WASHINGTON — It’s hard to hear the truth, especially when it flies in the face of stories you have been told since you were born. The truth can shock a person, usually leaving them with one of two choices — either defend the status quo or be open to additional facts. Read More ⇒

ASHLAND, Ohio — When was America founded? Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES (Tribune News Service) — At the outset of the presidential campaign, Democratic Party elders worried about an epidemic sweeping from one primary state to the next: a sudden plague of litmus tests. Read More ⇒

SARANAC LAKE — Countless books and articles these days allege that democracies are dying worldwide (“Fascism is on the minds of book buyers — and publishers are taking notice,” Scott Timberg, May 3, Los Angeles Times). Read More ⇒

HONG KONG — Lee Cheuk-yan, unlike most Americans, remembers and reveres Lane Kirkland, a hero of the first Cold War. Read More ⇒

During a conversation with one of my California sisters recently (I think the topic was breakfast offerings — pancakes and waffles), I learned that my brother-in-law enjoys “real” maple syrup. I was delighted to learn this, knowing immediately that a gift from the north country was in order … Read More ⇒

GEORGETOWN, Texas (Tribune News Service) — What to do about Afghanistan? Read More ⇒

HARTFORD, Conn. (Tribune News Service) — Have you ever refused an apology? Read More ⇒

One of Republicans’ most frequent rationalizations for supporting President Donald Trump, a blatantly unfit commander in chief, was that “the best people” he picked would keep everything on the level. Men such as Jim Mattis, John Kelly, Daniel Coats and H.R. McMaster would keep things normal. Read More ⇒

In 1879, on the road leading into Dodge City, there stood a sign. “The Carrying of Fire Arms Strictly Prohibited,” it said. Read More ⇒

“You say, ‘Away with you Communists.’ We say, ‘Away with you imperialists.’ Sometimes we say things like that. It would not do not to do that.” That was Mao Zedong speaking to Henry Kissinger in 1973. The candid and sweeping admission by Mao, who in President Xi Jinping now has a successor o… Read More ⇒

HONG KONG — Physically diminutive, intellectually acerbic and with an eye for the ironic, Margaret Ng — lawyer, writer and former legislator — is, at 71, a member of the generation for which this city’s youthful protesters have scant patience. Read More ⇒

PHILADELPHIA (Tribune News Service) — During the 1980s, my brother Teddy was a volunteer firefighter with our local firehouse. Read More ⇒

I’m watching the slow-motion destruction of a childhood friend on Facebook. There is substance abuse, infidelity, divorce, the whole lot. It hurts. Read More ⇒

HARTFORD, Conn. (Tribune News Service) — Has anyone in your family ever made you feel terrible about how you look? Has a family member ever made it clear that they thought you were so fat that they refused to be in a photograph with you? Read More ⇒

GEORGETOWN, Texas (Tribune News Service) — We have no shortage of serious global issues to worry about, but nearly all of them are made more threatening by the ominous, double-edged backdrop against which they play themselves out: nuclear weapons and climate change. Read More ⇒

Oh, Hong Kong, wonderful, magnificent Hong Kong. Read More ⇒

I’m a 39-year-old gay male who was in a relationship with a very attractive 44-year-old teacher. He never wanted to commit to a monogamous relationship. Read More ⇒

EVANS MILLS — My wife and I recently returned home after a two-week trip to California. The primary purpose of the trip was to attend the wedding of a great-niece. Read More ⇒

The date at the top of this printed page and on the NNY360 posting for this day reads Sept. 11 — a date that always touches my heart. This is a date we must remember in honor of those who lost their lives now 18 years ago. Read More ⇒

Only the most extraordinarily dogmatic and doctrinaire would suggest that corporations are responsible only to their shareholders. Read More ⇒

There has been much commentary regarding the announcement by almost 200 CEOs of America’s largest companies, through the Business Roundtable, that the role of the corporation in society is not simply to maximize value for shareholders but also to serve the interests of other stakeholders, in… Read More ⇒

I have been married for 10 years and have two children. One of them is a toddler. Read More ⇒

“I am tired of the dying,” said Greg Abbott a week ago Sunday. Read More ⇒

Paul Tough’s important new book on the broken promises of higher education begins with a chapter that he succeeds in making as suspenseful as the prologue of any serial-killer novel and as heart-rending as the climax of an epic romance. It describes a high school senior who is waiting to hea… Read More ⇒

