During his tenure as President at the beginning of the twentieth century, Theodore Roosevelt became known for “trust-busting.” That was because of the actions he took to break up monopolies and large corporations which he felt were doing harm to the American people. In this twenty first century, trust-busting has taken on a new meaning. It is a description of the American people’s loss of faith and confidence in the news media. The question becomes what has caused this trust-busting. … [Read more...]

    In 2020, as Donald Trump neared the end of his first term in office, we thought that there would never be a worse president than Trump and that he would never be re-elected. We were wrong on both counts. Trump was re-elected. And in the first 100 days of his second term in 2025, he has proven to be far worse than he was in his first term. America in Wartime During his first term, even as he failed to provide leadership in the fight against … [Read more...]

  “Tarrifying!” That is our invented one-word assessment of Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office as president for a second term. Those days have been “tarrifying” not just in terms of trade, but in actions taken across the board by the Trump administration. The nature of Trump’s performance was not unexpected. In fact, this is what Trump campaigned on, and he is doing what he said he would do. Trump himself confirmed the accuracy of this perspective during … [Read more...]

  Observed on the first Monday in September, Labor Day is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday is rooted in the late nineteenth century, when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being. U.S. Department of Labor, History of Labor Day Labor Day is a day to celebrate all workers and all forms and levels of work. On September … [Read more...]

  Are America’s major cities dying? The answer is yes, no and maybe depending on the city and where one looks within it. Many or our large cities are places where the infrastructure is decaying, neighborhoods are deteriorating and hopes are dimming for a large number of citizens. Many of them are also places where each one tells a tale of two cities — for the wealthy few it is the best of times, for those of lesser means it is the worst of times. That was the opening of a blog … [Read more...]

  The American economy in 2023 has proven to be tremendously resilient. The recession which had been forecast by many experts has not occurred. The rapidly rising inflation has been slowed and declined considerably. And, the national unemployment rate stands close to a near record low. In spite of this, there is still important work to be done. This is due to the fact that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of the end of July, there were 8.8 million unfilled job … [Read more...]

    “Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words – And never stops — at all — Emily Dickinson In the United States of America today, that bird has not stopped singing. But during these polarized and stressful times, it is losing some of its feathers, and its tune is being blocked for and by many. This is a dangerous condition for the future of our American democracy, its citizens, and the people of the … [Read more...]