Culture
Let’s start here: I am no fan of segmenting — or segregating — people by generational cohort, meaning slicing and dicing into Baby Boomers, Millennials, Generation X, Y, Z or whatever academics dream up next. I don’t want to go all Uncle Sam on you, but weren’t we better
Culture
Did you ever believe in Santa Claus? I did, and that was so long ago if you said old Saint Nick was white, no one batted an eye lash. A few years ago that belief was one of the bill of particulars that led to Megyn Kelly losing her job
Communism
Across the millennia, nations have built walls to protect themselves from outsiders, from China (you can see the Great Wall from space!) to the 112-mile barrier in Cyprus. Only one one nation ever built a wall to keep their people in — that was East Germany, on orders from their communist
Culture
I’m not surprised that some students staged a sit-in to protest possible expulsion from Thomas Jefferson University for failure to pay their tuition bills on time. Students complained it was, like, so harsh, that the administration demanded they pay their bills. The Inquirer story notes many students face financial
Culture
I call this guy the Barber of Broad Street, giving free haircuts to the homeless on the center island, conveniently just across from the Wawa that is a magnet for homeless people. He asks for no proof that anyone who wants a cut is actually homeless. Philadelphia has relatively low
Culture
The familiar clippety-clop of horseshoes on asphalt in Society Hill could become a thing of the past. Years of protests by animal advocates against horse-drawn carriages in the historic district around Independence Mall are moving toward a payoff, with a helping hand from technology, believes Janet White, director of Carriage
Culture
Ice cream broke my tooth? Sounds a little like “man bites dog,” but it happens. The other night, after a small dinner, I sat down to watch the Phillies, which itself can be painful, as you know. The ice cream was basically a Dixie cup, but from Breyer’s, I
Culture
The returns are in, and despite fawning media coverage that approaches adultery, the Diner en Blanc phenomenon is attracting criticism, especially from those who are inconvenienced by it. Those inconvenienced deserve to be heard, and I am listening. But first — where I stand. I think Diner en Blanc is stupid,
Culture
A peculiar, unexpected link has been discovered between the Christchurch and El Paso mass murderers. Both are green, or “ecofascists,” as some would put it, which makes the rest of environmentalists feel rightfully queasy, maybe because their hands have not always been completely clean. This Washington Post story does a
Culture
While visiting family in West Virginia last week, I got to go to Walmart on two consecutive days in two different towns. It’s a blessing. Don’t hate me. The two visits doubled the number of times I ever had been in a Walmart. It’s not that I’
Crime
On the fifth anniversary of the death — note that word — of make-believe martyr Michael Brown, two Democratic presidential candidates chose to go willfully insane and trash the facts of the infamous case that gave rise to the fallacious “Hands up, don’t shoot” rallying cry. That’s quite a mouthful.
Culture
I loved the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” long before I ever set foot in the Mountain State. As a matter of fact, John Denver wrote and recorded the tune before he had ever set foot in West Virginia. His co-authors were Bill and Taffy Danoff. Turns out, Denver