Commentary
Fifty of the hundreds of opinion pieces I’ve had published on the op-ed and commentary pages of various newspapers (including the Philadelphia Inquirer, Berkshire Eagle and Orlando Sentinel) have been republished in my essay collection Repeat Offenders (with some available for perusing at Repeat Offenders ). Below are samples of some of my more recent commentaries — along with one that appeared a dozen years ago in The Record of Bergen County, but which I believe continues to be a viable suggestion for the 2020 political season and those to follow (even if The McLaughlin Group is no longer with us).
Method to the Madness: Shutdown
Perhaps Had More Than One Aim
Published in The SandPaper January, 2019
Ever since President Trump first came under scrutiny by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, his supporters have lamented, “Why won’t they let the president do his job?”
So it’s only natural that the question now be asked, “Why won’t the president allow other people to do theirs?”
Evanescent Events Pose Risk
To Pundits and Parrots Alike
Published in the SandPaper July, 2018
These days, there is no bigger threat to the value of the material turned out by commentary, as well as comedy, writers than that of instant obsolescence. There is a very real possibility that the subject matter will no longer be relevant by the time it is viewed by the readers.
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How About Viewing Health Care
As Restitution, If Not a Right?
Published in The SandPaper May, 2017
After late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel recently weighed in on the healthcare debate with a story about how medical intervention had saved the life of his newborn son, a questioner at a Stanford University forum asked Mike Mulvaney, the Trump administration’s budget director, if he agreed that any replacement for the Affordable Care Act should meet the “Jimmy Kimmel test” standard.
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Might Artificial Intelligence Save Us
From a Rapid Decline in Our Own?
Published in the SandPaper July, 2017
A funny thing happened to me last week while I was out driving from point A to point B. In the process of decelerating to accommodate a drop in the speed limit, I glanced at my speedometer, only to find a totally alien display had somehow taken control of my car’s dashboard. Instead of miles per hour, I suddenly was looking at kilometers.
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Why we should be leading the primary pack
Published in The Record (of Bergen County, N.J.) November, 2007
On a recent telecast of the Sunday morning shouting show “The McLaughlin Group,” a reference to black voters in Iowa and New Hampshire caused one panelist, Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page, to ask “all five?”
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