Derek Black

As we started this conversation, the fact that the White House is conceding that it can't do everything to the Department of Education that it wants to do without Congress is a good thing. If you read the five executive orders or four, however many that they've already issued there, it's a good thing that actually if you read them carefully –

As we started this conversation, the fact that the White House is conceding that it can't do everything to the Department of Education that it wants to do without Congress is a good thing. If you read the five executive orders or four, however many that they've already issued there, it's a good thing that actually if you read them carefully –

It's mostly directing appointees to think about stuff, not actually do stuff, but to think about stuff. And of course, the president can appoint them to think about stuff. If they do the stuff they're thinking about, that becomes a problem. But again, it is this sort of like, can I grab a headline about what would sound like an awful thing?

It's mostly directing appointees to think about stuff, not actually do stuff, but to think about stuff. And of course, the president can appoint them to think about stuff. If they do the stuff they're thinking about, that becomes a problem. But again, it is this sort of like, can I grab a headline about what would sound like an awful thing?

It's mostly directing appointees to think about stuff, not actually do stuff, but to think about stuff. And of course, the president can appoint them to think about stuff. If they do the stuff they're thinking about, that becomes a problem. But again, it is this sort of like, can I grab a headline about what would sound like an awful thing?

But really all I've done is talk to people to think about that reality. That gives me some faith, right? And notwithstanding the fact that this United States Supreme Court granted an immunity to all presidents that – I never could have imagined, you know, this court does, you know, issue opinions that surprise us every single term, and they line up with the rule of law.

But really all I've done is talk to people to think about that reality. That gives me some faith, right? And notwithstanding the fact that this United States Supreme Court granted an immunity to all presidents that – I never could have imagined, you know, this court does, you know, issue opinions that surprise us every single term, and they line up with the rule of law.

But really all I've done is talk to people to think about that reality. That gives me some faith, right? And notwithstanding the fact that this United States Supreme Court granted an immunity to all presidents that – I never could have imagined, you know, this court does, you know, issue opinions that surprise us every single term, and they line up with the rule of law.

It's just, it's unpredictable to some extent which opinions those are going to be. So, I have this faith, you know, these sort of pieces of the puzzle that still suggest we're still a democracy and are going to remain one, but I have my really bad days. I think a lot of people have a bad day every day right now. I just feel thankful mine are fewer and further between than others.

It's just, it's unpredictable to some extent which opinions those are going to be. So, I have this faith, you know, these sort of pieces of the puzzle that still suggest we're still a democracy and are going to remain one, but I have my really bad days. I think a lot of people have a bad day every day right now. I just feel thankful mine are fewer and further between than others.

It's just, it's unpredictable to some extent which opinions those are going to be. So, I have this faith, you know, these sort of pieces of the puzzle that still suggest we're still a democracy and are going to remain one, but I have my really bad days. I think a lot of people have a bad day every day right now. I just feel thankful mine are fewer and further between than others.

And maybe that's just psychological coping. I don't know.

And maybe that's just psychological coping. I don't know.

And maybe that's just psychological coping. I don't know.

Yes, I spent a pretty good deal of time on this disunion question in my new book, Dangerous Learning, because most of that book is focused on the three decades leading up to the Civil War. So the Civil War doesn't just happen overnight. It happens over the course of... late 1820s to 1860, with the South just saber-rattling over and over again, openly talking about disunion, right?

Yes, I spent a pretty good deal of time on this disunion question in my new book, Dangerous Learning, because most of that book is focused on the three decades leading up to the Civil War. So the Civil War doesn't just happen overnight. It happens over the course of... late 1820s to 1860, with the South just saber-rattling over and over again, openly talking about disunion, right?

Yes, I spent a pretty good deal of time on this disunion question in my new book, Dangerous Learning, because most of that book is focused on the three decades leading up to the Civil War. So the Civil War doesn't just happen overnight. It happens over the course of... late 1820s to 1860, with the South just saber-rattling over and over again, openly talking about disunion, right?

So that you had a South that actually was diverse in lots of ways in its opinions about various things. I'm not going to say that they were a bunch of abolitionists, but there was a manumission society in North Carolina in 1829 that had, I think, 1,600 members. The very idea of 1,600 anti-slavery advocates in North Carolina in the 1820s is shocking to a lot of people.

So that you had a South that actually was diverse in lots of ways in its opinions about various things. I'm not going to say that they were a bunch of abolitionists, but there was a manumission society in North Carolina in 1829 that had, I think, 1,600 members. The very idea of 1,600 anti-slavery advocates in North Carolina in the 1820s is shocking to a lot of people.

So that you had a South that actually was diverse in lots of ways in its opinions about various things. I'm not going to say that they were a bunch of abolitionists, but there was a manumission society in North Carolina in 1829 that had, I think, 1,600 members. The very idea of 1,600 anti-slavery advocates in North Carolina in the 1820s is shocking to a lot of people.