Tsunami, a word that wasn't in most of our lexicons a decade ago, was in the news again yesterday. Most of us became familiar with the disastrous effects of tsunamis when the big one hit in the Pacific in 2004 killing over 150,000 people. There was another that struck Myanmar more recently but was not as large. The (corrupt, repressive) government of Myanmar refused outside help for it's people.
Yesterday's wall of water struck American Samoa. American Samoa? I realized my ignorance. Why is it called American Samoa. I don't know much about "American" Samoa or even Samoa. There are probably more of my countrymen who think of Girl Scout cookies when they hear the word Samoa and have no idea why there is also an American Samoa. Time to Google.
American Samoa votes for their government and rules themselves but under the protectorate of the US. Their high courts decisions come under our Supreme Court. Perhaps this is similar to the relationship we had to the Philippine Islands. I need to do a little more research.
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