The status of the United States economy looms large as one of the most important personal and political issues before the 2022 elections. The perception of the economy will play a significant role in determining who will represent us in Congress. Unfortunately, much of our perception is based on mythology, misinformation, and lies to our […]
Don’t Believe The Hype Read More »
Growing up, when someone called you something other than your given name, we usually complained, “stop calling me names.” Name-calling was usually an act of ridicule or disrespect. Feeling a bit contrarian, my focus in this piece will be about name-calling that glorifies people, groups, or concepts, in my opinion, unjustifiably. I’ll start with the
The year was 1966, and it was the beginning of the new school year at Public School 79 in Manhattan. I transferred to P.S. 79 the previous year to be part of a program called the Intelligent and Gifted Children program (IGC). P.S. 79 was the site for a program that gathered children who did
Tales From The Hood – Revenge Of The Nerds Read More »
With apologies to the Doors and Jim Morrison When I was back there in law school, there was a person there who put forth the proposition that you can petition the Supreme Court without despair The disingenuous and cynical opposition to President Biden announcing he would select a Black woman as his nominee to serve
My 4th-grade teacher, Miss Bogner, a wonderful woman, and teacher, once told our class that ignorance occurs when you don’t have access to information and that it deserves empathy and understanding. Once you have access to knowledge and refuse to inform yourself, any expectation of empathy or compassion dissipates. She called them “willfully ignorant.” Those
The Summer of 1969 was magical. The moon landing took place July 20, 1969, Woodstock happened on August 15, 1969, the New York Jets became the first AFL team to defeat an NFL team in the Super Bowl, and the “Amazin Mets” beat the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series. As incredible
Tales From The Hood – The Boys Of Summer (1969) Read More »
Fighting racism and inequality was all the rage in May 2020 when approximately 15 to 20 million Americans took to the streets in at least 200 cities in the United States. Books and videos about anti-racism flew off the shelves, and there was what some observers saw as a seminal moment, a national recognition of
Black Lives Still Matter Read More »
This piece is in memoriam to our three-legged wonder dog, Tobey Beethoven Black, who passed away October 26, 2021, at the age of 14. My family and I moved into a New York City housing project called Jefferson Houses in December 1956. Growing up in the “Projects” in the late 50s and early 60s
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Denial is a potent ass drug, and approximately 77 million Americans are strung out and hitting the pipe hard. Denial is as much a cause for the lunacy and chaos that exists today as an economic downturn or malaise, more than any fear of socialism and more than a delusional notion of freedom. Denial is
My new piece is part of a series that I call “Tales From the Hood”. On occasion, I will write articles that share my experiences growing up in New York City and Spanish/East Harlem. The first in this series is entitled “Hustling”. I hope you enjoy it. In East Harlem, El Barrio, the word hustling
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