I have been listening to National Public Radio in the mornings when I wake up. One subject that has been getting a lot of attention lately, both on NPR and in Washington, DC, is school reform.

A portraits of the ladies in church, who exemplify faith. 

I itch.
As I write this, I am trying mightily to keep from removing my fingers from the keyboard and raking them across the ugly, raised red patch on my shin.

I know people have lost houses because they couldn’t afford their mortgages. Others have lost jobs and cannot pay off their debts. 

I know people have lost houses because they couldn’t afford their mortgages. Others have lost jobs and cannot pay off their debts. 

For better or for worse, and probably for better, the divisive, demagogue-rich issue of immigration (illegal or otherwise) has not reared its ugly head within the national presidential campaign — at least not to the extent that it dominates the far more important issues of the economy and war.

If you need a reminder of why healthcare remains such a centerpiece of the fall election campaign, meet Kathryn McGinn of Woodbridge.

It was not a pretty scene last week as I laid down on an emergency room bed two days shy of my 40th birthday. 

“Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote”
— George Jean Nathan

Gray responds to readers comments. 

Can-do candidates become can’t-do presidents. 

If one were to peruse the dictionary, one would find a definition of president as “the chief officer of an organization usually entrusted with the direction and administration of its policies.”

All right, full disclosure here. I taught English in public high school for 32 years before retiring five years ago. More often than not, when I met people for the first time, especially when I was teaching, their comment on learning what I did for a living was, “I’d better watch my grammar.” Sometimes if I was in a smart mood (which I am most of the time) I would tell them I wasn’t issuing any grammar tickets that day.

When I read that Lang Lang would auction off his red Steinway grand piano to raise money for an earthquake relief fund, my first thought was this: How the heck did a panda learn to play piano? 

Kicking Russia out of the G-8 would be a bad idea. 

When media is forced to devote time to good news, nobody should be happy.

According to the nonpartisan Congress.org, nine of the 10 least effective (i.e., least powerful) members of Congress are Republicans. 

A presidential election wouldn’t be the same without a controversial statement from Reverend Jessie Jackson.

Jesse Jackson steals the spotlight with nasty remark about Barack Obama.

Generally the summer is a slow news time, especially for politics. It’s a chance for us to get a break from the campaigns and politicians and a chance for the campaigns and politicians to regroup. 

Actual phone conversations with customer service:

The key to my happiness was missing. 

At some point in history, America’s Wild West became the Less-Wild West — with the rule of law taking over from the justice of the six-shooter, with codified norms of society replacing the often-unbridled ethics of frontier life. 

You may have caught that news item a couple of weeks ago that reported on road rage on our highways. It seems that at least one thing these hothead drivers have in common (other than the obvious fact, of course, that they’re idiots) is that they adorn their vehicles with lots of bumper stickers.

Oil prices dropped almost 10 dollars the first two days of this week. Unfortunately, that left oil at around 136 dollars a barrel; well over twice what is was when the Democrats took over Congress after promising to lower the cost of oil if they were elected.  America voted to change direction, and we did.

I put my house on the market recently.

The members of the Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) spend a lot of time gnashing their teeth and wringing their hands about the financial problems the county faces, but they spend precious little time devising ways to reduce costs. Thus, they solve budgetary problems the only way they know how — by raising taxes.

America needs to declare its independence from foreign oil.

Thomas Riley Marshall may have been the best, even if known mainly as the guy who once quipped: “What this country needs is a really good five-cent cigar!”

Every once in a while, something happens that makes me feel really old. Most of the time it happens when I deal with the younger generation.