Seems the outdoor smoking ban may be extending past Van Cortland Park and into…Boston.  (But these campaigns are not coordinated.) Apologies to John Donne.

Is America’s not-for-profit industry the next bubble to burst? It very well may well be. Consider this: There are approximately three million not-for-profit organizations operating in the U.S. today — who knew we had so many problems? — and no fewer than A LOT of them are in some way reliant on the government teat, […]

If  this woman doesn’t deserve a free Rolex… Please see video at the bottom of the link page.  (Sorry.  Can’t figure out how to upload it.)

The New York State United Teachers (NYSUT)-spawned Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) just announced a video contest to pressure Governor Cuomo to keep spending more money on schools, AKA teachers, despite the catastrophic condition of state finances. The contest, called “Dear Governor Cuomo”, invites “concerned community members” to submit videos lamenting Mr. Cuomo’s  proposed spending […]

The New York Times weighed in this weekend on the new smoking ban in the five boroughs and got it right.  The Gray Lady compares the soon-to-be-signed law to Prohibition, which it rightly called a “civic disaster.”  (Editorial below in case you haven’t seen it.)  It is doubtful, though, that this will delay the bill signing by […]

You read it here first. (Or, say, 31-25…)

I saw a report on school bullying on the local news this morning while getting an oil change.  It must have lasted a half hour, with the number of psychologists, sociologists, guidance counselors, parenting experts, student committee leaders, safety patrol officers, and PTA bullying subcommittee co-chairs interviewed (no such thing as an “instant” oil change […]

Remarks of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice At the American University of Cairo Monday, June 20, 2005 “The Egyptian government must fulfill the promise it has made to its people — and to the entire world — by giving its citizens the freedom to choose.” Thank you, Dr. Mustafa, for that kind introduction. I am […]

This explains a lot.  The odds that people from other planets could be among us just went up immeasurably, according to a fascinating story in The New York Times today. New data from the Kepler Telescope suggests there may be as many as 400,000 planets previously unknown to us in the Milky Way alone.  Thousands could be […]