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GETTING CALIFORNIA STYLE PRIORITIES RIGHT
Chuck Scarborough has been broadcasting the evening news on NBC in New York City for at least 12 or 15 years. During that time, his sidekick has been a spirited black woman named Sue Simmons. Scarborough’s demeanor comes off as something between sober and dour. When Christmas week arrived this year, Scarborough was to read…
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EZRA’S CLEAVAGE
The reference to cleavage in the title of this essay is mainly a snare and a delusion. The cleavage reference was used as a titillating device to persuade the reader to wrestle with the rest of the essay. I offer no apologies for the misleading title in that the cleavage reference and the titillation will…
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“YOU AIN’T TORE YOUR BRITCHES YET” – BILL KNAPP, CIRCA 1950
In the hills and bogs of this great country, there is a language spoken which is a derivative of the English language. That derivative is called “country speak.” If, for example, you follow the announcements of Richard Shelby, the U.S. Senator from Alabama, you will notice that he pronounces the word “can’t” as “caint.” This…
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A CASE OF ELEMENTARY FAIRNESS
In September of the current year, the Secretary of the Treasury came to believe that the American economy and its banking system were on the verge of complete failure. Secretary Paulson persuaded other members of the current administration and the Congress that indeed the sky was falling on the American economy. There are any number…
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11/04/08: AMERICA REJOINS THE CIVILIZED WORLD
Shortly after the results of the most recent presidential election were confirmed at 11 PM, our eldest grandson called me. Connor Shepherd is a 24-year-old grandson who lives and works in San Francisco. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 2007, and spent the next year in Japan perfecting his use of the Japanese language. Connor…
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DR. EZRA’S OVER-THE-COUNTER PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES
Our politicians, economists, and the people who bring us our news tell us that it is quite likely that the world is preparing to enter a second Depression. There are those of us who experienced the first Depression who will tell you that the American economy has been in a depressed stage for quite a…
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IODINE AND MERCUROCHROME
Growing up during the Great Depression of 1929 preceded the advent of exotic medicines for all kinds of illnesses. In every household, in the medicine cabinet of a Depression family was a bottle of iodine. When iodine was administered to a cut anywhere on the body, you had a very stinging sensation. But that was…
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BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
When the calendar gives a reading of November 1, a sense of hopeless gloom settles over many Americans. In these days, that gloom also includes Cubans, Venezuelans, Canadians, Dominicans, and all of those who pursue the wonderful game of baseball. As a diagnostician of many years’ standing, I can tell you that the hopeless gloom…
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A FEW WORDS IN PRAISE OF SANITY
I hope that my readers will not think less of me when I offer a few words of praise of sanity in the American relationship with those who practice the Muslim faith. During the month of September, pious adherents of that faith are celebrating the month-long holiday of Ramadan. Ramadan requires that the faithful consume…