Author Archives: Ted Block

Open letter to Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL)

Yesterday I wrote, “Is it time to man the barricades?” In that post, I partially quoted a story from The New Yorker in which a grandfather, in a love letter to his grandson, lamented the inability of average folks like him to protest our democratic system’s injustices.

Now I, like the fictional grandfather, decided to write a letter…to my Congresswoman, Lois Frankel.

Medicare is serious business. Who knew it could also be funny?

One consequence, unintended or not, of the coronavirus pandemic is that the Democratic debate about “Medicare for All,” “Single-payer,” “Universal Healthcare,” or the virtues and/or improprieties of “Obamacare” has been put on hold.

The good news is that Medicare is still in place and is still doing an outstanding job for its 44 million beneficiaries.

But, not without the occasional eccentricities, or rather, silly business.

The Trump family seder

Note: This was sent to me by a friend. I understand that it, like a few others, has been making the social media rounds. So forgive me if you’ve already seen it. I just couldn’t help myself as it is one of the best depictions of a Passover seder I’ve ever read.

Also, forgive me for sending out two “Around the Block” posts in one day. But with Passover almost over, this one couldn’t wait.

“Trump’s role in the death toll.”

It’s Easter Monday. I hope you all had a good holiday, participating in virtual religious services this weekend, virtual Seders last week and whatever else you did as best you could given this Covid-19 disruption of all our lives.

Well, the weekend is over and this morning I awoke to a flurry of articles and opinion pieces, mostly in the New York Times and The Washington Post (you might better know them as the “fake news” or “Trump-hating LSM {Lame Stream Media}) detailing the lies, the denials, the delays in action, and then, the wrong actions taken by Trump and his administration before and during this crisis.

We Live in the Worst Country in the World!

How can I say the United States of America is the worst country in the world when there are dozens of poor, devastated countries with hungry, sick, oppressed people? When there are countries run by tin-pot dictators whose only devotion is to their own power and to their own self-enrichment?

“The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile. It’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use.”

My intention was to make this Around the Block the shortest in history.

Jared Kushner, גענוג!*

(*Genug, Yiddish for “enough,” something I’m sure the orthodox Kushner would understand.)

That was going to be it.

But then, as a public service, I thought I’d provide a little context.

‘Draft Cuomo 2020’ groundswell emerges amid the NY governor’s coronavirus response

ABC News reported, “As the number of Americans impacted by the deadly coronavirus continues to climb, some voters looking for decisive action are turning to state leaders for guidance– chief among them, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose daily press conferences and emphatic communication style has gradually captivated audiences across the nation over the last month.

“Ardent supporters of Cuomo are seeking to plant presidential seeds online…”