A conversation on my Facebook page focused on whether or not liberals should make a greater effort to listen to MAGA concerns. Most of the contributors felt that listening is always good, and so do I.  But I also feel that listening should be reciprocal. Senator Chuck Schummer (D) li

I met Noam Chomsky in graduate school.  I say “met” metaphorically.  His work was required reading for my degree.  He had an idea that language was natural to the human brain, then went about proving it with linguistics–an almost mathematical formulation of how languages

Research proves that when a falsehood is often repeated, people tend to believe it.  The phenomenon is called the illusory truth effect. One example is that Vitamin C cures a cold. Another is that the 2020 election was stolen. A lie about Trump flourishes among Christian Evangelicals

Many are wondering why Kamala Harris, who ran a flawless campaign for President in 2024 and had a billion dollars in her war chest, was unable to defeat a 78-year-old scandal-ridden felon. A reason might be that though the economy was booming, 36.8 million people, roughly 11 percent o

When Donald Trump says he wants to make America great again, he isn’t talking about reverting to isolationism. He’s said  America shouldn’t stand alone.  What he envisions is a global strategy that divides the world into three spheres of influence the way the U. S., Britain, a

    The Peril I will be blunt. Our Constitutional Order and our democracy are comatose. Here’s why. • We can no longer depend upon our elected leaders. The Republican Party has imploded. The Democrats are in disarray.  Checks and balances in government are moribund. Bip

On a visit to an ophthalmologist, I noticed my medical chart said I was mobility impaired.  Having climbed 3 flights of stairs to get to his office, I was non-plussed.  “What does this mean?” I said, stabbing an accusing finger at the chart.  The doctor took a moment to read th

Patriotism is out of favor these days, dropping from 70% support in 2000 to 38% today.  (“The Strange Triumph of a Broken America,” by Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, Jan/Feb. 2025, pg. 50.)  Because we choose our leaders in a democracy, the decline says the voters are unhappy

Growing up as a Catholic, taking Confession struck me as a wonderful device.  Whenever I did something wrong during the week, if I confessed on Friday, the priest would assign me a few prayers to recite, and “poof”, like magic, I was absolved of sin.   If I missed a week, I cou

I am not hopeful for a country to be led by Donald Trump over the next four years.  Frankly, his presidency looms like a hurricane funnel on the horizon.  So, I’ve been thinking about what to put in my mental storm cellar to survive.  After all, at age 88, I’m hopeful for a few