American Civilization

I’ve been reading a book (The Grace of Silence) by Michele Norris,  journalist and NPR (National Public Radio) commentator.  It’s a memoir in which she tries to address the issue of race in America.  Yes, we do have an African-American president, but that still hasn’t made it that much easier for serious conversations about race [...]

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I’ve just finished reading a book about the roundup of Jews in Paris in July of 1942.  I must admit that I was quite shocked.  Certainly I knew about the occupation of Paris during World War II and about the collaboration of the Vichy government.  And, I knew that French Jews had been sent to [...]

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Last week I was able to visit Washington D.C.  I finally had a chance to see many of the politicians I read about regularly in action. There was a lot going on in Congress last week as both houses (the Senate and the House of Representatives) were debating the budget proposal before adjourning for a [...]

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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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