I tuned in to the first Republican debate to see how the eight candidates on stage would handle the elephant in the room: Donald Trump. The moderators didn’t even raise the issue of the former president for the first half hour, so I got tired of the preening and sound biting and interrupting and turned […]

President Biden announced the first price negotiations over 10 super-expensive Medicare drugs last week through the Inflation Reduction Act as if it were a big deal. It is. In fact, it’s the first time since the program’s creation under Lyndon Johnson in 1965 that Democrats have struck a major blow toward reducing the program’s costs […]

There’s a reason the name “Jimmy Buffett” elicits immediate joy in the hearts of millions: happiness contagion. A study conducted by Harvard University and the University of California followed 5,000 people for 20 years to determine if happiness was contagious. The study’s finding: it most certainly is. If you smile at a stranger as you […]

THE CONVERSATION — U.S. senators and representatives returning from their summer vacations will need to shake off their suntans in quick time and get down to business. Congress has just 11 days when it’s in session before the next federal fiscal year begins on Oct. 1, 2023. And in that time, it will need to enact […]

President Biden’s Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against SpaceX, the Elon Musk-founded company. In its 13-page complaint, the Justice Department alleges that SpaceX “discriminated against asylees and refugees throughout its hiring process, including during recruiting, screening, and selection, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.” The case’s outcome will be a landmark in […]

In the annals of scandal, Aug. 29 was quite an eventful day. I’ll try to unpack the proceedings. The federal judge in the feds’ election subversion case decreed that the coup commander shall go on trial in Washington on March 4 – and if he doesn’t like it, well, tough: “Mr. Trump, like any defendant, […]

Us versus them. That may be the core of American politics these days. It often becomes a “wedge” issue. That’s a single, polarizing cause, usually focusing on social concerns, which gets translated into a political war. Candidates make a wedge issue the focus of their campaigns. If they can gain support on the strength of […]

I was born on Staten Island way back in 1938, and as what often happens when one passes through the Geezer Gates, I randomly remember disparate happenings in my life, and today for unknown reasons, I started to think about the great and mighty Staten Island ferry boats. Now, lots of my shenanigans on those […]

Last week I wrote about the great impact that certain teachers can have on our lives. That piece got me to thinking about the “teachers” we have all around us, even as we get up in years. We just have to be open to learning. Here are a few of the things I’ve learned over […]

Many students and parents alike are eager for the start of the new school year, but the stakes are higher for some than others. Rising evictions and homelessness mean more families this year will count on our public schools to meet a variety of their children’s basic needs. “Schools are the only social service agency this country guarantees,” said […]