The point of no return for our republic

The Roman historian Suetonius described Julius Caesar as timid and noncommittal as he initially approached the Rubicon River -- a shallow and narrow waterway that, at the time, demarcated the boundary between Cisalpine Gaul and Italy proper -- in January 49 B.C. In fact, the historian ultimately attributed Caesar’s decision to cross the waterway, precipitating a fouryear civil war and ultimate…