The Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop saved me from making a huge mistake last week. I emailed my editor before I left and told her that I didn’t think I’d have time to continue writing this weekly column. I told her I was too busy. I have a full-time job for our local newspaper, where I ...

When are we going to trust our fellow Americans again? When are we going to allow qualified individuals with responsibility to make decisions without consulting detailed rulebooks and formal procedures? Those are questions New York lawyer and author Philip K. Howard (one of whose books is ...

If you pay New York state taxes, you’re paying top dollar and getting bupkis. Nothing in the budget deal announced in Albany on Tuesday changes that. State tax money is supposed to provide services and improve the state’s economic outlook. But a report released last week shows the ...

Trump’s first criminal trial — the first criminal trial of a former president, ever — begins today, Monday, April 15. The 34-count business falsification case may be the only case against Trump to reach a verdict before the November election. Many people I speak with are worried that ...

Every state is different. Nebraska is quite different. It is one of only two states that doesn’t use the winner-take-all system in presidential elections. Along with Maine, it allocates its Electoral College votes to reflect the results in each of its congressional districts. In 2020, ...

MSNBC’s talk show “Morning Joe” is catnip for political junkies, especially those who detest Donald Trump. Hundreds of thousands of us, our body clocks by now conditioned to wake in time to grab coffee and hop on the treadmill just before 6 a.m., start each weekday with predictable, ...