The Taliban did it again. Killed a medical team whose only crime was to travel into isolated areas to treat eye disease.
Their “crime”? They were supposedly being “spies”, even though only a few of the medical team were Americans. Oh yes: And they were (gasp) Christians. Can’t have that, can we. Kill the infidel. Never […]

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The Cordoba Project plans to construct a 13-story mosque and community center about 2 blocks from where the Twin Towers once stood.
I’m not in favor of this idea. I don’t like to let emotions rule my political judgment but the events of 9/11 still sting. I was close to the World […]

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One of the best things about the Clintons is that, during their time in office, they protected Chelsea from publicity and criticism. This allowed her to go through her teen years without the glare and criticism of, say, Sarah Palin’s children or the politicization of the Obama girls.
So we are now hearing about her happy […]

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Sister Mary Celine, an elderly nun who taught children for many years, was hit and killed walking on a Harlem sidewalk by a van driven by robbers fleeing from the police.
I’m sure she is in heaven today, praying for their conversion.
But there is more to the story than a sad ending. You see, Sister Mary […]

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As Summer rolls out its hazy crazy days, pimp hands are blooming all over. From White House plots to the gardens of assorted local governments and/or crime scenes. Though pimp hands are invasive (hence their common name “traveling pimp hands”) and if unchecked, will strangle all other growth, there’s no denying these fleurs du mal […]

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“Fighting for Girls: New Perspectives on Gender and Violence,” edited by Meda Chesney-Lind and Nikki Jones, cites recent studies to show that violence by girls has decreased.  In a New York Times article, “The Myth of Mean Girls,” Mike Males and Meda Chesney-Lind also state that our common perception that there are mean girls and […]

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I love the smell of eminent domain abuse in the morning. It smells like land grabs and taxpayers being soaked. A truly fragrant blast of the stuff is wafting up from Brooklyn, where developer Forest City Ratner and the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) have cleared the last man standing in the footprint of […]

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The Levity EventWorld Laughter Day NYC Subway event brings the spirit of laughter to the  New York City subway trains spreading laughter from the participants to bystanders and back again creating a ripple effect of positivity and possibility.What is World Laughter Day?“World Laughter Day” was created in 1998 by Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the […]

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In bumper sticker speak, I heart Vermont. I lived in the Green Mountain State for periods in the 1960’s and 70’s and still visit often. The border is fairly close to the part of upstate New York where I now live. Crossing it brings the eyeball impact of Vermont’s no-billboard policy. Scenery? Every rapture ever […]

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Maureen Dowd, the red headed vixen of the NYTimes editorial page, gushes effusively on attending an art show in the Saudi kingdom:
It was an unlikely moment, SoHo comes to Saudi Arabia — the first mixed exhibition anyone can remember in Riyadh, the stultifying capital of a country that bans any exhibition of […]

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Jersey Shore? Fuhgeddaboudit. Jersey City is the gem of reality TV. Shore is MTV. Jersey City is FBI. Like, how real is that? Killer videos of pols talking trash and passing cash have been unspooling in federal court in Newark at the trial of Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini. Beldini was busted last Summer in an […]

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My last post focused on children, teenagers and adults facing moments of choice when they’re targets of or bystanders-witnesses to harassment, bullying and abuse.  People who repeatedly turn away from that call to step up usually develop terrible long-term consequences including increased stress, insecurity, discouragement and depression; increased blame, shame, guilt and negative self-talk; and […]

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There are a lot of Democrats like myself who will wonder why the Democratic party is using what they know is an obscene word, instead of bringing up the very real issues of the election.If you who aren’t familiar with the gay community, the word “teabagging” is a euphemism for a practice that normal Grandmoms […]

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In early December, after days of deliberation, an Albany jury delivered corruption convictions to Joseph L. Bruno, New York State’s former Senate majority leader. On their way to finding Joe guilty of two federal felony charges the jury requested extensive read-backs and clarifications. Joe’s crony cozy deals were aired and re-aired. How often do New […]

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Time magazine has an article about overprotective parents. The Title is appropriate:
The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
Fair enough.
My problem is how the article is framed:
…we just wanted what was best for our kids. We bought macrobiotic cupcakes and hypoallergenic socks, hired tutors to correct a 5-year-old’s “pencil-holding deficiency,” … We hovered over every school, playground […]

