Normally, I don’t post petitions on my Facebook page. People know how to find causes they support without my help. But recently, I made an exception: a petition to Congress to pass the unemployment extension. As a child, I remember how important unemployment checks were to my mother

In my blog of January 20, I speculated on the pluses and minuses of attempting to preserve every little jot and squiggle we have decided to honor as great art. If Shakespeare had been denied his hour to strut and fret upon the stage, I wrote, would the stars twinkle less brightly? The

Ever wonder where all the masterminds of the mortgage and derivative debacle have gone? According to Mother Jones, they’re lurking in the electric utility business. (“Out Front, Electric Shadyland,” by Stephanie Mencimer, Mother Jones, January/February, 2014 pgs. 5-10.) Under ne

While Edward Snowden cools his heels in the Russian winter, the world continues its heated debate on the good or ill he accomplished when he released volumes of information about NSA’s data mining. Few in this country are coming to the young man’s defense, though foreign leaders h

“Our doctor says we’ve become alcoholics.” The man opposite me took hold of his wife’s hand as a sign of mutual support while I sat stunned, staring at the couple I’d known since college. I admit, I took umbrage on behalf of my friends because they were the most everyday peo

On Facebook I’ve connected with a few students from India, most of them studying to be engineers. When they write, they address me as “mam,” and their concerns are almost exclusively about girls. Most recently, one of them contacted me for advice. He’s in love with a young wom

On Christmas eve I attended an annual luncheon with a few close friends and sat talking with a young woman whose career was in health services. “Can you imagine?” she asked, turning her wide, blue eyes in my direction. “People are making such a fuss over the NSA instead of the c

While Edward Snowden cools his heels in the Russian winter, the world continues its heated debate on the good or ill he accomplished when he released volumes of information about NSA’s data mining. Few in this country are coming to the young man’s defense, though foreign leaders h

I was reading an article about how the “upper crust” lives, recently. The report concerned a training school for domestic staff who were destined to serve the super rich. (“You Rang?” by John P. Davidson, Harper’s, Jan. 2014 pgs. 41-56) What caught my eye was the reason behi

During the Christmas holidays, I had coffee with a woman who marveled that I had time to read the many articles and books I refer to in my daily blogs. My response was to shrug and say that using other people’s ideas as a basis for my own was easier than being original.  I wasn’t