Articles

Rose Madeline Mula writes: We never had to struggle to learn how to fold a fitted sheet, because we never had fitted sheets. You could buy a house for about one-third the price of today’s car; and you could buy a do-it-yourself home permanent for about a dollar. Unfortunately, you couldn’t leave the house for at least a month after doing-it-yourself for fear of frightening dogs and small children.  more »

Doris O'Brien writes: Who can fault frightened people for blaming the metal instead of the mentality? The concept of a ban on a commodity as a way of preventing bad behavior is nothing new. In the 20s, Prohibition was enacted to do just that. A law was passed making the sale and use of liquor illegal. If we didn't have access to booze, the argument went, there wouldn't be so many drunken brawls, accidents, killings. But Prohibition failed. more »

Reviewed by Jill Norgren: David Nasaw does not ask his readers to like Joe Kennedy. He does not hold back on the damning stories of deceit and unbridled ambition. He does, however, appear utterly convinced that Kennedy doted on his children — beyond needing them to fulfill his ambitions, and that they returned his love. Joe Kennedy “had pledged to faithfully love and support [Rose] and the children they might have together …. What he did not intend to do was give up being a ‘ladies man’.” And he did not. more »

Much of the data the Grandma Brigade collects is prosaic: records of campaign donations or voters who have recently died. But a few volunteers see free information everywhere. They browse the listings of names on Tea Party websites. They might add a record of what was said around the family Thanksgiving table — Uncle Mitch voted for Bachmann, cousin Alice supports gay marriage. hare In Minnesota, Democratic volunteers scour their local newspapers each morning for letters to the editor with a political slant. They pay attention to the names of callers on radio shows. They drive through th… more »