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Bob Gaydos is a veteran of 40-plus years in daily newspapers. He began as police reporter with The (Binghamton, N.Y.) Sun-Bulletin, eventually covering government and politics as well as serving as city editor, features editor, sports editor and executive editor. He was also managing editor of the Evening Capital in Annapolis, Md. He retired from daily newspapering in 2007 after 29 years with the Times Herald-Record in Middletown, N.Y., where he was Sunday/features editor and, for 23 years, editorial page editor. He won numerous awards for his editorials from the New York Newspaper Publishers Association and The Associated Press and in 1992 was a finalist for The Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. Gaydos continues to write on a freelance basis, including a column on addiction. OpEdNews Member for 553 week(s) and 5 day(s) 239 Articles, 0 Quick Links, 74 Comments, 0 Diaries, 4 Series, 0 Polls
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Monday, June 25, 2018Yes, Melania, I obviously care a lot Trumpsters don't care or don't care to know about what's really going on and I've written so often about it that, well, Dotard Syndrome. Turn on Fox; turn off brain.
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Sunday, December 2, 2018It’s time to un-dumb America The Fox News Generation, fed a daily diet of fear and fiction, may be beyond saving, but there's still time and hope for the youngsters. Knowledge is power. Our schools need to step up their game. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Thursday, February 6, 2014Look at me, would you believe 'the picture of health'? After seven decades muddling around this planet, I've decided I'd like to stick around and enjoy it at least a couple more. So I've changed what I eat and how I take care of my body. I like what I see and I feel good. Series: My Renovation (9 Articles, 23236 views)
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Monday, August 29, 2016Alt-Right: A trumped-up label for bigots Alt-Right is not a political philosophy. Rather, it is a fear-based agenda of white supremacy that is being spread via social media. It does not deserve any special, pseudo-sounding, political movement name so that reporters, editors and columnists can have a shorthand way of saying bigots. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Tuesday, February 2, 2016Falling in love with squats, sort of If you can only do one exercise, I'm told, squats are the one to do because they work so many different muscles. The added muscle strength helps protect against injury from falls. Squats also improve balance, which decreases the likelihood of falls. For the record, one-third of those over the age of 65 falls each year and falls are the leading cause of death due to injury among seniors. Series: My Renovation (9 Articles, 23236 views) 
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Saturday, April 21, 2018For shame, America, for shame There is no shame in the White House. So, too, with the Republican Party as it bows at the feet of Trump. There is no shame. No sense of decency. 
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Sunday, January 18, 2015On acting my age, whatever that means It's my observation that a lot of people of a certain age are not thrilled with trying something new. It's as if they feel they have lived long enough and done enough. No need to learn anything else. So, they have flip phones. They don't text or Google. They barely e-mail. Kindle, schmindle; give 'em a real book. And not a Facebook. That's just too confusing. Change is for the young. I don't get it. Series: My Renovation (9 Articles, 23236 views) 
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Sunday, January 25, 2015UFO's and global warming -- it's science,folks Is there life elsewhere in the universe? Undoubtedly. Is it more intelligent than us? I sure as hell hope so. 
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Friday, June 14, 2013Biceps, triceps, deltoids, oh my! A report on a lifestyle makeover prompted by a visit to the doctor. Series: My Renovation (9 Articles, 23236 views) 
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Saturday, May 19, 2018The GOP's dying words ... silence The silence persists from McCain's Republican colleagues in Congress about a White House aide joking about him dying. Having compassion is a dangerous trait in this White House. In the Republican Party, which can't bring itself to say Donald Trump was a mistake, compassion has long ago been discarded. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Sunday, September 29, 2013Can we just not call it food? What's a secretion from a beaver's scent-marking sac doing in my favorite dessert? Plus other food stuff I didn't want to know. Series: The food we eat, or don't (12 Articles, 21342 views) 
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Sunday, December 24, 2017Democrats: Stand by your woman Many Democrats seem to be inclined to try to make a problem of Gillibrand's synchronistic moment. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that she's a woman and she's talking about a subject many people find difficult to talk about frankly and publicly -- sexual harassment. 
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Sunday, September 3, 2017It's a burger ... and so much more So what's the point of living, you ask, if you can't have a few beers and polish off a half-pound of beef dripping with bacon grease and cheese, topped with salt and ketchup (sugar)? Hey, your choice. But as we neglect our bodies by rejecting science, so do we neglect our minds. As a nation, we become lazy, mentally as well as physically. 
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Friday, March 7, 2014Society is still out of touch with the reality of addiction The death of Philip Seymour Hoffman due to a heroin overdose produced the same statements of disbelief and confusion that followed similar drug-related deaths of celebrities. It's called addiction, people, and it's a democratic disease, affecting anyone.. 
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Sunday, April 9, 2017The Syria Conspiracy: Now Here's One I can Believe: Trump, Putin and Assad set the whole thing up. The chemical attack, the missile attack, the denials, the warnings from Trump, the threats from Putin. All according to script. Yes, it's a morbidly depressing theory and so, in some respects, I hope I'm wrong. But I wouldn't be surprised if I'm right. 
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Saturday, March 1, 2014The new 'breakfast of champions' Forget Wheaties, this breakfast of Greek yogurt, bananas, grapes and more is incredible and delicious. Changing eating habits is merely mind over matter. Series: My Renovation (9 Articles, 23236 views), The food we eat, or don't (12 Articles, 21342 views) 
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Monday, August 1, 2016Hillary takes Philly, the sweet smell of death, and so it went Hillary conquers Philly. Debbie does e-mails. Bernie cries. Donald pats his daughter's rump. An art gallery closes in Pine Bush. A flower stunk up The Bronx. The week that was. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Thursday, August 24, 2017Musk, killer robots, Trump and the Eclipse Trump's disdain for science (for knowledge of any kind, really) and his apparently pathological need to do the opposite of what more knowledgeable people recommend, regardless of the topic, are a dangerous combination. When you're talking about killer robots, it's a potentially deadly one. 
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Monday, February 10, 2020Life With or Without Bacon is Possible "You want bacon with that (plant-based) Impossible Whopper?" Burger King, you're confusing me. Series: The food we eat, or don't (12 Articles, 21342 views) 
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Sunday, April 29, 2018Team Trump: Arrogance as a virtue This surely is the worst Cabinet and sub-Cabinet in modern U.S. history, perhaps all time. It is a perfect reflection of Trump, all con, all greed and incredibly cruel to boot. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Sunday, May 24, 2020Why vote for Biden? Simple: Trump The only compelling issue in this presidential election is to remove from office the man who has made a mockery of everything Americans used to like to brag this country stands for. Donald Trump. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Friday, April 19, 2013Where have all the honey bees gone? Millions of bees have disappeared, imperiling our food supply. The culprit is known, but the EPA has done nothing. Series: The food we eat, or don't (12 Articles, 21342 views) 
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Sunday, June 30, 2013The system's rigged; time to revolt Republicans and Democrats can't agree on anything -- and they like it that way. But now they agree that Edward Snowden's a traitor? Something's fishy. 
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Monday, June 26, 2017''Daddy is an idiot, but we love him'' "Trump's diehard supporters are stuck with each other and with him -- one, big, dysfunctional family, lies and betrayals notwithstanding. Indeed, to question Daddy is disloyal, to leave, a betrayal. And where would you go anyway? It is, after all, a scary world out there. Daddy said so. Many times." Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views)
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Friday, September 4, 2015E-cigs: A way to quit smoking or new way to get hooked? E-cigarettes are being marketed as a way to reduce the harm to longtime smokers. That may be true. But why also market an addictive product -- nicotine -- to those who have never smoked, who have suffered no harm? 
