Two hundred or so years ago, when this country was young and the world was a more primitive place, this country had problems with what were called Barbary pirates operating off the North African coast sailing into the Mediterranean Sea, hijacking ships and holding them until they were paid to release... read more

Ethics, or the lack thereof, in New York politics, is back in the news.  Its seems there were leaks and spying and all kinds of chicanery on the part of Eliot Spitzer, the self proclaimed Sheriff of Wall Street, and his gang of political operatives, as they sought inside dope on an investigation... read more

While I do surf the web, I continue to listen to old fashioned radio.  It is my wake up call:  Imus In The Morning on what is still called ABC Radio though another company owns the stations, or National Public Radio, NPR, on what is called a public station, or the Z One Hundred Morning Zoo on a commercial... read more

Let’s see.  Interest rates went up.  Not much of an explanation was given.  It wasn’t a law of physics.  It was the Federal Reserve doing its thing, whatever that is.  A lot of people didn’t catch on.  They don’t like paying a lot of financial vigorish.  They get stuck. ... read more

The federal government has a major role in a lot of diverse fields, especially including health care.  So the new political debate about insurance and other reforms is of great interest to me particularly because those folks in Washington dominate the field and also set standards through funding and... read more