Tag Archives: politics

White Paper: Samuel Ryan Curtis as a Political and Military General in the American Civil War

Posted on December 18, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Samuel Ryan Curtis (1805–1866) was one of the most unusual Union generals of the Civil War: an engineer, a West Point graduate, a three-term Congressman, a military administrator, and the victor of the strategically important Battle of Pea … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Infantas as Brides in European Royal Diplomacy—and Whether the Alliances Held

Posted on December 16, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive summary From the late medieval period through the 18th century, the daughters of Iberian monarchs—infantas of Spain (and similarly in Portugal)—were among Europe’s most valuable diplomatic assets. Their marriages were not primarily “romantic unions,” but instruments designed to (1) … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Mothers of the Kings of Judah: A Biblicist Examination of Maternal Backgrounds, Status, and Theological Significance

Posted on December 15, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary The biblical record of the kings of Judah is unique among ancient Near Eastern royal annals in its consistent naming of the king’s mother (Hebrew: ’ēm hammélek). Far from being incidental genealogical detail, this pattern signals theological, moral, … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Darfur: A Social and Political History from Regional Polity to Humanitarian Catastrophe

Posted on December 15, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Darfur, a region in western Sudan roughly the size of France, has a long and complex social and political history that predates colonial boundaries and modern nation-states. Far from being an inherently violent or stateless zone, Darfur was … Continue reading →

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A Typology of Reasons Why Animals Are Worthwhile to People: A White Paper on Instrumental, Relational, Moral, and Civilizational Value

Posted on December 15, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Debates about the value of animals often collapse into narrow frames: economic utility, emotional attachment, environmentalism, or animal rights. Such reductions obscure the reality that animals matter to people for multiple, overlapping, and historically persistent reasons. This white … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Why Polk County, Florida—and Sheriff Grady Judd—Became a National Flash Point in America’s Crime Debate

Posted on December 15, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive summary Polk County sits at a crossroads of American cultural politics about crime: fast growth, suburban–exurban churn, and an “I-4 corridor” media ecosystem that turns local incidents into national content. Sheriff Grady Judd has amplified that effect through an … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Evidence That Would Support or Contradict “Coulter’s Law” in Crime Reporting

Posted on December 15, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive summary “Coulter’s Law” is commonly described as a claim about delay: the longer it takes the news media to identify a perpetrator (often framed around mass shootings or notorious incidents), the less likely the perpetrator is to be a … Continue reading →

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Egypt’s Repeated Efforts to Project Power into the Levant during the Third Intermediate Period (c. 1069–664 BCE): A Biblicist White Paper

Posted on December 14, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary The Third Intermediate Period (TIP) marks Egypt’s transition from New Kingdom imperial dominance to a fractured landscape of Libyan dynasties, rival priesthoods, and regional strongmen. Modern historiography often emphasizes decline and disunity. The biblical record, however, fills in … Continue reading →

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Plain Speaking and the Construction of Legitimacy: A White Paper on Rhetorical Transparency as a Strategy of Authority

Posted on December 13, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Plain speaking—characterized by direct language, minimal euphemism, and an aversion to ornamental or evasive rhetoric—has historically functioned as a powerful strategy for establishing legitimacy across political, religious, legal, and institutional contexts. This white paper examines plain speaking not … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Watermelon Cultivation in Iranian Baluchistan as “Water Export” — and Better Drought-Tolerant Alternatives

Posted on December 13, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive summary Iran’s push to grow and market irrigated watermelons in Sistan & Baluchestan (Baluchistan) is frequently criticized because it converts scarce groundwater into a bulky, low-value, high-water commodity—effectively exporting “virtual water” out of a hyper-arid region. Analysts and researchers … Continue reading →

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