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Wednesday, January 25, 2017Tom Wolfe, LSD, Orange Hair and Me What do great shooters do when they are in a shooting funk, when everything seems to clang off the back rim? They keep shooting. They don't pass the ball to someone else. They shoot themselves out of the funk. Also, I think Putin is playing his puppet for the fool he knows him to be. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Saturday, August 10, 2019A vocabulary for the Trump era From "misogynist" to "narcissist" to "emoluments "and "quisling," Trump has forced us to improve our vocabulary, if not his. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Monday, December 18, 2017Trump launches Gillibrand's presidential campaign If ever there were a case of right place, right time, right person -- right woman -- this sure seems like it.
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Monday, September 5, 2016The truth shall make us free ... and angry One of the most disappointing aspects of this presidential campaign is that not nearly enough people are angry and downright embarrassed that one of our two major political parties has handed its presidential nomination to a congenital liar. A bigot. A misogynist. A narcissist. ... There I go again. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Tuesday, May 8, 2018A juice bar, to feed body and soul I'm glad Pine Bush now has a juice bar to go with its UFO parade and spectacular view on its list of "cool things." I'm pleased that others have noticed Healthy Temptations, which suggests that living healthier may be catching on. That's encouraging. I think it's more important than ever to be fit in body, mind and spirit these days and what's good for the body is good for the soul. 
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Wednesday, April 1, 2015Women's Obstacles to Sobriety As difficult as it is for anyone to recover from addiction, women face some challenges that men don't. 
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Sunday, May 28, 2017Trump, turmeric and Taoism I haven't spent a lot of time worrying about the good health of the NIC. Rather, I'm curious about who is and wondering why the man himself doesn't seem to care much. Maybe he thinks he's perfect just the way he is 
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Saturday, August 12, 2017Trump, Korea, the Marines, The Photo As a nation, we have a tendency to try to make things -- flag-raisings, presidents -- fit our perceptions (our hopes and wishes perhaps), so that we don't have to face reality. War is brutal. Talk is cheap. 
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Sunday, January 5, 2020Just another mob hit In the world of Donald Trump, repercussions don't matter if they don't impact on you directly. Don't listen to the "worriers." Be a warrior. Yeah, others may suffer, but you'll look strong. That's the main thing. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Tuesday, March 25, 2014The cost of not eating healthy The misconception is that it's too expensive to eat healthy. But tweaking unhealthy diets is not enough. Series: My Renovation (9 Articles, 23236 views), The food we eat, or don't (12 Articles, 21342 views) 
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Monday, August 22, 2016A sports fan desperately in need of a back page While I still turn to the sports page to start my day today, it's not nearly the same. First of all, on the Internet there is no back page. More to the point, the sports pages are no longer a sanctuary from the social problems of the day. 
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Friday, February 14, 2014R.I.P. Marius, the 'surplus' giraffe A healthy, young giraffe was killed at the Copenhagen Zoo because officials there, who had bred him, decided they had enough of his particular genes. He was 'surplus." The entire affair reeks of arrogance and disregard for life. It will ultimately be the downfall of humans. 
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Saturday, June 30, 2012John Roberts, unlikely hero of the left wing You can be deeply conservative and believe the affordable care act is completely consistent with the United States Constitution." -- Chief Justice John Roberts' Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe, two days before the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare. Tribe taught Obama, too. Good job, Larry. 
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Monday, November 25, 2019Enjoying the Impossible, without guilt Hey look, I'm a flexitarian. I discovered this in my search for the Impossible Burger. I am happy with both outcomes. Series: The food we eat, or don't (12 Articles, 21342 views) 
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Friday, November 8, 2019It's unraveling before our eyes Ukraine. Quid pro quo. Get over it. Traitors. Isis. Kurds. Syria. Impeachment. Whistleblowers. Scum. World Series. Booo! Forest fires. Burn baby, burn. Let us pray. The unraveling world of Donald Trump. 
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Saturday, April 6, 2013A little mystery with our meat Can an ocean protect Americans from the horse meat scandal if "the mob" is involved? Rhetorical question. Series: The food we eat, or don't (12 Articles, 21342 views) 
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Saturday, December 7, 2013A Tofurkey Thanksgiving? Excellent, thank you. The price of salmon had a lot to do with the decision to go Tofurkey for Thanksgiving. Fortuitous free market happenstance. Series: My Renovation (9 Articles, 23236 views), The food we eat, or don't (12 Articles, 21342 views)
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Monday, May 29, 2017Happy birthday to me, Dylan and JFK Kennedy, who would be 100 today, was president at a time when I first became intimately aware of how a president could have a profound impact on my life, personally. 
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Friday, November 13, 2020America had a narrow escape I do not state this lightly: No president in my lifetime, not even Richard Nixon, has done more to damage the basic foundations of this nation than Donald Trump. For point of reference, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president when I was born. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Wednesday, February 19, 2020Escaping Trump, etc. with a mani/pedi I discovered the cure for Trumpomania. A relaxing mani/pedi. Why should women have all the fun? 
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Monday, April 3, 2017Pick a book, any book; now be it I feel a sense of frustration and fatigue on Facebook, which has become highly politically charged. And so, I'm writing about books. Pay attention. I want to know what you're reading. Also, if you could be a book, what book would it be? C'mon, folks, interface. Remember social media? 
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Monday, October 10, 2016This clown is armed and dangerous The eruption of scary clowns across America this fall is the inevitable culmination of a horrifying presidential campaign that began with the Republican Party's infamous clown car of candidates and has devolved into a daily episode of a self-aggrandizing TV showman with bright, orange hair saying scary stuff about what he will do if he is elected president of the United States. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views), Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Thursday, June 6, 2019An addict by any other name, please Researchers say that changing the way we talk about addiction - referring to people with a heroin addiction rather than heroin addicts, . for example - could reduce the stigma and encourage more people to seek recovery. 
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Friday, March 6, 2020How to live life and fight the coronavirus Donald Trump has a simple playbook: If you want it, take it. If it's illegal or immoral, hire lawyers to bury it. If you don't know what's what, make something up. This philosophy has served him well until now, but it's kind of hard to bullshit your way through a worldwide pandemic. 
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Sunday, July 23, 2017Lining up for the smell of death in D.C. This particular plant was the first corpse flower to bloom in Washington, D.C., since 2007. So for eight years -- from 2008 to 2016 -- there was no call to line up for the smell of death in the nation's capital. This year -- bloom! Hmm. 
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Saturday, August 24, 2019I finally got to Woodstock. Peace We are not a mellow nation at the moment, but it was a mellow concert at Bethel Woods celebrating the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. Peace. Love. Hope. 
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Monday, December 23, 2019Surviving holidays in recovery "No thank you" is a complete sentence and perfectly acceptable answer at holiday parties. Hosts need to know this as well as people in recovery. 
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Saturday, November 23, 2019Still taking measure I have feltt a synchronicity with JFK bEcause of our shared birth date. It compels me to keep hoping for better and reaching for the moon. 
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Monday, May 11, 2020Fame, fate and happenstance Jackie Robinson, Jesse Jackson, Mario Cuomo, Harry Belafonte, Geraldine Ferraro. Life has introduced me to some "famous" people. In the spirit of connecting while in isolation, I'd like to know your encounters with "celebrity." Please share. It's neighborly. 
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Saturday, June 22, 2019The sad truth: It's all B.S. The difference between liars and bullshitters is that liars are acquainted with the truth. They have to be to maintain their lies. There is a discipline involved. Bullshitters don't care. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Sunday, July 30, 2017The real GOP mavericks: Collins and Murkowski Forget McCain. In the matter of saving Americans from the cruel reality of the disastrous GOP effort to kill Obamacare (as opposed to passing its own health care measure), the real mavericks were Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. 
