Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
Paper money offers a way of reminding people about their country’s history and values. But how often do we think about who and what is portrayed on it? The paper money in the United States is basically a portrait gallery of important men from the country’s first 100 years. Three of them were army generals who later became president: George … >>
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 … >>
As children in America, we learned an English nursery rhyme that begins: “There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children she didn’t know what to do.” This description is unfortunately a lot more current than it sounds. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 44 percent of American children live in … >>
What do you do if your career comes to an end and you have no way of getting a job? You go in search of opportunity — like the millions of Irish farmers who fled the Potato Famine in the 1850s, or like the hoboes who rode the rails during the Great Depression. Joining their ranks will be famous plagiarist … >>
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Barack Obama is making a mistake. He has this strange tendency to get involved in fights that don’t concern him. This started when Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested (leading to Obama’s famous “beer summit”). Then Obama stepped too far into the health-care debate (leading some to believe he was dictating … >>