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Author Archive
 Soon, they tell us, Congress will or will not pass a health-care bill. Detractors think universal health care will raise health-care costs, lower health-care outcomes, and dangerously increase the power of the federal government. Those are interesting theoretical positions, but…
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Tags: adult mortality rate, America, American, Canada, China, Congress, corruption, database search, Denmark, developed countries, developed country, dollar, dying, europe, fear, federal government, France, Germany, government, government fund, government funds, Health, health care, health care outcomes, health care system, Healthcare, infant mortality, infant mortality rate, International, Ireland, lone exception, maternal mortality, maternal mortality rate, money, norway iceland, perceptions, power, single payer, South Korea, state, statistic, switzerland, system, systems, theoretical positions, transparency, UN, united arab emirates, United States, universal health care, world, world health organization
 Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2006 mega-best-seller Eat, Pray, Love is a rambling memoir-travelogue in which Gilbert leaves her husband, is dumped by her lover, travels to Italy, India, and Indonesia studying food and spirituality, and ends up in bed with a Brazilian she calls…
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Tags: 1 corinthians 7, America, Asia, Bible, book, Books, Brazil, celibacy, choice, Christian, Christianity, christianity today, church, condemnation, corinth, Corinthians, creation, critics, culture, Ephesians, Family, female, food, hebrew, hebrew scripture, hell, History, human, husband, husband and wife, Immigrant, immigrants, India, interview, Jesus, Jew, Jewish, leaders, male, marriage, Memoir, Migrants, mother, New York Times, Paul, Peter, pray, priest, Pro-family, relationship, Religious, Rome, Scripture, sociology, spirit, theologian, tradition, values, wedding at cana, wife, wisdom, Women
 I’ve been obsessing about coyotes. A breeding pair has moved into my neighborhood, and in a few weeks they may favor us with up to a dozen pups. Meanwhile, they leave footprints in the snow as they case our backyards…
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Tags: America, balance of nature, citizen, citizens, city council meetings, colonialism, Corporations, coyotes, debate, ecology, economist, economy, ecosystems, extermination, Famine, fear, freedom, government, human, invisible hand, market, myth, neighbor, neighborhood, perfect balance, precarious balance, regulation, sin, slave trade, system, systems, Trade, wealth
 Here’s an idea for Lent that will do more good than giving up desserts: Read a book about contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. It’s not a penance, though it can hurt. And seeing how much of the rest of the world lives…
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Tags: Africa, African, athol fugard, Books, border, Burundi, colonial africa, dave eggers, hotel rwanda, ishmael beah, journalist, Lent, Memoir, movie, Nigeria, penance, perspective, peter godwin, philip gourevitch, post colonial, Rwanda, shadow of the sun, sierra leone, soldier, South Africa, sub saharan africa, Sudan, tracy kidder, tsotsi, Uganda, War, war dance, yellow sun, Zimbabwe
 Fifteen years ago next week, on my mother’s 85th birthday and exactly one week before Ash Wednesday, my father died.
Some months later I wrote a short memoir about my parents, death, dying, and faith. I say I wrote it, but…
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Tags: aging, Alzheimers, ash wednesday, chaplain, Christian, contemplation, Cross, death, dementia, dignity, dying, Easter, elderly, faith, Forgiveness, Good Friday, heaven, husband, illness, Jesus, Lent, love, Memoir, mother, parents, peace, pray, retirement, self control, service, shame, sinner, Story, wife
 In January last year, Mr. Neff and I began a Lenten experiment. We wanted to see if we could eat adequate amounts of tasty and nutritious food on a food-stamp budget. We also wanted to see what we might learn…
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Tags: ash wednesday, budget, Christian, Congress, discipline, dust and ashes, earthquake, Easter, Economic, economic recession, food, food expenses, food stamp, Lent, menu plans, money, nutritious food, recession, recipe, spiritual discipline
Tags: America, bankruptcy, big business, big government, business, candidate, carla barnhill, CEO, ceos, common good, Conservative, Corporations, debate, economist, economy, Election, facebook, federal government, Finding Our Way in the New Economy, george w bush, government spending, haiti, Health, health care, health reform, health-care debate, insurance companies, Labor, lawmakers, Liberal, money, Poor, prejudice, public sector, regulation, Republican, rube goldberg, Supreme Court, Taxes, taxpayers, union, Vote
While talking with George Stephanopolous on Good Morning America yesterday, Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele neatly summarized the prevailing American attitude:
Remember, 82% of the American people like their health-care plan. They just want us to address their costs.
Mr Steele got…
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Tags: America, compassion, death, developed countries, Drugs, Education, george stephanopolous, good morning america, Health, health care, health care plan, health outcomes, insurance premiums, magical thinking, mammogram, medical care, Medicare, michael steele, profit margins, public option, Republican, republican national committee, system, Taxes, Veterans, veterans administration
Tags: bear markets, brokers fees, car, Children, Community, compounding interest, Disaster, dollar, Economic, economy, Education, Finding Our Way in the New Economy, France, government, grandparents, greed, happiness, Housing, Inflation, invisible hand, Kids, magic of compounding, market, Military, money, neighborhood, pay, retirement, roth ira, school, security, spending, teenager, teenagers, United States, wealth, wisdom
Over my working life, I have seen investments inflate. I have also seen prices inflate. And even though, on the whole, investments inflated more than prices, I have seen something more ominous: I have seen expectations inflate.