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Saturday, October 29, 2016GOP has a day of reckoning coming I'm thinking that a lot of people -- a lot of white, Republican people -- have a date with a mirror. It's far too late to undo the damage Trump has done or to deny any part in it, but it's not too late to admit the mistake of supporting him in spite of all the hateful, false things he said. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views), Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Wednesday, June 24, 2020The week everything went right The week was a showcase for the now-familiar traits that define Trump - arrogance, laziness, pride, litigiousness, ignorance and callous disregard for anyone other than himself. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Wednesday, November 27, 2019Does 'the chosen one' pray? Trump, if he's truly the chosen one, to whom does he pray and for what? I ask for millions of Americans because Rick Perry tells me my future and that of the planet lie in the hands of this "imperfect" person. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Friday, October 25, 2019Take me to your leader: A fable (?) In the end, only he mattered. More to the point, he knew full well, only the next season mattered.... They should have known, too, from the start. 
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Saturday, November 16, 2019Kale and quinoa? How about kefir and kamut? For the record, I eat kale and quinoa and avoid fried foods as much as possible. I think that's smart. There's nothing wrong with being smart, although Republicans have been trying to suggest otherwise for some time. It's a bully's weapon. Let them drink kefir. Series: The food we eat, or don't (12 Articles, 21342 views) 
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Monday, July 1, 2019Happy Birthday to us, America What Trump is doing is not normal, America, and it's important to say so. In fact, I am proud and grateful that I live in a country that still grants me that freedom. 
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Thursday, December 12, 2019On Going to the Movies, or Not I remember when going out to the movies was an everyday event. Now, they need high-tech visual effects to pry people off their couches. So Netflix decided to bring the blockbuster into the home with "The Irishman." I'm not sure it's a good idea.
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Friday, January 10, 2020GOP: No country for young women To the Trump/Pence GOP, women, especially young women, are not to be considered as equals, contemporaries, colleagues, persons with ideas, principles, beliefs that may differ from those of the male in the room. And above all, they are not expected to express their thoughts unless they agree with those of the male in the room. Also, don't make the covers of popular magazines. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Sunday, November 18, 2018America's in need of an intervention Trump, who doesn't drink, is a sucker for applause, adulation. It's his alcohol. He sank into a deep withdrawal when the pre-vote campaign rallies ended. A dry drunk if there ever was one. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Wednesday, April 22, 2020To live and die, preferably die, in Texas If the post office needs money, Jeff Bezos could easily bail it out. We're watching more movies and Michael Cohen is going home. Also, if you're old, in Texas you're expendable. Life in the pandemic. 
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Sunday, October 8, 2017Fly me to the moon, please! Nibiru -- Planet X -- was a no-show again. ... One would have to think that any celestial visitors these days would only have to slow down enough to take a peek at the headlines and decide to come back in another 3600 years when maybe we had our stuff a little better together. 
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Wednesday, September 19, 2018Evangelicals/Trump: Marriage of convenience The key to my finally understanding the evangelical embrace of Trump, the most amoral, immoral, irreligious occupant of the White House perhaps ever, is realizing I had it backwards. It doesn't matter to Bakker. The worse Trump is the sooner the holy war can start. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views)
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Monday, September 12, 2016It's only fair to say: It has to be Hillary We need to focus on the issue at hand: Donald Trump is the most dangerously ill-prepared candidate to ever run for president representing a major party. Hillary Clinton is one of the most-qualified persons to ever run for president and she is a woman. I submit those as pertinent facts. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Monday, March 30, 2020By the way ... is the planet rebooting? In non-Trump news, China moves in the South China Sea, Putin postpones and the planet reboots. 
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Tuesday, August 11, 2015The GOP turns back the clock on women What was billed as a presidential debate last week turned out to be an all-out misogynistic effort to cast women as second-class citizens, or less. 
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Friday, October 18, 2019Life without bacon? Not impossible How do you convince people to occasionally eat more healthful food when they are hooked on beef, bacon and burgers? Meet the Impossible Burger. But be wary. Series: The food we eat, or don't (12 Articles, 21342 views)
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Thursday, March 14, 2013We don't eat horses, do we? The horse meat scandal in Europe could well travel to the United States, where Americans don't eat slaughter horses. Or do they? Series: The food we eat, or don't (12 Articles, 21342 views) 
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Friday, June 11, 2021Wake up! It's time to put 'woke' to bed If liberals, Democrats, people who really believe in racial and social justice hope to gain support from conservative ranks, they would do better to simply state clearly what they are fighting for, without using any clever phrases (cancel culture is another). Say what you mean, don't meme what you say. 
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Friday, April 17, 2020Waiting for the Day of Reckoning Although I am firmly ensconced in the age group most susceptible to dying from COVID-19, I am not willing to simply give it up so that cult members can "get back to business". 
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Wednesday, June 29, 2016Dealing with the stigma of alcoholism C.C. Sabathia is the 'feel good" story for the New York Yankees this year, but no one will say why that is. The stigma attached to alcoholism is strong even in recovery.
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Wednesday, July 12, 2017Helloooooooooooo, Out There ! METI (Messaging to Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is not to be confused with SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), which deals with searching for messages from aliens. To/from. Therein lies the difference as well as a major scientific/philosophical dispute. I say send. 
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Friday, November 17, 2017Trump shakes, rattles and rolls The point is -- and his loyal supporters who see the emperor well-clothed ought to really care about this -- if he can't manage his own personal health with all the imaginable resources in the world at his call, how can he be relied on to manage America? Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Friday, May 2, 2014Meet Donald Sterling, NBA plantation owner The NBA knew about Donald Sterling for years, but his racist, misogynistic behavior became unacceptable only when the rest of the world found out. 
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Sunday, May 17, 2020Country life (and more) with COVID-19 It's one short road, but what a menagerie. Also, foolish Mitch McConnell utterances and the virus ends a third-party presidential candidacy. Call it a mercy killing.
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Tuesday, February 28, 2012Whitney, Josh and their disease It's as if Whitney Houston, the superstar, in death, was now finally beyond rebuke and officially a victim of addiction. For Josh Hamilton, a baseball star who managed to live, it was another story. 
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Saturday, August 17, 2013We've Become a Nation of Us Versus Them I wept at the end of the movie, "Fruitvale Station," for Oscar Grant and for all of us. We must end the militarization of our police. 
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Tuesday, December 21, 2021The very rich get very special 'justice' Billionaire Michael Steinhardt was ordered to return $70 million worth of stolen antiquities and never do again. That's it. The rich enjoy a different kind of justice in Cy Vance's bailiwick. 
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Saturday, July 18, 2020Americans are getting a history lesson Major change sometimes requires major pain. America may be experiencing that in coming to terms with its true history. The universe demands harmony. And, yes, Donald Trump is helping us find it. 
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Sunday, March 30, 2014The pride of Copenhagen -- not its zoo The Copenhagen Zoo followed up its execution of a young, healthy giraffe by killing a family of lions -- father, mother and two young cubs. This is not euthanasia; this is human arrogance. 
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Thursday, April 9, 2020Politics in the age of pestilence The need now is for Democrats to present, not just a familiar, comfortable name for president, but a super team, if you will, of potential cabinet members and presidential advisors who will reinforce the need to return competency, decency and dignity in the Oval Office. First, get the job, then start fixing things. 
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Sunday, December 26, 2021Here's looking at you, world I am one of the 2 million or so Americans who had cataract surgery this year. Virtually all the procedures were successful, as usual. 20/20. Remarkable. Series: My Renovation (9 Articles, 23236 views) 
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Wednesday, June 7, 2017Did time finally catch up with Cosby? The statute of limitations allows the powerful -- a famous TV star or the Catholic Church -- to pay off victims of sexual assault, convince them that no one will believe them, scare them with the threat of public exposure and embarrassment and delay any criminal action against them until it's too late. 
