Columns

Opinion columnist David Brooks of the New York Times wrote a column recently entitled “How to Stay Sane in Brutalizing Times.”

We had dinner with friends last night.

Seriously, it ended all Michigan trips, at least for me.

In case you might have missed it, digital space cowboy Elon Musk made a noteworthy declaration earlier this month in a visit to the United Kingdom. During a meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the tech billionaire predicted that artificial intelligence will eventually create a labor force reality where “no job is needed.” And if that weren’t enough, he went on to say that AI could become “the most disruptive force in history.” So, is Elon Musk just a science fiction gearhead or is he on to something that we need to understand and if necessary, get ahead of?

I have always liked Thanksgiving.

We discussed cutting the cord last year. Well, unsurprisingly, there have been a few changes since then so this week we’ll discuss alternatives to cable and paid TV.

First off, let’s get this out of the way — I don’t like pumpkin pie. Never will, and you can’t make me. For this I am resolute and unapologetic.

It’s almost illusional. It feels like we are wanderers in a tech-heavy, sci-fi world where reality is seemingly out of reach. We are relentlessly haunted by and hunted by misinformation and disinformation. Fake news consigns us to a never-ending search for news and information we can trust. In the midst of our meanderings, we had an election that was supposed to shed some light on what to expect in the 2024 national elections. Well, I’m still lost but, heh, anything can happen in 12 months of politics in America. So maybe clarity will come my way.

Everything you know about Thanksgiving is wrong. Well, maybe not everything, but a hell of a lot.

What’s happening in Ukraine and the Middle East may well be the test of our times. “It is the strategic decisions countries make that matter most… U.S. alliances are a source of American strength, rather than a liability.” These words were taken from the November to December edition of Foreign Affairs, written by Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security advisor to the president. They apply both to Ukraine and Israel, if not more broadly to the Middle East and the rest of our interconnected and authoritarian-challenged world.