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LATEST ARTICLES ( 1299 )

• Roy Moore and Christian Hypocrisy

  

  Alabama has a special Senate election in December for the Jeff Sessions seat. Governor Robert Bentley had appointed Luther Strange to the seat. Read more

  Posted on 11 November 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Magical Thinking in America

  

  Mass shootings keep us revisiting the gun issue. Many Americans want guns for self-protection in the home. But guns in homes overwhelmingly shoot family members... Read more

  Posted on 07 November 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Republican Tax Plan: “A Big Beautiful Christmas Present” Or Coal in Our...

  

  The real question: why?Why this Republican tax proposal? Well, it’s billed as “reform,” and God knows our federal tax system is an ungodly mess crying out for... Read more

  Posted on 04 November 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Embezzlement Mysteries

  

  Our local paper reported a 54-year-old woman bookkeeper busted for stealing over $800,000 from her employer, between 2009 and 2016, by writing over 1,000... Read more

  Posted on 02 November 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Indictments

  

  Paul Manafort, who was chairman of Trump’s campaign, made millions from some of the world’s worst villains (like the murderer Putin), advising them how to... Read more

  Posted on 31 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• My 11/7 Talk on the Drug War

  

  At noon Tuesday, November 7 (Election Day) I will talk about the drug war, reviewing Johann Hari’s book Chasing the Scream, at the Albany Public Library, 161... Read more

  Posted on 31 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Jones Act — How Protectionism Sank Our Fleet

  

  Remember Trump ordering a temporary waiver of the Jones Act, to get help to Puerto Rico? What was that all about?The Jones Act, passed in 1920, limits shipping... Read more

  Posted on 28 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Theresa Cooke: Joan of Arc

  

  She gave me this photo for my bookTheresa Cooke (like me) came to Albany in 1970. She was shocked by the misfeasance and non-transparency of local government,... Read more

  Posted on 26 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Telling the Truth in a Post-Truth World: a Symposium

  

  “The press is not the enemy of the people. It’s the enemy of liars.” — Frank S. RobinsonThis was a program of the New York State Writers Institute, founded by... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2017 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• “Media in the Age of New Technology: Fake News, Information Overload & Media...

  

  Schieffer(Panelists Tim Wu (originator of “net neutrality”); Franklin Foer; Maria Hinojosa; David Goodman. Moderator: news legend Bob Schieffer)“Satan has come... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• “Presidents and the Press: Trump, Nixon & More”

  

  (Schieffer; Amy Goodman; Historian Douglas Brinkley; Harry Rosenfeld (who was Woodward- -Bernstein’s editor); and Shane Goldmacher)Rosenfeld: in the Watergate... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2017 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Dirty Deeds: Election Mischief, Cybercrimes & Civil Liberties

  

  (Panelists Russell Banks, David Daley, James Steiner, Kelly Vlahos; moderator Victor Asal)“The call is coming from inside the house,” said Daley, a line from a... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• “Race, Class & the Future of Democracy”

  

  (Panelists Carol Anderson, Jose Cruz, Juan Gonzalez, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc; moderator Gilbert King)“Make America Great Again” — and when was it great before?... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2017 POLITICS, SOCIETY

• “The First Amendment & Free Speech Under Attack”

  

  (Panelists Floyd Abrams, Anthony Paul Farley, Kristina Findikyan, Richard Honen; moderator Ashleigh Banfield)Abrams is the nation’s premier First Amendment... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• “The End of Newspapers?” [Note, the Last in a Series of Posts Recapping a NYSWI...

  

  (Panelists Bill Keller (former NY Times Executive Editor); Jim Rich (Executive Editor of Huffpost and formerly of the NY Daily News); Richard Tofel (President o... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• America’s Partisan Divide Trumps All Other Tribalisms

  

  “Humans are extremely loyal to members of their own group. They are even prepared to give up their own lives in defense of those with whom they identify. Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• A Cute Puzzler

  

  This came not from Car Talk but an essay I read. Imagine a ribbon girdling the Earth’s circumference. Then add just one meter to the ribbon’s length. So... Read more

  Posted on 16 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Iran Deal — More Trump Destructivism

  

  Must I address every Trump atrocity? (Actually I don’t, it’s impossible; I haven’t discussed the NFL nonsense.) But I feel a civic duty to call out truly bad... Read more

  Posted on 13 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Gettysburg

  

  My wife applied for a writer-in-residence grant at Gettysburg. She didn’t get it, but meantime became interested in the history, and we decided to go there. Read more

  Posted on 09 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Human History in a Nutshell, Part 2: Civilization

  

  Previously I recapped our biological evolution. Now for civilization.It’s a tale of two revolutions: agricultural and industrial. For around 95% of our existenc... Read more

  Posted on 05 October 2017 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY