Roam the Planet Walid Phares The trial of Suleiman Abu Ghaith is ultimately strategically irrelevant. Tags: Al Qaeda, counter-terrorism, Osama bin Laden, Suleiman Abu Ghaith

Historians & History

When It Comes to Transparency, Obama's Channeling His Inner Nixon Mary L. Dudziak Nixon suppressed his own controversial foreign policy white paper in 1973. Tags: Richard Nixon, Cambodia, Vietnam War, Barack Obama

Lucy Lobdell to Lilly Ledbetter: the First Steps on the Rocky Road to Equal Pay William Klaber "You could be housekeeper or wife: indentured servant or slave." Tags: equal pay, feminism, gender, Women's History Month

Culture Watch

A Tumultuous Ride Back to JFK’s Camelot with "Jackie" Bruce Chadwick Tina Benko is sensational as the chic First Lady. Tags: Jackie, JFK, City Center Stage, theater reviews

Books

Review of Colm Toibin's The Testament of Mary Jim Cullen A novel in vein of, yet distinct from, The Last Temptation of Christ. Tags: Colm Toibin, Gospel of John, synoptic gospels, The Testament of Mary

Review of Ray Raphael's Constitutional Myths Jim Cullen A lively, engaging rebuttal to conservative Constitutional interpretation. Tags: Constitutional Myths, Founding Fathers, Constitution, Ray Raphael