People sometimes mistake cunning for intelligence. The attributes aren’t related.  Cunning comes from the gut, an animal instinct that assesses danger or opportunity and is necessary for survival.  A cat, hiding in the grass, its eyes fixed upon a birdbath is a visual expression o

I picked myself up off the floor after the first Trump-Biden presidential debate and asked myself what I’d witnessed.  A debate, it wasn’t.  A debate is an exchange of differing ideas argued between adults.  It has rules and procedures which allow each side to make its case. Wh

The Democrats in Congress are proposing several bills to curb presidential powers and to strengthen the system of checks and balances the Constitution provides. The changes offer increased protection for whistleblowers and agency watchdogs, prohibits a president from receiving payment

What a year 2020 is turning out to be.  A pandemic, the upcoming elections, and the untimely death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg are vying for top spots in the headlines. Given the cacophony, it’s little wonder few have noticed another woman has cracked a glass ceili

When did hungry people decide half a loaf wasn’t good enough? I’m speaking metaphorically, of course, referring to the “double haters,” that Donald Trump referred to in 2016. These were disillusioned people who looked for a change and didn’t think it was coming fast enough.

Call me a masochist, but every morning I open my computer to trawl for news.  Reliably, the headlines capture the worst of times: Joe Biden’s campaign files have been hacked; rattlesnakes bite two Yosemite hikers; west coast fires make the air unbreathable… One columnist expresse

I’ve long decided Donald Trump’s mental state isn’t good, but I sometimes wonder about my own. Am I normal? Living in a retirement community forces me to raise the question from time to time. So many neighbors are devoted to serving on committees and going to meetings whereas, I

Much of the world remains in the thrall of Covid-19.  Not only are loved ones dying and large numbers of people unemployed, but depression is on the rise.  To glean positive news from this situation requires contortions of the mind comparable to the physical feats of a performer at

Politicians, celebrities, political groups, influence groups, and the media are doing their best to mess with reality, whatever that is. I ask, why bother? Since science began to study the issue of the blue dress that is simultaneously gold,  I’m not sure reality is real anymore. I

Recently, newscasters were making light of Donald Trump’s self-congratulatory response to a dementia test he took, mistaking it for one that measured I. Q.  Despite his confusion, I’m happy for him, and for the nation, that he passed. His niece, a clinical psychologist, has alrea