Columns

On September 8, the United Kingdom lost her Queen, Elizabeth II, who reigned for 70 years, 246 days, the longest for any female head of state in world history. At 96, she didn’t quite make it to the 101 her mother did, but 96 is a really good run nonetheless. The TV coverage, of course, was quite extensive — both the mourning period and the funeral itself, which, given all the postmortem pomp and circumstance of such a personage, actually didn’t occur until September 19.

TV shows and movies create stories around brides or grooms disappearing right before wedding ceremonies. But the change of heart to marry can obviously happen any time after a couple agree to marry. If only one person decides that the marriage is not going to happen, the other person can experience immense heartbreak.

As we start to emerge from the dark COVID cloud, there were some rays of sunshine in terms of the progress that healthcare made in 2022.

Well, well, well. There was no “red wave” after all, even as Democrats breathed a huge sigh of relief about what could have been.

By occupation, I am a high school history teacher and have a deep interest in our nation’s past and present. We are here today and gather in a solemn ceremony to recognize the fallen, those who have given their lives in military service to our nation.

As the nation holds its breath and the votes come trickling in, I keep coming back to the end-of-the-campaign words of Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a two-term Democrat who ran for reelection in a tight race in southeastern Michigan.

It’s been a bungee jump of a year in American politics. Last spring, the GOP seemed poised to ride a Red Tsunami in the coming midterm elections. Democrats rallied over the summer and appeared to have regained momentum. This fall, however, there was a Republican resurgence with the prevailing winds now apparently blowing in their direction.

Here is today’s test in basic arithmetic: If you had two grade-schoolers and one college graduate who happens to be the kids’ grandfather, and you gave each of them a math quiz, how many would flunk?

Like many who work in higher education, I have been closely following the progress of President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. It’s definitely no surprise that this has become another bitter partisan battle as the program has been forced to delay debt relief just one week after 22 million borrowers applied.

Yes, democracy is on the ballot.