Lawrence R. Velvel, JD

To say that the country is at a crossroads implies, one thinks, a serious possibility of going in either of two directions. Cynicism born of history therefore precludes one from making this statement now, because it counsels that this nation rarely chooses the path of the good – certainly not for the long-term or for…

Now and again, at times when I haven’t been “on the air” very much, someone will write to ask whether I intend to cover some subject or other that has arisen in the meanwhile. One such email was received regarding the Imus controversy — which became eclipsed by Blacksburg, so that cable TV went from…

In this poem I shall objections combine To doctrines that those who imitate swine — Who too often the federal bench populate — Choose upon the American people to perpetrate, And objections to the ones who choose to act swinish, And who our freedoms thereby diminish With rulings evil, Not to say medieval; And do…

There are those who question to a considerable extent Why anyone would want to be President. Questioners do not seem to understand Fierce ambition to be first in the land; They seem not to grasp Why a pol seeks out what they think an asp. They say that to run one must do the demeaning,…

I shall once again quote a long passage from The Race Beat, by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff. This time the quote is of a quote that they quoted. It is a column written by Gene Patterson, then the Editor of the Atlanta Constitution, after four little girls were killed in the bombing of a…

It is terrible to find oneself in agreement with an authoritarian thug, with a KGB man who therefore might be by definition (and conduct?) a murderer. But there can be no doubt that the authoritarian thug, Vladimir Putin, was right when he recently said that the United States is “Undermining Global stability” (in the words…

Much in the news now is the question of medical care, including the issue of a single payer system, i.e., government run health insurance for all, as it is usually considered. Whether or not a single payer system is, after balancing its pros and cons, the most desirable solution for a major problem is something…

Though George Bush, Dick Cheney and their cohorts are liars, one has always been reluctant to apply the word “liar” to the President of the United States. “Liar” is such a harsh word, a word so out of keeping with the (false?) conventions of professional and civil discourse. True, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill…