<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Michael A. Smith]]></title><description><![CDATA[Michael A. Smith]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 03:09:07 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[From Corrupt Bargains to Hanging Chads: America's History of Contested Elections]]></title><description><![CDATA[The 2020 presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden stands as one of the most contentious in recent memory. President Trump...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/from-corrupt-bargains-to-hanging-chads-america-s-history-of-contested-elections</link><guid isPermaLink="false">64e94d2ca8fb8e3a61136c5e</guid><pubDate>Sat, 26 Aug 2023 00:54:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f0c817_d0b2da572ff54c708e07672a08b47bd1~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_900,h_600,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[From Pulpit to Senate Floor: The Role of Weaponized Words in America's Past and Present]]></title><description><![CDATA[In the decades leading up to the Civil War, animosity and division grew between various groups, and everything became a tool to be used...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/from-pulpit-to-senate-floor-the-role-of-weaponized-words-in-america-s-past-and-present</link><guid isPermaLink="false">64e94cebbe2bfac4cfcddee5</guid><pubDate>Sat, 26 Aug 2023 00:53:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f0c817_a2444c2bd39d459696501f8dcac67f44~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_344,h_180,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Challenging the Myth of Stolen Elections: The Real Danger of Gerrymandering in American Politics]]></title><description><![CDATA[Recently, the United States Supreme Court handed down two significant decisions that warrant the attention of every American. In a 6-3...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/challenging-the-myth-of-stolen-elections-the-real-danger-of-gerrymandering-in-american-politics</link><guid isPermaLink="false">64e94cb4be2bfac4cfcddec9</guid><pubDate>Sat, 26 Aug 2023 00:52:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f0c817_d8f193b1ca9040e0b5000f7fd1b155a4~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_474,h_266,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Trump's Pickens Gambit: Unraveling the Puzzle Behind a Presidential Rally in Small-Town SC]]></title><description><![CDATA[My hometown of Pickens, South Carolina, embodies the Jeffersonian ideal of yeoman farmers living in peaceful seclusion, far removed from...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/trump-s-pickens-gambit-unraveling-the-puzzle-behind-a-presidential-rally-in-small-town-sc</link><guid isPermaLink="false">64e94c257dff9a8bb2cd6b3c</guid><pubDate>Sat, 26 Aug 2023 00:50:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f0c817_91b0635936d94cb6ac536edaf302ba79~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_752,h_423,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? ]]></title><description><![CDATA[In contemporary American politics, there is a prevalent notion that the founding of America was solely rooted in Christianity. While...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/was-america-founded-as-a-christian-nation</link><guid isPermaLink="false">647f6dca1b241814205d7797</guid><pubDate>Tue, 06 Jun 2023 17:39:59 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Surprise of Religion in Modern America]]></title><description><![CDATA[Review by Michael A. Smith (Delivered by Dr. Jon Butler as part of the Joseph T. Stukes Lectures at Erskine College, Delivered March 16,...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/the-surprise-of-religion-in-modern-america</link><guid isPermaLink="false">64590244fb291504a9779f09</guid><pubDate>Mon, 08 May 2023 14:09:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/79573056b97341329339201d48c35852.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Prevailing Economic Theories and the Great Depression]]></title><description><![CDATA[Introduction Most nominal students of history are aware of the Great Depression that began with the Stock Market Crash of 1929. While...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/prevailing-economic-theories-and-the-great-depression</link><guid isPermaLink="false">62a1edd33f3e4862d4d099c9</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Jun 2022 12:56:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f0c817_3c935d7e51a9464b8ccf93e83e64f0f1~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_845,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Henry Ford: How Innovation and Determination Changed the Twentieth Century]]></title><description><![CDATA[Introduction The greatest doors in history often hang on the smallest of hinges. Western history is replete with examples, but no where...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/henry-ford-how-innovation-and-determination-changed-the-twentieth-century</link><guid isPermaLink="false">629902af3ea69406045addd4</guid><pubDate>Thu, 02 Jun 2022 18:37:59 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f0c817_8428f18cbe364bb29a0b4272d5223da0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Missed Connections in Labor Assessment in the Post-Bellam Period of the U.S. following the Civil War]]></title><description><![CDATA[Missed Connections in Labor Assessment in the Post Bellam period in the United States following the Civil War Nowhere in American history...