Want to know more about Hinduism in America? Check out the Hindu American Foundation website — Obama’s Cairo oversight, America’s National Day of Prayer, Hindus and Jews meet.
Barbara’s Riffs on Life
A Case of the Human Condition: I Did It — I Offed Those Frightful Snapdragons
I yanked those ugly maroon snapdragons out by the roots. My front yard color scheme has been restored, and all is right with the world.
A Case of the Human Condition: I Want to Kill My Snapdragons
Those maroon snapdragons in my front yard are ugly. But they’re alive. Can I rip them out? Read more.
Book Openers: Barack Obama — How He Got So Smart
Barack Obama was a president who could think. His memoir, “Dreams from My Father,” explains how Obama got so smart. Read more.
The Rhetorician in the White House — Or, How I Learned to Love the Passive Voice
The passive sentence gets a bad rap — it’s weak, it’s vague, it’s passive. But sometimes a neatly turned passive sentence is just what our ever-shrinking world needs. Obama’s Cairo speech is an example. Read more.
In the Garden With the Grammar Geek: Is It Ever OK to Use the Passive Voice?
Passive sentences can be wordy and vague — or useful. For me, a passive sentence is one that, like it or not, obscures the doer of the action. Read more.



