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Churches like St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, seen here, would argue that they should not be discriminated against when it comes to Covid restrictions. And they shouldn’t but for the fact that indoor services lend themselves more naturally to … — Churches like St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, seen here, would argue that they should not be discriminated against when it comes to Covid restrictions. And they shouldn’t but for the fact that indoor services lend themselves more naturally to contagion than does a liquor-store run. Photograph by Peter K. Burian.

Right church, wrong pew: The Supremes and 'freedom of religion'

December 1, 2020

As a practicing Roman Catholic, i can’t tell you how upset I was with the dreadful United States Supreme Court decision to allow services in New York houses of worship to go on unrestricted.

The court ruled it was a violation of the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion when, after all, bike shops weren’t restricted. Here’s Justice Jimmy Stewart, uh, Neil M. Gorsuch in the concurring opinion:

“It is time — past time — to make plain that, while the pandemic poses many grave challenges, there is no world in which the Constitution tolerates color-coded executive edicts that reopen liquor stores and bike shops but shutter churches, synagogues and mosques.”

Uh, Neil, I don’t think people who go into liquor stores are sitting in pews for an hour taking part in a service. I think the liquor store or bike shop is a 10-minute visit, tops.

Diana, Princess of Wales, and tenor Luciano Pavarotti at the concert “Pavarotti and Friends for the Benefit of the Children of Bosnia” in his hometown of Modena, Italy, in September 1995. Cut loose from the royal family, she had by then developed th… — Diana, Princess of Wales, and tenor Luciano Pavarotti at the concert “Pavarotti and Friends for the Benefit of the Children of Bosnia” in his hometown of Modena, Italy, in September 1995. Cut loose from the royal family, she had by then developed the elegantly economical look that crystallized her last years and our sense of a woman in full.

Diana, our lady of compassion

November 29, 2020

Winter, as Charles Dickens knew, is the season of ghosts. The holidays bring memories of those who are no longer with us, reminders of those who cannot grace our tables — never more so than during the pandemic when the table is often a table set for just one.

TV, too, the great American unifier and divider, plays a role in this with sad but uplifting holiday fare and series that reopen old wounds while underscoring that the past is never really over, because it is part of the continuum that informs the present and the future.

“The Crown,” Netflix’s addictive-as-potato-chips series about the British royal family, is now in its fourth season, which brings us to the Diana years and a reappraisal of her, her legacy and what went so horribly wrong. Why does Diana, Princess of Wales, haunt us still? More to the point, why do we still haunt her — for it is the living who haunt the dead, not the other way around.

President Donald J. Trump greets outgoing President Barack Obama on his inauguration day, Jan. 20, 2016, as former Vice President, now President-elect, Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer applaud politely. Thus far Trump has not shown… — President Donald J. Trump greets outgoing President Barack Obama on his inauguration day, Jan. 20, 2016, as former Vice President, now President-elect, Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer applaud politely. Thus far Trump has not shown Biden the same graciousness and cooperation Obama showed him. Photograph by Lance Cpl. Cristian Ricardo.

Trump and winning in loss

November 15, 2020

Recently, I went what seemed to be about 17 rounds with a publicist seeking to place an appeal for an arts organization who objected to my calling the organization small and struggling, even though it is. I shouldn’t have gotten testy about this. One of the casualties of the pandemic has been my minimal patience. But as a journalist, I always object to publicists trying to control the story, and I was particularly rankled by her waving the dictionary at me via e-mail, as if I were some recalcitrant schoolgirl.

In the end, we achieved a kind of detente, but only because I decided the story was more important than my ego. It always is. Still, I was this close to telling her she used another word incorrectly. Why? Because I wanted to score a point. I wanted to win.

Trumpian 'Sunset' as democracy's star rises

November 8, 2020

“This is one of the happiest days of my life,” a business manager told me yesterday. I couldn’t but concur. I , too, was happy, proud and content to be an American — something I haven’t been for four long, dark years.

In their victory speeches, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris struct the right notes about unity and hope. President Donald J. Trump’s “American carnage’ may have been fine for some when they were making oodles of money. But when everyone’s actually in American carnage, as we are with the coronavirus, systemic racism, a crashed economy and climate change denial, people want change. They want a leader who can create a vision for going forward together, communicate that vision and execute it. And that’s what Biden laid out Saturday night, while Harris in suffragist white gave women of color in particular a symbol of belief fulfilled.

Naked came the ballot

November 6, 2020

So, I’m in the finals at Wimbledon, up two sets to love against Novak Djokovic, who has once more secured the number one ranking in men’s tennis for the year. (Congratulations, Nole.)

In the third set, however, Nole comes roaring back. As he serves at 4-3, I halt play and, motioning to the umpire, announce, “You know what? Im good. Let’s just call it quits so I can hoist the trophy since I’m ahead and I’m sure I would’ve won had play continued anyway.”

LOL. Welcome to a sports metaphor for the 2020 presidential election, in which President Donald J. Trump has declared victory over former Vice President Joe Biden despite being behind in the electoral and popular vote count, with several key states — Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania — still to report.

A Texas woman about to vote in 2008. Photograph by Lars Ploughmann.

American carnage denied

November 1, 2020

Four years ago I pivoted this blog from an exclusive sports/culture focus to a more political one as Donald J. Trump ran for the presidency and, improbably, won it. I hate to give him credit for having that kind of power, but we would be kidding ourselves if we didn’t admit that he has transformed our lives in various ways over the last four years — and not for the better. But such is the nature of some change agents, even if he didn’t know he was one.

Official portrait of VIce President Joseph R. Biden Jr. in his West Wing office at the White House, Jan. 10, 2013. Will tomorrow’s debate be Uncle Joe versus crazy uncle? Photograph by David Lienermann.

Uncle Joe versus 'crazy uncle' -- the Biden-Trump show

October 21, 2020

Is America an abused, abandoned child in search of a kind uncle? Listening to pundits talk about the first presidential debate and dueling town halls, it certainly seems that way. On the one hand, you have the “crazy uncle” as “Today’s” Savannah Guthrie implied when President Donald J. Trump disavowed the reality of Seal Team Six getting Osama bin Laden under Trump archrival former President Barack Obama. (You have to love the waggish posters who call Trump’s armed, overweight white nationalists “Meal Team Six.”) On the other hand, there’s “Uncle Joe” Biden’s avuncular style on display in his town hall with “Good Morning America’s” George Stephanopoulos, with the former vice president offering to meet with questioners afterward for further discussion — and then actually doing it.