March 23, 2025

The Department of Education: A perspective from 1979

Recently, I found something in a box of memorabilia — an Aug. 3, 1979 Michigan Daily, the student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Why do we save old newspapers or magazines?  Why did I save this one?  Maybe it...

October 24, 2024

I worked fast food in the ’60s, and I remember everything

In 1968, teens loved hanging out in the McDonald’s parking lot in my suburban Detroit neighborhood.  It was one of only two fast food joints in our area back then.  The other was Arby’s.  Excitement rippled t...

September 14, 2024

Hitting ‘reply all’ by mistake

Most people who communicate via email know that, when sending a message to a large group, careful use of the “bcc” (blind carbon copy) feature is mandatory.  In addition, the “reply all” feature must be used cautiously. Recently, State Department ...

January 22, 2024

Four surprising stories out of liberal Michigan

Conservatives tend to believe in the traditional values of family, free speech, merit (not identity or skin color), and respect for our national anthem, more so than liberals.  The state of Michigan, with Democrat Gretchen Whitmer as its governo...

September 20, 2021

Football is hard

Saturday, under a clear blue sky, in a semi-rural county in Michigan, two teams of 5th- and 6th-grade boys compete in a football game.  Volunteers, the engines of many American activities, coach these 10- and 11-year-old boys.  Th...