Abortion is back in the news again. It had been biding its time until the right moment. The right moment arrived with the appearance of two news items: • The first item is that the U.S. Supreme Court will be reviewing the State of Mississippi’s law banning abortion after 15...
The Chas is not a Republican (nor a Democrat, for that matter). He is not a worshiper of Donald J. Trump. He is not a fan of Fox News or any right-wing radio talk show. He is not a reader of conservative blogs. He is not a member of the...
“Give me your tired, your poor, “Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, “The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. “Send these, the homeless, tempest tossed to me. “I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” For those of you who recently have arrived from Mars, the above are the...
With the embarrassing conclusion of the American presence in Afghanistan, it is time to re-examine the U.S.’s foreign policy which had led up to the disaster. Our foreign policy and our military policy went hand-in-hand, and both were destined to share the same fate. Once upon a time, the United...
Déjà vu all over again! “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana The recent scene at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, put me in mind of a similar scene in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1975. Helicopters frantically evacuated American personnel when the enemy...
From the vault – 22 September 2011 (revised): A nation at war, defending itself against a cruel enemy. Hundreds and thousands of brave soldiers, laying down their lives to protect their country. Millions on the home front, remembering them, honoring their sacrifices, and erecting monuments to their glory. This is...
Trying to have a civil discourse with some proponents of vaccination is an exasperating exercise in futility. They delight in using name-calling as part of their “argument,” castigating opponents’ mental health, sense of morality, political affiliation, I.Q. level, and/or sexual orientation. What most pro-vaxxers fail to realize is that the...
The United States is finally bailing out of Afghanistan (maybe) after 19 years of pursuing an exercise in futility, i.e. creating a stable government. It is is a move which is not only long overdue but one which never should have been necessary. President Joe Biden has done the right...
In previous essays, I highlighted some of the streets of Aurora because of their historic value. Herewith, I will concentrate on the oddities of some of the City’s streets. Get out your map of Aurora, dear reader, and follow along. (What? You don’t have a map? Shame!) First up: Some...
Who’da thunk that a member of the U.S. Congress could come up with a Bold New Idea (BNI)? By and large, career politicians are not high on anyone’s list of favorite persons, except maybe their campaign contributors; they generally tend to be hyper-cautious, self-centered, and glad-handedness. So, when one of...
In a recent “Reader’s Voice” submission in this newspaper, Marjorie Logman stated that she knew of no other species “that is so bent on destroying its members” as the human one. Actually, there is one other species in the animal kingdom which fills the bill: Ants. If you happen to...
Once more into the breech in the never-ending war between Palestinians and Israelis: More death and destruction. President Joe Biden called for a cease-fire (reluctantly, I might add) and told prime minister Netanyahu that he expected one soon. Netanyahu was even more reluctant to grant the request. There is an...
Clear and concise No. 2: For a long time, a rule in English-language usage dictated that ending a sentence with a preposition was incorrect. For a long time, that rule was routinely violated. The Chas often has been guilty of this violation. For example, one might be heard saying “Who...
The trial of Derek Chauvin, accused murderer of George Floyd is over, and justice has been served. One observer had noted that the crime scene was egregious and that the evidence against the accused was overwhelming. Had the jury voted to acquit, the response by the African-American community, not only...
As you might have guessed, dear reader, The Chas worries a lot, especially about what the future may bring. One thing he is worrying about has come to the fore when he read a recent news item concerning the exploration of the planet Mars. Sadly, humankind is taking its own...
This essay is the 10-year anniversary of my writing every other week in The Voice. In two news items, we have learned that AstraZeneca Laboratories and Johnson and Johnson Company are experiencing difficulties with the efficacy of their vaccines. The former may have been formulating their product based upon outdated...
And to think I’ll never see it again on Mulberry Street. Is The Chas in a tizzy over the antics of the dizzy who are using their writer’s tools to turn us all into fools? You bet he is, just like nobody’s biz! He’s ready to bust a gut over...
“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitles them,...
I have been following with a great deal of interest publisher Crane’s “clear and concise” section on page 2 in editorials since he began it. As a student of the “Muvver Tongue” (as they say in the U.K.), I had hoped to find new insights in English usage. Although I...
From the vault: December 26, 2013 (revised): This essay is actually a revision of a revision. The original version appeared 20 years ago when I was writing for TONIT (that other newspaper in town). The message remains the same, however, because it involves public safety. Besides, I am currently suffering...
