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LATEST ARTICLES ( 1483 )

• Hitler, Stalin, Mao . . . Putin . . .

  

  Hitler, Stalin, Mao. The Big Three. Greatest monsters of the 20th Century. Or GOAT? Well, Genghis Khan; Tamerlane; Ivan the Terrible; and others. But such... Read more

  Posted on 08 June 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Libertarianism: a Crazy Idea?

  

  I’ve always considered myself basically libertarian. Recently I read Libertarianism: A Primer, by David Boaz. Published in 1997 — it might seem an artifact... Read more

  Posted on 05 June 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Obituaries

  

  Frank Spath was my one and only client in my legal career.When I came to Albany in 1970 as a young lawyer, working for a state agency, I lived in a room (not... Read more

  Posted on 31 May 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Biden Should Not Run Again

  

  I supported Biden from the start in 2020, strongly, as the candidate best positioned to save the country. I think events bore out that judgment, and I don’t... Read more

  Posted on 27 May 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Ode to Joy

  

  My wife and I visited the Benelux countries — our much anticipated first foreign trip in 2-1/2 years. My biggest takeaway impression: a civilization whose main... Read more

  Posted on 24 May 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Replacement Theory — Let’s Do It

  

  The “Great Replacement Theory” is yet one more thing making Republicans the Party of Crazy. A recent poll showed a third of Americans are drinking this Kool-Aid. Read more

  Posted on 20 May 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Trillions and Trillions

  

  No, this is not about government spending. It’s galaxies.PBS’s “Nova” science series recently had a program about the universe, with casual mention of... Read more

  Posted on 17 May 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Republicans and the “Grooming” Lie

  

  The word “grooming” has exploded into our culture wars, a cudgel for the right to bash Democrats. The word has been used to describe a sexual predator (usually ... Read more

  Posted on 07 May 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Michelle Obama’s Memoir, “Becoming”

  

  As is typical for me with such books, I was far more engaged with the story of Michelle Obama’s early life, when she was an ordinary normal person, than with th... Read more

  Posted on 05 May 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• NY High Court Ruling May Doom America

  

  The backstory: In 2014 Governor Andrew Cuomo pushed through a constitutional amendment supposedly ending gerrymandering. This involves legislative district maps... Read more

  Posted on 01 May 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Hell of a Book

  

  — that’s the title — by Jason Mott — is actually two different novels coexisting uneasily within one cover.One is a semi-comical first-person account of the... Read more

  Posted on 28 April 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• A Life in Poetry

  

  There was a nice piece in today’s Times-Union about my wife Therese Broderick’s poetry life. Written by the inimitable Paul Grondahl (head of the NY State... Read more

  Posted on 28 April 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Is the Self an Illusion? What Can That Even Mean?

  

  Jay Garfield’s book, Losing Ourselves: Learning to Live Without a Self, argues that the “self” is an illusion, and letting it go enables living better, more... Read more

  Posted on 24 April 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Capitol Burns

  

  Trump Blames Dems, Declares Martial LawJanuary 22, 2025By James Thornton, Devon Sharp,and Julie MontalbanoAssociated... Read more

  Posted on 20 April 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Kathy Hochul’s Double BB Boo-boos

  

  Governor Andrew Cuomo was loathsome. Seemingly redeemed in the pandemic’s beginnings, we soon learned he’d fudged nursing home death numbers, to cover an... Read more

  Posted on 16 April 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• “The True” — Machine Politics and Sex

  

  February 1977 — Dan O’Connell is finally dead. So begins Sharr White’s play, The True, performed at Capital Rep, directed by its leader Maggie Cahill. (Runs... Read more

  Posted on 13 April 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• How Do We Know Right From Wrong?

  

  Emails between Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Ginni (Mrs. Clarence) Thomas, recently revealed, strategized to overturn the 2020 election. Meadows calle... Read more

  Posted on 09 April 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Ukraine: The War for Civilization

  

  This is huge. Our most fundamental values are on the line. Russia must lose, and be seen to lose. No plausible pretense of victory. No ambiguity.Ukraine is... Read more

  Posted on 05 April 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• 1619, Critical Race Theory, and America’s Story

  

  (This appeared recently as a commentary in the Albany Times-Union)The “1619 Project” aims to highlight a key aspect of history — 1619 being when slavery... Read more

  Posted on 02 April 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• My Greatest Celebrity Sighting Ever!

  

  I’m in an elevator in New York with several others. One a tallish woman, in dark glasses, and some kind of concealing headgear. Yet I detect something vaguely... Read more

  Posted on 30 March 2022 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY