Poet Robert Frost once said, “The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.” Then again, there are those who are willing to work but can’t find a job. Photo Credit: Vermont Public Radio Today’s job market stands dramatically changed from what it was during Frost’s idyllic… Read More The Human Touch

How do you measure an election year? Theodore Roosevelt noted in his autobiography, “A vote is like a rifle: Its usefulness depends on the character of its user.” Before assuming the American presidency, this reputed hunter had also served as New York City police commissioner, governor of New York, and vice president. Photo Credit: A&E… Read More Seasons of Words

As another summer wanes, we find the arrival of Labor Day. Congress approved a federal holiday back in 1894, although its first official observance was held in New York City September 5, 1882. While traditionally meant to celebrate the American worker, this occasion compels us to consider what it means for the modern workplace. While… Read More The Titan of Industry

In her introduction to Frankenstein, novelist Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrote, “Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void but out of chaos.” Ideas frequently flow from the wellspring of necessity, but their raw materials – the substance – can only come from someplace else. Those do not abruptly emerge… Read More The Mother of Inventions

Schoolchildren find themselves stranded after a plane crash and must find a way to survive on an island. You may remember that story as relayed in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Early efforts at creating some sort of social order gradually disintegrate into an all-out survival of the fittest. There, the character Ralph, a… Read More Putting Things Straight

William Wordsworth wrote, “The world is too much with us; late and soon/ Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers…” His words prompt us to ponder a life in the public eye. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Despite legislative achievements in Albany, a jury convicted former Assembly Speaker Silver of seven corruption counts involving two separate… Read More First, Do No Harm

Former New York City police officer Frank Serpico noted the price of waging anti-corruption campaigns: “The fight for justice against corruption is never easy. It never has been and never will be. It exacts a toll on our self, our families, our friends and especially our children.” Those words are worth remembering as we turn… Read More Holding On To Our Dignity

“O tempora! O mores!” That’s what Marcus Tullius Cicero famously lamented in an oration attacking one political foe. Delivered over two millennia ago, we feel the spirit of this phrase today, conveyed with different words: “Oh the times! Oh the customs!” Image Credit: Florida Center for Instructional Technology We inwardly search for constancy while still… Read More The More It Stays the Same

We find ourselves in search of a leader. Recent political debates highlight an array of personalities. Each stands before an American electorate with necks craned like window shoppers trying to get a good look inside. The clamor of candidates stirs many boiling pots. Punxsutawney Phil offers us more than a weather forecast. With divergent leadership… Read More Groundhog Day: A Question of Shadows and Light

We stand at the doorstep of a new and uncertain year. Its novelty is defined by what is unknown. Incipient answers cannot resolve the range of questions, which shall rule these coming months: Who will be elected President of the United States? Will ISIS be contained and defeated? Will we find Malaysian Airlines Flight 370?… Read More Another Chance