Health insurance is the one issue that affects us all, and it’s organized crime. — The midterms are Tuesday, and before you go vote, I want to share an experience I had this month. Because as we fuss at each other about every other thing, we are being robbed blind and driven crazy by the same thing. All of us. It’s not the heat, it’s…

On the puzzle of democracy. — The world seems to stay still because…it’s complex and terrifying to think that acting with force may lead to a world war, (the) outcome will (be) catastrophic…Stalin starved millions of ethnic Ukrainians…Putin hated the thought that they formed a Democracy on his doorstep. He now will try to finish off…

A new song for the same sad story. — On the first day of Christmas, Someone said to me The Pandemic will end shortly. On the second day of Christmas, A nurse-hero gave to me One vaccine card The Pandemic will end shortly. On the third day of Christmas, My doctor said to me Keep your mask on Here’s your vaccine card The…

A month of recurring nightmares. — If an existential void is a month, it is August. I notice I am holding my breath. I don’t understand why I feel so jammed up, until I realize that all the Augusts are converging on me at once. I am having a hard time separating current events from memory. …

The Maxwell Smart of Fox News. — Last night I went to sleep trying to imagine sex with Tucker Carlson. It should not come as a shock to report that it didn’t get me where I wanted to go. Please note that my hands were folded neatly across my chest, as if I were in a coffin…

Stop fawning over something so unimportant. — Yes. I’ve lost weight. I know I’ve lost weight. My pants are loose. Again. Yes. I am in public. You haven’t seen me in a while. You, too, notice I have lost weight. No. Don’t do it. Do shut up about it. Do not make a party. Do not approach…

A climate recipe for disaster. — I might be a witness to our extinction. It seems important to mark the day I realize that. It’s embarrassing to admit global warming snuck up on me. I know better. But like many Americans luxuriating in the drivel of our everyday lives, I pay scant attention to what’s happening. …

Losing the PR war to the GOP is pathetic. We deserve better. — My husband and I are walking down a street in Yonkers, New York, where we live. We see a huge pickup truck that is parked with its nose facing the sidewalk. Inside, there is a hand-written note visible through the windshield: Keep walking, because I’ve got a video camera on…

Her emancipation is a feminist cause. — “The world goes ‘round and ‘round, but some things never change…” Britney Spears Pepsi commercial, 2001. “You wanna boss daddy? Wanna legal baddy? Want no control of body? Wanna lose faith in Goddy? Wanna get real maddy? Wanna be real saddy? What she got for her work, bitch…” Me, in…