People Are Leaving The ‘Uncool’ USA

by Nick Lichtenberg  Fortune Magazine    In 1883, American poet Emma Lazarus wrote “The New Colossus” during an age of great immigration to the New World, as part of an effort to fund the pedestal for France’s gift to the United States: the Statue of Liberty in New York City.    “‘Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!’ …

Quibbles And Bits: Outlaw Z, Forgiveness

by Kevin Burton     Come and get it kids, quibble and bits, short takes, follow-ups from recent posts, bits of news…..    A day or two after I wrote about the letter Z and its two pronunciations (zed and zee), Meriam-Webster made “zeitgeist” its word of the day.    The dictionary says zeitgeist is “the …

A Way Americans Can Avoid Fascist President

by Silvia Marchetti CNN    While many communities around the world have been wondering what to make of Donald Trump’s presidential re-election, a village on the Italian island of Sardinia has sniffed a potential opportunity.    Like many other places in rural Italy, Ollolai has long been trying to persuade outsiders to move in to revive …

Nebraska Town Divided Over Immigration

by Didi Martinez, Julia Ainsley and  Laura Strickler, NBC News FREMONT, Neb. — Big-city mayors may be complaining about the economic impact of an influx of migrants, but the residents of a small city near Omaha can’t decide how they feel.    Fremont, Nebraska, population 27,000, has three massive meat-processing plants. As young locals leave in …

More Bilingual Americans Than You Think

by Kevin Burton   There was a time when I had multiple dozens of penpals from around the world. More than once I heard this joke:    What do you call a person who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual.    What do you call a …

“The Immigrant” Didn’t Fit John Lennon

by Kevin Burton    For about three minutes and fifty seconds a tidy story unfolds from the pen of lyricist Phil Cody and the voice of the great Neil Sedaka.    Attempt to read between the lines though and you have a mess on your hands, especially with Sedaka dedicating the song to ex-Beatle John …