Category Archives: Commentary

Risk in a time of pandemic

Posted on June 29, 2021 by Jim

Life is all about taking risks when you get right down to it: your first steps as a toddler, your first day of school and so on to starting a family, launching a business or contemplating cancer treatment. Calculating risk … Continue reading →

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Watching history repeat

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Jim

I enjoy history, but the disadvantage of being a history buff is getting flashbacks to centuries past whenever I read the news. History repeats itself, often at the hands of people who failed to learn its lessons. Some current issues … Continue reading →

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Shot in the arm

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Jim

I’m registered to receive the Covid-19 vaccine and hope to get my first shot in the next few weeks. The sooner the better. At my advanced age, I can’t imagine NOT getting vaccinated against a disease that is 220 times … Continue reading →

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Pro-union or pro-worker?

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Jim

It’s been interesting to watch the presidential stump speeches to blue-collar audiences. President Trump is bragging about jobs. Former Vice President Biden is promising to create union jobs. It’s an important distinction because in 2016 about half of private-sector union … Continue reading →

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The Apocalypse may be coming but it’s politics as usual in New Mexico

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Jim

The coming election is the most important in our lifetime, we are told. Both parties are telling us that if the other party wins it will be the Apocalypse. Depending on which cable channel you watch, America will become either … Continue reading →

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The American Street

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Jim

When angry mobs of protesters stormed the Wisconsin state capitol in 2011, their rallying cry was: “This is what democracy looks like.” That’s ridiculous, I thought. Democracy is delivered at the ballot box, not in the streets. I was wrong. … Continue reading →

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Experiment in integration

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Jim

My hometown of Oak Park, IL., is all in for Black Lives Matter and I’m not at all surprised. Because the nearly all-white suburb where I went to high school became a rarity in America: a racially integrated community. Oak … Continue reading →

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Time for more statues

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Jim

Mobs have declared open season on every aspect of American’s history.  Confederates and abolitionists, Christopher Columbus, Founding Fathers, and the occasional saint are being erased from memory. What an opportunity!  This is the perfect time to deepen our understanding of the … Continue reading →

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The pandemic and institutional co-morbidities

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Jim

It’s probably a healthy sign that people are beginning to talk about what will change once the coronavirus has run its course. There’s a lot of speculation about how things will work now that people are concerned about social distancing … Continue reading →

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A threat to our democracy

Posted on January 24, 2020 by Jim

In the Senate impeachment trial, the Democrats have been saying repeatedly that President Trump is a threat to our democracy and must be removed from office before he steals the 2020 election. My senators and Congressional representative, Democrats all, have … Continue reading →

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