Bicycle 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
Politics
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
Donald J. Trump
Do not boycott, as some are planning to do. That is leaving the field of battle.
Politics
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
Culture
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
Israel
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
Abortion
Let’s turn to an unpleasant subject — abortion. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the red flags were sent flying. The message: As more states eliminated or restricted abortion, the number of the procedures would go down. They have not. The zero abortion rate in states
Immigration
I see a strange, unlikely parallel between the promise of churches to resist deportation of “migrants” (correct term, illegal residents) and the action of churches 60 years ago to protect civil rights protestors. The crucial difference is the civil rights protestors of yore were trying to demand federal law, while
Bicycle Lanes
Well, the temperature makes it feel like Hell has frozen over, and another sign of the apocalypse is the Philadelphia Inquirer publishing an op-ed that opposes the demands of the bike cult. This is a first in my memory. Well, at least since I stopped working there. The newspaper gives
Politics
In a generally forward-looking, brusque, and patriotic inaugural address, President Donald J. Trump went off the rails toward the end, making promises that were unenforceable, silly, or dangerous. Unenforceable is his desire to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. He can call it the Gulf of
Guns
Not to pick on the Philadelphia Inquirer, but I will use a recent story to illustrate confirmation bias. The headline of the story read, “The LGBTQ people buying guns for self-defense,” and the top of the story makes its position clear when it quote a 23-year-old trans woman identified only
Politics
Just minutes after I learned the Sixers Arena deal had collapsed like the team’s playoff hopes, I posted this on Facebook. I had no facts, just a half century of living in Philadelphia, and decades of covering Philadelphia politics. I was busy with other issues and decided to pass