ArcaMax

Should those of us who want to defeat the proto-fascists in charge of the Republican Party be worried about a few blue districts that have recently indulged their ids and voted for members of the Democratic Socialists of America? Yes. If their victories become a trend, it could sabotage the Democratic Party.

In a way, Democrats should be ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Anyone who has written about immigration for more than 35 years, and who has the scars to prove it, has earned the right to say: "I told you so."

Those four words rang in my head recently as I read an article in The New York Times that exposed one of the three big lies of the immigration debate.

If you're curious, the other two ...Read more

Vacation season is upon us, and nobody knows how to vacation better than our friends in Europe.

Whereas many Americans settle for a weeklong summer vacation — often supplemented with day trips — Europeans commonly spend two to four weeks at the beach.

The United States is the only advanced economy with no federal requirement for paid ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Here is something you didn't need a library card to figure out.

Americans read fewer books than we used to, and the books that we do read are shorter. We spend less time in bookstores and more time on electronic devices. And instead of bucking this trend, public schools have caved in and assigned fewer books.

Even so, is the end...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- If you've ever written a eulogy, you already know that human beings are complicated.

At the end of the ride, we'll be proud of some of the things we've done but regret others. You take the good with the bad.

Most people don't want to be judged for the worst thing they did. But they don't give the same grace to elected officials....Read more

It’s never too late for a good belly laugh.

July 1 was International Joke Day. The origins of the day remain unclear, but one thing is for certain: we all could use a good laugh about now.

Which reminds me about the man who walks into a library and says, “I’m looking for books about paranoid schizophrenia.”

The librarian lowers her ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- It's hunting season again.

That phrasing doesn't sound right. It suggests that the hunting stopped for a while, and now it has picked up again. The hunt never stopped. It just became quieter and less conspicuous. The hunters got wise. They realized that the objective wasn't to get headlines, but rather to increase the daily haul....Read more

Tyrades! by Danny Tyree

Serendipity strikes.

While I was struggling to motivate myself to write about a company that will turn your life story into a keepsake book, based on the answer to 50 questions (questions which I hope are more insightful than the ubiquitous “Hot enough for ya?,” “Think it’ll rain?,” “Finished with the sports...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Being Mexican American means never having to say 'thank you' ... to Mexico.

It's been that way for 178 years, ever since the end of the U.S.-Mexican War. That skirmish -- which was meant to cover up a land grab -- lasted from 1846 to 1848 and resulted in the United States seizing roughly half of Mexico's territory.

This was the ...Read more

It’s hot this summer.

It’s so hot in Washington that Republicans and Democrats are sharing air-conditioned cabs.

It’s so hot in New York City that Mayor Mamdani is allowing citizens to turn thermostats down to 77 degrees.

Regrettably, it’s so hot in Europe that millions of people are suffering.

The World Health Organization reports ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The fact that the United States is celebrating its 250th birthday has me feeling nostalgic for a long-forgotten time when Republicans were different people with a whole different set of beliefs.

I miss the good ol' days when self-described conservatives praised immigrants for their optimism and hard work, supported those with ...Read more

Tyrades! by Danny Tyree

I now understand my late mother’s quest for stress avoidance.

For years, she and Uncle Doug maintained a daily phone chat. Inevitably, they would broach subjects that got on their last nerve, necessitating a multi-day “time-out.”

Following in Mom’s footsteps, I recently decided to do a weekend detox from X (...Read more

Editor’s note: A version of this column was distributed in 2024.

I miss watching the spectacular fireworks display at Eddie Gabor’s house every Fourth of July.

Eddie was my grandmother’s companion the last 20 years of her life until she died in 1988.

Widowed in her late 40s, she struggled for years to pay the bills and raise her six ...Read more

“I’m confused, Grandpa. I thought July 4 was the day our country declared independence from King George III of Great Britain.”

“Actually, according to ConstitutionFacts.com, that's not so, Junior. The Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain on July 2, 1776.”

“Then why do we celebrate our independence on the ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Never mind Kansas. What's the matter with JD Vance?

That's a question that I suspect many Americans are wrestling with right now. Just about every time the vice president opens his mouth, he can't help but stick both feet in.

Vance has no filter, empathy or tact. He spits out whatever pops into his head, and it usually lands ...Read more

Tyrades! by Danny Tyree

“Keep a-knockin’, but you can’t come in.” - Little Richard

Seemingly timed to coincide with the release of Steven Spielberg’s movie “Disclosure Day,” the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) has ratified updated protocols governing how scientists evaluate, verify and announce evidence of ...Read more