THE GIFT It came packaged and delivered, as much does these days. But our friends’ recent visit returned with it, calling back the simple pleasure of talking into the night. Many of us have missed such evenings during isolated COVID times. “Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World,” I read on the book’s jacket. The photo showed […]

We have the best patients at Oasis Free Clinics. I have written that sentence often in this column, and I have uttered those words many times since becoming Oasis’ executive director six years ago. They are funny, kind, interesting, and thoughtful. They come to Oasis because of their lack of health insurance and need for […]

Women won’t accept attack on equality Alabama. Texas. Louisiana. Florida. Oklahoma. Idaho. Kentucky. Wisconsin. Missouri. North Dakota. South Dakota. Kentucky. Mississippi. These are places I will not visit. These are places I will not spend time or money. These are places that will be economically broken by the rise of right-wing politics because they have […]

Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, but he reacted completely differently than the 10 previous presidents who had also failed in their bids to remain in office. Ronald Reagan, in his 1981 inauguration speech, declared, “The orderly transfer of authority … is nothing less than a miracle.” Jimmy Carter, the president he defeated, sat […]

When Donald Trump launched his first presidential campaign in 2015, many people — including this writer — viewed it as some kind of joke. Would Americans really elect a crass reality tv star who boasted about his business genius and dismissed Mexicans as “criminals, rapists and thugs” to the nation’s highest office? Would they overlook […]

As some of you know, Independence Day is among my favorite holidays. This year we celebrate the 246th birthday of the United States. I look forward each year to decorating the award-winning “Freedom Truck,” riding in a small island parade, and grilling lunch for our large, brash family that itself is a cross-section of the […]

It was even more dire than we’d expected. The Supreme Court’s climactic decisions obliterating abortion and expanding gun rights were among the worst ever handed down, and the newly solidified five-member bloc, which now excludes Chief Justice John Roberts, shows every sign of just getting started. Naturally, the decisions were mutually contradictory. In the abortion […]