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Tuesday, January 30, 2018Connect the dots: Women's time is now This is not simply a revolution about sexual predation. As I see it, it is an awakening, a moment of clarity, a realization that what was does not have to continue to be. In fact, cannot be. 
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Friday, October 4, 2013What's it all about, Faust? Today's language is lacking in words to adequately describe the kind of lout Faust was. Where are "rake" and "cad" when we need them? When words lose precision, they lose meaning. Bring back 'libertine." 
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Sunday, May 26, 2013As omens go, the eagle soars We humans have a way of acting as if the planet is our personal plaything, to lord over and do as we will with all other living creatures. It will eventually destroy us if we don't change our attitude.
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Friday, November 3, 2017Facebook has an algorithm problem Facebook has more than a Russia problem. It has become the major source of news for millions of Americans, yet its news feeds have been shown to be awash in fake news. Lots of really fake news, not Trump "fake news," which is real news. 
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Monday, June 6, 2016Ali, me and two guys named Frank Whatever you do, whatever you may have accomplished, for as long you can, you keep showing up for life. You lace up your running shoes and stay true to your principles. And don't forget to acknowledge people who do special things. It never hurts to hear a little "wow" once in a while. 
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Wednesday, June 10, 2020Predictably pre-conditioned police In the film, "Minority Report," pre-cogs predict future crimes for police. In real life, pre-conditioning does much the same for crimes by police. Time may have finally caught up to the latter. Thirty-four years too late for Jimmy Lee Bruce. 
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Thursday, May 6, 2021America finally has a president again Joe Biden wants to heal America and he asked the "loyal" opposition to help. They sat on their hands. They have nothing, but we, at last, have a president again. 
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Saturday, November 10, 2018The buck never stops at Trump's desk A lousy appointment for attorney general? Republicans losing congressional races? "Hey, never met the guy. And they never asked for my help." Not his fault. Never is. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Thursday, April 15, 2021Beware: No Labels is mislabeled No Labels posts unscientific "surveys" on Facebook written in such a way as to evoke negative reaction to such things as gun control, universal healthcare, a higher minimum wage or an increase in corporate taxes. They acknowledge the surveys are not scientific, knowing full well that most Americans are too lazy to question the accuracy. 
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Wednesday, July 29, 2020The GOP is Now a Party of Yohos As a fish rots from the head down, so has the GOP. Their leader is a bully, a liar and a misogynist and they know it. Rather than rise up in moral indignation, they have chosen for nearly four years to emulate or remain silent. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views)
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Sunday, April 30, 2017No one told me this job was so hard The only honest thing the narcissist-in-chief has said since being elected is that he thought the job would be easier. He couldn't bring himself to say it's way too hard for him, that he's woefully ill-prepared intellectually, emotionally and spiritually for the most important job on the planet. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Friday, March 24, 2017Breslin and Berry, two originals: RIP Jimmy Breslin could write like hell. Chuck Berry could play the hell out of the guitar. A president straight out of hell. And Shaq thinks the Earth is flat. Oh well. 
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Sunday, June 15, 2014Give me a 'D' for "dumb,'' Pat When did dumb become fashionable in America? This country is suffering from Sajak Syndrome, a combination of willful ignorance and abject laziness. 
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Saturday, August 19, 2017A one-sided-story: Trump must go This is a time of serious unrest in America, stoked by the divisive language and actions of Donald Trump and those who advise and enable him. There is no other side to that story. He was elected on a campaign built on lies, bigotry and bullying. The Republican Party allowed it. They continue to allow him to shred the fabric of this nation. They own him even though he is not one of them. That is the price of silence on fascism. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views)
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Thursday, September 29, 2016In America, the rich are never wrong Bankers don't go to jail in this country. Drug company executives don't go to jail in this country. Insurance executives don't go to jail in this country. Wall Street brokers don't go to jail in this country. In this country, a billionaire who doesn't pay his employees, stiffs his creditors, brags about not paying taxes gets to run for president. The rich are never wrong. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views)
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Thursday, March 28, 2013If it's 'safe,' put it on the label Consumers deserve to know everything that's in their food and whether it has been genetically modified. Series: The food we eat, or don't (12 Articles, 21342 views) 
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Tuesday, January 15, 2019Are you now, or have you ever ...? A TV commentator has, on the air, asked the president of the United States if he is, in effect, a traitor.
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Friday, August 24, 2018Aretha, Elvis, Count Dracula and the Babe. What's going on? So, the prince of darkness, the Sultan of Swat in the musical king and queen all died on the same date. Coincidence? Maybe, but I'm thinking it's more likely that there's a message we humans haven't figured out yet. 
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Saturday, February 10, 2018Let the Games and the diplomacy begin Trump and Kim are always ready and eager to hurl insults and threats. And maybe missiles. South Korea's President Moon is trying to ease the tension and maybe open the door to more civilized dialogue. In the spirit of the Olympics, it's an effort well worth making and supporting. 
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Thursday, June 18, 2020Generosity and a turbulent awakening There's a lot of pain and anger in the world right now. Also, an appalling lack of responsible leadership by those elected to provide it. So we are left to our own devices. Generosity. Sharing. Compassion. Small gestures. All we need do is notice. 
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Saturday, November 3, 2018Maybe it's just me, but why would they throw rocks? If you're fleeing violence, looking for a safe haven, why would you throw rocks at armed troops at your chosen destination? You wouldn't. It's a ruse to rile the bigoted base. Also, Khashoggi and mail bombs. Maybe it's just me, but none of this is normal. 
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Friday, March 10, 2017A game of Solitaire in the White House The NIC was wandering around the White House in his bathrobe when the phone range. A voice on the other end suggested that to occupy his time he should play his favorite game -- Solitaire. "Yes, mother," the NIC obeyed and hung up. Having stacked the deck with just red queens, the trigger card, the voice called back a minute later and said, "Blame Obama." Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Tuesday, July 9, 2019A great weekend for America The Epstein story is as sordid as the women's soccer story is salubrious, yet it also stirred a feeling in me - and others, I believe - of, "Yes! Good! Terrific!" 
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Sunday, September 18, 2016A false argument about 'false balance' In the opinion of The New York Times' public editor, Times reporters must resist the arguments about false balance -- giving political candidates' statements, opinions and actions equal treatment even though the truth argues otherwise -- because, in their distaste for Trump the reporters might be tempted to go easy on Clinton. Go ahead, finish laughing. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Thursday, December 24, 2020Even in the age of Covid, "No thank you" is a complete sentence at parties "One drink won't hurt you" is a dangerously ill-informed reply. The same goes for, "A few butter cookies won't hurt. C'mon, it's Christmas." Or, "Get the dress, Put it on your credit card. You'll feel better." Not really. 
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Thursday, March 26, 2020Meanwhile, in non-trump news ... By the way, in other news, did you notice what Putin's up to? 
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Friday, December 12, 2014Two choke hold deaths, decades apart Two black men, two deaths by choke hold at the hands of white policemen, 27 years apart. Have we learned nothing? 
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Friday, May 19, 2017Sycophants, cowards and Steve Bannon I do not feel sorry for Sean Spicer, Kellyanne Conway or others who took jobs as mouthpieces for a demonstrated pathological liar and have lost any credibility or, indeed, dignity they might have felt they had in doing a job professionally by stepping out every day to repeat Trump's lies, defend them with air quotes or describe them as "alternate facts." Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Sunday, November 6, 2016Who stands with Standing Rock? In one day, a million Americans stood in virtual solidarity with the Sioux. Is it too much to ask their president and would-be presidents to demonstrate the real thing? Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Friday, December 1, 2017A gift to America from the U.S. Mint To celebrate the 225th anniversary of its founding, the Mint has initiated a series of gold coins depicting Lady Liberty as different ethnicities. Following the first symbolic African-American woman to grace a United States coin, will come Asian-American, Hispanic-American, and Indian-American figures, to reflect "the cultural and ethnic diversity of the United States," the Mint said. How did he miss that? 
