As baseball’s regular season comes to a dramatic close this weekend, with some playoff slots still to be determined, I’m providing an early look at the chances of the likely contenders for the most time-honored championship in sports.   First, though, here’s a short primer on how the playoffs work. The current plan, in effect since […]

As the Obama White House struggles with yet another overseas crisis, many of the president’s strongest critics are claiming he is incompetent.  The case for that charge would appear to be the corner the president put himself and his country in when he announced that the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government of […]

Before summer completely fades to autumn, here’s our annual review of the Music Circus season.  For the second year in a row, it consisted of only five shows, but unlike last year, when four of the five made our annual best-performances-of-the-year list, we’re not sure any of this year’s productions will so qualify.  Each, as […]

“Speak softly, and carry a big stick.” -Theodore Roosevelt, Twenty-sixth U.S. President (1901-1909) Before using an apparent case of diplomatic misspeak by his chief foreign policy lieutenant this week, President Obama seemed committed to pushing for any approval or authorization he could muster to justify a military action against Syria.  Whether secretary of State John […]