History can be cruel. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., who was unquestionably America’s most prominent prophet and practitioner of nonviolence, was followed by riots, arson and looting in 168 American cities and towns. The numbers are staggering: 2,600 fires were set; 21,700 ...

I come here not to condemn Amy Cooper, the white woman who called police and falsely claimed that an African American man named Christian Cooper was attacking her, but rather to praise Christian Cooper, who had done nothing more than ask her to leash her dog. The confrontation happened in New ...

In his half-century in national politics, Joe Biden has committed more than his fair share of gaffes. Wednesday, he confused Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7, 1941, with D-Day, June 6, 1944. The more serious recent gaffe, a beaut, came at the close of a recent contentious interview with black ...

A lifelong bird-watcher ventured into a section of New York's Central Park, the "Ramble," at 7:30 a.m., hoping to catch a glimpse of waterfowl. In previous days, he had spied scarlet tanagers, ovenbirds and mourning warblers. On Memorial Day, as he waited quietly, an unleashed spaniel scurried ...

The governors of all 50 states, and the mayors of many large cities, have assumed unto themselves the powers to restrict private personal choices and lawful public behavior in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. They have done so not by enforcing previously existing legislation but by ...

Tis early days, but what have we learned from the virus crisis? One thing is that we don’t know what we don’t know. And we are often not certain about what we think we do know. For instance, we don’t know whether we should tell people to stay home, inside. Or should we should encourage ...

Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world, even after giving his ex-wife 36 billion dollars in a divorce settlement. He must have big stacks of large bills filling his living room. Actually, no, he doesn’t. Most of his wealth is paper profits, unrealized gains on his stock holdings of ...

Look out. An “army of contact tracers” is about to be unleashed on America. Corporations, political lobbyists and government bureaucracies all win. Privacy, freedom and family autonomy all lose. Big time. You may have already heard of the aptly named House Bill 6666, sponsored by Illinois ...

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages across the world, there is another quieter pandemic creeping across the country: the disinformation pandemic. And a pandemic it is, because this is a global problem. Insidious actors outside of the United States who want to increase their nefarious influence on ...

I like old things — things that have stood the test of time, surviving because of their charm, or because they are still needed. The authenticity of a place is important to me. And say what you want, but we are surrounded by authenticity in Chautauqua County. Whether you’re driving by ...

A year ago, I was preparing for a wedding — my own. I could never have imagined what was in store in the near future. I am so thankful that it is not this year. Of course, when you marry you need a dress. I thought I had that covered. There was a dress in my closet that I purchased for a ...

In my days of teaching history, part of the curriculum dealt with those who trail-blazed, so to speak. It focused on those who came before us and discovered, invented, recorded and taught those who came after them, hoping to make better lives for them, and then to pass along what they learned ...

The water slipped up to my waist as I wandered out into the pond. The muddy bottom sucked at my toes, requiring a slower, more deliberate pace. Others around me were scattered about, moving in the same ways, slowly and carefully, while scanning the top of the water for the distinct, bright ...

We have a choice! Next presidential election, we don’t have to decide between two big-spending candidates, neither of whom has expressed much interest in limited government. Now, we have a third serious choice. This week, Dr. Jo Jorgensen, a psychology lecturer at Clemson University, won ...

Another Memorial Day has passed. Many visited cemeteries in the days approaching the holiday to tend to graves of family or friends. A few months ago, cemeteries were beautiful yet lonely places. Now they’ve sprung to life with flowers of all sorts. A member of the clergy once said that ...

From the outside, it looks much as it has looked for decades, my old, familiar grocery store. But once I go inside, Oh, My! One-way aisles. The COVID lockdown has robbed me of my grocery store. I am a creature of routine. I go first to my left, to the cheeses. I like stinky sharp ...

Part two of our series ended with a clear plan. Jacob is to return for another session with his partner/spouse, Larry. Larry is held up in a hotel room. Jacob’s cry for help may finally be answered. The onus of responsibility is thrust upon his shoulders. A stable marriage has recently been ...

In 2012, Annie Glenn and I were doing what we so often did, which was to sit side-by-side in a quiet place offstage, waiting for our extroverted husbands to finish speaking to a crowd. We had been close friends for six years by then. My husband, Sherrod Brown, was running for reelection to ...

Is it important to have racial or sexual diversity in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic? Heather Mac Donald suggests that some think it might be in her City Journal article “Should Identity Politics Dictate Vaccine Research?” The funding priorities of the National Institutes of Health ...

It is a common, if not especially honorable, practice in American politics for a candidate and her campaign to prefer to run not against their actual opponent on the ballot but rather against the most unpopular caricature of the opponent’s party. That explains why Democrats, for close to ...