Cruising the Baltic: As the home to Poland’s Solidarity movement, (Solidarność), Gdańsk may well be one of the most consequential cities of the 20th Century

Commentary Honoring Solidarity is the reason to visit Gdańsk; the city’s restored Stare Miasto (Old Town) is the “Icing on the cake!” Although I’ve traveled to Poland many times, I’d never been to Gdańsk, Poland’s Baltic Sea port in the north of the country. Home to Poland’s shipyards, the city is most famous as theContinue reading “Cruising the Baltic: As the home to Poland’s Solidarity movement, (Solidarność), Gdańsk may well be one of the most consequential cities of the 20th Century”

Around the Block is cruising the Baltics this week

Commentary And then on to Krakow, Poland Sharon and I are cruising the Baltic sea for the next week. The cruise started in Copenhagen with port calls in Karlskroner, Sweden, Gdansk, Poland, Klaipeda, Lithuania (only about 50kms from the Russian Oblast known as Kaliningrad), Riga, Latvia, Tallinn, Estonia, Helsinki and Stockholm. From Stockholm we’ll flyContinue reading “Around the Block is cruising the Baltics this week”

FBI+Mar-a-Lago puts Palm Beach County at the epicenter of the news cycle…

New with a Twist/Commentary …and The Palm Beach Post hasn’t had so much prominence since, well, “hanging chads.” Since last week’s FBI “raid” (“Trumpworld”word, not mine) on the former president’s home/country club/winter White House/top-secret storage facility, Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach County has become news of the day ground zero as evidenced by these recent Page OneContinue reading “FBI+Mar-a-Lago puts Palm Beach County at the epicenter of the news cycle…”

Watch out! The GOP ‘clown car’ is coming to a neighborhood near you.

Commentary It doesn’t stop. It doesn’t yield. It runs red lights (especially deep red ones). It’s a hazard to your well-being. It’s a menace to truth, justice and the American way. Note: I started writing this story a week ago. I had held off posting it so it could be edited for better comprehension andContinue reading “Watch out! The GOP ‘clown car’ is coming to a neighborhood near you.”

Around the Block looks back: Florida’s 2012 voter registration law

Commentary Voter suppression then, voter suppression now; will we ever learn? In a recent Around the Block, I suggested that every once in a while I’d take a look back at archived columns that might still have some relevance today. As I said, “I’ve been writing Around the Block on and off since 2012. A lot hasContinue reading “Around the Block looks back: Florida’s 2012 voter registration law”

The late Jewish comic, Jacob Rodney Cohen’s (aka Rodney Dangerfield*) most famous catchphrase, “I don’t get no respect,” is, for South Florida, truer than ever.

(*What, you thought his name was really ‘Dangerfield?) Commentary Rise up, South Florida’s Jewish community – a traveling exhibition celebrating Jewish delicatessens is landing in Houston and Chicago…but not here! Many years ago, when I first started writing Around the Block, I introduced my stories with a line I shamelessly lifted from Chris Hayes ofContinue reading “The late Jewish comic, Jacob Rodney Cohen’s (aka Rodney Dangerfield*) most famous catchphrase, “I don’t get no respect,” is, for South Florida, truer than ever.”

Great ideas, brilliantly executed is the key to Democrats winning elections

Commentary One Democratic candidate, John Fetterman in Pennsylvania, understands that The other day I posted a story called, “Making Joe Manchin irrelevant” Making Joe Manchin irrelevant While the focus of that story was about money in politics and, importantly how to donate strategically, I finished with this admonition: One last thing. After spending all this time talkingContinue reading “Great ideas, brilliantly executed is the key to Democrats winning elections”

Rose Mary Woods must be turning over in her grave!

Commentary Woods’ “inadvertent” erasure of a key Watergate tape is like amateur hour compared to today’s Secret Service’s malfeasance Most of you are old enough to remember Rose Mary Woods, President Richard Nixon’s personal secretary. But you wouldn’t have remembered Rose Mary Woods but for one incident. Woods worked for Nixon from his early daysContinue reading “Rose Mary Woods must be turning over in her grave!”

Making Joe Manchin irrelevant

Commentary And, while we’re at it, Kristin Sinema as well In the last Around the Block, “Why-for art thou, Joe Manchin?” https://around-the-block.com/2022/07/16/why-for-art-thou-joe-manchin/, I suggested that the only way to deal with Senator Joe Manchin, “Democrat” of West Virginia, is to make him irrelevant. The way to make him irrelevant is to ensure his vote doesn’t count;Continue reading “Making Joe Manchin irrelevant”

Why-for art thou, Joe Manchin?

Commentary “Why don’t you go, Joe Manchinio, our nation turns its tearful eyes to you.“* (*With apologies to my AEPi fraternity brother, Paul Simon. I think he’d approve.) The New York Times reported yesterday, “Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, pulled the plug Thursday on negotiations to salvage key pieces of President Biden’sContinue reading “Why-for art thou, Joe Manchin?”