It might be a small change, but it affects a lot of people. Almost ten years after the Vatican issued a directive to make an English language missal which was more in tune with the original Latin, some Catholics are “distraught” about the change and refusing to “learn the damn prayers.” The Washington Post has […]

In this brave new day of equality and populist global resurgence, it’s interesting to hear that the forces of privilege are still holding onto a few redoubts.  One of them seems to be in the front of the airplane.The NYT has a story about the quantum leaps first class service on international airlines has taken […]

An article at CNN Money spotlights an important and trend: older Americans are increasingly choosing to work longer and delay retirement until they have accumulated greater savings: A quarter of middle-class Americans are now so pessimistic about their savings that they are planning to delay retirement until they are at least 80 years old — […]

It costs more than he predicted and it will do less good, but Governor Jerry Brown doesn’t care.  California will build a high speed rail line or bust.Bust of course is more likely; California is a dysfunctional state whose grim long term prospects continue to deteriorate.  It cannot now pay for its pensions, its prisons, […]

Years ago I had some friends in a klezmer band in New Orleans; one of the members of the band was an African American musician whose church was so taken with the music that they wanted to produce a klezmer gospel album.  This unfortunately never happened, but something almost as remarkable has just been published […]

Readers whose memories extend back to those days when Tea Party protests were springing up across the land can probably also remember the howls of accusatory rage that went up from the mainstream media about the relative paucity of African-American faces in Tea Party crowds.Many a brow was furrowed in concern, many a chin was […]

With the accelerating euro crisis in Europe, the geopolitical revolution in Asia and increasing doubts about the Chinese economy, the increasingly misnamed Arab Spring sometimes has to struggle for airtime these days.  But the struggle in Egypt has entered a new phase, one which will test the strength of the various groups struggling to control […]

The New York Times editorial page is doing its level best to kill any chance of American recovery and prosperity by crusading against anything anywhere that might help our energy woes, but sometimes its news pages inadvertently remind us that prosperity and energy development are closely connected.This story on the “woes” of the midwestern oil […]

At least someone is making money in these difficult times.  Arms dealers in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley are making out like, well, bandits as unrest in Syria sends black market gun prices through the roof says this story in Lebanon’s Daily Star.  Rocket grenade launchers appear to be the hottest investment grade item, with prices more […]

This is what bad energy policy looks like: as the US dithers over Canadian tar sands oil, China is ready to buy.  Access to reliable oil from a friendly neighboring country like Canada is one of America’s greatest geopolitical blessings.  Throwing this away would be the height of folly; those seem to be heights we […]