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Almanac for Aug. 27, 2026

Today is Thursday, Aug. 27, the 239th day of 2026. There are 126 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 27, 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa erupted with a series of cataclysmic explosions. The explosions (which could be heard 3,000 miles away) and resulting tsunamis in Indonesia's Sunda Strait claimed some 36,000 lives in Java and Sumatra. Also on this date: In 1894, Congress passed the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act, which contained a provision for a graduated income tax that was later struck down by the Supreme Court. In 1964, the film "Mary Poppins" had its world premiere ...

What if factories had gotten the data center treatment?

When American manufacturing was truly coming into its own in the early 20th century, workers sometimes labored 12-hour days seven days a week and risked life and limb working near dangerous machinery, while factories blackened the skies of American cities. Yet some of the same people who ...

Almanac for Aug. 26, 2026

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 26, the 238th day of 2026. There are 127 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 26, 1944, French Gen. Charles de Gaulle braved the threat of German snipers as he led a victory march in Paris, which had just been liberated by the Allies from Nazi occupation. Also on this date: In 1939, the first televised Major League Baseball games were broadcast on experimental station W2XBS: a doubleheader between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. The Reds won the first game, 5-2, and the Dodgers the second, 6-1. In 1958, Alaskans went ...

Never trust a politician

The woman in the grocery store checkout line had an accent. While we waited for our items to be rung up, I asked her where she was from. “Argentina,” she said. “Is the inflation rate in Argentina under 100 percent yet?” I asked. She smiled, “That’s what the politicians say, but ...

Almanac for Aug. 25, 2026

Today is Tuesday, Aug. 25, the 237th day of 2026. There are 128 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act, establishing the National Park Service as an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior to maintain the country's natural and historic wonders and "leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Also on this date: In 1875, Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, crossing from Dover, England, to Calais (ka-LAY'), France, in under 22 ...

Todd Blanche’s One Promise: Dishonesty

Todd Blanche was Donald Trump's personal attorney, so it was natural that when he was elevated to attorney general, a journalist asked whether he would "pledge that the Justice Department will always act independently of the White House?" The correct answer to such a question is obvious: The ...