The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, includes a wall that contains part of the improvised speech Kennedy made before a Black crowd in Indianapolis on the night the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, April 4, 1968. It’s considered one of the great empathetic speeches of the modern era. *Photograph by* *Rob Miller.*

Ron DeSantis and 'the awful grace of God'

September 5, 2023

What are we to make of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ bid for the presidency? After he was overwhelmingly reelected governor last November, the New York Post dubbed him “De Future.” But he stumbled early on the campaign trail — bleeding money and staffers, hardly confidence-inspiring in a man looking to become the most powerful executive in the world; sliding in the polls; and turning in a mediocre performance in the Republicans debate, after which everyone was talking about irritating, more-Trump-than-vous Vivek Ramaswamy and, to a lesser extent, disapproving schoolmarm Nikki Haley, Christian milquetoast Mike Pence, blustery Jersey boy Chris Christie and steel magnolia Asa Hutchinson.

Obamacare 0.5 – prescription for cruelty

March 12, 2017

The new/revised/gutted/take your pick health care plan that will probably always be known as Obamacare has been criticized by lots of folks for lots of different reasons, but it all boils down to this: It will wind up hurting the people who are key to President Donald J. Trump’s base, the working poor, along with the disabled, the garden-variety poor and older citizens.

It’s yet another example of the cruelty that is the order of the day in the United States and extends even to the powerful. Where does the president get off accusing former President Barack Obama – as honorable a man as there is – of “tapping” him without any proof? ...

The Trump Administration’s ‘Red Dawn’

March 5, 2017

Is there anyone who hasn’t talked to the Russians? I’m beginning to think I had a conversation with the Ruskies without realizing it. I love red, the Russian color of beauty, and, of course, the ballet, which the Russians perfected. The greatest American choreographer was the Russian-born, Communist-fleeing George Balanchine, who used to say it was a pleasure to pay taxes to the United States. He must be pirouetting in his grave at the twisted choreography coming out of Washington D.C. these days.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from investigating the Trump Administration’s ties to the Russians, because he himself talked with Russian envoy Sergey Kislyak. Or maybe not. Or maybe he did but he can’t remember what he said. Who remembers conversations? Anyway, it was before he joined Team Trump. Or maybe it happened when the dog ate his homework. ...

Whither Novak Djokovic?

February 2, 2017

When he won the French Open last June – capping a long-held dream and holding all four Slams, the first man to do so in 47 years – the world was Novak Djokovic’s oyster.

That now seems like a long time ago. He won only one title, the Rogers Cup, during the second half of 2016 and lost his No. 1 ranking to Andy Murray. (Because he had won so many tournaments in 2015 and had to defend all those points under the ranking system, he actually lost points, nothing failing in tennis quite like success.)

At the Australian Open, he lost in the third round in a tournament that was won by the returning Roger Federer, who defeated Rafael Nadal. ...

Why football won’t go up in smoke

November 10, 2014

The cover story for the Nov. 9 New York Times Magazine asks the provocative question: Is football the next tobacco?

The answer is “No,” and the key to that answer lies not in football or tobacco but in something else – influenza.

Like the flu, tobacco is airborne. If you were to smoke in let’s say an NFL arena, you would be subjecting not only yourself but the people all around you to carcinogens. Tobacco lost its household brand identity, because enough people came to understand that it wasn’t just about other people smoking themselves to death. It was also about how secondhand smoke could kill you.

But when you go to that same NFL arena to watch a game, you’re not risking a brain injury; someone else is. And for many people, that is, selfish or not, an acceptable risk.

President Barack Obama, a Chicago Bears fan, may have voiced the sentiment of a nation when he said that if he had a son, he would not let him play football. And yet, he says, he will remain a fan.

“At this point, there’s a little bit of caveat emptor,” Michael Sokolove quotes him as saying in The Times Magazine piece. “These guys, they know what they’re doing. They know what they’re buying into. It is no longer a secret.”

The president is a rational, compassionate man. So are we all – rational, compassionate people who are comfortable with other people bashing their brains in for our amusement, because, hey, they know what they’re getting into, much like a prostitute or a stripper or a porn star. It’s just another meat market. ...