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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is being promoted to, what amounts to, full citizen of the United States of America for purposes of standing trial, in civilian court, for his war crimes.  He’ll get all the rights and privileges afforded citizens, and even just residents living under the laws of our […]

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October 14th. The big chill was early, even for Albany. A press conference was being held in the park across from the New York Court of Appeals. The highest court in the state was set to hear Goldstein et al v. New York State Urban Development Corporation. The press conference speakers and their supporters were […]

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November 3, 2009 is a vitally important day in American politics — its the day the voters in New York’s 23rd Congressional district will decide between three candidates vying to replace Congressman John McHugh who was tagged to become the new Secretary of the Army in the Obama Pentagon. Why is this election so important? […]

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Abbie Hoffman, Yippie Emeritus, died 20 years ago. He was master of the culture jam before the term was coined, whacking the establishment with its own wack.
Quoting Wikipedia: “Culture jamming sometimes entails transforming mass media to produce ironic or satirical commentary about itself, using the original medium’s communication method.”
Hello, ACORN? Can I come […]

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Just like good chess players, James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles had to have known their opponents moves well ahead of their own. After releasing an incredibly damaging video last week which revealed extreme corruption in ACORN (not exactly shocking to anyone who has been following their maneuvering), ACORN representatives immediately went into smoke-screen mode, claiming […]

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I started working on an article earlier this morning about Representative Charles Rangel and his attempt to throw the race card into the healthcare reform debate.  In researching past quotes of Charles Rangel, I came across a quote of his which makes me want to immediately fly to New York or Washington DC, wherever this uneducated […]

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Well I bet nobody saw this coming.  Bogged down by sinking approval numbers for the President, and a growing disdain among Americans for the democrat led senate, Charles Rangel has enacted the ever-so-popular liberal defense mechanism, the race card.
 Rangel, the Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means committee stated that “bias” and “prejudice” toward Obama are fueling opposition […]

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Do an internet search under the topic, “What makes a great teacher” and you will be flooded with opinions. The criteria range from an oversimplified checklist of behaviors to the esoteric musings of a professor emeritus of literature. My book, Teacher of the Year: The Mystery and Legacy of Edwin Barlow examines this issue, among […]

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Training Standards for School Administrators
As Dr. David Milton takes the helm at The State Education Department, a fresh challenge awaits him.  New York  requires that a School Administrator become licensed by the State, (as it does with principals). Very often this process is undertaken by a successful classroom teacher, who having achieved a certain level […]

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An article on the left-leaning website Truthout announced yesterday that a “new direction in the war on terror” may result from a case that occurred in the last year of the Bush Administration. Bryant Neal Vinas, an American-born suspected terrorist who was captured in Pakistan, was given “all the rights of  American criminal suspects.” The results? […]

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So…those of you that believe Cenzon-DeCarlo should have gotten another job: Do you honestly think that this nurse is the only one that doesn’t want to participate in abortions?

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Last night I dreamed I went to Jersey City again…
I lived in Jersey City, New Jersey for sizable chunks of time during the 70s, 80s, and 90s. The experience made a deep impression on me. Which is why I still write about JC when events resonate. In June an auction of luxury condos […]

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In this era of reduced real estate expectations and tighter lending it’s nice to know that taxpayers, via the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), will be helping folks buy luxury condos deep in the heart of Jersey City, New Jersey. With a mere 3.5 percent down “qualified buyers”* can use loans supplied by FHA backed lenders […]

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The New York Times reports that a majority of New Yorkers do not favor Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s serving another term, despite Blumenthal’s success last October in getting the New York City Council to “extend” term limits so that he and council members could all serve third terms.
Term limits were imposed in New York City through […]

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Spoiler alert for the last few folks who take Alan Greenspan seriously– don’t read chapter two of Douglas Rushkoff’s new book Life, Inc. The scene where Greenspan addresses attendees of the 2008 Wealth Expo in New York City via satellite is pure twisted comedy. The Expo, a yearly wing ding of wishful thinking and pyramid […]

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