During the last weeks of 2021, I simply didn’t want to write. I knew I wouldn’t be able to strike a light, optimistic tone befitting the season; trying to would come off as counterfeit. So instead of pretending cheer, I saved up some items to share as we roll into 2022. Do you remember ...
Last July I took Big Oil to task in a blog entitled Marathon Men, arguing that companies like Marathon Oil are hastening the demise of our planet. Here’s an excerpt: Marathon makes money by extracting, refining and selling fossil fuel. The greater its sales, the more our climate deteriorates. We all know ...
In the winter of 1957, my parents went on a vacation to Haiti. Why Haiti? According to my mother, she’d wanted to go to Africa but the responsibility of raising five young children made such a long trip inadvisable. So she decided on Haiti since it was as much like Africa as she ...
As I contemplated the upcoming United Nation’s COP 26 Conference in Glasgow while being bombarded with stories about the most powerful man in the world — faux Democrat Joe Manchin — the two stories merged in my mind. Pondering whether Sen. Manchin was really the Antichrist took me back to the halcyon days of 2020. ...
On Sept. 17, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US military operations in the Middle East, held a video conference with reporters. He acknowledged that a drone strike on Aug. 29 that was supposed to kill a group of Isis-K bombers had actually killed 11 innocent civilians, including children. He called it a “tragic mistake.” What ...
Barring a miracle, we’ll still be battling the Covid-19 pandemic as 2021 rolls into 2022 — after two years, 4.6 million-plus deaths worldwide and untold societal and economic upheaval. The continuing scourge is enough reason for the anxiety that I and many other people feel, but not the only reason. There are other causes, ...
In Memoriam As some of you already know, my mother, Anne Springs Close, died on Aug. 20 after nearly 96 years of a very active life. She was in full possession of her mental acuity. However, her body was unable to withstand the violence of a fallen tree limb that trapped her and my ...
When I think of the working poor, the image that comes to mind is the housekeeper in a hotel chain who I pass in the hallway on the way to or from my room. Housekeepers are usually female and women of color. Their work is hard physically and can be demeaning because guests often treat ...
First, let me compliment Marathon Oil Corp. for doing something nearly unheard of in corporate America: The company cut the pay of its directors and top managers ...
Last Monday, I flew to New Orleans for the ordination of a friend at St. Anna’s. I had time on the round trip to read The New York Times front-to-back on Monday and Thursday and discovered two pieces I want to tell you about. I’ll start with the second one, Frank Bruni’s final column for ...
