U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders This week, two persons on either end of the political spectrum called for a radical change in the nation’s health-care system. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a New Hampshire Independent and self-described democratic socialist running for president, long has advocated this position, so his message on Facebook was no surprise. For Merrill […]
Donald Trump At an appearance by Donald Trump this week, all of the veterans present supported him, MSNBC reported, showing one man saying, “He tells it like it is.” The veterans forgave Trump for remarking that Sen. John McCain wasn’t a war hero, saying that was just politicians sniping at each other, the TV […]
Ric Bradshaw A few days ago, the sheriff of Palm Beach County in southeast Florida expressed defiance over criticism arising from a joint media investigation that found sheriff’s officers had shot at 123 persons since 2000, and one in four were unarmed. Despite those alarming figures, not a single officer has been criminally charged since […]
Former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley In the opinion of this humble scribe, the most common writing error involves the compound sentence. It’s ubiquitous, pervasive, omnipresent – even, to borrow a Mayor Daley-ism, frequent (“They have vilified me, they have crucified me; yes, they have even criticized me”). I don’t read a single issue […]
It was enough to turn a liberal into a conservative. I just had an experience with government bureaucracy that made me wonder if the antigovernment positions of those Libertarians and Republicans might have some validity. A glitch in time … My desktop computer has been plagued with a few glitches that, while not critical to […]
Fox News’ Megyn Kelly It was quite a matchup in the Republican presidential debate last week, Donald Trump versus Fox News’ Megyn Kelly. Why? They’re both liars. Trump’s modus for lying couldn’t be more direct. Kelly clothes hers in deviousness. In these debates, it’s common for the candidates to prevaricate in their answers to […]
Writing isn’t the only way to abuse the English language. The spoken word gets pummeled aplenty these days, often by persons who should be most concerned about polemically correct pronunciation: TV pundits and politicians. In the latter camp, President Barack Obama is an offender on two important words: formidable and corps. (They must be important if […]
Florida Gov. Rick Scott Before Republican Rick Scott ran for governor of Florida the first time, in 2010, the voters knew he was a crook: He defrauded Medicare as CEO of Columbia/HCA Hospitals, the largest for-profit health-care corporation in the United States. Okay, he wasn’t convicted of anything, but the company admitted to 14 […]
The movement is growing. We speak of the trend toward healthier eating. The latest evidence is General Mills’ decision to remove all artificial colors and flavors from its cereals. By the end of 2015, the company outside Minneapolis plans to have Trix, Cocoa Puffs and Reese’s Puffs free of the contaminants. In their places will […]
If this keeps up, it won’t be too long before billboards, websites and the media will be running ads that read something like, “Come to balmy Alaska. And don’t forget your swimsuit.” Just before President Obama’s three-day visit to the Alaska Arctic, The Associated Press sent out a story about the effects of global warming […]