The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed our lives. I know this is an obvious statement. But it has also dramatically changed the public finances of government in New York State. In addition to the unprecedented amount of money and resources that are being expended to combat this virus and ...

In “The Decameron,” seven women and three men leave plague-tormented Florence for a villa in the hills, where they tell one another bawdy stories. Written nearly 700 years ago, the tale remains fresh, as affluent New Yorkers try to escape the coronavirus outbreak by moving into their second ...

To fight the coronavirus at home, France is removing all military forces from Iraq. When NATO scaled back its war games in Europe because of the pandemic, Russia reciprocated. Moscow announced it would cancel its war games along NATO’s border. Nations seem to be recognizing and responding ...

This is a tale of two governments. Both were faced with a potential disaster — a new and deadly epidemic. Both made choices that the world will judge. China. The virus made its first appearance in a Wuhan “wet market,” an emporium (apparently common in China) that featured live and ...

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” — Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) One of my Fox colleagues recently sent me an email attachment of a painting of the framers signing the Constitution of the United ...

This virus turmoil brings to my mind a character named Turk. He was a regular in my father’s saloon. Turk always made us laugh. But he used his humor to camouflage his criticisms. To hide the barbs. Yes, he entertained us. But after a while you had to realize something. That while he ...