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Following the latest twists of the government shutdown this month in Washington, I happened across the old piece I wrote way back in 2011 during an Obama-era shutdown that seemed oddly relevant: “Government Shutdowns: Who dreamed up this crazy idea?” Viral History Blog, April 11, 2011.
Archives:
- USDA National Agriculture Library, Special Collections: Kenneth Ackerman Papers, 1990-2001. (Collection from my time as administrator of the USDA’s Risk Management Agency and manager of the USDA Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.)
- C-SPAN Archives: ten programs (2003-2019) mostly as author and as Federal official.
Some favorites from over the last few years:
- “Report from Cuba,” American Heritage Magazine, Fall 2024.
- “When Abortion Roiled 19th Century New York,” American Heritage Magazine, Summer 2022.
- “In Search of Kreplach: More Than Just Jewish Ravioli,” B’nai Brith Magazine, Winter 2021. Winner of the Simon Rockower Award. 1st Place, Excellence in Writing about Food and Wine.
- “The Immigrant Forger: Hero or Villain?“ B’nai B’rith Magazine, Summer, 2019.
- “The Garfield Assassination Altered American History, But Is Woefully Forgotten today.” The case for a historical marker on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Smithsonian.com, March 2, 2018.
- “How an Immigrant Saloon of 1840s New York Gave Birth to B’nai B’rith.” B’nai B’rith Magazine, Winter 2018.
- “Trotsky in New York, 1917: A Reluctant Jew in a Jewish City.” B’nai B’rith Magazine, March 28, 2017. Winner of the 2018 Simon Rickower Award, 1st Place, Journalistic Excellence in American Jewish History!!
- “Is Jeremy Corbyn a Trotskyist? Seriously?” Huffington Post, August 23, 2016.
- “Crop Insurance: Priority 1.” Agripulse August 1, 2016.
On some famous people:
On financial history:
- “History Suggests Grand Bargain to Avoid Fiscal Cliff,” Bloomberg Echoes, November 14, 2012.
- “How an Act of Congress Killed the U.S. Gold Market in 1864,” Bloomberg Echoes, August 2, 2012.
- “In 1868, a Wild Fraud to Dwarf Today’s Political Sleaze,” Bloomberg Echoes, June 14, 2012.
- “One Gold Corner that Failed.” Futures, February 1986.
- “Takeovers, the Old-Fashioned Way” (1868 Erie Railway War) (Pg.1)(Pg.2)(Pg.3) Legal Times, February 1986.
Book reviews:
- “Apostle of Liberation: AME Bishop Paul Quinn and the Underground Railroad,” an interview with author Cheryl Janifer LaRoche, Washington Independent Review of Books, May 20, 2025.
- “When Charlie Met Joan: The Tragedy of the Chaplin Trials and the Failings of American Law,” Washington Independent Review of Books,” February 28, 2025.
- “The Wolves of K Street: The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over Big Government,” Washington Independent Review of Books, May 17, 2024.
- “The Last Ships from Hamburg: Business, Rivalry, and the Race to Save Russia’s Jews on the Eve of World War I, ” Washington Independent Review of Books, December 18, 2023.
- “The Mechanical Horse: How the Bicycle Reshaped American Life,” Washington Independent Review of Books, April 4, 2016.
- “First Son: The Biography of Richard M. Daley,” Washington Independent Review of Books, May 13, 2013.
- “Review Essay: The Celebrity Son,” (a review of Jason Emerson’s Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln) Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, Summer 2013.
- “Clarence Darrow Twice.” Washington Independent Review of Books, June 2011.
On Boss Tweed, James Garfield, and J. Edgar Hoover:
- “The Garfield Assassination Altered American History, But Is Woefully Forgotten Today.” Smithsonian Magazine, November 19, 2018.
- “5 Myths about J. Edgar Hoover,” Washington Post, November 13, 2011.
- “Another J. Edgar Hoover?” Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2007.
- “If He Wanted A Stadium, There Would be One.” New York Times, March 6, 2005.
On writing from the Writers Center:
On publishing:
On politics from Roll Call, Huffington Post, and more:
- “Government Shutdowns: Who dreamed up this crazy idea?” Viral History Blog, April 11, 2011.
- “Will Bernie Sanders Help Elect Donald Trump President in 2o16?” Huffington Post, May 5, 2016.
- “Memo to Mitt Romney: A ‘Brokered’ Convention Won’t Solve Your Trump Problem,” Huffington Post, March 11, 2016.
