Scorecard: The first 4 weeks of Trump II

There hasn’t been such an activist rookie* President since Franklin D. Roosevelt. I used the * because Donald J. Trump is a rookie in his second term, so he’s different from FDR in that way. But not in his ambitions. Not in his desire to expand the powers of

Should trans people get equal rights to gays in Philly?

Philadelphia should be an LGBTQ sanctuary city. That was the interesting idea proposed by longtime LGBTQ activist Kathleen Padilla. (It sorta already is, more in a moment.) She also suggested the same for Pennsylvania, but that won’t happen — yet — in a state that (as James Carville described it) is

Unfair criticism and what Trump needs to learn

“Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again, to bring down the prices of all goods.” That’s what candidate Donald J. Trump said in August while stumping in Montana. By now you know the Consumer Price Index increased 3% in January over a year

Nonprofit launches to fight City Hall on no-stop bike lanes

The other shoe has dropped, with an all-too-predictable thud, on city streets. In order to patch its idiotic law that prohibits even momentary stops in bicycle lanes, the city is proposing to create loading zones by eliminating 5-6 parking spaces on every block between Front and 22nd streets. That’s

Cry baby Dems need to pick their fights with whirlwind Trump

Wrecking ball, bull in a China shop, disrupter, Constitution-buster — choose your own metaphor. Just about everything President Donald J. Trump has unleashed in the first three weeks of his second term is what he said he would unleash. He was not kidding. He was prepared. Call it shock and awe,

Welcome to the Cherelle Parker hiring hall for disgraced Dems

She has designated herself as employer of last resort for damaged Dems. Call it the Parker Picks Employment Agency. Latest example is the Parker Picks hiring of seven-term former State Rep Kevin Boyle, 45, as a deputy director of external affairs in the managing director’s office, with a $110,

Welcome to the Cherelle Parker hiring hall for disgraced Dems

Mayor Cherelle Parker has an odd taste in hiring — showing a preference for felons and mental cases, just as long as they are Democrats. She has designated herself as employer of last resort for damaged Dems. Call it the Parker Picks Employment Agency. Latest example is the Parker Picks hiring

Nonprofit launches to fight City Hall on no-stop bike lanes

The other shoe has dropped, with an all-too-predictable thud, on city streets. In order to patch its idiotic law that prohibits even momentary stops in bicycle lanes, the city is proposing to create loading zones by eliminating 5-6 parking spaces on every block between Front and 22nd streets. That’s

Trump’s Gaza takeover seems crazy, but maybe . . .

Among a plethora of ideas flowing from the hyperactive mind of President Donald J. Trump, the U.S. “owning” Gaza is among the worst. Before I continue, to calm the MAGA wolves who are baring their fangs, here is a partial list of things he has done right: Enforce the

After a great Week 1, a series of stumbles

President Donald J. Trump’s first week was pretty damn good. He kept promises by signing a flurry of executive actions, as he promised. You may not like them, but he ran on them and followed through. Promises made, promises kept. His inauguration day was also a triumph with him

Putting DEI on the Target

Is the die cast for DEI? A growing number of corporations — From A(mazon) to W(almart) — are quietly stepping away from it, and some are facing the backlash of consumer boycotts, most recently Target. One example is this column by my friend, Jenice Armstrong of the Philadelphia Inquirer. She

He’s a zealot and proud of it

Jerry Verlin is a zealot in the best sense of the word, a word which is rooted in Jewish history. As is the 84-year-old Verlin, but also the present, specifically the State of Israel, about which he is deeply knowledgeable and of which he is an indefatigable supporter. For almost