Columns

Are men’s suits on the endangered list?

My octogenarian aunt has spoken wistfully of one of her older relatives who had operated a boarding house and required college students to show up for breakfast wearing suit and necktie.

New Zealand and our social media conundrum

It isn’t Facebook’s fault that a gunman went on a murderous rampage and killed 50 people at two New Zealand mosques. Social media abets evil. It doesn’t create it. And now we wonder why the beast we’ve unleashed and fed has turned on us.

God chose her to be a beggar

Sister Margaret Mary didn’t think she was up to the job. Nine years ago, during her 40th year of religious service, she had been assigned the most difficult role of her life: full-time beggar at the Little Sisters of the Poor retirement residence in Pittsburgh.

Baseball’s haves and have nots

As a social experiment I once asked random people on the street what they would do if they won $10 million. One earnest woman said she would buy a new computer. A young man indicated he would pay off his student loan.

Thoughts that should keep you awake at night

Author Harlan Ellison once dropped me a postcard remarking that my mind “works like a demented cuckoo clock.” In tribute to Ellison (who passed away last June) and in response to a relentless deadline, I have cannibalized some random thoughts I was saving for a book project.

Irish stereotypes no joking matter

Ah, St. Patrick’s Day is upon us — which means it’s time for retailers, and too many other Americans, to perpetuate the “drunken Irishman” stereotype.

Debt/deficits and modern monetary theory

The national debt has more than doubled over the last 10 years to $22 trillion.

The dawn of spring; a sense of renewal

The eternal promise of spring, the first daffodil, the tiny buds forming on the elm tree; a faint but distinct musical note from the mockingbird, serves to remind us of the cycle of life.

The media is playing into Trump’s hands

You’re more likely to see a unicorn walking down Michigan Avenue than roving bands of street thugs wearing “Make America Great Again” hats in Democratic-dominated Chicago.

Is Louisiana a judicial hellhole?

According to several watchdog organizations, Louisiana has one of the worst judicial climates in the country. The state has been given the dubious title of the nation’s judicial hellhole by several neutral watchdog groups.