Columns

One hundred years ago this week, America was in mourning. The president had suddenly died, and Hollywood was about to collapse. The two were linked in the greatest failure you’ve never heard of. Everything that could go wrong did.

Last week a whistleblower testified before Congress, alleging that federal officials have concealed evidence of unidentified flying objects from the public for decades.

With the “Barbie” movie kicking up sparkle dust, I’d like to go on record thanking Barbie for my brief foray into sewing.

Children will begin returning to school soon. While parents will be focused on getting the best deals on school supplies, some of us may be asked to help raise money for class projects, field trips, and other activities in the upcoming school year.

Most people who plan for long-term care plan to eventually become eligible for Medicaid. This is also true for people who have nursing home insurance, because those insurance benefits are usually capped at a certain number of days or a certain amount of money.

I called Tony Bennett when a humanitarian crisis loomed. It was 2006 and herders, supported by the Sudanese government, were laying waste to farm villages in Darfur, murdering men and boys and committing heinous atrocities against women. At the time, Tony was in the midst of a remarkable career resurgence, recording duets with Sting and Barbra Streisand and Tim McGraw. But there was no mention of career on our call. “I’ll meet you in New York!” he said, joining Meryl Streep in a campaign I launched called AID DARFUR. He went on to headline two fundraisers for me.

You don’t have to be a hardcore cynic to suspect that one of the goals of Tuesday’s indictment of Donald Trump — the third this year — is to keep the GOP primary electorate rallying around the former president. It’s a transparent political ploy openly discussed by operatives on both sides of the aisle. So if it works, Republican primary voters will have nobody to blame but themselves.

I’ve got a ticket to hide. Actually, I’ve got four tickets that the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles thought I was trying to hide.

The obituary in the local paper 25 years ago was as succinct as you’ll likely see when it comes to the final prose penned about people’s lives. It read, “Gary A. Akers, 88, died at 10:25 p.m., June 24. 1998, at St. Rita’s Medical Center. There will be no service or visitation. Memorial contributions can be made to First Round Boxing, 1737 Rice Ave., Lima, Oh. 45805. Arrangements are by Wayne Street Chapel of Chiles and Sons-Laman Funeral Homes.”

Jason Aldean’s controversial country hit “Try That in a Small Town” climbed to No. 1 on Billboard’s all-genre singles chart this week. If you’ve been following the headlines of what many critics and academics have said about the lyrics, you know that Aldean has been in the middle of a heated culture wars debate since mid-July. The song was taken off Country Music Television, which prompted many of Aldean’s supporters to claim it was an attempt to “silence” him. While the initial war of words on social media has quelled somewhat, Aldean’s track remains the focus of a contested discussion regarding what encompasses an authentic American identity.