Recently, I sat down to lunch at a gathering of former colleagues, all of them eager to discuss the outcome of the 2018 midterm elections. Several expressed hope for the future, but one skeptic reminded us of the numerous executive orders President Donald Trump had signed in the past

Would the French, who are among the first to celebrate the difference between the sexes – “vive la difference” – ever consider a gender neutral language?  I wouldn’t bet on it.  Everyone knows in France a cat is “le chat,” (male) while a mouse, is “la souis,�

Recently, I dined with friends at an upscale restaurant where the waiters wore bow ties.  I ordered a Greek salad.  Simple enough.  Or, so I thought.  But the waiter wasn’t satisfied.  What kind of salad dressing did I require: “Ranch? Thousand?, French? Green Goddess? Blue C

With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas ahead. probably no one wants to hear about managing diet.  Of least interest might  be a discussion regarding salt.  Still, salt deserves our attention.  It  has a deadly link to  plastic.  That’s what researchers from South Korea’s

On the surface, women made impressive inroads during the 2018 elections but were these advances window dressing? Is there an undertow to be considered that works against these achievements, particularly among white women who remain loyal to Donald Trump despite his sexist views?  Tru

As one writer recently observed about Wikipedia, when it began it  was “the dumbest idea in history.” (“The Great Upwelling,” by Kevin Kelly, Wired, October, 2018, pg. 43.)  The reason?  The service was free.  How can an enterprise make money when there’s no fee? I wonde

In my upcoming memoir, I write about my second measles infection at the age of twenty-two. The occasion was memorable because it was my first brush with  Britain’s National Health Service.  The time was 1960, so the system, put in place in 1948, had been around for a while.  To b

Writer Reihan Salem describes the libertarian promoters, Charles (77) and  David (81) Koch, as “very, very patient.” (Click)   In the 2016 presidential election, they and their cohorts spent $889 million dollars to support candidates who espoused their views.  Most of those as

I am  sick of Facebook.  I’m tired of its cutesy messages.  I don’t want to celebrate the fact that Rudolf Valentino and I have been friends for 3 days. Nor do I want reports on the number of “likes” my comments receive in a week. Frankly, Facebook, I don’t give a damn.