With the Republican Convention in full swing this week, it’s worth taking a look at the third party platform of President Theodore Roosevelt, a GOP icon (“I love Teddy Roosevelt,” says Mitt Romney. “Anybody who says ‘Bully’ is a friend of mine.“) The formerpresident founded the Progressive Party (aka Bull Moose Party) because he was disappointed […]
BOARDWALK EMPIRE – The Real Esther Randolph
Boardwalk Empire fans: did you know Esther Randolph is closely based on an extraordinary real woman named Mabel Walker Willebrandt? I love HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. It nails the 1920s, and the reality-based characters from Capone to Daugherty are pretty accurately portrayed. But what really knocks me out about the show are the lesser-known but historically […]
Downton Abbey – We Cannot Escape History
The last known World War I veteran has died at the age of 110. Like the fictional Ladies Edith and Sybil Crawley in Downton Abbey, Florence Green crossed the boundaries of social and cultural convention to
Downton Abbey – Wealth, Class and History
Downton Abbey fans: do you think the divide between the rich and poor in the series is extreme? Take a look in our current backyard. Like millions of people around the world,
Votes for Women – Rights We Take for Granted
The US House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote–just 95 years ago today. My daughter turned 18 last November and is enthusiastically planning to vote for the first time in this year’s elections. She found it scarcely credible when I told her that my own grandmothers were not allowed […]