- The Purpose of your Life -
- Revisiting the Great Work of Medical Missionary Dr. Anne Livingston in Haiti
- Dick Cheney Was a Great Boss
- "I Beat Hitler!"
- Christmas Season in Western North Carolina
- 2026 US Senate Race in North Carolina
- Has the Bethlehem Star Mystery Been Unveiled?
- The Fall of Man: John Calvin, Leibniz, and Deeper Truths
- Time of Reassessment America
- Appeals Court Refuses to Dismiss Greenville County Republican Chairman’s Contempt Case
- The America That Once Was (A Christmas Memory)
- Teachers’ Unions’ Backing of Radical ‘No Kings’ Rallies Speaks Volumes about America’s Education System
- The Battle for Pokrovsk
- Is a Self-Proclaimed Drag Queen Performer Serving in a Leading Moral Arc Role at a Greenville Children’s Production of Annie?
- Project Ukraine and Ukrainian/CIA Intelligence
Tariff Wars
- Details
- By Mike Scruggs
- Category: Mike Scruggs' Column
Dividing Leviathan among the Merchants – Part 2

The Morrill Tariff, which was introduced by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1858, was one of the three highest tariffs in U.S. History. It passed the House on May 10, 1860, receiving only one Southern vote. Lincoln campaigned for it and was elected President on November 6, 1860. It passed the Senate with no Southern votes on March 2, 1861, two days before Lincoln’s inauguration. This would more than double the tariff rates under the “Free-Trade” Tariff passed in 1857. Lincoln promised to collect the tariffs due at Southern ports, which were about 83 percent of the total U.S. tariff income. Its average tax on dutiable goods reached 47 percent, and the total overall average rate including duty-free items was 29 percent.
Tariff Wars
- Details
- By Mike Scruggs
- Category: Mike Scruggs' Column
American Economic Struggles 1789 to 2019 - Part 1 of 2

Tariffs are a tax on specified imported goods to provide revenue for the Federal government. In the early history of Federal taxation in the United States, 95 to 100 percent of Federal tax revenues came from tariffs on imported goods. High tariffs on some imported goods have frequently been used to protect U.S manufacturers from competition from lower priced foreign goods. In addition, it has been in the national interest to assure that we do not become dependent on foreign sources for materials and goods critical to national security.
The Russian (Soviet) Experience in Afghanistan
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- By Mike Scruggs
- Category: Mike Scruggs' Column
Reagan, Gorbachev, the Soviet Pull Out, and Now
Despite the heavy pounding by Red Army and Soviet Air Force firepower, the Mujahidin hung on, largely with the help of U.S. and other Allied finances and weapons. China supplied them with SA-7 handheld surface-to-air (SAM) missiles and long-range 107mm and 130mm artillery. The Soviet Air Force, however, brought in new MiG 27 fighter-bombers and new SU-25 Frogfoot attack-bombers, roughly equivalent to the U.S. A-10 Warthog. The SU-25s were amazingly effective in making steep dives into narrow mountain valleys and canyons. Red Army mechanized units also upgraded the firepower of their tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and armored personnel carriers, and the infantry now carried new AK-74 assault rifles.
The Russian (Soviet) Experience in Afghanistan
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- By Mike Scruggs
- Category: Mike Scruggs' Column

Potential Mujahidin manpower vastly outnumbered Soviet forces in Afghanistan. During the course of the nine-year war, from 1979 to 1989, approximately one million Mujahidin engaged in determined armed resistance to the Soviet Union’s invasion of their homeland. The vast majority were either native Afghans or Afghan refugees living in Pakistan.
The Russian (Soviet) Experience in Afghanistan
- Details
- By Mike Scruggs
- Category: Mike Scruggs' Column
Muslim Holy War against the Red Army - Part 2 of a Series

Once the Muslim imams and mullahs began preaching Jihad against the Russian infidels and the Mujahidin had some guerilla warfare successes, the People’s Democratic Army of Afghanistan (PDA) began to melt away. The invading Red Army could no longer count on effective local political and military support. On January 1, 1980, the PDA 15th Division revolted in Kandahar. Three battalions of the 11th PDA Division deserted when the Soviet 201st MRD (Mobile Rifle Division) rolled into Jalalabad. By mid-1980, the once 90,000-strong PDA had melted away by desertion, casualties, and switched loyalties to only 30,000 confused and largely ineffective troops.
Mike Scruggs is the author of two books: The Un-Civil War: Shattering the Historical Myths; and Lessons from the Vietnam War: Truths the Media Never Told You, and over 600 articles on military history, national security, intelligent design, genealogical genetics, immigration, current political affairs, Islam, and the Middle East.
He holds a BS degree from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Stanford University. A former USAF intelligence officer and Air Commando, he is a decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War, and holds the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and Air Medal. He is a retired First Vice President for a major national financial services firm and former Chairman of the Board of a classical Christian school.
Click the website below to order books. http://www.universalmediainc.org/books.htm.