- “History Lesson: Bernie Sanders is no ‘Communist,’ and ‘Democratic Socialists’ are as American as Apple Pie,” Huffington Post, March 4, 2016.
- “An Idea for Barack Obama: Why Not Pick Sen. Dick Lugar as Secretary of State?” Huffington Post, January 27, 2013.
- “Is John Boehner, 2013, the New Joe Cannon, 1910?” Huffington Post, January 11, 2013.
- “Is It Time to Scrap the National Political Conventions,” Huffington Post, August 27, 2012.
- “Generals as Candidates: Not Always Such a Winning Combination.” Roll Call, October 27, 2003.
- “California in Context: Recall Opens Door to New Voters.” Roll Call, September 23, 2003,
- “War Makes Political Havoc for Presidents and Challengers Alike.” Roll Call, April 7, 2003.
- “Gephardt Could Buck History with Longer Primary Season.” Roll Call, February 7, 2003.
- “History Shows That This Year’s Senate Flip Isn’t Really Unprecedented.” Roll Call, June 21, 2001.
- “GOP Win: Goodbye to the New Deal Coalition?,” Brown (University) Daily Herald, November 6, 1972.
On running and diving:
On agriculture and law:
- “A Tale of Two Maps: Why Crop Insurance is Different,” OFW Ag/FDA Blog, March 22, 2016.
- “Where are the ‘Farmers and Ranchers for Donald J. Trump?’ Let along for Ted Cruz?” OFW Ag/FDA Blog, March 31, 2016.
- “RMA’s 2.2 Precent ‘Improper Payment’ Rate: Why This Matters,” OFW Ag/FDA Blog, March 2, 2016.
- “For Crop Insurance AIs, a New Financial Environment,” OFWAg/FDA Blog, February 9, 2016.
- “Arbitration in Federal Crop Insurance AIP-Farmer Disputes,” OFW Ag/FDA Blog, February 1, 2016.
- “Crop Insurance Appropriations – A Clue for the next SRA?” OFW Ag/FDA Blog, June 10, 2014.
- “For Drought-Hit Farmers, USDA’s Federal Crop Insurance Can Help, But Only If You Understand the Rules,” OFW Ag/FDA Blog, May 19, 2014.
- “The 2014 Farm Bill: The Challenge for Farm Producers,” OFW Ag/FDA Blog, February 19, 2014.
- “OFW Law Wins Arbitration Decision Against Major Crop Insurance Company – Federal Agency Not Always Entitled to Deference in Interpretation of Its Rulees,” OFW Ag/FDA Bog, January 28, 2014.
- “USDA’s National Appeals Division: A Checklist for Farmers,” OFW Ag/FDA Blog, July 12, 2013.
- “A Victory for Farmers: USDA’s National Appeals Division Upholds Farm Service Agency’s ‘Finality Rule,‘” OFW Ag/FDA Blog, January 22, 2013.
- “The 2014 Farm Bill: A Challenge for Federal Crop Insurance AIPs,” OFW Ag/FDA Blog, February 5, 2014.
- “Looking to the Future.” Professional Agent, April 1996.
- “AgriFinance Interviews: Kenneth D. Ackerman.” AgriFinance, the Journal of Agriculture Professionals, March 1994.
On government process:
- PowerPoints from talks for TheCapitol.Net:
- “Advise and Consent: A Reevaluation.”“Advise and Consent: A Reevaluation.” Southern Illinois University Law Review, 1978. (Assisted Senator Percy).
On CFTC and Derivatives Regulation:
- “Ten Cautionary Rules for Institutional Investors,” Intermarket, January 1986. (Assisted Andrea Corcoran, CFTC Director of Trading and Markets).
- “Ten Tips for Avoiding a Commodities Scam.” AMTRAK Express, July 1984. (Assisted CFTC Commissioner West).
- “Stock Index Futures: Don’t Tinker With Success.” Futures/ A National Journal Issues Book, January 1984.
- “International Links: A Regulator’s View.” (Pg.1)(Pg.2)The Journal of Commerce, October 1983. (Assisted CFTC Chairman Phillips).
- “Viable and Safe Markets- The Role of the CFTC.” The National Journal, September 1983. (Assisted CFTC Chairman Phillips).
- “Tax on Futures Trading/YES,” Barrons, August 1982. (Assisted CFTC Chairman Phillip Johnson).
- “SEC, CFTC Set Stage for Transformation of Markets.” (Pg. 1)(Pg. 2)Legal Times of Washington, February 1982.
For copies of any of the older pieces, please send me a message.
