Tiny beads polluting N.Y. waters
For decades, New Yorkers have worked hard to protect and restore our lakes and rivers. Massive dredging projects have been under way for years to clean up industrial pollution in Onondaga Lake and the...
View ArticleMaureen Dowd: Too much to the right, even at golf
The Speaker is hitting the links."This is a Tee Party I can live with," he grins, as he puts a tee emblazoned with "Speaker Boehner" into the turf.The GOP's Dean Martin is on the road, making a...
View ArticleEditorial: Skip the parking drama
THE ISSUE:Albany wants another two years to evaluate its residential parking permit system.THE STAKES:Will the Legislature leave residents, commuters and businesses in suspense again? Albany's...
View ArticleAddress the subject of racism
Sixty years ago this Saturday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education declaring racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Yet equal education...
View ArticleObama has not lived up to his promise of transparency
The following appeared in a Miami Herald editorial:The publication of a new book on the revelations of NSA snooping by Edward Snowden and the arrival of the one-year anniversary of those disclosures...
View ArticleThomas Friedman: It's hip to be a Square person
Hanoi, VietnamI think I'll plan to go from Kiev to Hanoi more often. It's only when you go to two seemingly disconnected places that you see the big trends, and one of the big ones I've noticed is the...
View ArticleA bikeable Capital Region
THE ISSUE:It's time for the Capital Region to improve its bicycle infrastructure.THE STAKES:A regional effort to encourage more bicycling, especially among commuters, can lead to fitter residents and...
View ArticleAsian nations should take their own stand
The following appeared in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial:The absence of support for Vietnam by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the country's contest with China over a drilling rig...
View ArticleRev. Young waits to get back in the game
He is one of the state's greatest public servants.He's never held elective office, never accepted a state paycheck and never had a public expense account.He has survived three and a half years of...
View ArticleRex Smith: Schools for America's lucky girls
As fireworks burst overhead, and amid a sea of alumnae and parents gathered on the campus of Emma Willard School in Troy last Saturday night, almost 300 teenaged girls were dashing happily toward the...
View ArticleCasey Seiler: The kind of robots we need
The international group Human Rights Watch published a report last week titled "Shaking the Foundations: The Human Rights Implications of Killer Robots." As you might be able to guess from the title,...
View ArticleCommentary: Redefining separation of church and state
A sharply divided Supreme Court (5-4) recently decided that the New York town of Greece could continue its practice of beginning monthly public town board meetings with pervasively Christian...
View ArticleEditorial: Mr. Bruno's ethical legacy
THE ISSUE:Former state Sen. Joseph L. Bruno's acquittal leaves a cloud over the government. THE STAKES:Unless the Legislature fixes the law and tightens the rules, the system remains suspect. There...
View ArticleThomas Friedman: And now, the Square People, part 2
In a famous 1995 interview about her dysfunctional marriage and the infidelity of Prince Charles, Princess Diana noted that "there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded." I find...
View ArticleMaureen Dowd: Rice missed a chance for redemption
WashingtonThere has been much mockery of political correctness run amok on college campuses this spring, with knots of know-it-all students and teachers knifing their commencement speakers.The Times'...
View ArticleEditorials: Long Story Short
Electronic smokes need credible study Some scientific caution found its way into the debate over e-cigarettes last week, when a key state health official warned the faux-smokes may not be as benign or...
View ArticleKathleen Parker: Attacks leave impression of unfairness
WashingtonWith The New York Times' sudden dismissal of Executive Editor Jill Abramson and Karl Rove's suggestion that Hillary Clinton might have brain damage, the curtain opened on a new theater in an...
View ArticleCommentary: Everyday dedication is significant
Earlier this month, I watched my sister get an award. The Alumni Association of the University at Albany honored her for excellence in education. Fifteen other alums were touted, but she gave the...
View ArticleObama's speech lacked insight on foreign policy vision
The following appeared in a New York Times editorial:President Barack Obama and his aides heralded his commencement speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Wednesday as a big moment, when...
View ArticleThomas Friedman: Putin is still a big threat — to Russia
There was a moment at the height of the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962 when Soviet ships approached to within just a few miles of a U.S. naval blockade and then, at the last minute, turned back...
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