Columns

Some Jewish voters wising up to Democrats

About a month ago, I had lunch at a great diner in South Philly. My omelet was fantastic, oozing with cheese and fresh veggies and — dare I say it — bacon. The place was plastered with political messages attacking Trump.

Consistently wrong pollsters try again

In 1964, I cast my first presidential ballot for Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. Since that election, 15-four-year cycles, I’ve been a registered Republican, a registered Democrat, and a registered Independent. I have lived in New York, California, Washington, and Pennsylvania.

The sweet taste of Halloween

Not until it got dark! That was the trick or treating rule my mother set down every year. She didn’t want me to embarrass her by interrupting families still having dinner. I hated the rule. Tommy Gillen and I had big plans to hit as many houses as possible before we had to come home.

Ever experience sibling rivalry?

My brother and I just experienced what I believe was our longest one-on-one, face-to-face chat ever.

Of foreboding signs, feaux-follets, and loup-garous

I’d always thought that the feux‑follet, will‑o‑the‑wisp, and loup‑garou, werewolf, were not discovered by the Acadians until they reached Louisiana. But apparently they were with our Cajun ancestors even in old Acadie.

We’ve talked about a seawall for a long time

We’ve talked about a seawall for a long tThere’s been talk of a seawall across coastal southwest Louisiana for more than a century, but most of the talk was about draining wetland, not blocking hurricanes, and most of the talk amounted to nothing more than talk.

The dread of daylight saving time

Springing forward or falling back, daylight saving time was something my father always dreaded. Having to reset all the clocks in his house behind or ahead by an hour twice a year meant he had a lot of work to do — and he didn’t enjoy doing it. The chief cause of his pain was my mother.

Are you spending enough for Halloween?

According to the National Retail Federation (motto: “Proudly middlemansplaining since 1911”), Americans set a Halloween spending record of $12.2 billion in 2023.

Sex, lies, and other distractions

Kamala Harris is making the rounds to friendly media, which is what insecure politicians tend to do. She hasn’t ventured often into the areas where she might not receive fawning attention and wholehearted appreciation.

Don’t count on lower insurance rates

Louisiana legislators are ringing their hands over the increasing cost of property insurance. “How are we going to bring insurance premiums down? What to do, what to do?” Will enforcing stronger building codes work? How about giving grants for people to reinforce their roofs?