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Tuesday, June 13, 2017A 70-year-old rookie in the White House I like to know that the person widely regarded as leader of the free world has at least some working familiarity with the rules of the road -- the protocols of the office, diplomacy, a sense of history, the basic do's and don'ts of the job. Also, respect for the law of the land. Stuff like that. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Saturday, August 4, 2018TAD? TFS? Whatever ... I've got it It's downright tiring writing the same thing over and over again: Dotard did/said something dumb or cruel, or both. Then he lied about it. Republicans didn't care (they've committed suicide) and his loyalists cheered. End of story. 
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Saturday, August 22, 2020On Unwritten Rules, in Baseball and Life Life is full of unwritten rules. Baseball has a bunch of them. I'm writing some of them down. One of them is, in sports, politics and life, don't be a sore loser. 
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Tuesday, April 26, 2022To Live and Die in America Firing squads in South Carolina, "mercy" deaths in Ohio, a movie set shooting in New Mexico and two brave politicians. Our world. 
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Sunday, May 12, 2019Countdown to Woodstock 50 and 2020 Zero: Chances that fans who get to either of the planned Woodstock 50 celebrations will care about the mixups. Peace and love. 
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Tuesday, September 24, 2013The Fruits of Obama's Syria "Defeat" President Obama is too smart to have, as many claim, blundered his way through the Syria chemical weapons crisis. The results bear that out. 
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Saturday, July 1, 2017The Republican Party: Mean to the bone I've been trying to figure out when "mean" became the Republican go-to word in policy. Maybe it was Ronald Reagan's phony trickle-down spiel. The middle class and poor are still waiting for the first nourishing drops. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Sunday, August 9, 2020Hamill, voices, opinions, dogs ... August The voices in my newspapers are all gone. What remains is the conviction that a writer must remain true to his or her self first. Trust your voice. Trust your opinion. It seems I am in search of some new voices to read. 
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Monday, October 30, 2017Positive Vibes for Negative Times Yes, actual factual information is vital, but that steady drumbeat of ignorance and arrogance at the center of most news stories today only seems to add to the great wall of negative energy engulfing our universal consciousness, making us act, if you will, as if we were all collectively unconscious. 
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Thursday, September 25, 2014When police act like an occupying army Where have you been America? The militarization of police forces has been going on for years.
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Saturday, May 29, 2021Remembering JFK's life, not death Hope and pride are two elements in short supply in today's political debate. They've been replaced by deceit and anger, which only begets more deceit and anger. A path to ruin. So today, on what would be JFK's 104th birthday, I choose hope. 
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Monday, August 15, 2016And So it Went: A week of do-overs for Donald Donald Trump is a threat, an insult, a slur, a lie, a boast, an absurdity waiting to happen anytime he speaks. Life to him is one, big do-over. Any Republican with a shred of decency and self-respect, not to mention common sense, should have abandoned him months ago. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Wednesday, May 10, 2017Ah, what Cadet Trump could have learned The Civil War, Lincoln, Jackson ... The cadet code at New York Military Academy is the same as West Point's: "A cadet will not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do." I get the feeling Cadet Trump was snoozing through some of his classes at NYMA. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Saturday, June 13, 2015Hillary, beware the cloak of inevitability One of the knocks on Clinton has always been that she seems to feel entitled, that she should get people's votes just because she is Hillary. That she should be New York's senator just because. That she should be the first woman president of the United States just because. Why does she want to be president? Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views)
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Tuesday, June 2, 2015George says he wants to do it ...as a Republican George Pataki is running for president as a Republican, but not any kind of Republican we've seen in the 21st century. For one thing, he thinks global warming is real. The GOP is old, but hardly grand. It's lost its mind and sold its soul. The onetime Party of Lincoln is not even the Party of Ford. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Sunday, May 3, 2020Some fishy loans and flashy UFOs Pandemic questions: What banks approved loans to major corporations from a federal program intended for small businesses? Also, why has the Pentagon been sitting on UFO videos? Who is in the hearse? And do you like Beyond burgers? 
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Friday, October 22, 2021In Texas, looking for another "perspective" on the Holocaust In the land of avid anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers and supporters of the Big Lie, it shouldn't be surprising to also find Holocaust deniers. Still. 
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Sunday, November 22, 2020On science ,,, some fake, some real Some news for science-wary Americans: A quack doctor on the Covid task force told Americans, young and old, to gather together for turkey. The CDC said otherwise. Also, Arecibo, NASA's renowned ear in the sky, went deaf. Now how will we hear ET? 
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Monday, February 22, 2021For Republicans, lying is easier than governing In his feigned outrage at ABC-TV's George Stephanopoulos, Rand Paul inadvertently disclosed the underlying truth about today's Republican Party: All Republicans are liars and everything they say is a lie. 
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Saturday, January 3, 2015Francis: The pope of hope Pope Francis, the people's pope, has been a revelation and a one-man revolution within an organization that has been entrenched in dogma and shielded by ceremony for centuries. 
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Sunday, September 8, 2013Putin on gays: A Russian fable Boycotting the Olympics is not the only way to respond to Russia's harsh laws on homosexuality. Other approaches don't punish the athletes. 
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Saturday, July 4, 2020Good news from back page to front They're starting to play baseball this month. Also, there has been a dramatic shift in the way Americans view the use of force by police. This is good news, for the front page as well as the back page. 
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Saturday, March 20, 2021All the "dumb" GOP governors The real question, of course, is whether these politicians are truly dumb, or just playing a cynical role that makes them sound dumb to a majority of Americans, but enhances their reputation with the core group of Republicans who vote for them, often against their own self-interest. The willfully dumb. 
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Thursday, April 7, 2022Ukraine offers a new kind of reality TV It's impossible not to admire and root for the TV president as he takes on Ukraine's entrenched corruption and cronyism everywhere he turns, including within his own family, just as much of the world has found it impossible not to root for and provide aid to the real-life President Zelensky as he stands up to the Russian invaders. 
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Thursday, September 2, 2021If the Earth is not flat, then who am I? Some people, for whatever reason, are easily swayed. They will accept even the illogical because they can feel part of something. It provides an identity. Some people, for purely selfish reasons, gain their identity by swaying people to accept even the irrational. If people stop believing what they say, they lose their identity. . 
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Sunday, July 1, 2018'Enemy of the people'? Not the press Words have power. When those in position of power use words recklessly -- and Trump does so routinely -- innocent people can be hurt. The facts speak for themselves. The Amendments to the Constitution are in order for a reason. People should not have to live in fear for speaking or writing the truth. That's what makes America great. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Saturday, July 31, 2021Welcome, Guardians; sup Yankees? The Cleveland Indians will be known as the Cleveland Guardians next year. A necessary if somewhat uninspiring change. Still, it's better than the Washington Football Team, now known as the Washington Football Team. 
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Sunday, June 20, 2021Get vaccinated, get rich, get high! With President Biden's stated goal of having 70 percent of Americans vaccinated by July 4, states, cities, corporations, businesses were, well, bribing Americans to do the right thing. 
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Thursday, January 28, 2021A 12-Step plan for Republicans There is a solution. It has worked for millions of alcoholics, it can work for Trumpaholics, too. But they have to really want to change. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Wednesday, July 7, 2021On growing up with real presidents Recently, a group of historians rated an era that included my first 28 years alive as the best stretch of presidents in the history of America. Wow. Now I know why I felt so strongly about the previous guy. History tells me I was right. Trump was an insult to the office. 
