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Watering Plants Is Actually Good For You

I know this is an outlier story. It’s about Brooklyn brownstone couples who pay over $2,000 for professionals to choose and care for their houseplants. Houseplant designing is actually a service being offered to the urban and suburban gentry. One such “Plant Doctor & Stylist” charges an hourly rate between $125 and $175. Those are psychotherapy prices. What I see, sadly, are busy careerists outsourcing basic acts of living. It’s one thing to pay for child care. But indoor-plant care? Is carrying a glass of water to the ficus on the windowsill such a time-wasting, big deal? ...

Coronavirus Crisis Is Trump’s Time To Lead

Not until well into the Democratic debate Tuesday night did the COVID-19 coronavirus come up, and it was Mike Bloomberg, not a CBS moderator, who raised it: “The president fired the pandemic specialist in this country two years ago,” the former New York mayor said. “There’s nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing. And he’s defunded the CDC.” Not 24 hours later, President Donald Trump, home from India, was in the White House briefing room, flanked by the nation’s foremost health experts, deputizing Vice President Mike Pence to head the task force to ...

Why Make A Fuss About Past Praise?

According to CNN, Bernie Sanders “has been consistent for 40 years.” Some find this reassuring. Sanders is not a finger-in-the-wind politician who tacks this way or that depending upon what’s popular. On the other hand, if someone has never changed his mind throughout 78 years of life, it suggests ideological rigidity and imperviousness to evidence, not high principle. Why make a fuss about Sanders’ past praise of communist dictatorships? After all, the Cold War ended three decades ago, and a would-be President Sanders cannot exactly surrender to the Soviet Union. It’s a ...

Punishing The Free Speech Of Assange

“Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech.” — First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution In the oral argument of the famous U.S. Supreme Court cases known collectively as the Pentagon Papers Case, the late Justice William O. Douglas asked a government lawyer if the Department of Justice views the “no law” language in the First Amendment to mean literally no law. The setting was an appeal of the Nixon administration’s temporarily successful efforts to bar The New York Times and The Washington Post from publishing documents stolen from the Department of ...

Will You Please Stuff A Sock In It?

A few thoughts on this nasty virus. Thoughts about scavengers. Grandmothers. And stocks. First, a gentle message to our politicians. Unless you have something helpful to say, please shut up! You are vultures that swoop over and peck away at carcasses. You make political points off death and disease. You attack every step large and small this administration makes to deal with this contagion. When you do, the President – as is his habit and instinct – attacks you in return. All of you need to shut up. This is a time when our people need unity from our leaders. Instead, you are ...

How To Know When Your Benefits, Medicare Begin?

Question: As I have been approved for Social Security Disability benefits, when does my Medicare begin and what do I need to start it? Answer: When a person qualifies for Social Security Disability (SSD) they usually receive Medicare on the 25th month of eligibility for SSD benefits. Your Medicare card will automatically be mailed to you about three months before it is scheduled to begin. You should watch your mail as the Medicare card is a paper card and comes in a very plain envelope for your protection. There are situations or diagnosis that make those receiving SSD eligible for ...