Posts by Pamela
Hippomania in Victorian England
Long before the baby pygmy hippo named Moo Deng was born in a zoo in Thailand and became an on-line sensation, another hippo captured the hearts of zoo-going visitors in Victorian London. Obaysch (c. 1849-1878) was captured on an island in the White Nile, from which he took his name, when he was less than…
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The Thrill of the Vote
This post first ran on election day in 2008. I’ve run it several times since then. My feelings on the subject haven’t changed: It’s election day in Chicago. I just walked home from voting for a new mayor and a new alderman–and I miss my old neighborhood. For ten years I lived in South Shore: …
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You Can’t Vote Because
I first ran this post in 2011. I think it is an even more important reminder today. From sixth century Athens on, who has the vote and why has been a touchy and evolving subject in democracies. People who already have the vote have hesitated to extend it to others for two basic reasons. …
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