Archive - March 1, 2018

I have today signed an Executive order establishing a Peace Corps on a temporary pilot basis . . . I recommend to the Congress the establishment of a Permanent Peace Corps — a pool of trained Americans men and women sent overseas by the United States Government or through private organizations and institutions to help foreign countries meet their urgent needs for skilled manpower . . . . Let us hope that other nations will mobilize the spirit and energies and skill of their people in some form of Peace Corps — making our own effort only one step in a major international effort to increase the welfare of all men and improve understanding among nations. John F. Kennedy President of the United States

Listen to a video recording of Jody Olsen’s appearance for her confirmation hearing before Senate Committe on Foreign Relations. Kevin Edward Moley, nominee for the position of Assistant Secretary of State, was also interviewed by this panel at the same time that Olsen was interviewed. The interchange between Moley and members of the Committee was very interesting,  informative, and substantial. In my opinion, the questions for Jody Olsen were more pro forma and yielded little information of how she might act as Director.  The meeting runs about one hour. https://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/nominations-022718  

Tyler McMahon  (El Salvador 1999–02) is the author of the novels How the Mistakes Were Made and Kilometer 99. He studied at the University of Virginia and Boise State University. He teaches writing at Hawai’i Pacific University, edits the Hawai’i Pacific Review, and organizes the Ko’oalu Writers Workshop. Award-Winning Immigration Novel “The ‘dream’ in Dream of Another America is both a noun and an imperative verb of hope: Tyler McMahon has written a Grapes of Wrath for contemporary America. Like Steinbeck’s classic, Dream of Another America urges readers to confront the costs and sacrifices of the American Dream. Beautifully written, emotionally gripping, narratively propulsive, and morally important, this book should be necessary reading for every American.” —Shawna Yang Ryan, author of Green Island and Water Ghosts “McMahon’s contribution to the body of immigrant literature is entrenched in questions of nationality, poverty, and family. He achieves a storytelling feat by creating an incredibly realistic narrative that is as poignant as it . . .