All mod cons

Here in the mighty US of A, we have only the finest modern toilet technology.

#Illinois2018 – On Small-Town Madness

First, let me say that websites that mock the customers of Walmart always seem mean-spirited to me, and they give lie to the idea that there’s no such thing as a class system in America. Laughing at the "Walmart weirdos" is just middle-class people mocking the working-class and the poor. That being said, anywhere a …

On the World Cup 2018: early thoughts

I don’t think I’ve ever watched as much football in one month as I’m watching now. I mean, I’ve lived through World Cups before – somany of them – but this one seems to have captured my imagination. Or maybe it’s something else. This is the first tournament where The Teen has expressed an interest. …

US Election 2016 – Part II, Clinton

From the beginning, it seemed like almost no one whose name wasn't Clinton wanted HRC to be president. If you wanted an experienced politician, you had Biden. A left-field choice? Bernie Sanders. A female president? Elizabeth Warren was a more exciting option. HRC, every time, was the choice with just too much baggage. Biden chose …

US Election 2016 – Part I, Trump

Dear idealized foreign reader, you may have been aware over these last few months that there is something weird going on over here, in the land of the free.  There is an election for the president, but it's somehow so much more and so much less than that at the same time. Let me explain, …