Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

Here.

To the editor:

First it was Donald Trump as the Republican Presidential candidate. Now it’s Brexit.

Democracy may be the best form of government, but it does have its risks.

Bill Weber, La Canada

Note from KBJ: The ruling class loves the people when and only when the people go along with the ruling class.

Here.

Here.

As progressives (leftists) see it, there is no chance that they are wrong, misguided, mistaken, or incorrect (much less confused) about anything they believe. They are right, and that's all there is to it. The only question, in their minds, is why anyone would hold a different view of things. This truly puzzles them. The only explanation they can come up with is that those who disagree with them (i.e., don't share their beliefs or values) are badly motivated. They're racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, bigoted, prejudiced, nativist, restrictionist, intolerant, Islamophobic, and either evil or stupid (or both). In Jeremy Bentham's terminology, they have a "sinister interest."

You will recognize this as name-calling rather than arguing. (We might think of it, sarcastically, as argument by name-calling.) Progressives have lost the ability to argue. To argue is to respect your interlocutor as a person, and progressives have no respect for those who disagree with them. It's about winning, not persuading. The aim is to crush opposition, not discover the truth. Progressives want power, and will do whatever it takes to get it. This is what I mean when I say, as I often do, that to a progressive, the end justifies the means. See here for an illuminating essay.

I'm pleased as punch to report that my Arizona Wildcats have advanced to the finals of the College World Series. The best-of-three series begins Monday night in Omaha. You can watch it on ESPN. The Cats will play either TCU or Coastal Carolina, whichever team wins tonight's game. (I'm watching it on ESPN right now.) Bear down, Cats!

Addendum: Coastal Carolina beat TCU, so the finals are set. It'll be the Arizona Wildcats against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. The Cats are 4-1 so far in the College World Series. They've scored 22 runs and given up six. Six runs in five games!

This female prosecutor needs to be removed from office. She wouldn't be so solicitous of Muslims if she were the rape victim.

Today is the 140th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, in which Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) and more than 250 officers and soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry were killed by a combined force of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. It so happens that I finished reading Custer's book My Life on the Plains: or, Personal Experiences with Indians (1874; reprint 1962) yesterday. (I began reading it on 31 May, in Scotland.) If you haven't read this book and are at all interested in the American West, Indians, or military history, you should read it. I'm a good writer (if I may be so bold as to say so), but I'm not half as good as Custer was. Custer's stories are not only well-written; they're spellbinding. If you want to see what I mean, read pages 201 to 219 of this book, which is available on Google Books for free. It's Custer's account of a battle with the Sioux Indians on the Yellowstone River in the summer of 1873, while he was providing security to a surveying expedition. By the way, I found my dog Autie on the street three years ago today. He was skin and bones. I took him in and today he is healthy and happy at 93 pounds! I named him after Custer, whose youthful nickname was "Autie" (for "Armstrong").

Addendum: Custer was a Brevet (temporary) General during the Civil War, which is why he is sometimes referred to as "General Custer." When the war ended, his rank reverted to Lieutenant Colonel.

Addendum 2: There is little doubt in my mind that, had he survived the Indian wars, Custer would have been elected president of the United States. He was ambitious; he was intensely political; he had charisma; he was a student of history; he was far more intelligent than most of his peers; he was literate and cultured; and, perhaps most importantly (then as now), he was adept at self-promotion. His wife Elizabeth ("Libbie") (1842-1933) would have made an elegant and gracious First Lady.