Culture
Don’t get me wrong — I am very happy Mayor Cherelle Parker has vowed, and has just begun, a street-by-street cleanup of Philadelphia. I just think it is a massive waste of time and money. Why? Too many Philadelphians are pigs. There’s too much trash in the streets. How
Politics
Europe’s recent lurch to the right in balloting for the European Parliament concerns me as an American, because so much evil has come out of Europe’s Right. To be precise, Nazis and other fascists. And yet I know the lurch to the right comes as a response to
Capitalism
I’m not going to go all Socialist on you — although some of you would like that — but I am going to kick around the idea of what is a “fair” amount of income tax to saddle impose on the rich. And my case in point will be Elon Musk,
Race
Why the hate for Caitlin Clark? And the disrespect. Within a few days last week, Clark got cold-cocked by another player, who got a minor penalty until the WNBA upgraded her foul a day later and Clark learned she would not be on the U.S. women’s basketball Olympic
Justice
I come to bury Josh Kruger, not to praise him. Save the hash about not speaking ill of the dead. Kruger was a child molester who groomed a 15-year-old boy. I wrote about him twice before. Briefly in March 2022, when I explained that the Philadelphia Weekly alternative publication was
Immigration
Throughout most of my life, one of America’s shared beliefs was that immigration was a good thing, maybe because so many of my generation had grandparents or great grandparents who were born elsewhere. They came here following the existing laws. They came to America to build a better life,
Politics
Mayor Cherelle Parker has talked the talk, and is now trying to walk the walk by asking City Council for $100 million for a drug treatment center and shelter for 600 people. [Update: Council approved her request.] Any way you look at it, $100 million is a shitload of money,
D-Day
Sometimes you get it right the first time. This tribute to the heroes of D-Day first appeared May 31, 2019. —- The French town of Bayeux, four miles from the English Channel, was the first one liberated after D-Day, when the Allies launched the greatest armada that ever was, or
Anti-Semitism
Normally, the election of a Jewish person to lead a nation (outside of Israel, of course) would be a cause for pride among most Jews. It would be seen as a sign of acceptance. Even if the politician was a non-practicing Jew, which is the case of Claudia Sheinbaum, a
Politics
As an unpaid (and unrequested) unofficial advisor to the Joe Biden campaign who has made previous suggestions, such as here and here I have to call the freelance appearance of Robert De Niro an unforced error. Lots of reasons why. First, the Biden campaign said it would not comment on
Military
I do not personally know anyone who died in America's wars. My uncles all returned from World War II. My father was 4F. My friends all returned from Vietnam. I was a young father and exempt. To this day I struggle with whether I missed something worthwhile by
Culture
This is an edited version of my response to Michael J. McCullough, who asked me to take a look at “Growing Up Philly,” which I did because it was so much like growing up in the South Bronx, where I was born. His $14 book is available as an ebook