Cynthia A. Kierner is Professor of History at George Mason University. This interview is based on her new book, Inventing Disaster: The Culture of Calamity from the Jamestown Colony to the Johnstown Flood (The University of North Carolina Press, 2019). JF: What...
hurricanes
Trump on Hurricane Florence: “One of the wettest we’ve ever seen from the standpoint of water”
pic.twitter.com/G0BjCXEnaX — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 18, 2018 ...
Rod Dreher Calls Out the Court Evangelicals
In a post criticizing Donald Trump’s handling of Puerto Rico, American Conservative blogger Rod Dreher (of Benedict Option fame) wonders why the court evangelicals have been so quiet. Here is a taste: Where are Donald Trump’s court Evangelicals on this? If you...
Some Historical Context for the U.S. Response to Puerto Rico
As historian Marc-William Palen reminds us, Puerto Rico has always been in a “precarious position within the U.S. body politic.” The history of the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico is indispensable to understanding the U.S. response to...
Lupica: The Mayor of San Juan is a Hero
I have been reading Mike Lupica for a long time, but I don’t think I have ever done a blog post on one of his columns. That changes today. Sometimes you just need to hear from a veteran New York...
Paul Krugman’s Scathing Critique of Trump’s Narcissism
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN9TALDqCxA&w=560&h=315] In case you haven’t seen it yet, here is a taste of economist Paul Krugman’s New York Times column: According to a new Quinnipiac poll, a majority of Americans believe that Donald Trump is unfit to be president. That’s pretty...
Religious Theories on Hurricane Irma
Avi Selk has them all covered at The Washington Post: A taste: To dive into the wide-ranging and rarely coherent collection of theories that ascribe motive — be it satanic, godly, Gaian or otherwise — to the movements of Hurricane Irma is to risk being immediately...
American Association for State and Local History Opens “Harvey Cultural Relief Fund”
Here it is what you need to know to help: As Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath continue to unfold on the Gulf Coast of Texas, AASLH staff, Council, and members are preparing to travel to the Lone Star State for...
The New Orleans Superdome Is Now a National Historical Site
It was the place where thousands of New Orleans residents sought shelter during Hurricane Katrina. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Here is a taste of a piece at CNN: The National Register designation includes protections...
1960s Jersey Storm Aftermath
I think this may be the 1962 nor’easter that hit the Jersey shoreline. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVBoxEzoZAg] British Pathe videos
Hurricane Sandy at the Jersey Shore: An Update
http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1
The Jersey Shore: Six Months After Sandy
Joe Scarborough devoted some time on “Morning Joe” to the Jersey Shore. (They are positioned in front of the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park). Six months ago Hurricane Sandy ripped through this area. This video reports on the slow-moving recovery...
Remembering Ocean Beach, New Jersey
Growing up in northern New Jersey, I spent a week or two every summer at the Jersey shore community of Ocean Beach. (I have written/posted about Ocean Beach and the surrounding area here and here and here and here). It...
Image of the Day
HT: Cathay Snyder
Image of the Day
Seaside Heights, NJ is coming back:...
Ellis Island Collections Moved in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy
Ellis Island took a pretty significant hit from Hurricane Sandy in October. The island is currently closed to the public. The collections survived, but they have been moved to federal warehouses in Lanham, MD and Harper’s Ferry, WV. in order...
Is the GOP “Stiffing” Its Own?
By failing to vote on the $60 billion relief package for the New Jersey and New York victims of Hurricane Sandy, Alec MacGillis observes that the GOP is alienating some of the most concentrated pockets of Republican voters in these […]
Christie and Springsteen: A Friendship Blooms!
I can see it now. It’s January 2016. The GOP candidates for president are stumping through Iowa. Rick Santorum takes out a television ad connecting his GOP primary rival, New Jersey governor Chris Christie, to the rock ‘n’ roll icon […]
Why Are Chris Christie and Barack Obama Getting Along So Well?
In case you haven’t heard, New Jersey governor Chris Christie, a Republican, has been praising Barack Obama for his handling of hurricane Sandy. According to Jeffrey Goldberg at the Atlantic, Christie’s new found love for Obama may have something to […]
Woops
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqXk5XxHKx8]