Opinion

The world is approaching a water crisis that will impact the lives of several billion people, according to the World Meteorological Organization. We can’t solve this crisis easily, but there are many things we should do. One of the most important is to raise public awareness. Many people just don’t know there’s a problem, much less a […]

Voters across New York state will be leading to the polls to make critical decisions regarding which candidates will represent them in the coming term. This year, it is especially important that residents get out and vote as elections featuring local candidates, typically, have a lower turnout than in statewide election years.  This year, there are also

As Americans, we tend — understandably — to focus on the constitution as the source for our representative democracy. It is, after all, our basic operating document, the blueprint for the system we’ve been shepherding for the last 234 years. But the Constitution did not arise out of thin air; our forebears marked key steps along the

Gov. Kathy Hochul, following in lockstep with her predecessor, [recently] vetoed a bill that would have saved the Fulton School District from losing more than $1 million in state aid due to a clerical error dating back to the 2016-17 school year. She did this despite near-unanimous legislative support for the bill and knowing full well the district

Here in the United States, we have grown accustomed to thinking we will always have access to plentiful, clean water. We just assume we can turn on the tap and get all the water we need. But in much of the world, water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning isn’t something to take for granted. Even in the

The Biden administration has gone into full attack mode against the First Amendment right to petition the government as his attorney general has declared that parents opposing critical race theory (CRT) [and mask mandates] before their local school boards should potentially be treated as domestic terrorists under the Patriot Act. This abuse of that dubious post-Sept. 11

One of the great privileges of reaching and working on a university campus is the chance to be in regular touch with young people. Even better, I sometimes get asked to give talks elsewhere and to meet with young people of all kinds and descriptions. That’s sometimes one on one, other times in small groups, and sometimes

A new report from the Empire Center citng Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data paints an alarming picture of New York’s COVID-19 recovery. Check it out at: https://www.empirecenter.org/publications/nys-still-has-very-far-to-go/. Just one month after then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo “paused” the state, New York had already lost close to 2 million jobs as the outbreak spread. Since that initial shutdown,

The question of what role religion should play in American public life is difficult and controversial. It produces a lot of heated debate and no easy answers. My view is that religion has a role to play in our political life and that its impact on our democracy is largely positive. It’s true that religion can

New York State Sheriffs’ Week is a chance to recognize the dedication, bravery, and sacrifice of our local law-enforcement officials, and consider everything they do to keep us safe.  The week was officially celebrated from Sunday, Sept. 19 to Saturday, Sept. 25. However, it’s always appropriate to thank the officers who protect our roads and keep our