BBC News reported that the US Department of Agriculture listed Wakanda as a free-trade partner – despite the fact that Wakanda does not exist.
Continue reading “US government lists Wakanda as trade partner”
In stunning but not unanticipated news, President Donald J. Trump admitted today the source of his claim that it was Ukraine, not Russia, who interfered with the 2016 election.
“Putin told me,” said the President.
Continue reading “Ukraine election interference? Trump: “Putin told me!””
On Wednesday, December 18, 2019, Donald J. Trump became only the third president in United States history to be impeached.
The vote, largely along partisan lines, was inevitable based on the evidence.
Despite Republican attempts at obfuscation, their only defense to date has been to criticize the process with words like “witch hunt,” “hoax,” “illegal,” “phony,” “unconstitutional (really!),” and more.
Continue reading “Intelligence, Integrity, Impeachment – The “I’s” have it.”
Last Wednesday, a day after a deadly shooting at a kosher supermarket in New Jersey, President Trump signed an executive order advising the Department of Education to consider controversial definitions of anti-Semitism when “vigorously” enforcing anti-discrimination law in schools and on college campuses.
Several friends have asked about my point of view.
Continue reading “Trump issues executive order to fight anti-Semitism”
You all remember candidate Donald J. Trump’s campaign promise: “Mexico will pay for the wall” …no, not that one, this one: “Drain the swamp!” Well, I guess it’s time to see how draining the swamp worked out. (Actually, we could look at how both promises worked out but I’m exercising a little editorial discipline in today’s column.)
With the impeachment vote in the House scheduled for Wednesday, it might be instructive to hear from two of the most prominent swamp dwellers.
Continue reading “How is the “swamp draining” working out?”
President Donald Trump has had enough of water efficiency standards and is taking a stand. At the White House on Friday, Trump said he ordered a federal review of those standards because they are making bathrooms unusable. “People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once. They end up using more water,” Trump said.
The obvious question is: How does he know?
Well, in an exclusive, Around the Block has learned how.
Continue reading “Trump frustrated with toilets”
After watching Sen. John N. “You’re No John Kennedy” Kennedy continue to push an unfounded conspiracy theory that both Russia and Ukraine interfered in the 2016 presidential election, I read the results of a new poll that indicated that a majority of Republicans ranked Donald Trump as a better president than six of seven other Republicans presidents, even better than Abraham Lincoln.
Impeachment? Never mind!
Continue reading “Impeachment? Never mind!”
I learned today that a colony of Chinese pond mussels, as big as the dinner plates, have been living and growing in New Jersey ponds, where they have threatened to spread to the nearby Delaware River and wreak ecological havoc.
Most Americans know mussels as thumb-sized shellfish that occasionally adorn dinner plates in dishes like Moules Marinière, Moules-frites, Moules Provençale and more. And moules (or mussels) are the signature dish at one of the great tourist trap restaurants in the world, Chez Leon in Brussels (if you haven’t had mussels in Brussels, you haven’t had mussels!).
It’s not surprising that these giant mussels have appeared in New Jersey. Have you ever had a meal in a typical New Jersey restaurant? The portions are enormous: Veal parmigiana the size of serving platters, accompanied by a pound of spaghetti marinara in Italian restaurants; Mexican cantina combos with four enchiladas, three tacos, two burritos and one extra-large chile relleno, refried beans + frijoles + rice + extra tortillas…well, you get the point.
Thinking about what these gargantuan mollusks can mean for their business, Jersey restauranteurs are protesting the potential eradication of these giant mussels.
Continue reading “Giant invasive mussel species living in New Jersey ponds”
I urge anyone interested in the future of our country, in the future of our democracy, in the future of the American “experiment,” to read Neal Katyal’s new book, “Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump.”
Continue reading “If you can only read one book about impeachment, this is the one”Sharon and I are back from Japan after visits to Tokyo and Nagasaki. Tourism is at an all-time high in Japan, with much of the increase coming from Eastern Asian countries, China, South Korea and Taiwan. The Japanese are happy to take these tourists’ money, but not so keen to have them around, given their fraught history. But, as they say, you can’t have it both ways. So, at least for now, money takes preference over antipathy.
But if Japan is crowded now, just wait until July and the start of the 2020 Olympics. Authorities are anticipating huge crowds and work is in progress, particularly in the major tourist areas like Ginza and Shibuya, to update and modernize subway stations, street crossings and shopping venues. Despite the anticipated influx of tourists, we might go if we can secure event tickets — no luck so far, despite many connections.
Our Japan visits always seem like “coming home;” we lived in Tokyo for 4+ years in the early ‘90’s and try to go back every year or so.
Why?
Continue reading “Around the Block travels to Japan (Part 1)”
Around the Block