Editorial: Let NYC pay for its pre-K
THE ISSUE:New York City's mayor wants to fund early education with a tax on the rich; the governor says no.THE STAKES:If New York City covers its children, it will free up funds for the rest of the...
View ArticleCharles Krauthammer: Workers subsidize free spirits
WashingtonIn the ongoing saga of the Affordable Care Act, oddly referred to by Democrats as the law of the land even as it is amended at will by presidential fiat, we are beginning to understand the...
View ArticleRichard Brodsky: Vintage Shelly back in business
The punditry has gotten this one wrong for a long time. "Shelly's finished" has been half a prediction and half a secret wish in the political and journalism worlds for 20 years. His resurgence as a...
View ArticleNew York's budget in desperate need of moral compass
A week ago today, faith leaders from throughout the state converged in Albany for a "Moral Monday" prayer vigil calling on legislators to close New York's first-in-the-nation income gap by...
View ArticleEditorial: After 37 years, a new Albany bishop
For more than a generation of area Catholics, there has been no Albany bishop but Howard J. Hubbard. So as Bishop Hubbard approached his mandatory retirement at age 75, the prospect of a successor...
View ArticleBeware of taking politics to extreme
I had to respond to Joseph LaLumia's letter ("Conservatives choose silence," Jan. 29). Does Mr. LaLumia really think we are to give the same weight and consideration to statements about the president...
View ArticleCoal plant should not reopen
Why is the New York state contemplating giving new life to what was one of the worst coal polluting plants in the country? With coal power responsible for thousands of deaths annually and a host of...
View ArticleKeystone XL pipeline a safe way to ship oil
Several accidents involving trains carrying volatile crude oil have spooked politicians in Albany who are fearful of similar incidents occurring in the state capital and other New York communities....
View ArticleEditorial: A higher goal for prisons
THE ISSUE:The governor proposes to offer college programs to inmates.THE STAKES:Can prisons do better than merely warehouse people? Who is more likely to not turn back to crime — a convict who leaves...
View ArticleJust follow the money to office
Once upon a time, there was a system for selecting candidates for higher public office that required that a certain amount of dues be paid before candidates could advance through the chairs, like in...
View ArticleDavid Brooks: Parable unites divisions
We take as our text today the parable of the prodigal sons. As I hope you know, the story is about a father with two sons. The younger son took his share of the inheritance early and blew it on...
View ArticleIntolerance disguised as a legislative bill
In the fight over a proposal to keep Quebec's civil servants from wearing outsized yarmulkes, crucifixes, hajibs and turbans, public hearings are shining a light on the true fears of the French up...
View ArticleEditorial: Minimum wage of $10.10
President Barack Obama's order requiring federal contractors to pay their employees a minimum of $10.10 per hour has added new fuel to the already heated national debate over whether to raise wages...
View ArticleClimate change on a global stage
The following appeared in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial:Secretary of State John Kerry, during a visit to Jakarta, Indonesia, addressed the increasingly pressing issue of climate change.He could...
View ArticleJo Page: Ads and life were so different way back then
I bought the magazine because the cover price was 10 cents (not what I paid for it) and because it was from 1956 and because the featured articles were "How to Have Chicken Every Day and Like It" and...
View ArticleMaureen Dowd: A legacy of war can't be ignored
I found myself sitting on a bar stool last winter next to Robert Caro at an Irish wake in Times Square for my irreplaceable New York Times colleague Frank Prial.I had an overpowering urge to grab...
View ArticleEditorial: A new script for Albany
THE ISSUE:Another poll finds overwhelming support for medical marijuana. THE STAKES:Do politicians know something that doctors, patients and voters don't? State politicians who have been hesitant to...
View ArticleStudent debt needs relief
THE ISSUE:A proposal allowing people to refinance student loan debt is before Congress.THE STAKES:The $1.08 trillion in such debt is dragging down individuals, their families and our economy....
View ArticleDe Blasio is driven to try to eliminate traffic deaths
The following appeared in a New York Times editorial:Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday released his plan to eliminate traffic deaths in New York City. Every preventable death is unacceptable, he said,...
View ArticleFacebook and virtual friendships
The 10th birthday of Facebook last week caused me to recall my miserable pre-Facebook existence, when methods of procrastination were sorely limited.As a stay-at-home writer, phone calls were hard to...
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