This is the grave of John Edgar Thomson. Born in 1808 in Springfield, Pennsylvania, J. Edgar Thomson grew up in an engineering family of the Transportation Revolution. His father was an engineer who w
Well, this sucks: Norm Macdonald, whose laconic delivery of sharp and incisive observations made him one of Saturday Night Live‘s most influential and beloved cast members, died today after a nine-y
I suppose it’s fairly well-known that I do not have the reflexive obsession with nonviolence in politics that dominates the minds of American liberals. Violence is usually a bad idea for a movem
Terri Gerstein had a good piece in the Times a few days ago about why terrible jobs, especially in the food industry, are as bad for the general public as they are for workers. Researchers have found
This is the grave of Frances Perkins. Born in Boston in 1880, Perkins grew up relatively well-off, though not rich. She grew up in Worcester and then went to college at a time when this was still not
I spent last weekend at the Rhythm & Roots Festival in Charlestown, Rhode Island. This is an annual folk festival on the coast near the Connecticut border. I’d never gone before, largely bec
California continues to attempt to control Amazon’s Gilded Age style labor practices: In the latest sign of the growing scrutiny of Amazon’s labor practices, the California State Senate on Wed
This is the grave of W.J. Cash. Born in Gaffney, South Carolina in 1900, Wilber J. Cash grew up in the mill ownership class of these small upcountry towns. His father ran the company store in the town