Bernie Madoff conned friends and strangers out of billions using a scheme that out-Ponzied Charles Ponzi, the now former emperor of elite schemers. However, after serving almost 11 years of a 150-year sentence, Madoff is now asking for an early release from prison due to a terminal illness. In 1998, “Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 criminal counts… At the time...

In his 1922 book, Public Opinion, journalist and political commentator Walter Lippmann “…argued that modern mass communication created ‘pseudo-environments’ that thwarted the ability of the average citizen to make political judgments based on facts.” To say Lippmann was ahead of his time is a master understatement, but even the keenly perceptive Lippmann could never have foreseen a tweetaholic in the...

Last Thursday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson handed down her sentence to President Trump’s long time friend and campaign associate, Roger Stone. However, before that sentence was read, Stone, his defense team and Justice prosecutors listened to words not only directed to those in the courtroom, but the American people… ALL Americans. Key passages are worth repeating. ”The defendant isn’t public...

With the 75th Anniversary of “the liberation of Auschwitz [on January 27, the occasion was] marked by events around the world, culminating in a solemn ceremony at the former death camp [that included] dozens of aging Holocaust survivors,” The New York Times reports (Jan. 25). “Piotr Cywinski, the director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, is worried. “ ‘More and more...

In honor of President Trump’s pardons of celebrity convicted felons, I thought this updated commentary from 2018, particularly relevant. WASHINGTON — With Vice-President Mike Pence looking on, President Donald Trump signed two full pardons “for all Crimes and Misdemeanors” for Frankenstein and the Wolf Man. Both had previously pleaded guilty to murder. White House officials were scrambling Tuesday morning after...

“I am an innocent man. Oh, yes I am, an innocent man.”  – Billy Joel Fresh from his Vindication Tour, Trump quickly pivoted to his Vindictive Tour. Those he deemed disloyal for testifying about the truth of Trump’s “deal” with Ukraine’s Zelensky have, not surprisingly, moved to the top of the president’s enemies litst: * Lt. Col. Vindman, the National...

It’s boring. It’s just another vanity website, only this one’s about “ethics.” Come on! I already know the difference between right and wrong. This guy is just another pseudo-intellectual, California liberal telling us how to live our lives. What a gasbag. He just uses it as an excuse for writing another negative riff on the president. (Okay, I don’t like...

Note: apologies to readers who were expecting a different commentary. I’m tabling it to Friday. Yesterday, I received a rundown from our citizen reporter, Stephen Ambra, on the ground in Concord, New Hampshire. In past elections, Ambra has described “the gauntlet” that he and other voters face in front of the polling station, where acolytes for candidates holding signs politely...

Due to declining  student populations in public colleges and universities around the country, budget cutbacks have had a serious impact on education. Libraries and staff are particularly vulnerable, affecting the vital help students need from the valuable services libraries provide. How important? The nation’s second president, John Adams, believed education was so important that he included a clause in the...

When I learned of the death of Kirk Douglas, I remembered the time I spent with him in his Beverly Hills home. I was in the sixth grade when I was first introduced to art appreciation, (in a public school, no less). After presenting an overview of impressionist artists, the entire class went on a field trip to the Museum...