James Comey has contributed his name to our political vocabulary. To “Comey” is a term that should gain wide usage in politics. May it live forever. Read More ⇒

This summer, the 50th anniversary of the moon landing had many people thinking about governments’ ability to tackle big challenges. Read More ⇒

When it comes to solving social and economic problems, the private sector invariably outperforms the public sector. In other words, private individuals, not government bureaucrats, are better at properly defining and fixing societal issues. Read More ⇒

PHILADELPHIA (Tribune News Service) — As a U.S. envoy finalizes a supposed “peace” deal with the Taliban, there is good reason to worry that the deal will hand Afghanistan back to these Islamists. Read More ⇒

HARTFORD, Conn. (Tribune News Service) — I’d been in England for two years but alone in London for only a little over a month. Read More ⇒

PHILADELPHIA (Tribune News Service) — When New York Times columnist Bret Stephens had a hissy fit [last] week over a comment on Twitter, it made me think about the feedback I get myself. Read More ⇒

BERLIN — As drugmakers are being held responsible for fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic, it might look as though they have nothing to fear in Europe, where, it’s often assumed, opioid misuse isn’t so rampant. The European Union, though, should take a closer look at the data and make its own m… Read More ⇒

Life in the north country is such a joy for a number of reasons including wonderful friends and this week, especially, blue skies and sunshine filled days. (I realize it does rain, but that is nothing compared to the hurricane forces others in this country are experiencing.) Among the wonder… Read More ⇒

WASHINGTON — Nestled on the Front Range of the Rockies, the city of Crystal was a largely upper-middle class paradise, chock full of health-conscious and socially conscious — meaning, of course, impeccably progressive — Coloradans. Read More ⇒

This has been a remarkable week of head-spinning incoherence from this White House. And for this White House, that is saying something. Yet despite that, it appears that nothing disastrous happened at the Group of Seven meeting in France. If you just ignore the fact that President Donald Tru… Read More ⇒

Apparently, President Donald Trump will lie about anything. He lies that his wife has gotten to know North Korea President Kim Jong Un. They’ve never met. He lies that Russia was excluded from the Group of Eight (now Group of Seven) because Vladimir Putin got the better of former president B… Read More ⇒

I am writing this with overwhelming sadness. My 75-year-old husband is a tyrant. Our neighbors hate him, and so do our children. He is an overbearing, impetuous child. Read More ⇒

We meet, my friends, in the face of evil. Read More ⇒

SPRINGFIELD, Va. — As you shop for back-to-school supplies for your kids or food for the Labor Day cookout, consider this: the clerks, shelf stockers, truck drivers and factory workers who make that possible can all be legally forced to pay money to a union or else be fired. Read More ⇒

ALBANY — Last year as we celebrated Labor Day, we were waiting for the fallout from a Supreme Court decision, pushed by powerful anti-worker interests, designed to “defund and defang” workers and our unions. Read More ⇒

My husband and I have been married for 16 years. His ex was supposed to pay child support, but didn’t. He worked in his career for only one year after we married and since then has held menial jobs, which have kept his future retirement intact. I have provided him and his children a home for… Read More ⇒

HARTFORD, Conn. (Tribune News Service) — An old detail kept elbowing me, tugging at my sleeve like an annoying little kid, when President Donald Trump said he thought it might be a good idea to buy Greenland. Read More ⇒

CLAYTON — Having this considerable nose in a book during childhood fortunately diverted my earlier juvenile delinquent wannabee dreams. Today, reading widely continues to enhance my perspective. For instance, “The Jewish New Testament,” translated by David H. Stern, culturally and ethnically… Read More ⇒

DALLAS (Tribune News Service) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s persistent refusal to schedule House-passed legislation to limit gun purchases and curb Russian election interference has stirred as much long-term Democratic concern as short-term anger. Read More ⇒

As I am sure most of you are aware by now, our youngest son lives in New York City with our oldest son and his family living near the city in Chappaqua. It is about a six hour drive to visit which isn’t done on a regular basis. Read More ⇒

WASHINGTON — In a trade war, as in a real one, people are wounded by friendly fire from their side. Consider some casualties in Donald Trump’s “easy to win” — his promise — trade war. Begin with the company whose green machines bear the name of the blacksmith who, in the 1830s in Grand Detou… Read More ⇒