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/missed-connections-in-labor-assessment-in-the-post-bellam-period-in-the-united-states-following-the</link><guid isPermaLink="false">62863fab2a224d7efc5c6f4e</guid><pubDate>Thu, 19 May 2022 13:02:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_6f308fe58a254fe99f1ba1b878cc57d6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Charles H. Townes: Man of Science…  …Man of Faith ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Charles H. Townes, winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 2005 Templeton Prize for the Advancement of Religion embodies the...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/charles-h-townes-man-of-science-man-of-faith</link><guid isPermaLink="false">616195d4660c930016ee30e1</guid><pubDate>Sat, 09 Oct 2021 13:15:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f0c817_c0888ed2127c4dc684f2742b0614aaaa~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_638,h_907,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Jefferson  and  the  Wall  of  Separation Between  Church  and  State ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Michael  A.  Smith revised July 5,  2023 Thomas Jefferson, who if you measured him by today’s religious standards, was the most...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/jefferson-and-the-wall-of-separation-between-church-and-state</link><guid isPermaLink="false">616195263568630016ca79e0</guid><pubDate>Sat, 09 Oct 2021 13:12:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f0c817_1496891471444544b9bce7a2e7aaadee~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_541,h_640,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What "Full Sail" means to me]]></title><description><![CDATA[Full Sail is my term that reminds us of the old cutter sailing ships when all their sails are open and turned to catch every breath of...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/what-full-sail-means-to-me</link><guid isPermaLink="false">60c1117f531c0800152b19cf</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Jun 2021 19:08:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/56df73f3ef4c4261bdf08ef96e7bdfbd.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Remembering the Vietnam War]]></title><description><![CDATA[Vietnam was the first war that I lived through. As a teen anxiously approaching 18 years old and the draft, the 1970s were years of...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/remembering-the-vietnam-war</link><guid isPermaLink="false">60c111076c5c8900151aca76</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Jun 2021 19:06:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0ee32628f3414022af7843707e692144.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The COVID Pandemic Uncovers the More Threatening Problem of Population Decline]]></title><description><![CDATA[The COVID pandemic has highlighted a more threatening problem and one that is easily ignored: population decline around the world. Long...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/the-covid-pandemic-uncovers-the-more-threatening-problem-of-population-decline</link><guid isPermaLink="false">60c110c5d9dab800154ef0f9</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Jun 2021 19:04:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_1b5ee570648240e3b63c6bcf1093c57f~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Cultural Somnambulism and COVID-19]]></title><description><![CDATA[Observing the pace at which influencers and thought leaders adapt to new dynamics can be engaging in times of tremendous change. Some may...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/cultural-somnambulism-and-covid-19</link><guid isPermaLink="false">609dce5ef91e81001645614b</guid><category><![CDATA[American History]]></category><category><![CDATA[Covid-19]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 14 May 2021 01:12:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_8deb790af4fc4a8684a730e0d287669d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Core Democratic Value of Liberty]]></title><description><![CDATA[The concept of liberty is as old as mankind, tracing back to the earliest of recorded history, and following suite up to the modern era....]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/the-core-democratic-value-of-liberty</link><guid isPermaLink="false">609dce0e2b52fd0015a8007e</guid><category><![CDATA[American History]]></category><category><![CDATA[War Between Science and Religion]]></category><category><![CDATA[World History]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 14 May 2021 01:10:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4c144dd3a9c548f4b6ebe9390a0d2a68.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Thanks to Starbucks, Columbus “Discovered” America]]></title><description><![CDATA[Have you ever thought about how we came to be here in America? As a history teacher, I have always believed that the largest doors often...]]></description><link>https://webguybrandyn.wixsite.com/michaelsmith/post/thanks-to-starbucks-columbus-discovered-america</link><guid isPermaLink="false">609dcdc5a9b1f3001588a9f4</guid><category><![CDATA[American History]]></category><category><![CDATA[World History]]></category><category><![CDATA[War Between Science and Religion]]></category><category><![CDATA[Coffee]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 14 May 2021 01:09:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_32a6394d3fb544c8b331588e478fd1ef~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Brandyn M</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>