I was wandering around the cosmetic section at Macy’s the other day, looking for an eyeliner.  I’d just seen a test edition of a new series of “Just Read It” and noted I looked as pale as a curtain sheer.  After 4 years of co-hosting the 10 minute book review program on YouT

In the opening scene of the film, The Graduate, the operative word was “plastics.”  Today, Dustin Hoffman is all grown up, though that scene remains a movie classic.  For billionaire Jeremy Grantham the new word for this era is “topsoil.”  Necessary to feed a burgeoning glo

Technology is changing the way we do business, but it is  also changing our daily habits.  Eating lunch is one example.  In the good old days, if we were swamped with work, we might remain at our desks and nibble tuna fish sandwiches from a paper bag.  Later, when food carts took

Recently, a reader referred me to an article by The New York Times columnist, David Leonhardt.   In it, the writer cites Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post.  She accuses reporters of being too centrist:  “walking down the center line with a blindfold on.” According to he

An interesting poll came out the other day. (“Poll Watch,” The Week, Feb 8, 2019, pg. 17)  Fifty-five percent of Americans favor receiving a health care plan through Medicare, but only 37% would be willing to raise taxes for it.  Presidential aspirant, Kamala Harris, and Senator

 Proving a negative is next to impossible but R. G. Price, author of the new book, Deciphering the Gospel, attempts to do just that.  He argues Jesus Christ never existed. Price is no Biblical scholar.  He’s a software engineer and data analyst.  Still, being an amateur didn’t

My jaw dropped when I read it.  More than 100 million women around the world each month use free menstruation-tracking apps with names such as Flo, Glow, Ovia, and Cue.” (“A Different Conception Of Privacy,” by Naomi Kresge et al, Bloomberg Businessweek, January 28, 20.) Never

Recently, the super-rich and super powerful gathered for the annual economic summit in Davos, Switzerland.  There, they received a report from Oxfam.  It said the 26 richest people in the world own as much wealth as half the human race. (“Davos: Skiing past a world in crisis,” T

Beware the effects of “greater efficiency.”  It can lead to chaos.  Housekeeping, at my retirement center, recently sent residents a memo about upcoming changes in the maid service schedule.  Curious residents dialed the extension number provided, hoping for more information. 

“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.”*  For one thing, they don’t pay much in taxes.  When the top rate exceeds 48 percent, they find ways to avoid taxes and “government revenues start to fall.” (“A 70 percent tax rate is a liberal fa