I never parted with a $20 bill faster. It happened at one of my favorite diners. The Western omelet and Diet Coke I often get wasn’t the $11 it had been for as long as I remember. It was $16. That expense, with my tip for the excellent waiter, consumed my entire $20 bill. I […]

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is currently on a tour to promote his new book, “The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics.” His thesis: The public misperceives the court’s role, and mistakenly attributes decision-making to desires of the president who appointed them. In shorter takes, Clarence Thomas, now the senior justice, and […]

Dear Jeff Bezos: Here’s what Amazon emailed me after a relatively small matter developed into a giant headache: “Your feedback is helping us build Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company.” That’s a heck of a line, and until now I thought it was true. I’ve written columns praising your company for its top-notch customer service when, for […]

I am mortified that our town planning board would even consider allowing the intent of a resident to transform his construction of a bed & breakfast into a “pot shop” — in the center of town. My family moved here in the ‘70s to escape the suburban sprawl that previous military postings had exposed us […]