The Whig Party was active in the United States from the 1830s until 1860. It was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson, and for the next twenty years it was the major opposition to the Democratic Party. Two of its candidates, William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, were elected President. In […]
Horatius Cocles was a famous Roman hero of the late 6th century BC who, first with two companions and finally alone, defended the Sublician bridge (in Rome) against Lars Porsena and the entire Etruscan army, thereby giving the Romans time to cut down the bridge. Horatius then dove into the Tiber river and swam to rejoin […]
Election primaries are almost over in the several states, and in November we will have an important general election. All elections are important, of course, but I will be very interested to see the results of this one. As good citizens we have a right and a responsibility to vote, and I hope we exercise […]
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is situated just north of Washington, DC, in Bethesda, Maryland. It is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary government agency responsible for biomedical and public health research. It is the largest biomedical institution in the world. It addition to its […]
The subject of free trade is much in the news these days because of President Trump’s imposition of tariffs on certain Chinese products and the Chinese retaliation. Many observers are fearful of a full-blown trade war with China and other nations, with potentially devastating effects on the American economy. In 1955 I worked for a […]
Airline travel these days is quite an adventure. You usually must arrive at the airport about two hours early. You confirm your tickets, check your bags, and go through a security check. After that, you proceed to the gate from which your plane is to depart and take a seat in the waiting area. When […]
I remember the depressing words Shakespeare put into Macbeth’s mouth, “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creep through this petty place from day to day, and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death.” Thank God that I do not feel that way. My life has been full of wonder and joy, and […]
Racial discrimination has been a real and continuing problem in our nation’s history. Much progress has been made, but it continues to occur more frequently than we like to admit. It is also true that people sometime play the “race card” unfairly. My first experience with that sort of incident took place more than five […]
Sexuality and the human sex drive is a very powerful thing, and sometimes heterosexual libido erupts in overt and ridiculous ways. I went off to college in 1947, long before the so-called sexual revolution of the 1960s-70s. There were female dorms and male dorms, and never the twain should meet. That was the theory, but […]
In medieval Europe the troubadours sang of the peerless Roland and of King Arthur and his table round, fearless warriors for truth and justice. Next to them stood beauteous maidens, virtuous virgins without flaw or blemish. In the early days of our republic an author named Parson Weems published readers for young children. In them […]