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Saturday, August 11, 2018Bobby B, Lebron, Elon and Tom Wolfe What do Bobby Bonilla, Lebron James, Elon Musk and Tom Wolfe have in common? They were all on a list on my phone. I figured if these names were on a list of newsmakers, I should at least tell people why. 
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Friday, May 21, 2021In baseball, no one is hitting but Shohei Shohei Ohtani is the most incredible player in baseball today. If he keeps it up, maybe of all time. That's saying a lot, but the Los Angeles Angels star is doing a lot. Some days, more than a lot of teams. 
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Saturday, September 11, 202120 years on, terrorists made in the USA Twenty years after 9/11, the FBI says the greatest threat to America is domestic terrorism. Pogo was right.
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Saturday, February 18, 2017Why won't McCain take on Trump? By not challenging Trump with actions as well as words, McCain leaves himself open to criticism that, while he may be prone to occasional flashes of anger, he's not willing to risk losing whatever standing, power, and influence he may have within his party by engaging in an all-out fight with the president based on principle. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Sunday, February 13, 2022By whatever name, it's still racism Racism is everywhere in America, to the point that even commenting negatively on its presence almost makes it seem acceptable because it seems to be inevitable. That's troubling, yet I persist. 
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Tuesday, January 31, 2017Going ape in the Oval Office I apologize to chimps for even considering any comparison to the current resident of the White House. Sorry. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views), Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Friday, March 18, 2016In a fog of fiction, Sanders offers truth Bernie Sanders is the only candidate in either party who is genuine. When he speaks, I believe him. Millions believe him, because he has no hidden agenda; he is beholden to no one. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Saturday, March 26, 2022In-person AA meetings may be lifesavers, literally Researchers cited the stress and restrictions imposed by Covid, along with the difficulty of accessing recovery programs and the absence of in-person support networks, as major contributors to a 25 percent increase in alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. in 2020. 
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Saturday, September 18, 2021GOP: A party of distraction, not action The Texas anti-abortion law is a distraction. It's a proven way to take people's minds off the failures of the GOP. It's a proven way to rile up the voter base growing weary of Covid and wondering whether or not that presidential election really was stolen. It's a GOP strategem. 
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Wednesday, January 22, 2020Why Carlos Beltran Was Fired It's the Trump effect. The Astros won their championship in 2017, the first year of the Trump presidency. What that presidency and the way it was attained said to the world is that you can cheat, have people know about it, and still be declared a winner. At least in America. Nothing has happened yet to change that perception. 
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Monday, October 3, 2016Donald and the boys plot to beat Hillary A bunch of the "boys" were sitting around the GOP clubhouse having a few drinks the other day. It was too rainy to play golf and they were way too out of shape to care anyway. The talk inevitably came around to women. Women they had known. Women they could have known. Women they should have known. Women they wished they had known. Women they still wished they could know. If you know what I mean. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Sunday, August 16, 2020The Perils of Covering Chaos 24/7 Even veteran journalists can find it mind-numbing to report on chaos every day. Witness Maureen Dowd and David Brooks of The New York Times recently. Maybe take a short break, folks.
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Saturday, October 22, 2016The Kremlin and the death of the GOP I do not blame Trump for being who he is. I simply detest him. I do, however, blame the Republican Party for infecting American society with this utterly degrading election campaign. I mean every elected Republican official who has stood silently by and let Trump make a mockery of our democratic system and lay waste to any sense of decency or decorum in selection of the most powerful political leader on the planet. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views), Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Friday, January 27, 2017Sorry, Caroline, you're no JFK Kennedy doesn't really offer much as a candidate. Being diplomatic with the friendly Japanese for three years is hardly preparation for the rigors of a presidential campaign. Besides, Democrats don't need another Hillary Clinton, baggage or not. 
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Thursday, December 24, 2020There Will Be a Dr. in the White House The editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page chose a misogynistic, homophobic, arch conservative to write an insulting hit job on Dr. Jill Biden, for having the temerity to earn a doctorate in education and not hiding the fact. Why do conservatives have such an inferiority complex when it comes to education? Or is it all an act? 
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Friday, March 17, 2017Trump couldn't lose for winning Less than two months since his inauguration, it's obvious: Donald Trump likes being president, but he is less than fond of doing president. The title is great. But the work? Who knew? He never wanted the job. 
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Wednesday, December 9, 2020Wear a mask, don't be like Rudy What is it with Americans especially a lot of Republicans who won't wear a mask? It's the easiest and best way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, along with proper social distancing. If everybody does it, fewer people get it, fewer people die, the sooner we can go back to work and we don't have to wear masks. That's not even new math. It's just common sense and decency. 
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Tuesday, April 19, 201616 years ... still waiting for Hillary Hillary Clinton came to New York on her road to running for the White House 16 years ago. She didn't like answering questions from the press then, either. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Monday, August 8, 2016And So it Went: Two dysfunctional political families trying to survive Three months away from having to choose between two of the most disliked candidates in our nation's history to be the most powerful person on the planet, we have become, in 12-step language, powerless over our political process and our lives are becoming increasingly unmanageable. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Friday, August 20, 2021Saying goodbye to my Gallbladder There was the inevitable trip to the emergency room. Six days later, after apparently successful surgery, I returned home gallbladderless and even more attuned to what I eat. Also, with some thoughts about the American healthcare system and the American diet. Series: My Renovation (9 Articles, 23236 views)
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Friday, November 11, 2016Some thoughts on an election Remember when all those people thought it would be funny to vote for Sanjaya on "American Idol"? He couldn't sing worth a lick, but he made it to the finals. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Monday, March 1, 2021For Republicans, is the party over? The GOP Big Tent today is flooded with angry white men and women who go to church and ignore what is preached. They believe what they're told and have no use for compromise or, indeed, for government. And beware if you oppose them. 
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Thursday, January 6, 2022A date that should live in infamy I am troubled that too many Americans, perhaps preoccupied by trying merely to survive and function in the middle of a pandemic, do not see the insurrection and its aftermath for what it was - an attempted coup to keep Donald Trump in the White House. . 
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Sunday, December 16, 2018In search of 21 influential thinkers Who are the Teslas, Edisons, Jungs who will shape this still-young century? We're not looking back. And this is a cooperative venture. What do you think? 
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Thursday, March 3, 2022When everyone speaks Ukrainian No matter the language, everyone seems to understand Ukrainian all of a sudden. And no one, except apparently Belarus and North Korea, is speaking the same language as the leaders of Russia. 
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Thursday, October 1, 2015A $15/hr living wage, not a minimum wage If $15 an hour is the minimum that fast-food workers need to live in New York without depending on other assistance, it certainly is a fair minimum wage for all workers in the state. Governor Cuomo is right. 
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Thursday, December 9, 2021Pizza, Sinatra, fairy tales and hope Warm memories and continuity are reassuring, especially in a society that appears to have lost its way. Remember, it wasn't always like this. It won't always be like this. Hang in. Enjoy the moment. And do what you can to make things better. 
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Thursday, March 2, 2017If the Grandy Man Shirt Fits, Wear It I say, in my ever-more-persistent effort to be aware of synchronicity in my life, that I was given my Curtis Granderson shirt to wear today because it would inevitably lead me to a place of positive thoughts, a place of hope and a bit of serenity. That's what. 
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Tuesday, March 28, 2017GOP: A party without a head or a heart Today's Republican Party is a gaggle of angry constituencies -- a party of convenience for various factions who know nothing about governing. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Monday, April 26, 202135 years and 9-1/2 minutes to 'Guilty' We got a break. The verdict in the Floyd case says there's still hope for us. All we have to do is change pretty much everything about the way most police forces operate in this country today. 
