Opinion

What did nuns teach us in Roman Catholic schools in Syracuse and beyond? They taught us what was right and wrong. Now that seems like a simple matter. Unless you bring “relativism” into your thinking. You know, the old “Relative to what?” game. It’s a nice day. Oh? Relative to what? The nuns did not […]

Sometimes heroes are easily identifiable, like our emergency responders and soldiers. Other times, it’s more difficult to see heroic qualities in those around us. But after some reflection, there are, in fact, everyday heroes just around the corner at your local mom-and-pop shops. Just recently, America celebrated National Small Business Week. There is plenty to

President Obama is trying to change the subject from Obamacare to anything else before November. Who can blame him? He recently unveiled the scary White House National Climate Assessment. I used the term “climate whatever” because the latest report uses the term “climate disruption.” Before that, the popular term was “climate change.” Before that, the

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli recently announced that the state’s Common Retirement Fund enjoyed more than a 13 percent rate of return in the year ending March 31. The $176.2 billion fund exists to provide benefits to 1 million state and local-government employees, retirees, and beneficiaries. In his May 12 statement, the comptroller called

I receive a lot of questions about how schools are funded and how that money is spent. There is good reason for these questions because a lot of money is involved. State aid to schools comprises $21.8 billion — roughly 24 percent — of our $92.3 billion state operating budget. In addition, it is estimated

Our governor has got some folks scratchin’ their heads. Is he a political dummy? Or maybe super-smart? Andrew Cuomo grew up within the state’s Democrat machine. Literally and figuratively. He marches in that machine’s parade. But lately he has fallen out of step. He has wandered off the parade route. One political columnist listed the

New York is home to more than 900,000 veterans, and some estimates indicate that as many as 72 percent have seen combat. Additionally, New York is home to about 30,000 active-duty military personnel, as well as 30,000 National Guard and Reservists. Many returning vets choose to start up their own small businesses upon return. In

We fought the war on poverty, and poverty won  — Peter Ferrara It’s now 50 years since President Lyndon Johnson proposed his war on poverty. To date, the nation has spent $20 trillion to solve the problem, twice the amount spent on all military conflicts since the American Revolution. During this past half century, federal