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 Let us try before we die to make some sense of life. We’re neither pure nor wise nor good; we’ll do the best we know; we’ll build our house and chop our wood and make our garden grow. —From Candide, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Richard Wilbur On page 184 of…
by Michael Liss My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have…
by Michael Liss In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire…. We’ll have term limits for Congress. And mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old. —Nikki Haley, age 51, announcing her candidacy. Yes, she did. Nikki Haley went there. Of course, her ostensible target is America’s best-known octogenarian (the…
by Michael Liss However tiresome to others, the most indefatigable orator is never tedious to himself. The sound of his own voice never loses its harmony to his own ear; and among the delusions, which self-love is ever assiduous in attempting to pass upon virtue, he fancies himself to be sounding the sweetest tones. —John…
by Michael Liss I’ve always liked this image. It’s quiet, it sneaks up on you, brings back old memories of pizza parlors, barbershop walls and drug-store soda fountains. Norman Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms” had been inspired by FDR’s 1941 Annual Message, given at a time when Germany had swept through much of Europe, and democracy was…
by Michael Liss The word arrived from the furniture store. They have come! After five months of supply-chain suspended animation, our 15 feet of 72-inch-high bookcases are here. Bibliophiles everywhere (well, everywhere in my family) raised their voices in praise. I’m excited. Seriously excited. My wife, son, and daughter are excited. While we already had…
by Michael Liss Never before in world history has a nation been so endowed with wealth and power, yet so plagued with doubt as to the proper use of that wealth and power. Grim, right? Would you feel better or worse if I told you that came from written testimony given to Congress by Walter…
by Michael Liss Simply because people disagree with an opinion is not a basis for questioning the legitimacy of the court. —Chief Justice John Roberts Ah, if only it were that simple. It’s not, so fasten your seatbelt because the men and women in black are back. First, the good news. The Court welcomed its…
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…