Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
You can probably imagine which story has been dominating the news in the United States for the past week. That’s right: the one about the problems with the new health-insurance program popularly known as Obamacare. The story that’s been dominating the news in Germany is also being reported in America, though not always as front-page news. That story, however, is … >>
What do you think of when you are drinking a cup of coffee? Let me guess. Chances are you are just thinking of waking up. All right; maybe you’re thinking about how hot the beverage is, like the woman who famously sued McDonald’s in the 1990s. Or possibly you spare a thought for its strength, aroma and flavor. But more … >>
This past Monday, October 14, was Columbus Day — the federal holiday in the US that commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas on October 12, 1492. Notice I did not say “the discovery by Christopher Columbus of the New World”. Political correctness has put an end to that phrasing. I would, however, take the unpopular position that … >>
It was around 7 p.m. on October 11, 1973, when shipyard workers Charles Hickson, 42, and Calvin Parker, 19, were fishing in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The fish weren’t biting, so the two men moved upriver from their usual spot to an abandoned dock. After a while, they noticed a hissing sound and flashing blue lights behind them, and turned around to … >>
Well, they did it: they broke the government. Congress failed to agree to continue funding the federal treasury into the new fiscal year, which began October 1. So now 821,000 federal employees have some time off, while the remaining 2.4 million continue to operate essential services. “Essential services” include things like the CIA, the Internal Revenue Service, and the NSA … >>
If a group of Republican members of Congress gets its way, large parts of the US government could stop functioning next week. National parks and museums will close. The military won’t get paid. Passports won’t be issued. Government loans to businesses and home-buyers will stop. Safety inspections could be less frequent. That’s the threat, anyway. A last-minute deal is still … >>
You’ve got to love Michio Kaku. The smiling American physicist knows the answer to everything, and because he does, he appears in every single science documentary these days — at least those produced by the Discovery Channel. Kaku’s 2009–10 series Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible, currently showing on German TV, underscores the extent to which science fiction inspires today’s … >>
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — American philosopher George Santayana (1863–1952) “Every successful revolution puts on in time the robes of the tyrant it has deposed.” — American historian Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989) Americans love historical reenactments. In the Deep South, actors at historic mansions dress up as plantation owners and Southern belles. On both … >>
Sometimes, no matter what you do, people just get on your nerves. Wouldn’t it be nice to get away from everybody and move to a house in the woods, where you’d have peace and quiet? This isn’t a farfetched idea. Henry David Thoreau did it. Grizzly Adams did it. In fact, thousands of people have done it in recent years. … >>
As I mentioned last week, I learned a lot from the teachers I had at school. At home, in a neighborhood without many other kids, I had some other good teachers in the form of books. One of my favorite authors back then was Isaac Asimov (1920–1992). He’s mainly thought of as a science-fiction writer because of the lighthearted yet … >>