Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
Hillary Clinton is married to America’s most popular living president, who from 1993 to 2001 oversaw an era of peace and prosperity. As first lady, Clinton proposed a sweeping reform of the US health-care system and spoke prominently to world leaders about improving the rights and status of women and children. Bill Clinton was famous for “triangulation” — determining the … >>
One of the biggest trends of recent years has been almost completely off the radar. At the events for the German and American exchange students I advise, the number of vegetarians has been increasing steadily over the years. Back in the 1990s, there was, on average, only one at each event. In the last decade, there were two, then four, … >>
Herman Cain is history. On December 3, he ended his attempt to become president. Five women brought him down. Four accused him of sexual harassment while he was head of the National Restaurant Association (NRA) in the 1990s. The fifth said she had been having an affair with Cain for the past 13 years. As the accusations became public, the … >>
What if John F. Kennedy had never gone to Berlin? What if he hadn’t given that speech at the Rathaus Schöneberg in 1963 in which he proclaimed, in his horrible Massachusetts accent, “Ich been ein Bee-leena”? What if he had chosen to side with the Soviets instead? In the most recent world war, the Soviets had been America’s ally. They … >>
Three times in one week, the world almost ended. Joplin, Missouri was wiped out by a tornado on Sunday. Our sympathies go to the residents, some of whom are known to our staff. In California, an 89-year-old Bible enthusiast had predicted the Rapture for the day before. Afterwards, he said he was “flabbergasted” that this didn’t happen. He’s now rescheduled … >>
I have to say the news hasn’t been good lately. In fact, it’s been so bad that only one thing can help. That thing is Auto-Tune. Auto-Tune is software that can correct anyone’s singing voice to give it perfect pitch. Music producers use it on a large percentage of pop and especially R&B singers, many of whom would seem rather … >>