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Sunday, November 1, 2020A vote against the GOP, top to bottom Republican silence on Trump goes well beyond party loyalty to the realm of blind allegiance to to their leader and/or sheer cowardice, neither of which I want in an elected official at any level. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Sunday, January 16, 2022Betty, Elon, Tom, Sarah.. No, No, No. No! People, Time and Sports Illustrated all got their year-end covers wrong. Netflix was spot-on with its Palinesque President. 
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Sunday, August 29, 2021Who in the world is Kathy Hochul? It took 231 years, but New York finally has its first woman governor. Most New Yorkers haven't heard of Kathy Hochul. She intends to,change that. 
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Tuesday, June 29, 2021Conflicts of interest don't just "happen" When one of our two major parties decides it can unilaterally make up the rules as it goes along and concoct excuses to avoid responsibility, we are in serious trouble. If people will buy the big lie, why not try a "little" one?
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Monday, July 25, 2016And so it went, from Trump to Ailes. Trump, Ailes, Murdoch, Russian dopers and Pokemon. What a week! 
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Friday, April 11, 2014A husband/father/ballplayer gets it The Mets' Daniel Murphy was criticized by New York radio sports commentators for taking three days paternity leave for the birth of his first child. This is stupid personified. 
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Friday, November 22, 2013The measure of the man, II Fifty years later, I'm still trying to take the measure of JFK and realizing I can only truly take the measure of myself. 
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Saturday, February 6, 2021Baseball, bigots and the Hall of Fame In the matter of Curt Schilling: Should stupidity or bigotry be reasons for disqualification from the Hall of Fame? (History says no.) And should baseball writers be the ones making that decision? Another life lesson from the sports pages.
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Monday, April 2, 2012If this offends anyone, I apologize One of the most insulting developments of our Spin Age Society is the ascension of the non-apology apology. You hear it all the time now, from politicians, performers, athletes, commentators. The basic outline goes like this: "If I hurt or offended anyone with my remarks about (fill in the blank), I apologize. That was not my intent." It's bull.
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Friday, April 1, 2022Jada, Clarence, Ukraine ... A look at the world in 500 words or less. An exercise in brevity in a news-saturated world. 
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Thursday, January 23, 2014A license to kill ... himself Let's not confuse fiction with fact; any real man who drank the way James Bond does would be dead before 60. Movies have a way of feeding societal denial. 
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Monday, February 21, 2022On being old vs. being 'elderly' 'Elderly" is a loaded word and none of the images it suggests, even when accurate, is especially flattering to the older person being described. Some can be hurtful. And that ought to matter. 
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Tuesday, March 12, 2019On Influence and Insensitivity Would I rather be a pundit or an influencer? The latter pays better, but I'd have to compete with Kylie Jenner. 
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Wednesday, July 21, 2021Leaving Afghanistan, Finally Biden is right. It would seem that cyberwarfare is a more serious threat to the American way of life than Afghanistan or whomever Iran is funding in Syria today. Let our intelligence agencies find the terrorist threats and plots to destabilize allies. Our troops will always be ready to help in a moment's notice. But wars need clear missions and expiration dates. 
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Sunday, September 26, 2021A week to read banned books We are living in a time when ignorance runs rampant in much of the country. Indeed, it often seems glorified. Reading, in fact learning of any sort, is under attack by forces - Republicans, evangelicals if you want to be specific - who seek to maintain power by discrediting education. A good reason to celebrate the right to read. . 
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Thursday, January 21, 2021Dear Mr. President, We're With You Mr. President ... It is my sense that millions of my fellow citizens, including many who did not vote for you, are grateful to have survived an attempt to dismantle our democratic republic and are more than willing to do what is necessary to fix what we learned was broken. 
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Thursday, February 12, 2015Surviving February with warm sports memories Football is over and baseball has yet to begin. Hockey and basketball don't get serious until June. Why not Join me in another favorite sporting pastime -- reminiscing about some special moments in sports. C'mon, it's February.
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Saturday, December 18, 2021At parties, 'No thank you' is a complete sentence "One drink won't hurt you" is a dangerously ill-informed reply. The same goes for, "A few butter cookies won't hurt. C'mon, it's Christmas." Or, "Get the dress, Put it on your credit card. You'll feel better." Not really. . 
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Friday, October 29, 2021Gruden and Shatner lmeet technology Technology sacked Gruden and lifted Shatner, Captain Kirk of Star Trek fame, to another dimension. In the process, misplaced priorities of others came into focus. 
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Saturday, July 20, 2013Mariano Rivera Saves the Night (For Me) There's no back sports page where I get much of my news today, on the Internet. But on Tuesday night, July 16, I found myself, figuratively speaking, turning to the back page of Facebook. I needed relief from the front pages of this social media site, which screamed with anger, hatred, bigotry and ignorance over the not-guilty verdict on George Zimmerman. On the back page I found the oasis of inspiration called Mariano Rivera.
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Thursday, May 3, 2012He got Osama didn't he? Case closed Barack Obama killed Osama bin Laden and saved General Motors. That is incontrovertible. And important. (Unless you're a Republican.) 
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Monday, August 26, 2013Why cheat when you don't have to? I have trouble understanding what Alex Rodriguez had to gain by cheating. He had the talent, the money, the fame, and the superstar name. Why do people who don't have to cheat, cheat? 
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Monday, April 5, 2021It's time for the filibuster to go Some (including two Democrats) have suggested going back to the talking filibuster so that there is actual effort required to oppose and maybe some debate on the bill. But there has seldom been any debate provided by the filibuster and, even assuming Republicans are willing to argue for hours on end against expanding voting rights, Biden and the Democrats don't have the time to waste. 
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Thursday, September 24, 2020Horses and other amazing things At a time when some amazingly evil and ignorant things are happening, it is still possible to find some amazingly positive things in everyday life. Watermelon, for example. Or horses jumping. And what about Benford's law? Amazing. 
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Friday, November 12, 2021States my sons should never live in, an addendum The primary criteria for making the original list were: Rampant racism, anti-intellectualism, bigotry, intolerance, religious fanaticism, and electing morons to office over and over again. The criteria still apply, but I would add to them fanatical Trumpism, anti-Vaccism, a refusal to wear masks to avoid spreading Covid, and the casual acceptance of violence as a solution to political grievances. 
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Friday, May 9, 2014The kidnappings the world ignored It took a major social-media campaign for the major media and other nations to respond to the kidnapping of 300 teenaged girls in Nigeria. A sorry commentary on the world in which we live. 
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Sunday, April 17, 2022A Supreme victory, but baseball's less than perfect Despite a landmark moment, there was yet another sign that the people running the game have lost all sense of what once made baseball America's pastime. Kissing off a possible perfect game is... not baseball. 
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Wednesday, January 26, 2022Coin flips, meatless burgers and the Big Bang The NFL and McDonald's are on the wrong track. NASA is still on track with James Webb. 
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Wednesday, February 10, 2021The face of the GOP: It's not pretty Who are all those anti-Semites, Holocaust-deniers, Quanons, white supremacists and conspiracy theorists who snuck into the GOP while Liz Cheney wasn't looking? Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views)
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Friday, February 24, 2017Behind his bluster, GOP pillages America If you watch the movie, ''You've Been Trumped,'' you'll realize this is all just the same plot over and over again. In place of the Scottish government that rolled over to the narcissist and let him build an ostentatious golf course, we have congressional Republicans, smiling and nodding and saying in private to other nations, ''Don't pay attention to what he says.'' Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Wednesday, February 4, 2015How to avoid winning a Super Bowl When the game's on the line in the schoolyard, the best player on the team always got the ball. Didn't happen in the Super Bowl. 
