The Flynn effect is over. That’s the trend whereby human intelligence increases by about 3 points a decade. Recent research reveals the trend is in reverse. Humans are getting dumber.  Scientists speculate the reasons are varied:  changes in our education systems, nutrition, the c

A columnist wrote recently that anti-vaxxers who fall victim to the Covid virus shouldn’t be admitted to hospitals. Facing death, he said, was too late to embrace medical science.  His statement contains an “either/or” proposition. Either a person takes the vaccine or forgoes t

Many fairytales are quest stories in which the hero must accomplish a task before he wins the princess’s hand. The Twelve Dancing Princesses is my favorite.  Joe Manchin sent his Democratic colleagues on a quest to gain bi-partisan support for two voting rights bills he support

When my mother moved into assisted living, I became the landlord for her half of the duplex.  My first tenant was an art historian with a Ph.D. He’d moved to Oregon after working several years as an adjunct instructor at a midwestern university. Perhaps he hoped to find tenured wor

Democratic U. S. Senator Joe Manchin prides himself on being a consistent man, one who cherishes traditions like filibustering. The filibuster is a tactic a Senate member uses to delay or halt measures when the legislator is in the minority. A case in point is the For the People Act.

Dick Van Dyke’s quote made me laugh.  At age 95,  he said he doesn’t spend a minute being depressed because at his age he needs to be  “enjoying himself.”  (AARP Bulletin, October 2021, pg. 46.)  At 85, I understand his urgency.  When the road is short, it’s wise to en

Even In the worst of times, politics can be funny.  Joe Manchin, Democratic senator from West Virginia, filled me with mirth when he said he would oppose President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” budget. He didn’t want to foster an “entitlement” culture, he

A U. S. voter isn’t surprised that Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, New York Congresswoman woman from New York and a democratic liberal, fails to see eye to eye with Joe Manchin, a conservative democratic Senator from West Virginia.  But a public dustup over age is surprising. Manchin at 7

One evening this week, I listened to an expert’s advice on how to change the minds of unvaccinated people. He was selling an old technique called Active Listening. In this case, an individual repeats an antivaxer’s objections, so the person will be satisfied those objections have