Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
Being the only tourist in a far-off place always leads to some interesting invitations — as when the mayor of Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, suggested I attend the celebration of his son’s baptism. The elders from the mayor’s village welcomed me into their midst and gave me a front-row seat for the start of the afternoon’s entertainment. Musicians played a soft … >>
You’ve read it here first: Barack Obama is nuts. My diagnosis is based on the popular American saying: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.” In the past 13 months, Obama has sat down several times with the Republican opposition to try to get some agreement on matters of national importance. He’s visited Republican … >>
If Barack Obama had told me he was going to Ghana, I would have warned him. The country is a dump — parts of it quite literally. In the late 1990s, I knew it as a place where very little functioned as it should have. The currency was worthless. Families often had 10 or even 14 children. Garbage was simply … >>
Going to the movies this weekend will take us back 40 years, and ahead 240 years, in the new, “reimagined” Star Trek film. In 1969, poor ratings caused the demise of the original television series. But the Star Trek franchise gained so much momentum over the years that it’s now unstoppable. Why is it so popular? One word: optimism. Unlike … >>