A quick history lesson. No quiz, although Washington could use one.

In 1891, a New Orleans mob lynched eleven men of Italian descent after the murder of Police Chief David Hennessy. These men were falsely accused, tried, and subsequently murdered by a large vigilante mob outside the Orleans Parish Prison.

The following year, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed a national Columbus celebration, partly to ease tensions and recognize a community facing vicious discrimination.

Yes, Columbus’ own legacy deserves scrutiny, but there is an irony here. A holiday once used to help an immigrant community belong now arrives under an administration that seems to regard belonging as subject to a complexion check.

History repeats, much like fashion. Unfortunately, xenophobia keeps coming back when nobody asked for it. At least bell-bottoms only offended your eyes.

And now, apparently, we are reviving Must See TV.

Trump has approved the firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, convicted of murdering thirteen people at Fort Hood.

Scheduled for December, it would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961, and the first by firing squad since 1945.

Pete Hegseth announced plans to let the public watch.  Trump has approved the live stream.

I preferred Must See TV when it involved Friends and an apartment nobody could afford. The most violent act was Elaine punching Jerry.

Hasan’s crimes were horrific. His victims deserve remembrance. Their families deserve dignity. None of that requires turning a death into programming.

You can support a sentence without demanding a camera angle.

We could learn from the ugliest parts of our history. Instead, we seem determined to bring them back in higher definition.

And the good times keep rolling in America, 2026.

I wish I could change the channel. Unfortunately, we live here.