Years ago, the late U.S. senator from Wisconsin, William Proxmire — well, he wasn’t the late senator back then — got good political mileage out of presenting his annual “Golden Fleece” awards to public officials who, in his view, wasted taxpayer money. Winners included the United States Army for funding a study about how to […]
What’s in a (Hyphenated) Name?
Posted August 19th, 2010 at 9:34 am (UTC-4)
Who am I? That’s the kind of question one usually asks while in the midst of existential angst. But every year, untroubled American women pose the question as well. Women rather than men, because we men are born Theodore W. Landphair or John H. Jones and remain Landphairs and Joneses the rest of our lives. […]
Roadies
Posted August 12th, 2010 at 1:08 pm (UTC-4)
Carol and I will soon head out on one of our trademark coast-to-coast adventures, if you count our home in suburban Washington, D.C., 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the Atlantic Ocean, as one of the “coasts.” The other end of the journey, in Port Angeles, Washington, just a short dash up the Strait of Juan […]
Virginia Byways and Pieways
Posted August 5th, 2010 at 1:34 pm (UTC-4)
I told you a bit about Virginia last time but didn’t have the time or space to describe the full scope of what just might be our most historically significant state. It was not only an incubator of American independence and the cradle of American presidents — eight of them — but also the scene […]