Turn the clock back…
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Tags: America, budget, Children, Debt, Despair, Economic, Economics, economy, Education, Family, Finding Our Way in the New Economy, greed, health care, Healthcare, Illinois, Inflation, infrastructure, Labor, market, medical care, money, mortgages, mother, neighbor, neighborhood, pensions, rich, stock, stock market, Suburban, Taxes, Trade, Work
Tags: Conservative, discipline, dollar, economy, Family, Health, Inflation, IRA, magic of compounding, market, miracle, money, pensions, rate of inflation, recession, retirement savings, social security, stock
[continued from part 1]
Here is how things used to be: My parents retired in 1975 when they were both 65. Their household income had been modestly sufficient, right around the national average or perhaps a little less. Their former employers…
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Tags: America, baby boomers, bob herbert, Debt, Democrat, Democrats, Economic, Finding Our Way in the New Economy, george w bush, Health, insecurity, Iraq, market, Medicare, money, mortgages, New York Times, Poverty, President, Prophetic, prosperity, Republican, Republicans, rising tide, rube goldberg, social security, stocks and bonds, tax cut, theologian, unease, unemployment, United States
In this morning’s New York Times, columnist Bob Herbert confesses to “An Uneasy Feeling,” apparently his understated way of saying “panic.” Herbert lists his concerns: unemployment, worthless mortgages, a decade with no job creation (previous decades since 1940 have all had at…
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Tags: America, baby boomers, bob herbert, Debt, Democrat, Democrats, Economic, Finding Our Way in the New Economy, george w bush, Health, insecurity, Iraq, market, Medicare, money, mortgages, New York Times, Poverty, President, Prophetic, prosperity, Republican, Republicans, rising tide, rube goldberg, social security, stocks and bonds, tax cut, theologian, unease, unemployment, United States
Tags: affection, Books, Community, Family, granddaughter, Humor, Memoir, Mennonite, mother, Religion, Story, Thanksgiving, tragedy
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
–William Butler Yeats, from “The Second Coming”
Two of the best people in public life today — in my humble opinion — are the president of the United States and…
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Tags: adversaries, Africa, America, Anglicans, archbishop of canterbury, archbishop williams, bipartisan, bipartisanship, bishops, Common Ground, Congress, Conservative, conservative anglicans, constituent, death, death penalty, decisions, Democrats, empathy, extremists, gay clergy, Health, intensity, lambeth, Liberal, opinion, Partisanship, President, President Obama, public life, Republican, Republicans, rowan williams, United States, via media, War, william butler yeats
I have mixed feelings about wish lists. They rob Christmas of creativity, surprise, and personal contact, but they make shopping much, much easier. And it’s nice to know that if I pay attention to the lists, gift recipients won’t roll…
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Tags: agriculture, budget, charities, Christmas, culture, donation, economy, food, food security, gift, households, money, profits
 In the first year of Gail Collins’s survey of “the amazing journey of American women from 1960 to the present,” I turned 12. Not long after that, I told my father I was thinking of becoming a lawyer. “That’s not…
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Tags: american women, career, choice, Civil Rights, cooking, equality, female, Feminism, gail collins, granddaughter, Hillary Clinton, History, husband, journalism, justice, law, law school, lawyers, leaders, leadership, legal secretary, mother, Movement, New York Times, newsweek, nora ephron, Politics, sandra day o connor, school, sex and the city, single women, Supreme Court, supreme court justice, teenager, wife, Women
Inhale through your nose (be sure your abdomen moves, not just your chest). Exhale through your mouth. Slowly, now …
OK, let’s talk about the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s recommendation that women begin getting mammograms at age 50 instead of 40,…
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Tags: anxiety, breast cancer, cancer, false positives, government, Health, hhs secretary, mammogram, mammograms, mammography, Media, Medicare, oncologist, preventive services, service, statistic, survival rates, tactic, tiny mass, uspstf, Women
I’m a cradle vegetarian. Didn’t have even a bite of meat — red or white, fish or fowl — until I was maybe eleven years old, and then I lost my dietary virginity to a hot dog. Go ahead and…
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Tags: addict, addiction, America, Beef, belly, choice, common good, consumption, dilemma, domestic animals, earth, emissions, Environment, food, fossil fuel, Global, Global Warming, grain, green, greenhouse gas emissions, ground beef, Health, India, lamb, livestock industry, market, meat eaters, michael pollan, omnivore, Organic, Pork, restaurant, stock, synthetic fertilizer, system, Turkey, United States, vegetarian, warming
Never underestimate the power of a determined family, the press, the internet, and an outraged public. Guardian Life has changed its policy and apologized to the Pearl family. Ian Pearl will continue to receive the home care he needs. Read…
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Tags: Campaign, Democrats, guardian life insurance, health care, health care system, health insurance, health insurance industry, insurance companies, insurance company, matthew pearl, Repentance, Republicans
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. What’s a (middle-aged) girl to do when her husband leaves her for a guy named Bob and a car accident leaves her with multiple injuries? Go home to mother, of course. Even…
