While I was in public life, I wrote a pamphlet entitled, “Who’s Watching the Watchers.” The subject was media accountability. Hoping the industry would police itself struck me as naïve as thinking North Korea might give up its nuclear weapons. My proposal was to create a citize
I read recently that Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, had signed into law the right of a man to beat his wife. (Yahoonews.com) He did it, he explained, because the order was in accordance with Sharia law. Apart for the immorality of using religion as a pretext to abuse women an
Silicon Valley is leading with its chin again. Besides sexism (See Blog 7/25/12) and anti-union labor practices (See Blog 2/12/12), ageism is another charge to be added to the list of complaints. Noam Scheiber’s article, “Over the Hill in Silicon Valley,” exposes the frat hous
A revered Buddhist monk long ago was asked what he would most regret about dying. After some thought, he answered he would miss watching clouds drift across the sky. His reply struck me as profound, nothing I might have said, though I have an answer if I am ever asked the question. I
I’ve always assumed a society should reflect the highest values of its citizen, which includes treating individuals with respect. Few would quarrel with that value, I think, until we turn our attention to the treatment of prisoners. Regrettably some people see jails as instruments o
When I was growing up my mother used to say, “Don’t do anything you’d be ashamed to see reported on the front page of the newspaper.” I took the warning seriously which may account for why my life may seem boring to others. What matters is that I sleep well. Given the dullness
Sometimes I want to shake sense into the young or anyone who lives in the land of “what if.” It’s a terrible place of longing, dissatisfaction and of continually looking to the future for a solution to the present. On Facebook, recently, a young man wrote about his broken heart.
Recently, I met with a financial planner to update arrangements for my final years. I must say, preparing to exit life requires more paperwork than coming into it. Happily, I passed inspection on all points but one: I’d left no instructions for the disposal of my ashes. I admit, I
I’ve often written about the advantages of growing older, but I won’t deny there are disadvantages, too. One of them is that we lose our financial acuity as we age. Unfortunately, unlike memory malfunctions, losing this skill is not easily perceived, according to writer Allan Roth
Of all the generations that went through the 2008-2009 economic downturn, the Millennials, ages 18-33, have suffered the most. That’s according to a recent survey by Money magazine, which notes these young people are not only saddled with college debt, but are facing a weak employme