That Fine Italian Glad Hand

Big-city American mayors have been in the news lately, specifically, Eric Adams in New York (decrying the busing of migrants to his city) and Lori Lightfoot in Chicago (the same, although she is also dealing with out-of-control crime). The first Asian American and...

The Other Storia Segreta

Eighty years ago today, a little known dispute between the Axis powers came to a head when the Royal Italian Army occupying southern France refused to turn over thousands of French and foreign Jews to their German ally. The Italians had been occupying a section of the...

What’s in a Name?

One of my favorite television commentators is Dana Perino of FOX News.  You may recall her from the W. Bush Administration when she was the White House Press Secretary, the second female to have the job.  Clearly, Perino is an Italian surname but in the all...

Master of Media

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article on the Frank Capra film It’s a Wonderful Life. It seems this Christmas classic was a financial flop when it premiered in 1946.  In fact, Capra’s production company Liberty Films took a loss of $25,000 – $400,000...

What’s in a Day?

Christmas Day is officially over and a new year begins. For the holidays, I bought a relative one of those popular new calendars which feature a “fun day” item listed for all 365 days of the year. Example: April 17, National Haiku Poem Day. July 20,...

Christmas Ramblings

The Feast of the Seven Fishes? Sounds like a solid tradition until the first fish-hater comes to the table.  Then tradition takes a back seat in the name of hospitality. Granted, clams, mussels, and oysters turn some people off.  Octopus, squid, and...