My backyard has about a dozen ash trees planted about 60 years ago. They are magnificent trees, tall and straight, dominating their environment.
Dignity and its pursuit, particularly the pursuit of equal dignity, is an essential wellspring of American politics. In my prior post, which you can read here, I sought to define via example and discussion…
1. Please never tell me there is no difference between the Democratic and Republican parties. Never. Really, never.
2. In the light of day, good policy beats bad politics every time.
About a month and a half ago, I participated in a rally held by Congresswoman Louise Slaughter to protest against the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act. At that time, I said that under Republican plans ‘who knows’ what the individual market for health insurance will look like.
Ever wonder why you become inpatient waiting for a response to a text, or why it’s gratifying to notice the “likes” on your Facebook page? Psychologists who study…
This has been a tough day and it isn’t even 11:00 AM in the morning.
Rochester’s beloved JCC received a bomb threat this morning and had to be evacuated. Our children went there for years…I can’t imagine how parents must have felt. It isn’t just…
Last week I had the privilege of attending as the guest of Congresswoman Louis Slaughter the address by President Trump to a joint session of Congress. By now there have been hundreds of comments about the speech from all kinds of…
Like most other people I have been rather obsessed with watching Donald Trump’s various escapades. This includes becoming aware that he is everywhere and invading all of my spaces including my favorite TV reviewer’s articles (shout out to Matthew…
My walking buddy and I were talking while we walked. I discussed the ins and outs of editing this blog. I told her about a friend who wants to write an article with an opposing point of view. I explained that I wasn’t sure I wanted that, “My blog, my rules.” She said she thought it was freedom of…
It is customary to describe American politics in terms of traditional ideological categories — liberal vs. conservative — or discrete issue polarities — such as disputes over the size of government — or in terms of…
A while ago (see the blog post here) I declined to call Donald Trump a thug.
With today’s news (see the story here), I have changed my mind.
Donald Trump is a thug.
That is all.
As the Trump administration gets underway, so does talk about a build-up of American armed forces, especially the Navy. We can expect a significant increase in the budget for shipbuilding this year and in the out years as…
Patriots and Politics
I live in New England so of course I watched the Patriots win an incredible Super Bowl game this past Sunday. I do not normally watch football, but living here, there’s no question that when the Patriots are in the Super Bowl you watch. The interesting thing about this year, though, is that numerous…
As an actuary with some experience on Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI) I am frequently asked questions about the coverage. This is an attempt to record the most common questions and answers.
Like many people, I grew up in the era of the high publicity Congressional investigation, complete with bright lights, hostile witnesses, angry Congressmen and 24 x 7 media coverage. Even though I’m trained as a political scientist so I know…
Today Donald Trump started off our breakfasts with this bit of light hearted tweeting:
So what or who is a thug? Is Donald Trump a thug?
The use of the term entered the English language in the 19th century. The original Thugs were…
This belongs to a particular genre of political writing that turns up in January/February every four years. Specific article angles vary somewhat but the basic content is usually the…
