American Civilization

Well, in the midst of the current economic instability, I had a chance to visit the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco earlier this week. The Federal Reserve Bank is sometimes thought of as the government’s central bank.  And, no, it’s not where all of the money is made; that’s the Bureau of Engraving and [...]

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Barack Obama has re-invented the « fireside » chats of Franklin Delano Roosevelt for the 21st century.  Obama’s using you tube!  His plan is to address the nation weekly through a video address.  Here’s the most recent example: FDR gave his first national address on the radio in March of 1933. At that time the U.S. was [...]

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Well, even though the election is over, protests are continuing about the passage of California’s initiative #8.  The purpose of this statewide proposition was to ban same-sex marriage in defiance of the state supreme court decision last spring which made same-sex marriage legal. The election results were very close: 52.2% in favor (that would be [...]

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In California’s election last week voters approved Proposition 2, a piece of legislation designed to protect farm animals.  The proposition would guarantee farm animals, like chickens, the access to open space:  the better the living space is for the animal, the better the food is for the consumer. Now, that may not be a big [...]

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Election Day 2008 is finally over and America has a new president-elect.  Even today,  I am still in awe of the historic symbolism of his election yesterday.  Note that throughout the campaign season Barack Obama has been identified as an African-American.  And, it is true that his dad was an African from Kenya.  But, his [...]

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Hopefully, by tomorrow night, the 2008 election will be coming to a close and we’ll know the identity of the next American president.  I will be very relieved that this almost two-year process will finally be coming to an end. Meanwhile, if you happen to like polls and numbers, I’ve just learned of a great [...]

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