Theo Bruinsma

  There was a song during the eighties by the Scottish rock band, Simple Minds, called “ Promised You a Miracle .” But I always heard it as “Promised You America.”

As a teenager growing-up in Holland, I used to watch numerous American TV shows. The one that I really liked was Miami Vice starring Don Johnson. At this time in Holland there were only two television channels, and they didn’t commence until 3pm in the afternoon and ended slightly passed 11pm. Another one I really liked was  Magnum, P.I.  starring Tom Selleck. And though Magnum, P.I. was featured only once a week, it provided me with enough inspiration to enter the world of palm trees, white beaches, beautiful women and a red Ferrari. But if not a red Ferrari, I would have gladly settled for the convertible Rolls-Royce Corniche as occasionally featured in my other favorite TV show, Hart to Hart , starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers. For me, Don Johnson, Tom Selleck, and Robert Wagner as portrayed on television were the ideal men living in the ideal world.

Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly in High Society (1956) Frank Sinatra Singing for the Princess Grace Foundation of Monaco in Dallas, Texas DALLAS, TEXAS: In October 1986, a significant event took place at the Hilton Anatole Hotel (then called the Loews Anatole): the Princess Grace Foundation gala, and the royal family of Monaco was in attendance. Several days before the event, all staff scheduled to work underwent background checks. Though we waiters were not privy to specific details, we noticed numerous men in suits loitering around and we suspected they were federal agents.

Elitism vs. Elegance: Encounters with Wolfgang Puck, Robert Duvall, and Depeche Mode at the Crescent Court Hotel DALLAS, TEXAS -- 1985-89: Luckily, a new hotel had opened up in Dallas, and I was able to work some banquet shifts there. It was a 5-star hotel called The Crescent Court Hotel.

King Willem-Alexander and his mother Princess Beatrix smiling at the people who pay for their palaces Behind the Democracy: How the Dutch Monarchy Exercises Silent Control Over the Government According to Article 1 of the Dutch Constitution, every individual in the Netherlands should be treated equally under the law. However, there is one family who is above the law: the superior royal Dutch family. This is a huge contradiction in Dutch society and culture. The Dutch legislature should either abolish Article 1 or the monarchy and revert back to a republic, which the Netherlands originally was.

The Man Queen Beatrix Feared: Did the Dutch Establishment Intentionally Leave Pim Fortuyn Unprotected? Had Pim Fortuyn lived just nine more days, he would almost certainly have become the next Prime Minister of the Netherlands.  The obvious question that has lingered for years is: Who benefited the most from his death?

  Angelique via Utrecht: Reflections on Medical Ethics, the Dutch Caste System, and a 40-Year Family History It was a typical Dutch gray day—neither rain nor sun graced the sky. The train had just left Utrecht station, bound for Bunnik. I was now only minutes away from seeing Angelique. The last time I had seen her was 25 years ago when she visited me in San Francisco.

The Starck Club in Dallas, Texas Philippe Starck’s Concrete Oasis and the Fluid Nightlife Revolution of 1980s My favorite place that I would frequently visit in Dallas was the Starck Club. It was located in the old part of town, where the once life-sustaining warehouses were abandoned and crumbling, right past the forgotten railroad tracks of the forgotten Industrial Revolution. But this one particular warehouse was adopted and remodeled by the French architect and designer, Philippe Starck. Getting into the Starck Club wasn’t easy. There was always a long line, and the doormen were highly selective about who they allowed to enter. In my early twenties, with bleached blond hair, I was hip enough to pass. I wore black parachute pants and white leather shoes—very Duran Duran-esque.

    Ayn Rand Institute Pushing Open Borders: A Critique of Yaron Brook In a 2016 Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) lecture titled “Free Will, Free Borders,” Dr. Yaron Brook advocates for open borders and illegal immigration. Watching his speech, one might mistake him for a La Raza speaker or a university professor as he hysterically argues that America's borders are inherently racist. Brook is the chairman of the board of ARI. What happened to reason and the Objectivist movement? Has the ARI gone woke?  Moreover Brook's presentation is loaded with accusatory rhetoric and logical fallacies. It makes one wonder if Brook is really an Objectivist and how he became the chairman of ARI?  And as fanatical as he sounds about his demands for America to have open-borders, it turns out that Dr. Brook doesn't believe any of his arguments should apply to Israel's borders. How ironic. 

A Night in 1980s San Francisco: A Maserati-Powered Citroën SM and a Romance One of my favorite placed to go out to was Dancers, a club on Harrison and Second Street. It was a dimly lit space where colored lights flashed to a constant industrial beat, creating an inescapable aura of sensuality, with people dancing on top of the bar. I had awkwardly asked several ladies to dance with me, but each time they declined. Just as discouragement set in, I spotted an attractive lady near the dance floor, leaning against a pillar with her arms folded. She seemed relaxed, her long, curly hair cascading over her bare shoulders, her large brown eyes framed by thick, manicured eyebrows. Approaching her, I braced for another rejection as she too might decline my request, so I asked her the clichéd question: “Do you come here often?” To my surprise, it led to a conversation. And it turned out we had something in common: she, too, had worked at the Carnelian Room restaurant (on the 52nd floor of the Ban...