In a society based on competition, it’s difficult to see how equality fits in. What’s more, the disparities wrought by climate change and wars make the notion seem a cruel joke. Those standing in the rubble left by Hurricane Helene see their lives scattered at their feet. The immi

I am one of J. D. Vance’s “cat ladies.” Being childless, I have explored the universe without the need to pack a breast pump. That may be selfish of me, but I am unashamed. After all, I contributed to the well-being of the young as a teacher for many years.  Sadly, I won’t li

The mother sitting across from me at the lunch table sighed when I asked about her daughter.  “She’s thinking about moving to Pennsylvania.  Since she works from home, she can live anywhere.  Rural Pennsylvania seems to be the one place where houses are affordable. “ The dile

During the winter holidays, Britain’s Prime Mister, Rishi Sunak took a photo-op when he decided to serve breakfast at a homeless shelter. Sunak, reported to be worth  $800 million, made a stab at being chummy as he handed a plate of eggs and sausages to a stranger standing on the o

A friend of mine took a series of tests to determine her mental decline as she aged. Happily, for her, the tests were comforting.  Even so, I admired her courage.  What she’d done was like poking a sleeping bear with a sharp stick.  If the news hadn’t been good, how would she h

Support for Republicans in the next election is rising because the economy is down, some say.  Even women independents are leaning toward Republicans despite the party’s hostility to female rights and its aim not only to end all abortions but contraception as well. Men may have the

The budget pamphlet in my mailbox was titled “Financial Realities.”  I laughed.  As a person once responsible for a  $200 million budget, I know financial realities are imaginary.  Budgets are guestimates of the future based on the unlikely assumption that history will repeat

To read the news is to wonder if the world has gone mad. Autocracy is on the rise, while democracies seem to be stumbling. To be honest, some democracies no longer look like democracies. India and Turkey come to mind.  Russia holds elections, but no one would describe Vladimir Putin

To talk about fashion while the Russian invasion of Ukraine rages may seem insensitive, but I have a reason for doing so. As a prognosticator of the future, fashion beats astrology.  For example, one persistent theory in the stock market says that when dress hemlines go up, the econo

Even in a time of war, there can be moments of laughter. Late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert had a field day with a report about a Ukrainian grandmother who knocked down a Russian drone from her apartment balcony with a jar of tomatoes.  Equally low tech but less funny was a re