The Treatment of Refugees in America

I am waiting, and watching, with almost unbounded curiosity, to see if the rich white people of Southern California are treated as badly as the poor black people of New Orleans in their time of crisis. We can even have the battle of the football stadiums, since the field where the San Diego Chargers play football has been opened up … Continue reading

Katrina, Little George, and Global Warming

At this time of year, whenever I look out into the mid-Atlantic or the Gulf, large storms are everywhere. It is difficult not to think of Katrina when I see the big blotches of orange, yellow, and white out over the warm water. It is impossible to think of Katrina without thinking of all the flooding and a devastated New … Continue reading

What, Really, Is a Dutch-American?

I suppose that it would be possible to think of me as a Dutch-American. My ancestry is mixed European, really, with Dutch the largest component. My mother, who was in a great position to know, always told me that I was half-Dutch, half-Irish, half-English and half-assed. See, I told you that she ought to know. ;o) But I don’t think … Continue reading