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Sunday, October 10, 2021It's no time to stop defending democracy We're not just going through a bad spell, folks. American democracy Is under attack from forces who see education as a threat to their goals. We must keep speaking out for those freedoms we take for granted. . 
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Wednesday, August 11, 2021The Cuomos: A disappointing dynasty The sense of service Andrew Cuomo inherited from his father became overshadowed by a sense of and entitlement. He was the boss. 
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Monday, February 27, 2017Press gets chance to redeem itself on Trump In a strange way, Trump has pulled the reverse on the old he giveth with one hand and taketh away with the other. During the campaign he made a mockery of the press. In office he has continued to insult and assault the media because they are finally recognizing him for what he is. Much of the mainstream media has started doing its job again--Reporting the truth. 
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Wednesday, October 14, 2015Rehab or the playoffs? CC made the right choice Couldn't he wait a little longer and go to rehab when the Yankees weren't playing baseball any more? No, CC Sabathia couldn't wait and the Yankees knew it. With addiction, there is no "if." There is only "now." 
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Friday, December 11, 2015Nothing grand about this old party today I don't understand how longtime Republicans have let a super-conservative, ultra-religious, anti-science, anti-education, anti-government, anti-fact fringe element take control of their party without managing so much as a murmur of disagreement. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views), Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Sunday, November 28, 2021Shooting my way out of the GOP funk Four years ago, the funk settled in because there was really only one thing to write about every day: how Donald Trump had messed the world up in some unique way and how Republicans were just fine with it.... The constant lies, the hypocrisy, the unabashed arrogance and proud ignorance. It's infuriating and, honestly, writing about it constantly is as much a drag as reading about it. . 
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Sunday, December 6, 2020Playing musical monoliths, but with whom? The three monoliths all popped up, seemingly out of nowhere, in remote areas of the planet, at the same time the Arecibo Radio Observatory, our famed ear to the universe, was falling down on itself in Puerto Rico. It's almost as if there's a silent message in the monoliths: Get your act together. 
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Wednesday, October 21, 2020For the record: I am not an old coot I feel that at a time when the guy I already voted for for president is 78 years old, the guy I never want to be president is 74 years old and the guy I would've preferred become president is 79 years old, someone has to stand up for people who have lived three-quarters of a century and are still contributing to society. 
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Saturday, February 6, 2016Iowa caucus eccentricities: Heads I win, Bernie, tails you lose The "virtual tie" was a statement for Bernie Sanders against the establishment -- Democratic Party and major media. Series: 2016 election (22 Articles, 29730 views) 
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Thursday, December 27, 2018Pundit or no, Trump's got to go I never thought of myself as a pundit, but today, apparently, the definition has changed. So, punditly speaking, I find myself depressed and mystified that polls continue to report that 80 percent of Republicans think Donald Trump is doing a good job as president.
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Thursday, December 29, 2011A Republican's Lament: "It's a Disgrace" How did this happen? How did this field of misfits become the Republican party's best and brightest? A longtime Republican can't answer that and is utterly embarrassed by it. 
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Monday, July 15, 2013Warning: This column may be bugged When the computer spies forget that they, too, are American citizens and also suffer from any erosion of individual privacy along with the rest of us, the slippery slope to total control of the citizenry has begun. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness lose their meaning. 
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Monday, June 11, 2018'Survey' says: It's the media's fault "Under Trump, the real, the true, the factual, the serious business of life has become demonized and trivialized to the point that everything is treated as a reality TV show and millions of Americans are -- for reasons no one has yet explained to my satisfaction beyond sheer ignorance and bigotry -- hooked." 
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Wednesday, October 7, 2020Banning books: An American tradition Our education system has a lot of work to do to repair the damage done in recent years. Encouraging reading is a good place to start. Books are available as never before online. And there's plenty of time to read. 
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Thursday, May 2, 2013One man comes out, a nation is mired in intolerance Jason Collins' coming out is not quite the watershed moment many claim it to be. 
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Thursday, February 3, 2022Media letting GOP slide on Trump claims There are questions about Trump the media should be posing to every Republican senator, every congressman, every state legislator, every governor, every mayor, every county executive, every town supervisor, every county legislator, every town board member. What are you waiting for? 
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Friday, September 26, 2014For Little Leaguers, No.2 was No. 1 Mostly, when I look at Derek Jeter's career, I'm impressed with how quietly he went about his job, how almost routine he made the anything-but-routine appear. 
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Monday, March 20, 2017The dumb, venal, rotten GOP game plan(s) Since all three GOP game plans are working together for separate goals, they share a mutual interest in fomenting chaos. The media have to decide daily what to focus on: The Russians? The wiretaps? The Wall? The travel ban? The budget? The conflicts of interest? The Trump/Ryan health care plan? Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Tuesday, March 9, 2021Time for universal DH in the majors Pitchers are coddled to protect their arms. Why expose them to injury and embarrassment by making them bat when they haven't been allowed to practice that skill for years? And why, for heavens sake, have a different set of rules when both leagues are under the auspices of Major League Baseball? 
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Thursday, May 16, 2013Seizing AP phone files a major abuse of power The Obamam administration seems to be obsessed with leaks and "national security." 
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Sunday, January 17, 2021A quiet walk midst an insurrection Joe Biden faces a monumental task when he becomes president on January 20, but he will have full control of the Congress to back him up and, I believe, fervent support of a vast majority of Americans as well. That white mob that assaulted the Capitol was an embarrassment to this nation, but maybe a lesson as well. American exceptionalism was put to the lie. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Tuesday, May 10, 2022Making history, the painful way The Insurrection. Ukraine. Two men with ties to Orange County, N.Y., made historic headlines in the same week recently. Neither was something to celebrate.
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Saturday, February 4, 2012Here's looking at you, Newt By Bob Gaydos Floridians proved to be smarter than South Carolinians, but Republicans still have a mess on their hands. 
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Tuesday, January 5, 2021Trump leaves a stain, if not a brand Trump's four years in office have been a non-stop assault on the rule of law and the principles laid out by the nation's founders more than two centuries ago. They have also been a gross insult to the office of the presidency as he has sought, by hook or by crook, to put his brand on it. Series: Death of the GOP (39 Articles, 54334 views) 
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Sunday, January 9, 2022Biden wields a sharp verbal dagger The "dagger at the throat of democracy" phrase was the perfect partnership of a speech writer and a president delivering an unmistakable message to the world. No more Mr. Nice Guy. 
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Friday, June 7, 2013A power play in Turkey The violent clashes over a park in Istanbul are the result of Turkey's prime minister's addiction to power. This addiction takes many forms, as witness Monsanto's use of money to solidify its hold on the world's food supply. But those with power can only persist if the rest allow it. What Turkey and Monsanto have in common. 
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Friday, May 25, 2012$2 billion here, $2 billion there ... pretty soon we're talking real money The Facebook IPO laid an egg. So did the JP Morgan synthetic derivative. I can live with what happened to Facebook, but the JP Morgan people should be drawn and quartered.. 
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Sunday, September 1, 2013Mr. President: No proof, no attack on Syria President Obama should ask for an open debate in Congress on Syria and present the evidence of Syria's use of chemical weapons. 
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Saturday, July 27, 2013There's no quick fix, Mr. Weiner Anthony Weiner's serial sexting suggests he might be better off trying a 12-step program than running for mayor of New York City.
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Monday, March 5, 2012Mitt wins, Olympia quits! There's no place in today's Republican Party for the likes of Olympia Snowe. Too smart, too sensible. It's time for a new party of displaced GOP moderates. Page 1 of 12 First Last Back Next 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 View All |
