Benjamin Jenkins is Associate Professor of History and University Archivist at the University of La Verne. This interview is based on his new book, Octopus’s Garden: How Railroads and Citrus Transformed Southern California (University Press of Kansas, 2023). JF: What...
Here is CNN commentator Fareed Zakaria’s column at The Washington Post: The United States’ debt ceiling crisis is, once again, provoking the usual commentary about the country’s presumed dysfunction. But the truth is that this unprovoked madness, causing self-inflicted wounds, is taking place against...
This is a sign that the job market is getting stronger. Here is the Associated Press: A record 4.5 million American workers quit their jobs in November, a sign of confidence and more evidence that the U.S. job market is...
Blame corporate America. Here is Faiz Shakir at The New Republic: The prices of everyday goods are going up, and everyone from members of Congress to talking heads on cable news have their own diagnoses as to why it’s happening....
Over at Politico, Michael Grunwald describes running against a recovery as a “political nightmare” for the Republican Party. Here is a taste: Democrats are relentlessly hyping President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, while Republicans are trying to change...
The New York Times teamed-up with local news agencies in Buffalo, New York; Victoria, Texas; Frenchtown, Montana; Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Sarasota, Florida; Tucson, Arizona; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Santa Ana, California; August, Georgia; Las Vegas, Nevada, and Owensburg, Kentucky...
Here is Harvard historian Lizabeth Cohen at The Atlantic: Americans are out of work. More than 20 million lost their jobs in April alone. Lines at food banks stretch for miles. Businesses across the country are foundering. Headlines scream that the coronavirus...
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOxuBs5sR_s&w=560&h=315] If you had thirty minutes to say something to the most powerful man in the world, what would you say? This is how I started our short series titled “Three Sundays in April.” On April 19, 2020, the...
The unemployment rate is 14.7. Here is Anneken Tappe at CNN Business: With much of the American economy in self-imposed shutdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, April’s colossal surge in unemployment delivered a historic blow to workers. The US...
Ray Suarez, who many will know from his years at the PBS News Hour, reflects on how the coronavirus is affecting him and other men over 55 who are nearing retirement. Here is a taste of his piece at the...
I can’t believe we are asking this question right now. It seems like some kind of dystopian movie. Sadly, it is Christians who seem to be taking the lead here. See our post on R.R. Reno here. By this point...
I recently had a long(ish) discussion with an evangelical Trump supporter. This person was not a fan of Trump’s brash style or his tweets, but he was planning on voting for him again in 2020 as long as the economy...
Over at Big Think, Stephen Johnson writes about a plan that might help with border security, create jobs, and bring green energy to the United States. Here is a taste: “What should the U.S. do about The Wall?” is a...
A 70 year old man decided to play Russian Roulette with our Planet for the sake of the coal belt. — Tim Naftali (@TimNaftali) June 1, 2017 According to this piece in The Washington Post, 76,572 people work in coal miners....
Philosophers around the country will have something to talk about in class today after Florida Senator Marco Rubio unleashed this gem at last night’s GOP debate: http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1 What is it with Florida politicians taking pot shots at the liberal arts...
E.J. Dionne nails it again. In this column he compares the Mitt Romney campaign (and the Santorum resurgence) to the Clint Eastwood Super Bowl ad for Chrysler. There a lot of good zingers in this pieces, but here is one: […]
The recent statement by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace sounds a lot like some of things the Occupy Wall Street folks are saying. Dionne explains: Will we soon see a distinguished-looking older man in long, white robes...
James Livingston, a historian at Rutgers and the author of the forthcoming Against Thrift: Why Consumer Culture is Good for the Economy, the Environment and Your Soul, writes today in the The New York Times: As an economic historian who...
Henry Blodget, the CEO of Business Insider and a former top-ranked Wall Street analyst who has worked at Prudential Securities, Oppenheimer & Co., and Merrill Lynch, thinks that those participating in the Wall Street protests have a lot to be...
Thoughts?...
