Sen. Susan Collins has apparently taken dozens of pages of notes during the Senate impeachment trial. Sounds like a good thing on the face of it, but I worry that her notes aim solely to defend the president’s position, no matter the case against him. And the facts point overwhelmingly to misconduct of the highest […]

In 50 B.C., Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his army and broke Roman law, leading to the collapse of the Republic, which had been established in 509 B.C. When Caesar entered Rome, the Senate capitulated and conferred upon Caesar the titles of consul, tribune, imperator and dictator, with these powers going to Caesar’s heirs. […]

There’s talk these days about banning neonicotinoids, but did you know that two of the most widely used organic pesticides in the world – spinosad and pyrethrum – are actually highly toxic to bees for up to nine days after application? Many organics are significantly more toxic than some neonicotinoids and most “new generation” synthetic […]

At a soiree the other night, the discussion came around to the necessity of confronting loved ones about their annoying behavior. The techniques suggested were all very useful for behaviors that are evidently reprobate. Then someone reminded us that even certain good behaviors can be annoying – behaviors that you get prizes for in school: […]

One way to “Reject Big Pharma” is the opposite of the vote promoted by the current crop of roadside signs. Growing up in the 1950s through the 1970s, I received all required vaccines for everything from measles and mumps to the swine flu. I even looked forward to the sugar cube vaccine for polio. Those […]

The defense of President Trump against the flimsy partisan impeachment charges made against him has not nearly been forceful enough. The impeachment has focused on (a) President Trump’s motivation to ask Ukraine to investigate the Bidens’ activities with Burisma and (b) whether he paused military aid to get a promise of an announcement of an […]

Support for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and his vision of a socialist utopia requires some combination of naivety, fantasy, ignorance about history and economics, and a susceptibility to illusion. In a recent column (Jan. 12), Greg Kesich suggests that voters who have moderate goals should support Sanders. But there is nothing moderate about Bernie Sanders […]