Paper description History/Biography/Politics: A history (including duties and short biographies) of Attorneys General of the U.S., with an emphasis on Janet Reno, the author’s 2nd cousin. She describes how she discovered their familial relationship and meeting Ms. Reno for the first time in the White House. Other Attorneys General covered by the paper: Jennings Randolf, Edward Bates, William Henry Moody, Robert F. Kennedy, Nicholas Katzebach, John Mitchell, Richard Kleindienst, Eliot Richardson, William...

Paper description International Travel/Family: After some introductory discussion of current politics and economics in China, the author moves on to her vivid account of actually being a houseguest in China, summer 2010. Think about it! Grandson Jake was invited to spend the summer of 2010 with his middle school friends, twin brothers from China. The visit was pared down to 2 1/2 weeks. The author accompanied her grandson, her role being guardian, chaperone, grandmother and, ultimately, friend of the family....

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History: After Peter the Great died in 1725, five women occupied the throne of Russia. They were not kind, gentle, or beautiful. They were terrible.

Paper description Family Life/Education: The author's story is one of success over criticism. She describes the motivation behind her preference for homeschooling her older daughter and unwelcome discouragement by others. Supportive authors include Dr. Odent (of France), Jean Liedloff, Nancy Wallace. Schooling included violin, an early Waldorf education (to learn centeredness and serenity), rational thinking through Latin grammar, English grammar through singing songs, poems to memorize and illustrate,...

Scope and Contents From the Series:

The titles, summary descriptions and commentary are supplied by the author / presenter of the papers, and by members of the Winnetka Fortnightly.

Paper description History/Denmark: About the island of Als, Denmark, where the author’s mother grew up. Situated close to the German border, it played a large role in Danish-German conflicts over the region. The author describes her experiences as a first-generation Dane. Als Island was part of the infamous duchies of Slesvig and Holstein that caused tremendous upheaval in mid-19th century European history. The island was the location of the two most important and decisive battles during the armed conflicts...

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Philosophy/History: The story of the tensions between science and religion has largely been misrepresented. Galileo’s clash with the Roman Catholic Church The battle between science and religion did not begin until the Enlightenment, when reason dictated preference for literal language over metaphoric.