Letter: Liberty in America quickly vanishing
The Democratic Republic of the United States of America has died. The deathblow came not from an enemy on the field of battle but from an enemy right here at home. The name of that enemy: Shortsighted...
View ArticlePromote recycling instead of a container ban
The Albany County Legislature passed an unenforceable law in Local Law A. It bans polystyrene foam containers, known by the brand name Styrofoam, in food businesses that have 15 or more national...
View ArticleLetter: Flip sides of gaming state of New York
When Gov. Mario Cuomo delivered his keynote speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, he made an important statement regarding our democracy, our work ethic, our obligation to make it a...
View ArticleLetter: Spirit of holidays lost in sales bin
I used to look forward to holidays. Memorial Day meant summer was just around the corner. Labor Day meant summer was over. Thanksgiving and Christmas were for families to spend time together. Now,...
View ArticleKrauthammer: Sucker's deal of a nuke plan
Washington A president desperate to change the subject and a secretary of state desperate to make a name for himself are reportedly on the verge of an "interim" nuclear agreement with Iran. France...
View ArticleLet the NSA work over Congress
The United States is in trouble. The government can't seem to operate effectively.The evidence of this crippling inability mounts daily. Tea party nitwits (note to self: delete redundant word nitwits...
View ArticleEditorial: Tyranny of the minority
THE ISSUE:After years of Republican obstruction in the Senate, Democrats change the rules.THE STAKES:Perhaps now the chamber can get back to governing, if not civility. The filibuster has a place in...
View ArticleLetter: Read the paper then press a plant
For more than 200 years, botanists have been using newspapers to press plants that they have collected in the field. Go to any museum or botanical garden that has a pressed plant collection (called a...
View ArticleLetter: Common Core has hurt children
I am the parent of two children (second and third grades) in the Ballston Spa School District; school has been a struggle for both of them since the implementation of the Common Core Standards. When...
View ArticleDeal puts principle over profit
It is a fundamental principle of our democracy that everyone must play by the same rules. Whether it's a large financial institution, a small investor or an average homeowner, the same set of rules...
View ArticleLetter: Bring big business to small retailers
Saturday is the Third Annual National Small Business Saturday. I ask everyone to support small retailers on this day and, as often as possible, the other 364 days a year.We should skip the national...
View ArticleLetter: 'We the people,' not corporations
Hearing the living presidents read the Gettysburg Address reminded me how fundamental the idea is that governments exist to serve us. "We the people," begins the preamble to the Constitution. "That...
View ArticleRobinson: Agreement with Iran a good deal
Washington The U.S.-led deal to freeze Iran's nuclear program is a great accomplishment on many levels. Begin with the most basic: What if the talks in Geneva had failed?If Secretary of State John...
View ArticleEditorial: Stop snooping, Google
THE ISSUE:Search giant Google has again admitted to breaching individuals' privacy.THE STAKES:The company may need more than a slap on the wrist to cease these unacceptable practices. Google "Google...
View ArticleEnough already with Palin taunts
A simple request: Please stop calling Sarah Palin names.If you find her politics repellant and her intellectual gifts lacking, fine. Just say so. But stop with the verbal abuse and the debased revenge...
View ArticleLocking up nonviolent offenders for life absurdly costly
The following appeared in an editorial in the Los Angeles Times:What's prison for, anyway? Is it to change people, to punish them, or simply to remove them from the streets? If the number of cells is...
View ArticleEssence of medicine remains the same
In more than 40 years as a pediatrician, I've worked in the military, in a small private practice and in a large multi-specialty group. And I've seen huge changes, both in administrative practices and...
View ArticleGet ready, here come '60s again
The news media love anniversaries, and this month's surge of commemoratives marking the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is just the opening bell for a media observance that will go on for...
View ArticleDeath will too easily become an answer
Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams wants to kill Victoria Reggie Kennedy, Ted's widow. He also wants to kill my husband, author and anti-assisted-suicide activist Wesley J. Smith, and me because I, too,...
View ArticleEditorial: A Thanksgiving for all
THE ISSUE:As a wealthy nation gives thanks, we recognize that blessings are unevenly shared.THE STAKES:Tax reform and stronger education are tools we can use to combat income inequality. Thanksgiving...
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