News and Issues

Doris O'Brien writes: Trump, an inveterate risk taker, refuses to play it safe. He often repeats phrases, as if to nail them down. And while his supporters profess admiration for his talking 'extemporaneously,' he is technically doing no such thing. By definition, 'extemporaneous' means to speak from notes, as opposed to memorization or reading from a script. Hillary's speaking style suffers from being the reverse. She is too predictably 'on script,' making her delivery sound mechanically driven, rather than 'in the moment' inspiring. When she does veer from her teleprompter, she measures her words carefully, punctuating them with a lot of annoying "uhs". more »

The three crime novels reviewed are not your ordinary fast beach reads. They take place in different cultures and all the crimes, which occur in the present, are connected to a specific historical context. None of the three novels makes you feel like you are reading a textbook, but each raises issues about international politics and social justice in a completely engaging way. more »

The move to deinstitutionalize care [for those with disabilities] has provided care that is more personalized while also saving states money. Average costs for care in a state-run institution, in 2013, ranged from about $129,000 a year in Arizona to about $603,000 in New York, while the average state costs of community-based services nationally is $43,000. About 198,000 people were waiting for home- or community-based services in the 34 states that reported data in 2013. The longest waiting lists were in Ohio (41,500), Illinois (23,000) and Florida (22,400).  more »

While women faded into the background at the Republican Convention, they were front and center at the Democrats'. Women were everywhere, and not just sitting in the seats. There were more events aimed at women each day of the Democratic Convention than on all the days of the Republican Convention. more »