Tag: history

  • Presidential Popularity

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    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    Presidents’ Day is actually Washington’s Birthday. That makes sense when you consider how Washington is still a much beloved president. And according to a recent survey, the most favoured president. What is worth nothing is that most Americans know little of the 19th century presidents, save the big names like Lincoln, Grant, and (Teddy) Roosevelt.…

  • Punxsutawney Phil’s Day in the Sun

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Groundhog Day. It’s Punxsutawney Phil’s day in the sun. Or not. Depends upon the year. Anyway, the Philadelphia Inquirer did a small piece about the history of this famous little groundhog from remote northwestern Pennsylvania. Credit for the piece goes to Cynthia Greer.

  • Income Segregation in the Philadelphia Metro Area

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    In an area very close to me…quite literally…the New York Times published an article about increasing segregation between the rich and the poor via the areas where they live. The study by Stanford University found that the Philadelphia metropolitan area saw the “sharpest rise” in segregation since the 1970s—the study used census data available through…

  • Armistice Day

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Today is Veterans Day. Originally it was called Armistice Day. At 11.00 on 11/11 in 1917, fighting ceased between the Allies and Germany. World War I was effectively over. Since World War I, in the United States, we have gone on to have World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the First Gulf…

  • Humanity’s Not So Finest Hours

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Humanity is amazing. We have great emotional power for love, sympathy, compassion, &c. We have great intellectual power; we have/are mastering mathematics and science to explore the depths of this ocean and the surfaces of planets not our own. Yet with these great powers comes a great responsibility. And as we continue to reflect upon…

  • Troop Levels in Iraq

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    A few days ago, President Obama announced that all but perhaps 150 US troops in Iraq would be home before 1 Jan 2012. While the mission may have been accomplished over 8 years ago, we are finally seeing an end to the Iraq War. Both the BBC and the New York Times created charts to…

  • Oh Great Gatsby

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Income inequality basically means that the wealth of a country, in this case, is unevenly distributed with most of it falling in the hands of a very few people or families. Think the era of, as the title alludes to, Gatsby and the 1920s before the Crash. Broadly speaking, a middle class requires a more…

  • Back in the USSR

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    So, those of you a little bit older than me—not to date myself—probably remember the evil Reds of Soviet Russia. Some my age do as well. Younger than me, it’s probably all ancient history. And so for those of you who forget, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was, if I am to simplify, a…

  • Rule, Britannia

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    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    The United Kingdom. England. Britain. All pretty much mean the same thing, right? No. But, if you do not believe me, might I recommend going to Glasgow or Edinburgh and calling a local an Englishman. It may very well be a quick education. Colin Grey attempts to untangle the constitutional and jurisdictional mess in both…