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The First African American President in US History: The Election of 2008

While President George W Bush enjoyed a record-high 90 per cent approval rating in the wake of the tragic 9/11 attack in 2001, his support dropped to just 25 per cent by October 2008. This was due to the eventual unpopularity of the Iraq war, but mostly, due to the 2008 financial crisis. Illinois Senator Barack Obama narrowly defeated former First Lady Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, then handily won the 2008 election to become the first black President in US history.

The author at the statue of the Pest Lad, an iconic symbol of the 1956 Revolution and Freedom Fight, at Corvin köz, Budapest.

East Toward Home — An Exiled American Finds His Place Among the Magyars

‘Before I left for America on this trip, I complained to a Magyar friend about how stubborn Hungarians are, and how they refuse to change their ways of doing things, even when there is a plainly better way. “You’re right, we are like that,” she said. “But consider that our hard-headed temperamental conservatism is also the thing that makes us willing to stand up to Brussels and tell them to go to hell.” Touché.’

Imre Lendvai-Lintner: Thirty Years Leading Hungarian American Scouting

In 1989 scouting became again legally permitted in Hungary. Consequently, the émigré Hungarian Scout Association changed its name to the current one: Hungarian Scout Association in Exteris. Nowadays it comprises more than 70 troops on four continents, in 14 countries, organized into five districts (Western Europe, South America, USA, Australia and Canada), with a total of 2,950 members.

Statue of Liberty, New York City (Pixabay)

The Case for Immigration in America

‘A new study finds that 80 per cent of immigrants in the labor force are more likely to become entrepreneurs. Immigrant entrepreneurs have tended to have a more profound impact on overall labor demand by starting companies that hire new workers, creating a positive ripple-effect on the economy. In fact, as reported by Forbes, an estimated 45 per cent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children, among them America’s top companies.’

The American Presidential Election 100 Years Ago: The Election of 1924

The 1924 Democratic National Convention was perhaps the most chaotic party convention in American history. One of the major issues was whether or not the potential nominees were willing to denounce the Ku Klux Klan. The fear was it likely would trigger a backlash from their voter base in the South. Eventually, the party did not issue a condemnation. After a record 103 ballots, and even some fistfighting, former West Virginia Congressman John Davis got himself the nomination.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt greets the delegation of the Polish American Congress on 11 October 1944.

Is There Really a Polish American Vote?

‘For those whose hearts beat on both sides of the Atlantic, the more productive consideration is what this election signifies for U.S.–Poland relations. Poland, like the United States, is bitterly divided between cosmopolitan urban areas and more conservative and religious exurbs and rural areas. After eight years of single-party Law & Justice rule, Polish conservatives are momentarily weak and banking heavily on a second Trump administration.’