My godfather, Jack O’Connell, was a pussycat of a man — at least where his children were concerned. When one of them had acted up in some way — I mean really acted up — my aunt would forewarn them, “Just wait ’til your father gets home.” And when he did, Uncle Jack and child A, B, […]

This has to be the story of the day. The New York Post reports that the agnostic son of a devout Christian woman facetiously prayed that his mother win $1 million dollars as proof of God’s existence. She did.  The next day. The son, after calculating the odds of this happening, is reportedly on his knees […]

If you put a gun to my head and forced me to blurt out the meaning of Memorial Day, giving me no time at all to consider my answer, I might very well shout out, along with lots of other Americans I suspect, “it marks the start of summer!”  I am ashamed to admit that, […]

The gay marriage issue is coming to a quick boil in New York State, with both sides of the issue establishing firm battle lines. I wrote some weeks ago about the masterful campaign being run by the pro-gay-marriage side.  Marriage equality advocates had been making compelling arguments to the mainstream, without coming across as strident. […]

Maggie Haberman writes an excoriating piece on the New York State Republican Party  in Politico today. It was precipitated, of course, by the ugly loss of NY-26 on Tuesday, the seat once held by conservative icon Jack Kemp. What is most striking in the story is how open the rebellion within the GOP has become. […]

http://youtu.be/zxdj-ZwKNZ0 I really don’t mean to pick on Joe Biden.  I actually like the guy; I would love to hang out with him for an afternoon. Even when Biden makes a gaffe, he shows likable qualities in doing it — like the time he said Hillary Clinton would have been a better VP pick than […]

Vice President Joe Biden bizarrely employed quotes spoken by President Kennedy 50 years ago to slam Republicans today for opposing tax increases and proposing reductions in federal spending. The Kennedy quotes, though, had nothing to do with today’s situation, or anything like it. Biden plucked JFK quotes seemingly out of thin air to fit his argument of the […]

Buoyed by its outdoor ban on cigarette smoking, the New York City Department of Health is now seeking to ban Mike’s Hard Lemonade in New York City stores, and pre-mixed alcoholic beverages like it, because they are popular among teenagers. It’s back assward thinking: How about stopping teenagers from buying Mike’s Hard Lemonade instead? After all, it […]

I’ve always loved the story, however apocryphal, of how North Carolina acquired the moniker “The Tar Heel State.” According to legend, North Carolina troops came under withering fire in an early Civil War battle. Retreating Confederate soldiers marveled at how the North Carolina regiments stood and fought in the face of adversity. “Those North Carolina […]

Cigarettes at the Duane Reade I stopped at tonight in Grand Central Station are on sale. They are $108.24 per carton. Normally they cost $110.12. Get ’em while they last. I am 47-years-old, and the first carton of cigarettes I ever bought cost $5.  I could have bought 21 cartons then for the price of […]