“The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by Act of Congress, and supported by the people...It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities.”  Title 39 of the U.S. Code.   Our Post Offices are an essential public service that are vital to individuals, businesses and the overall economy. This is why a postal service was created by the Continental Congress in 1775 – even before the Declaration of ...

  “The U.S. attempt to return children to the classroom this fall has turned into a slow-motion train wreck...” Anne Flaherty, ABC News   Parents, teachers, and medical experts are worried about sending children back to school. People are worried about the consequences of opening schools for in-person classes while Covid-19 cases continue to climb and people increasingly refuse to follow recommended protective measures. In the rush to get back to “normal” and open up the economy, are we gambling with the safety of our children?   Contrary to what was thought earlier in this pandemic, children are not immune to this ...

  “I was eight when the bomb dropped. My older sister was 12. She left early that morning to work...and never came home.”   “I too was affected by the radiation and vomited profusely after the bomb attack. My hair fell out, my gums bled, and I was too ill to attend school.”   “The war was caused by the selfish misdeeds of adults. Many children fell victim because of it. Alas, this is still the case today.” Emiko Okada, a Hiroshima survivor.*   I remember my fifth grade teacher reading to the class from John Hersey's book “Hiroshima.”** I can't honestly say it changed my life or made me into a peace ...

  "Tradition! Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as... as a fiddler on the roof! …Because of our traditions everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do.”  From the musical “Fiddler on the Roof.”   Traditions can be good and useful for people. As the famous song from the musical suggests, traditions provide stability for society. Some traditions bring enjoyment and festiveness into our lives. But traditions can also become cages that imprison the mind, restrict people's options, and blind us to needed changes. The English novelist William Somerset Maugham once wrote, “Tradition is a guide and ...

  Abolish the police? Defund the police? How can society function without law enforcement?  People are not angels and we don't live in a utopia. This may sound like a really crazy idea – especially if you are white and have not had to live with racial profiling and excessive use of force common to many minority neighborhoods. But sometimes it is better to start from scratch rather than try to fix what is hopelessly broken.   We have a 20-year-old car that is getting seriously rusty. A cheap cosmetic repair can make it look better but it won't eliminate the rust that will continue to rot away the car. To fix it correctly you have to cut ...

  “War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.” President John F. Kennedy   “Our troops are, of course, human and vulnerable and imperfect. We don’t help them when we put them on pedestals, give them flags to hold in the breeze, and salute them as icons of a feel-good brand of patriotism. Talk of warrior-heroes is worse than cheap: it enables our state of permanent war, elevates the Pentagon, ennobles the national security state, and silences dissent.”  William J. Astore (USAF Lt. COL retired)   We have many myths in this ...

  “...If changes are to come, there are things that must be done...”  From the song “Somewhere to Begin” by T.R. Richie   “...if people are paying attention, then we get good government and good leadership. And when we get lazy, as a democracy....then it results in bad government and politics.” President Barack Obama   Responsible democratic government depends on citizen participation. This year we must elect competent leaders who care about people and the issues that actually matter to most people.   A few years ago, an investment firm had a TV ad claiming they created wealth “the old fashioned ...

  “I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled. The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand — one that all of us should be able to get behind.”  General James Mattis, former Trump administration Secretary of Defense   Once again, the country is in turmoil because excessive force by police killed a Black man, George Floyd. Once again people are angry and taking their demands for justice, and real change, to the streets. In too many places the police response ...

  “The question today is whether we can learn something from coronavirus that might not only help us mitigate the harm of this pandemic, but build a new infrastructure of care that allows us to better protect the most vulnerable — and us all.” Gregg Gonsalves, Yale epidemiology professor and Amy Kapczynski, Yale Law School professor.   We are learning – or should be learning – some important lessons from the pandemic sweeping the country. This tragedy shows how fragile and vulnerable we are as a society. We are finding out that many of our social structures are inadequate, broken, or not structured to meet the needs of ...

  We are finding out – very painfully – that there is much more to “national security” than weapons of war. The current pandemic sweeping the nation adds angst and urgency to the situation. We are seeing the results of excessive military preparedness and insufficient investment in all other government activities that actually make our lives secure.   The U.S. military is the largest and most expensive in the world. It has been since WWII. We spend more on defense than the next eight top spenders combined. We have military bases in 140 other countries. More than any empire ever. We have 11 nuclear aircraft carrier battle groups ...