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LATEST ARTICLES ( 1307 )

• Lessons of Afghanistan: Cynicism Versus Humanism

  

  “Hubris” is the word of choice to sneer at America’s global engagement. Now we’re scolded that we arrogantly deluded ourselves we could do good in Afghanistan.... Read more

  Posted on 30 August 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• If Civilization Goes out

  

  I’m not one of those pessimists believing humanity is riding for a fall. We’ve proven remarkably good at overcoming challenges and improving our condition. Read more

  Posted on 26 August 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Black Holes and Humanity

  

  The force of gravity is proportional to mass and diminishes with distance. When a star dies, there’s a lot of mass in a pretty small space, and no more force... Read more

  Posted on 22 August 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Afghanistan Disaster

  

  President Biden decided that 20 years of commitment to Afghanistan was enough, so he’d pull out our few thousand troops. Never mind that we’ve had tens of... Read more

  Posted on 17 August 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• When Politics Gets Bloody

  

  Isabel Allende’s Long Petal of the Sea is a meaty, old-style novel, centered around historical events. It begins with Spain’s 1936-39 civil war. Read more

  Posted on 15 August 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Meeting the Second Gentleman

  

  Doug Emhoff is America’s first second gentleman — spouse of our first female vice president. I recently attended a reception with him in New York. Read more

  Posted on 12 August 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• God’s Holy Apostolic Church of Sex Criminals

  

  As an atheist I have little use for clergy. But I recall a positive vibe when Howard Hubbard, then just 38, became Albany’s Bishop in 1977. A “street priest,” h... Read more

  Posted on 09 August 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Deepening Republican Menace

  

  During Trump’s term, I’d periodically write, “It will get worse.” It always did. And it hasn’t stopped.Some thought Trump’s election defeat might bring... Read more

  Posted on 05 August 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Between Two Kingdoms

  Suleika Jaouad’s book is one of those cancer memoirs. But with a difference.She had it bad. A lot of health red flags that she ignored, and then doctors... Read more

  Posted on 20 June 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• What Does “systemic Racism” Mean?

  

  Black Republican Senator Tim Scott said America is not a racist country. I used to agree, seeing our few remaining racists as backward people who didn’t count... Read more

  Posted on 15 June 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Kurt Vonnegut’s Last and Worst Novel

  

  Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was one of my favorite writers. One short story really resonated: Harrison Bergeron, who lives in a society so egalitarian that... Read more

  Posted on 12 June 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Republicans’ Deranged War on Fauci

  

  Just when you thought Republicans could not get more insane . . . .Now they’re rabidly focused on demonizing, of all people, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of America’... Read more

  Posted on 08 June 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Manifesto for a New Political Party

  

  We have a two-party system. Except that one is no longer a responsible legitimate party. After 53 years as a Republican, I became a Democrat as the only sane... Read more

  Posted on 04 June 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Crimes and Brains

  

  In Maryland, not long ago, a boy of 13 was riding in a car involved in a gang-related shooting. The state is one of many with the “felony murder” doctrine —... Read more

  Posted on 31 May 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Transgender Wars: Revisited

  

  My 4/29 essay, “Transgender Wars”* basically said transgendering is right and good for many people, while caution is needed when pre-teen and teen kids... Read more

  Posted on 27 May 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Are Child Car Seats Contraceptive?

  

  The average U.S. woman birthed 2.12 children in the early ’70s but only 1.73 by 2018. And whereas car safety seats were first required only for tots under three... Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Power Imbalance Between Good and Evil

  

  I literally wrote the book on optimism. Seeing people, and the world, improving over time. But that seems to have gone into reverse.The power of good is... Read more

  Posted on 21 May 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• What’s the Big Deal with Wittgenstein?

  

  I was tickled when my publisher’s catalog displayed my book opposite one by philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. As if we’re on a par. Just name-drop Wittgenstein t... Read more

  Posted on 18 May 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• “2034: A Novel of the Next World War”

  

  It starts with an incident in the South China Sea — in this much remarked 2021 novel by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis (head of the prestigious... Read more

  Posted on 15 May 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• About Those Meal Delivery Service Fees

  

  Not long ago, my local paper editorialized about supposedly exorbitant fees charged by meal delivery services. With many people still using this option, its... Read more

  Posted on 13 May 2021 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY