By Eric Green / Arlington, Va. Kyrsten Sinema’s announcement on Friday (Dec. 9) that she is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent smacked of self-serving cynicism, a preemptive strike to advance her own political interests. The Arizona Senator is employing what I term the “George Costanza Principle.” That refers to an episode on the TV sitcom Seinfeld, where the character named Kramer tells obsessed George Costanza to break up with his pianist girlfriend Noel, since George feels scared Noel is about to break up with him and that by his move, she’ll want him like never before. Kramer is a genius, George declares, when after he tells Noel the bad news, she begs George not to leave her. In the same way, Sinema figured she better break up with the Democrats before the Party, tired of her shenanigans of stifling progressive legislation, decides they’ve had enough of her already. Of course, Sinema might be warned that Kramer’s plan doesn’t seem as brilliant when Noel regains her courage and self-respect, and tells George to go take a hike. That’s comedy TV, but in Washington and Phoenix, it caused anger and consternation among Democrats. For a nanosecond, following Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock’s hard-fought runoff election victory on Tuesday (Dec.6), Democrats thought they would at last have a 51-49 majority in the U.S. Senate. But after Sinema’s dramatic pronouncement, they were back to the same frustrating 50-49 split between Democrats and Republicans, plus the burden of the newly declared Arizona independent. Sinema, in a ploy truly Nixonian or Trumpian in its devious, tricky machinations, clearly figures that becoming independent will allow her and her Democratic partner in power-tripping, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, to continue holding the Democrats hostage on crucial votes in Congress. Sinema has drawn national attention when she stymied President Biden’s agenda in the Congress on such matters as increasing the corporate tax rate and raising the federal minimum wage. And rankling their Democratic colleagues, she and Manchin blocked the Democrats from changing the filibuster rules in the Senate to protect voting rights. Sinema, in leaving the Democrats, called to mind our narcissistic former President’s “It’s not about you--it’s all about me” maneuvers for political gain. Besides the fact that she has an unerring sense of how to put the spotlight on herself, part of Sinema’s decision to become an independent might stem from her sneaking suspicion that the Democrats disrespect her. For good reason–Democrats are upset with her for the way she abandoned the Party when it was crunch time on important votes. When she self-righteously announced her decision to become independent, Sinema proclaimed that “like a lot of Arizonans, I have never fit perfectly in either national party” and that her approach is “rare in Washington and has upset partisans in both parties.” She also suggested that changing to independent would prove advantageous for the citizens of Arizona, and that it wasn’t for personal political gain. Her Senate seat, she said generously, “doesn’t belong to me, it belongs to Arizona.” Her statement that it’s all about her self-sacrifice for Arizonans and that her independent streak has “delivered lasting results” sounds both like typical Washington “political speak” and good public relations, which is expected from an ambitious politician. But it also sounds laughable when considering Sinema’s dismal ratings in public opinion polls. Surveys showed Sinema getting clobbered in a Democratic Senatorial primary in 2024, with rumored challenger Rep. Ruben Gallego getting 74 percent of the vote compared to 16 percent for her. Another potential Arizona challenger, Rep. Greg Stanton, says his own polling showed him getting 58 percent in the primary versus Sinema’s 17 percent. In short, Sinema’s prospects at home looked bleak. The progressive polling firm Data for Progress reported last January that her favorability rating with likely Arizona Democratic primary voters to be just 19 percent. That compared to 78 percent for Mark Kelly, Sinema’s Arizona Democratic counterpart in the U.S. Senate. The only way she could have any hope of getting re-elected in 2024, political observers say, was to become an independent. Skeptics astutely said that Sinema’s decision wasn’t a “post-partisan epiphany,” but rather about “political preservation.” As Elvia Diaz, an editorial columnist at the Arizona Republic daily newspaper, put it: “Ditching the Democratic Party has nothing to do with ugly partisan games but everything to do with Sinema’s opportunism.” Arizonians still recall when in April 2021 Sinema posted on social media pictures of herself sipping sangria in a pink newsboy cap and wearing a ring on her right index finger that cheekily said (keeping it clean here because The Insider is a respectable publication) “F**k Off.” West Virginia’s Joe Manchin III might well be feeling exhilarated about the Sinema stunt. Just when it seemed everything had fizzled for Manchin with an increased Democratic majority in the Senate following Raphael Warnock’s win, it’s status quo ante with Sinema wrecking that whole equation. With the present 50-49-1 divide in Congress, we might be forced to continue calling Manchin “King Joe the Third” for his deciding-vote power over on whether the Biden progressive agenda will move forward. Even if Manchin rejects that title, he might not object privately to that other moniker D.C. pundits and policy wonks give him as “The Real President” for being the actual power behind the throne in Washington. However Sinema’s path forward takes shape, her wardrobe might start featuring the color purple more often to prove her independence from either political party--the same color she flashily wore during her first run for the Senate in 2018 to highlight the fact that Arizona is a purple swing state voting-wise, neither majority Republican nor Democratic. As she begins her reign as the Independent Senator from Arizona, her purple outfit probably won’t be as flamboyant as the late pop singer Prince’s Purple Rain costumes. But following Sinema’s attention-grabbing move to upset the balance of power in Congress, it will leave a lot of people in Arizona and across America seeing red. Eric Green has had many former incarnations. Topping the list is news writer for the U.S. State Department and U.S. Information Agency, newspaper reporter in Maryland, press aide to a U.S. Senator on Capitol Hill, and ESL teacher in Washington, D.C. Presently a freelance writer, his articles have appeared in such places as the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, and Highbrow Magazine. In an attempt to be a latter-day Art Buchwald or Erma Bombeck, he writes satirical pieces about political figures and celebrities that appear on various humor websites. He is the author of several books, including Temporary Insanity: Costa Rica: My Way and My Penciled-in-Life, A Hoosier Pens a New Story in D.C.

By John Rolfe / Red Hook, N.Y. I’ve often heard the argument from the political Right that capitalism with unregulated free markets will cure all ills. My response is that almost every regulation, environmental/consumer/worker protection law and agency exists because an enterprising soul or souls abused their freedom to pursue wealth and harmed people in the process. Someone had to stop or at least rein them in. That someone is usually the government, which is called upon by afflicted citizens to step in when they lack the power to do so themselves. In these polarized times of all-or-nothing thinking, I’ve been accused of being a dirty, dyed-in-the-wool Bolshevik because I believe government (responsible, thoughtful government, mind you) has an important role to play as cop and referee in many matters. But even sensible attempts to better the lives of citizens or provide needed aid (e.g. pandemic relief funding) are condemned by many right wingers as socialism on the inevitable slippery slope to full-blown totalitarian communism. It’s easy to feel like a rare breed when you see a vast, reasonable middle ground between the total corruption of unaccountable, absolute government control and the all-out predatory greed of unfettered markets. That greed is always leaking if not gushing from the seams of our already-regulated businesses. Some cases in point: America’s allegedly “best in the world” so-called “health care” system. Anyone who has coughed up high premiums and paid exorbitant prices for questionable drugs and bare-bones care or battled with an insurance company over coverage knows what I mean. The health insurance industry alone had net earnings of $30 billion in 2021. The most absurdly aggravating example from my own life is the time a couple of years ago when my so-called dental plan refused to cover a crown and root canal for a cracked-in-half molar because the plan does not cover that specific tooth. That is what I was, finally, told after several long, confusing and increasingly heated phone conversations with customer disservice representatives. Sure, I could have switched insurance companies, but they are all more or less the same: not eager to pay claims but working overtime to take your money for premiums. The way contractors and service companies relieve you of your dough at every turn. So much of what is sold these days (I’m looking at you, major appliances!) is cheaply made, pricey crap that quickly breaks down and is less costly to replace than repair. But if you need a repair, lots of luck. Case in point: My year-old-furnace, which conked during a cold spell and required a replacement part. Though covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, I had to pay $75 for a technician to come out and take a look at the furnace. He brought an assistant to stand behind him and watch him look at it, and I was charged for that assistant’s time. I was also charged $1,114 for the part and installation, but reimbursed only $630 under the warranty. Why so little? The service company paid only $630 for the part. Labor wasn’t covered. Or maybe it was. Neither the service company nor the manufacturer could get their stories straight as they played hot potato with my demand for an explanation. And just as they were counting on me to do, I succumbed to aggravation and gave up. “That’s what companies are counting on you to do,” I was recently told by a fellow who works at a Verizon store. Speaking of Verizon: Cellular service providers know they have you by the short hairs. Case in point: After my phone was stolen, I bought a new Motorola G Pure for $178 at a Verizon outlet in Kingston, N.Y. After about a year, its charging jack fritzed. I was told I needed a new phone after taking mine to a Verizon outlet near where I work in Poughkeepsie. Resisting pressure to upgrade (I liked my old one and my $40-a-month plan and don’t need a phone that can do my taxes, clean my house and cook meals), I insisted on the same model. Cost: $291.93. Two weeks later, it conked. Returning to the Kingston store out of convenience, I was told I had to take my phone’s mortal remains to the site of purchase because that place is a “third party” franchise whereas the one in Kingston is “corporate” and each has its own differing inventory. Who knew? So I jackassed 45 minutes to Poughkeepsie where the phone was pronounced dead but couldn’t be exchanged because I didn’t have my Verizon account PIN with me. Two days later, I returned with it and watched as an earnest sales representative battled it out on the phone with a Verizon customer disservice rep who gave him the third degree about the legitimacy of my claim. (I offered to provide my DNA and allow a criminal background check.) I must say it was perversely satisfying to watch a corporation subject its employee to the same infuriating nonsense we customers know so well. Hanging up in frustration, my ally called again and got the very same disservice rep … who gave him a different name and proceeded to ask him for all the information that had just been provided. Hilarity did not ensue. What was ultimately revealed is that a free replacement phone was out of the question because I have a prepaid account. Thus I do not qualify for any customer service of any kind. (Shades of the old Monty Python sketch about the insurance agent who informs a client that his policy expressly states the company will pay no claim he makes.) It would have been nice to have been clearly informed of this by Verizon when I signed on with the plan, but it was buried somewhere in oodles of fine print, and as another of the store’s salesmen pointed out, “That wouldn’t have been a good selling point, would it?” I could only reply through gritted teeth and one still-cracked molar, “You’d think more businesses might try providing reliable products at reasonable prices with actual and helpful customer service. Might inspire some brand loyalty and not drive folks to the brink of madness, no?” While attempting to make the replacement transaction via Motorola and finding himself on endless hold (with endless automated assurances that his call mattered), my apologetic, sympathetic sales rep was told by his manager not to bother because the manufacturer would only insist that the phone be shipped to Motorola for diagnostics and a repair attempt that would likely take six weeks. “They’re just going to be pricks about it,” the manager said. The honesty here was, I must say, refreshing. A question by way of an ending to this grim tale: Do you believe in miracles? My moribund phone actually came back on while I was in the store growing increasingly agitated and profane, and it has worked just fine since. But to his everlasting credit and inclusion in my Last Will and Testament, the gracious manager still ordered a replacement from the Verizon “inventory closet” in Syracuse. This kind of retail/service insanity is ubiquitous and endless. I’m quite sure company sharpies sit around twirling their mustaches and cackling maniacally as they scheme up ways to squeeze every last penny out of tormented customers. Ticketmaster with its long list of processing fees, handling fees, convenience fees and fee fees is particularly egregious. Just ask Taylor Swift fans. So I remain skeptical that we will all be better off if only capitalist enterprises were given a freer hand. It’s worth remembering celebrated economist Milton Friedman’s assertion that businesses, particularly corporations, have no social or moral obligations. Their sole purpose is to make maximum profit for owners and shareholders. I can only assume that means by any means necessary. Look, I like being able to make money and start a business. But please forgive me for believing there is a middle ground where businesses can be profitable and socially responsible or at least a little less sadistic with their customers. Middle ground. What a concept. John Rolfe is a former senior editor for Sports Illustrated for Kids, a longtime columnist for the Poughkeepsie Journal/USA Today Network, and author of The Goose in the Bathroom: Stirring Tales of Family Life. His school bus drivin’ blog “Hellions, Mayhem and Brake Failure” is parked on his website Celestialchuckle.com (https://celestialchuckle.com) with the meter running.

By Naomi Serviss / New York City My husband’s on the cusp of retirement. December 30th is Lew’s final night at the New York Times. It’s been a multi-decade journey at the august paper of record. A journalist his entire professional life, Lew has had his fill. He loves the idea of journalism, but is less fond of what corporate-owned newspapers have morphed into. Not much power or glory these days. Not naming names. Lew owes a good chunk of his success to covering news for a suburban Philadelphia paper, Today’s Sprit. Before that he reported and edited for Temple University’s Temple News, a daily (!) student-run newspaper. It happens to be where we met. Lew was an editor and I was–what else?–an entertainment columnist. Seems like a million years ago and just like yesterday. Time is not on our side anymore, no matter what Mick says. This retirement journey, which started months ago with an official countdown, is the latest stepping stone on our never-boring life path. I’m still struggling with feelings about this milestone. Or is it millstone? A mélange of mixed emotions scramble my musings over this momentous occasion. Excited, terrified, thrilled and worried moods have all rented space in my psyche this past year and a half. They’ve ebbed and flowed, running the gamut from euphoria to furrowed-browed anxiety over making ends meet once a major financial source evaporates. It’s a lot to digest, and we’ve run out of antacid. Colleagues are planning Zoom toasts and possibly some surprises along the way. I know nothing. Lew hates surprises. I realized that after passionately planning and throwing his surprise 40th when we lived on Long Island. I sweated the details to that one and was pretty darn proud of how it turned out. Lew was secretly pleased, of course. Saw friends from the past and out-of-town friends who made the trip out to our ‘burbs. Got some good swag, too. Mostly journalism joke gifts, all appreciated. That was 20-some years ago. I never arranged a surprise like that ever again. Lew’s older now and much more cranky. Now our future might be graced with physical decrepitude. Who signed up for that? Large print books! How’d that happen? But the thought of us being “retirement” age makes us sound so OLD! Oh, wait. Reality check, we are. Baby Boomer forever, here. So why do I have total recall of certain college days but can’t ever remember where I put my: Glasses Keys Phone My memory remains neon brilliant of the time I hitchhiked from Temple University and stupidly got into a nondescript (mid-sized Ford, maybe) car heading north up Broad Street from North Philadelphia, Temple’s stomping grounds. Shockingly, I didn’t have an anxiety attack when the average-looking, 40-ish year-old driver removed the cloth over his crotch and flashed his erect digit! My neutral face belied the terror within. No visible reaction, but instinct flooded my engine. Managed to get the hell out of the vehicle, calmly slamming the door behind me. I never hitched again. Regardless of memorable moments, retirement is Capital M Major. Lew and I are both considered the detestable epithet, “seniors” (synonym for old and in the way). How are we to readjust to a new schedule of togetherness in a few weeks? Our circadian rhythms couldn’t be more disparate. Lew is the late-night owl, in bed around 3:30 a.m. and I’m up at 5 a.m. to make the proverbial doughnuts. How did we make do all these years? Or maybe that’s why we stayed married? We kept different hours! Win/win! Will the stress of sharing our 750-sq.ft. one-bedroom apartment for even longer periods of time send me overboard? How can I possibly stand that? Good thing I really like the guy. One minute I’m all: “Yay! You’ll get to hone your stupendous cooking skills and guitar prowess when you’re not working on your next book! Then I think: “He’d best not get in my jam.” We’ve been through a million major life events, many of you have as well. We still really, really like each other. Our quirky sense of the absurd has kept us in stitches for some 45 years. Humor is the key to an enduring relationship (I said to myself in my best shrink voice). Some view retirement with trepidation and worry that it foretells the end of the line. We look at it as the beginning. Naomi Serviss is a New York-based award-winning journalist whose work has been published in The New York Times, Newsday, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Highroads (AAA magazine), in-flight publications, spa and travel magazines and websites, including BroadwayWorld.com

By Victoria Rolfe / Red Hook, N.Y. Well, ‘tis the season, folks! If you read my cover story in The Insider last month, “Black Friday is Aptly Named”, then you are well aware of my feelings about the commercial aspects of the holiday season. This is not to say that I do not give gifts to my loved ones this season. In fact, I absolutely adore the day itself, when my family gathers around in our festively decorated living room and takes turns slowly opening each present that has been lovingly chosen for them. It's not the price of the present that is the important thing. It does not have to be anything elaborate. It’s just the sheer fun of slowly going through that mound of creatively wrapped gifts under the tree. What’s inside the package can be something as mundane as socks or underwear (yes, we go there), or it can be a special surprise affectionately chosen for that person. One year my daughter, Amber, surprised me with tickets to see “Skate America.” We are both figure skating enthusiasts, and this also entailed spending a wonderful weekend in Lake Placid together (I happily funded the accommodations.) What a fabulous and thoughtful surprise! Yes, that gift involved money spent. And from a young girl who could ill-afford that kind of expenditure, it was certainly a lavish gesture of love. But it was, as they say, the thought that counted. Not only was it generous, but it was a great way of saying, “I want to spend time with you, enjoying something we love together”. But “the thought” does not have to involve a big price tag, or any purchase at all. It could be a key chain, or refrigerator magnet, or bookmark that made that person think of you. It could be something picked up at a thrift shop that someone knew you would just love. Or perhaps something that your loved one made just for you. As our children were growing up, I tried to emphasis the non-materialistic aspects of the holidays. We decorated cookies together. We made snowflakes for the windows. We adopted a less fortunate family to shop for. We made our own holiday cards to send to family and friends. We made ornaments for the tree. In this spirit, I implemented something we called our “special assignment.” Each year, it was something different (some favorites were repeated occasionally). For instance, several years, we all made a calendar (secretly) together. With two adults and four kids, equaling six, it was simple enough to divide the twelve months into two apiece. We put the months on pieces of paper into a hat, and each chose two, then got to work on secretly designing our pages. On our day of festivities, we all put our pages in a designated location and then at the appointed time, we all got to admire them together. To make it even more fun, we all tried to guess who made which ones. The creativity was phenomenal! I later took the pages to Staples and had them made into a calendar for our wall to enjoy all year. Some of the artwork Victoria’s talented family came up with for their household calendar Another year, I gave each person five pieces of card stock paper and told them to make a page for each person in the family, decorating in any way they wished and telling that person what they mean to you and what you love about them (of course, I did it too). Then I made covers and put all the pages for each person into a book just for them. It brought tears to my eyes to see all the affection and appreciation expressed in those pages. I read them again and again. A lot of the years involved putting all our names into a hat and each picking one name out. But this grab bag assignment always came with a twist. One year it was that you had to make something for that person. Another year, more specifically, you had to bake something for them. Another year (back when cassettes were still a thing), you had to make a mix tape for your chosen person. And of course, you always had to guess who your special gift came from. One year, when I was lamenting that I still had fairly empty walls in my house, I assigned everyone to make something to hang on the wall. Many years (decades?) later, I still have a few of those art pieces on my wall. I just took my son, Colin’s, down to repaint my living room. He made 8 x 10 prints of some jellyfish he photographed at the aquarium that year. For me, it’s not those big-screen TVs, or new laptops, or other fancy gadgets that make the holidays so special. It’s decorating, and baking, and spending the month of December secretly preparing surprises to show each other just how much we mean to one another. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t have to cost anything. It truly is the thought that counts. Wishing you all a holiday of warmth, love, hot cocoa, fun, surprises, laughter, and hugs. And a happy, healthy, peaceful new year of simple abundance. From the Rolfe family to yours. A long, long time ago, after the birth of her third child, Victoria made the life-changing decision to leave the work world behind and devote herself to being a full-time mom and homemaker. Along with her new title of Domestic Engineer, she took on the role of the Chief Home Economist for the family. At first, it was scary to try to live on less than half their income, but Victoria found that she not only rose to the challenge but thrived in the enjoyment of learning to live their best life with limited resources. She embraced this new frugal lifestyle of the at-home-mom and went on to add a fourth child to the mix. And their family was complete. Along the way she acquired a great deal of wisdom in how to not only avoid debt, but pay off mortgages early, buy cars for cash, travel on a shoe-string budget, and send kids to college with no student loans, all while also saving a tidy nest egg for retirement. She currently educates others in these skills through her business Bright Future. Now living the life of a modern homesteader in the Hudson Valley, New York, Victoria has added gardening to her list of skill sets as she grows many of her own vegetables to supplement her family’s primarily vegan diet. And she has come to realize that this waste-not, want-not, carbon-friendly, sustainable life she is living is not only benefiting her own family but also our Mother Earth, and that each of us has the obligation to live a responsibly sustainable life not only for ourselves, but for the greater good of our community, and our planet. We can all do this one household and backyard at a time. We are the world! And it all begins right at home. Victoria can be reached at brightfuture2budget4@gmail.com

By Lydia Hope Wilen / New York City Jack The Snipper My father was a playful person. He was like a big kid. My young cousins adored their Uncle Jack. He loved fishing and during the summer, he would occasionally take one of the lucky ones to Brooklyn’s Steeplechase Pier to catch whatever was biting, including mosquitoes. The youngest of those cousins was Glenn. My father had enough rods, reels, hooks and sinkers to supply all of Brooklyn, not to mention whoever went fishing with him. My dad was especially proud of the monofilament fishing line he used in his reels. It’s made of high-density nylon and is abrasion-resistant. It’s extra tough: doesn’t tear; doesn’t snap. There was no question about it being able to reel in if-and-when there was the big catch of the day…a 2 lb porgy. My father was extremely handy and creative. We would joke that he could figure out how to fix things that weren’t even broken. And so, my father found another use for the monofilament fishing line. He used it to make an elaborate, intricately patterned beaded curtain for an archway in my sister’s and my apartment. It was spectacular. Fast forward a few years after the beaded curtain was installed. Young cousin Glenn came to our apartment soon after my father passed away. He was standing next to the curtain, when one of the strands gave way and dozens of beads drizzled off the monofilament, and went rolling on the floor at his feet. It was understandably frightening for Glenn. All he kept saying is, “I didn’t touch it. I didn’t touch it.” We knew he didn’t touch it. We also knew that it was so like my father to pull this kind of high-spirited prank by snipping the strand near the bottom, causing most of the beads to fall off. The strand inexplainably breaking, happening while Glenn was standing there. What are the chances without help from the other side? A Matter of Time My mother had a thing about knowing what time it was…not that she had appointments to keep or had anything she was timing. In fact, she was a great cook and never, never timed any food she prepared. Just like she never measured any ingredients she used. Neither of us—my sister Joany nor me—ever had a curfew at home in Brooklyn. The rule was, if one or both of us went out, when we got home, we had to wake up my mother to say, “Ma, I’m home.” My mother would invariably ask, “What time is it?” Whatever our answer, she would then say, “Okay. Good. Now I can go to sleep, knowing that you’re home.” It was pointless to say, “Ma, you were already asleep and I woke you up.” So we all humored each other…our way of caring. A few days after my mother passed away, while going through things in her bedroom, we heard loud ticking. The sound came from the top compartment of her armoire. It was my father’s Big Ben clock that had stopped working years ago. My mother kept it simply because it was my father’s. And now it was working. Joany and I didn’t touch it. We decided to let it keep going until it stopped. And it did stop a day or two later, at 9:27, and we still didn’t touch it. A week after that, in the mail, we got the death certificate for my mother. The official recorded time of death was 9:27 p.m. Oh Baby! The TV stays on all day in my office, muted most of the time and usually on the Game Show Network until ABC’s Eyewitness News First at 4 p.m. Viviene, my assistant, and I, walked into my office. I unmuted the TV in time to hear the news anchor announce the birth of triplets. Nowadays, triplets are not much of a newsworthy event. Viv and I both looked at the TV, waiting for the payoff from the reporter. “These triplets were born yesterday, February 14th (2019)—Valentine’s Day.” Ahhh!...Valentine’s Day. The reporter then revealed the babies names: “The first girl’s name is Lydia Joan.” I was thankful that Viv was there with me as a witness. Of course she was as astounded as I was. The baby’s name is Lydia Joan. I was almost expecting the parents to be Lillie and Jack, my mother’s and father’s names. If you read last week’s “What are the Chances…? Calling People Names,” the first published book my sister Joany and I wrote was Name Me, I’m Yours! – a baby name book. How appropriate it was to have this “What are the Chances…?” happening with our names side-by-side. Especially when you consider the millions of names and name combinations available these days. I believe this was an extraordinary sign from the other side. Okay, prove it wasn’t. If you have a “What Are The Chances...? story you would like to share, I’d love to know about it. Email it to me at editor@theinsider1.com. Don’t be shy! Lydia Hope Wilen had a successful collaboration with her late sister Joany as nonfiction bestselling authors (18 books), journalists, TV personalities, writers and talent coordinators on a Nickelodeon series hosted by Leonard Nimoy, Reading Rainbow episodes, skit writers for Dr. Ruth's TV show, Diet America Challenge on CBS, and writers of screenplays (optioned but not produced yet). Lydia is writing on her own now and has just completed an extraordinary book for young people and their parents. It will have them laughing and learning...once she gets an agent and it gets published.

Fred Plotkin, a pleasure activist and passionate Italy and culinary expert, speaks each Friday with leading people in the arts FRED PLOTKIN is one of America’s foremost experts on opera and has distinguished himself in many fields as a writer, speaker, consultant and as a compelling teacher. He is an expert on everything Italian, the person other so-called Italy experts turn to for definitive information.  Fred discovered the concept of "The Renaissance Man" as a small child and has devoted himself to pursuing that ideal as the central role of his life. In a “Public Lives” profile in The New York Times on August 30, 2002, Plotkin was described as "one of those New York word-of-mouth legends, known by the cognoscenti for his renaissance mastery of two seemingly separate disciplines: music and the food of Italy." In the same publication, on May 11, 2006, it was written that "Fred is a New Yorker, but has the soul of an Italian."

By Andy Borowitz December 8, 2022 WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Donald J. Trump’s legal team struggled to explain how the original Declaration of Independence made its way to a storage unit leased by the former President in Queens, New York. The lawyers informed the Justice Department that they had discovered the eighteenth-century document under a stack of hastily packed items, including several pairs of socks and the Oval Office’s television remote. “Mr. Trump will, of course, return the Declaration of Independence to the National Archives as soon as possible,” Harland Dorrinson, one of the attorneys, said. “This seems to have been some kind of honest mistake.” That version of events differs from one provided by a source close to the former President, who indicated that Trump had intentionally taken the Declaration of Independence in the hopes that it had a treasure map on the back. Andy Borowitz is a Times best-selling author and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes The Borowitz Report, a satirical column on the news.

One film journalist’s stream-of-consciousness cinematic journey through the pandemic, Part 111 By Laurence Lerman / New York City First things first: James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel to the highest grossing movie in history, 2009’s $2.9 billion-earning Avatar, is poised to be another box-office smash for the filmmaker and distributor Disney. Industry analysts are projecting that the three-hour-plus 3D movie will ring up $175 million on its first weekend of release beginning this Friday, Dec. 16, which is no doubt what movie theater owners and executives want to hear after nearly three years of disastrous theatrical business. Now, let’s talk about Cameron, the man behind the curtain who is considered one of the film industry’s most innovative filmmakers and whose movies have grossed approximately $2 billion in North America and $6 billion worldwide. (Whoops, it’s hard to avoid coming back to the dollars…) It’s vital to remember there was a time when Cameron was not working with a budget of $400 million for a sequel that took some 13 years to get made. Four decades back, in fact, Cameron was a low-budget genre film craftsman who got his start as a helmer-for-hire on a quick flick about flying piranha fish. But like those carnivorous critters from his debut outing, Cameron would soon sink his teeth into prime projects—ones that he himself initiated—and do what appears to come naturally! Cameron first began directing films in the early 1980s and that decade remains the one that offers his broadest spectrum of work. It also primed Cameron's progression towards the ground-breaking filmmaking technologies that define his later work (and that weren’t yet available when he attempted to make piranhas fly!). So on the eve of the opening of Avatar: The Way of Water, let’s take a look back at the decade that launched Mr. Cameron’s career. Piranha II: The Spawning (1981) A special effects artist for low-budget film impresario Roger Corman, the 26-year-old Cameron snagged his first opportunity to get comfortable in the director’s chair with this shoddy sequel to the Corman-produced 1976 cult favorite Piranha. Fired several weeks into the production by the film’s Italian executive producer Ovidio G. Assontis, Cameron’s debut was savaged by critics and audiences alike, with the film’s genetically modified winged piranha fish looking more like long-finned salmon with dentures. Cameron largely disowned the film for decades but finally acknowledged it as his directorial debut on a 2010 installment of 60 Minutes, where he described it as “the best flying piranha movie ever made.” The Terminator (1984) The time-tripping sci-fi action thriller that truly launched Cameron’s career and solidified Arnold Schwarzenegger’s status as a leading man cost a modest $6.4 million to produce, with the filmmaker using all the skills he developed during his low-budget beginnings at the House of Corman. With its clever special effects (most of them practical) and Cameron’s engrossing script and taut, economic direction, the film is still a killer, holding up marvelously nearly 40 years later. And its action sequences—Arnold’s assault on the police precinct, the car chase through an underground garage complex and co-star Linda Hamilton’s climatic endoskeleton-crushing termination of the cyborg assassin from the future—are as wild, effective and watchable as ever. And thus began a franchise that continues to this day. Aliens (1986) Cameron’s muscular script and direction sends a group of equally hard-hitting space marines and star Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley to a distant planet to take on a hive of alien predators, one of whom killed Ripley's crew in the original Alien from 1979. As he did with The Terminator, Cameron gets a lot of mileage out of a relatively tight budget (here it was $18.5 million) and generates a surfeit of tension and terror in a futuristic sci-fi atmosphere. It was a huge international hit and rightfully so. As he did with Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor in The Terminator, Cameron creates a female protagonist who takes care of business with the strength, intelligence, grit and cunning that none of the men around her appear to possess. Ripley’s terrifying mano-a-talon showdown with the Alien Queen over the fate of an orphaned little girl remains cinema’s greatest-ever female-driven action sequence. Martini Ranch: Beach (1988) Before embarking on his next feature, Cameron cleansed his palate with a music video featuring the forgotten band Martini Ranch, a Devo-styled American duo comprised of guitarist Andrew Todd Rosenthal and actor Bill Paxton, who had appeared in supporting roles in both The Terminator and Aliens. A western/biker-themed video that also offers three female bodybuilders, other alumni from his previous films, and his soon-to-be-wife (for a couple of years) filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow, it’s not a very memorable piece But there are a few occasionally sly bits that include a mariachi trio, a tarantula and a pickup truck dragging the band members through the dust. The Abyss (1989) Though The Abyss didn’t measure up to the tidal wave of enthusiasm and box office returns of his previous two features, Cameron’s underwater fantasia about an deep water drilling team’s close encounter with an alien aquatic species marked his ascension to the top ranks of action-adventure filmmakers. Defying genre confines in terms of its expansive themes and revolutionary visual and audio technologies, the film remains his most original startlingly original work until Avatar. The effects he created with George Lucas’s Industrial Light & Magic laid the groundwork for the morphing and liquid metal sequences that would highlight 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The first of his films that took a long time and a lot of money to produce, with a budget estimated at more than $70 million, it also marked the first time Cameron injected environmental themes into his work, concerns that clearly meant a lot to him. In a story that Cameron has recounted regularly in the lead-up to this weekend, and one that represents his methods and determination well, back in 2009, a studio executive reportedly took issue with Avatar’s environmental focus and he went so far as to ask Cameron if he could remove the “tree-hugging hippie bullshit” from the film. As Cameron relates the story, his response was, “I’m at a point now in my career and in my life where I can pretty much make any movie I want. And I want to make this story because of the tree-hugging hippie bullshit.” See you at Avatar: The Way of Water! Laurence Lerman is a film journalist, former editor of Video Business--Variety's DVD trade publication--and husband to The Insider's own Gwen Cooper. Over the course of his career he has conducted one-on-one interviews with just about every major director working today, including Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Kathryn Bigelow, Ridley Scott, Walter Hill, Spike Lee, and Werner Herzog, among numerous others. Once James Cameron specifically requested an interview with Laurence by name, which his wife still likes to brag about. Most recently, he is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the online review site DiscDish.com.

By Bonnie Fishman / San Francisco Bay Area ’Tis the season for that unmistakable tart little crimson berry that graces both Thanksgiving and Christmas tables. Bless that gorgeous color, right? I was thinking to myself at our Thanksgiving feast this year, after everyone had plated up their food. White turkey, white mashed potatoes, brown stuffing, brown gravy, green vegetables (yay!) and orange sweet potatoes. Not the perkiest looking palette as I scanned the table. But, lo and behold, there was that shock of bright red cranberry sauce among the more mundane colors. Go ahead, take a photo of the plate to put on Instagram. This was a worthy looking platter of food after all. Cranberries were introduced to the American diet by the Naragansett tribe in the 1600s. This hearty crop, a member of the evergreen family, is harvested from September to November, depending upon the climate. It is best picked after the first frost. Cranberries start out white (that’s why we have white cranberry juice). As the berries stay on the vine longer, they get deeper red. They are a member of the heather family and related to blueberries. Unfortunately, cranberries are so bitter that they are rarely eaten raw. They have a high amount of fiber (the juice does not) and minerals. Cranberries are prolific in northern states, particularly in the eastern United States. They grow in sandy, shallow bogs on long vines. When it’s time to harvest the crop, farmers flood the bogs, and the berries float to the top of the water. They are then scooped up off the surface. Back in the 1980s, my husband Bob and I went on a color change car trip through New England. We were fortunate enough to view a magnificent cranberry bog in Massachusetts just before harvest. It was truly breathtaking. Americans have had a running national debate about the merits of canned cranberry sauce versus fresh cooked sauce. A year ago, Newsweek reported in its November 24th 2021 issue, “32 percent of respondents preferred canned cranberry sauce, 27 percent favored sauce "made from scratch" and 37 percent liked either type.” It’s always been amazing to me that the tradition has been to slide the cranberry “sauce” out of the can and onto the serving dish, ridges and all. It doesn’t even look edible to me, but I’m a from-scratch cranberry sauce snob. When I hear cranberry or cranberry sauce mentioned, I, like many cooks, think only of this time of year. But I think it’s a shame to limit this ingredient to just appearing as sauce for turkey or other meats. Consider using it to make barbecue sauce for chicken, duck, or pork. Fortunately, in 1990, the Ocean Spray company introduced Craisins, which are sweetened dried cranberries. Other companies followed suit and began producing the popular, versatile morsels. Bakers use them interchangeably with raisins in quick breads, muffins, scones, and cookies. Dried cranberries are used in salads, pilafs, and meat sauces. Today’s recipe is a holiday dessert stunner: White Chocolate Cheesecake with Fresh Cranberries. Not only does this cake add color to your sweets table, it also backs up that beauty with the most delicious, creamy taste. There are some important tips to remember when making cheesecake: Always have your cream cheese, butter, and eggs at room temperature. I leave them out overnight. Honestly, this won’t hurt you. In my professional kitchen, we did it all the time. Do not overbeat the batter after the eggs have been incorporated. It will introduce too much air and the cake is likely to collapse. Last, allow the cheesecake to cool slowly in a water bath to prevent cracking. The purpose of the water bath is to avoid a crust forming on the outside. Also, it creates a lighter texture. After you make and eat this cheesecake, let us know at The Insider exactly how much you swooned over its delectable taste and texture. You’ll be so proud that you made it! White Chocolate Cheesecake with Fresh Cranberries Yield: 12 servings Cranberry Sauce: 6 oz. fresh cranberries 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. water Crust: 1 1/2 c. ground toasted pecans 1/4 c. brown sugar 1/4 c. flour 3 oz. unsalted butter, melted Cheesecake: 1 1/2 lb. cream cheese, room temperature 3 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature 3/4 c. sugar 1/2 lb. high quality white chocolate, melted 1 Tbsp. vanilla 3 lg. eggs, room temperature Make the Cranberry Sauce: In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil, swirling the pan to ensure the sugar dissolves. Boil 1 minute. Add the cranberries. Continue boiling until the berries have popped and the mixture thickens, about 7-8 minutes. Cool completely. Refrigerate until cold. Can be made a day ahead. Make the Crust: In a small bowl, combine the ground pecans, brown sugar, and flour. Blend in the melted butter. Wrap the outside of an 8” springform pan with 2 layers of foil. Spray the bottom and sides of the pan with pan release. Press the crust onto the bottom of the pan, patting down firmly. Freeze for at least an hour. Reserve. Make the Cheesecake: Preheat the oven to 350°. When oven reaches temperature, bake the crust for 15-20 minutes until set. In the bowl of a stationery mixer fitted with the paddle (OR a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer), beat together the cream cheese and butter until well mixed. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, scraping down when needed. Blend in the melted white chocolate and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the batter between additions. DO NOT OVERBEAT. Too much air in the cheesecake may cause it to collapse. Pour half of the batter into the crust. Measure about 1/2-3/4 cup of cranberry sauce and drop in dollops on the batter. With a sharp small knife, swirl the sauce into the batter. Do not overmix or the batter will turn pink. Pour on remaining cheesecake. Repeat with another 1/2-3/4 cup of cranberry sauce. Set the cake pan in a roasting pan. Pour water into the larger pan going 1” up the sides of the springform. Bake for about 55 minutes or until fully set. Turn off oven, and open the oven door. Allow the cake to sit for 20 minutes. Remove the roasting pan but leave the cake to cool in the water. Put the cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight before removing it from the pan. Bonnie Fishman attended the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London. Later, she owned and operated Bonnie’s Patisserie in Southfield, Mich. and Bonnie’s Kitchen and Catering in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. She has taught cooking for over 35 years and created hundreds of recipes. She is now living in Northern California.

The Insider: Hi Dr. Horowitz. Thanks for speaking with The Insider today. Dr. Renee Horowitz: My pleasure. The Insider: Before we get started, I’d like to find out a little about your background and your practice. Which city do you practice in? Dr. Renee Horowitz: I practice in two locations near Detroit: Farmington Hills and Royal Oak. One location is for my general gynecology practice and the other is a multidisciplinary clinic for woman with chronic pelvic pain and/or sexual and urologic issues. The Insider: How would you briefly describe the patient population that you see? Young? Old? Dr. Renee Horowitz: I really see all ages. A lot of menopausal women, but when you are dealing with sexual issues, they occur in young women, older women and in-between. The Insider: How would you describe your area of specialization? Dr. Renee Horowitz: I specialize in sexual dysfunction, whether it is due to pain, arousal or orgasmic disorders or low libido. Because much of pain involves vulvar disease, I see a lot of women with issues involving their vulva. Studies 
have revealed that the highest incidence of sexual dysfunction is in the 45-65 year range; consequently, I do a significant amount of menopausal medicine. The Insider: And you’re an OB/GYN by training? Dr. Renee Horowitz: I am but no longer doing the birthing. The Insider: How did you happen to end up with the specialty of sexual dysfunction? Dr. Renee Horowitz: Even as a resident I was interested in it. I would frequently have women come in, and as I was finished with an exam and about to leave they would say, “one more question, please. I love my partner but have no desire to have sex.” Unfortunately, at that time, there was minimal research or answers for these women. In the early 2000s, I went to a conference in Amsterdam that was put on by The International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health that really got me excited about the field. The Insider: You’ve said before that low libido is the most common sexual complaint that you hear from your patients. I think that would surprise many people. Dr. Renee Horowitz: It is a complicated issue that I see frequently. Our libido is controlled by our biology, our interpersonal relationships, our psychology and our culture. There are many, many factors that make up our desire Who wants to have sex if their relationship is conflicted, if they are depressed or anxious, if they have significant health issues or are on medications that have a direct effect on the neurotransmitters that control their desire? The Insider: I’m guessing that many women find it difficult to ask you for help about this. Dr. Renee Horowitz: That is true, but as a health care provider, it is my responsibility to ask and give my patient permission in a safe environment to talk about it without judgement . Unfortunately, most primary care providers do not screen for sexual issues. They are embarrassed, don’t want to open a Pandora’s box and don’t have the knowledge to help because it is not taught in medical school. The Insider: I would imagine that it takes some detective work to figure out why a particular woman is having low libido issues. Dr. Renee Horowitz: It does. So many issues may influence it. Is there enough privacy in their home? Having a child burst in the room while you are engaged in sex is a mood killer! Our body image may play a part as well as our stress level. I think what is important is for women to realize that most of the time they are not broken. There is nothing wrong with them. Some of this boils down to the sexual response cycle. Briefly, most men have desire and then become aroused. For women–and this does not necessarily apply to all times in their live and with all partners–they become aroused and then they have desire. Certainly pain affects desire, as does the inability to become aroused and/or have an orgasm. Next to low desire, pain is a huge part of my practice. If someone has pain and low desire, I treat the pain, and in a large percentage of the time, desire improves. Who wants to have sex if it’s painful? Sex should never be painful and if it is, a woman should seek help. The Insider: Do you ever talk to their partners, or would that be too much like “marriage counseling”? Dr. Renee Horowitz: I initially talk with the women. I think they are less inhibited talking about their problems without their partner there. But if they want, I will always set up another appointment with their partner. The Insider: At times, do you ever get the sense that it’s situational, a relationship between two people who don’t belong together? Dr. Renee Horowitz: Absolutely. Those are cases where the couple might benefit from marital therapy. The Insider: What should a woman who is experiencing this do about it? Should she start by talking with her partner or go and get professional help? Dr. Renee Horowitz: Communication is essential and I always encourage patients to discuss how they feel with their partners in an honest and truthful fashion. Discussing sex can be very difficult, even for long term partners. Sometimes it might be something as simple as timing–some like sex in the morning, some at night. If it can’t be resolved, then seek out a provider who is interested in treating sexual issues. The Insider: What is your advice for women about finding the right expert? Would a medical expert be the best first stop? Dr. Renee Horowitz: I would start with your gynecologist, and if they are not equipped, then I would ask for a referral. I would look for someone who is a member of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH.org). I think an important message is that there is treatment. whether it is medication, marital therapy, sexual therapy, or pain management. There are providers out there who can help. The Insider: Are there books that offer useful advice? Dr. Renee Horowitz: I personally like Mating in Captivity. The Insider: Does the same thing sometimes occur in men? Dr. Renee Horowitz: It does. Not as often but some men have low desire. Maybe it’s due to their health, medicine or just an inherent low sexual desire. The Insider: Many thanks, Dr. Horowitz! This has been very illuminating. Dr. Renee Horowitz: You are very welcome.

December 5, 2022 | Jeffrey D. Sachs | Common Dreams The Ukraine War is an extremely dangerous war between nuclear superpowers in a world desperately in need of peace and cooperation. There is a new glimmer of hope for a quick negotiated end to the war in Ukraine. In his recent press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, President Joe Biden stated, “I'm prepared to speak with Mr. Putin if in fact, there is an interest in him deciding he's looking for a way to end the war. He hasn't done that yet. If that's the case, in consultation with my French and my NATO friends, I'll be happy to sit down with Putin to see what he wants, has in mind.” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman replied that Russia is ready for negotiations aimed “to ensure our interests.” Now is the time for mediation, based on the core interests and bargaining space of the three main parties to the conflict: Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. The war is devastating Ukraine. According to EU President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukraine has already lost 100,000 soldiers and 20,000 civilians. Not only Ukraine but also Russia, the US, and EU—indeed the entire world—stand to benefit enormously from an end to the conflict, lifting both the nuclear dread that hangs over the world today and the devastating economic fallout of the war. No less an authority than the Chairman of the U.S. Joints Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A. Milley, has urged a negotiated political solution to the conflict, noting that Ukraine’s chance for a military victory, is “not high.” There are four core issues to negotiate: Ukraine’s sovereignty and security; the fraught issue of NATO enlargement; the fate of Crimea; and the future of the Donbas. Ukraine demands above all to be a sovereign country, free from Russia’s domination, and with secure borders. There are some in Russia, perhaps including Putin himself, who believe that Ukraine is really part of Russia. There will be no negotiated peace without Russia recognizing Ukraine’s sovereignty and national security backed by explicit international guarantees of the UN Security Council and nations including Germany, India, and Türkiye. Russia demands above all that NATO renounce its intention to expand to Ukraine and Georgia, which would fully encircle Russia in the Black Sea (adding Ukraine and Georgia to existing Black Sea NATO members Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey). NATO refers to itself as a defensive alliance, yet Russia believes differently, knowing full well of the U.S. penchant for regime-change operations against governments it opposes (including Ukraine in 2014, with the U.S. role in the overthrow of then pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych). Russia also claims Crimea as home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet since 1783. Putin warned George Bush Jr. in 2008 that if the U.S. pushed NATO into Ukraine, Russia would re-take Crimea, which Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had transferred from Russia to Ukraine in 1954. Until Yanukovich’s overthrow, the Crimea question was handled prudently by Russia-Ukrainian agreements that gave Russia a long-term lease on its naval facilities in Sevastopol, Crimea. Ukraine and Russia differ heatedly over the Donbas, with its predominantly ethnic Russian population. While the Ukrainian language and cultural identity prevails in most of Ukraine, Russian cultural identity and language prevail in the Donbas. After Yanukovych’s overthrow, the Donbas became a battleground between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian paramilitaries, with the pro-Russian forces declaring the independence of the Donbas. The Minsk II agreement of 2015 was a diplomatic agreement to end the fighting, based on autonomy (self-government) for the Donbas region within Ukrainian borders, and respect for the Russian language and culture. After signing, Ukrainian leaders made clear that they resented the agreement and would not honor it. Though France and Germany were guarantors of the agreement, they did not press Ukraine to follow through. From Russia’s point of view, Ukraine and the West thereby repudiated a diplomatic solution to the conflict. In late 2021, Putin reiterated Russia’s demand for no further enlargement of NATO, especially to Ukraine. The U.S. refused to negotiate over NATO enlargement. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg provocatively stated at the time that Russia would have no say in the matter, and that only NATO members would decide whether or not to encircle Russia in the Black Sea. In March 2022, a month after the Russian invasion, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made substantial progress on a pragmatic negotiated end to the war, based on NATO non-enlargement, international guarantees of sovereignty and security for Ukraine, and the issues of Crimea and the Donbas to be resolved peacefully down the road. Turkish diplomats were the very skilled mediators. Yet Ukraine then walked away from the negotiating table, perhaps at U.K. and U.S. prodding, and adopted the policy of refusing negotiations until Russia was driven out of Ukraine by military action. The conflict then escalated, with Russia annexing not only the two regions of the Donbas (Luhansk and Donetsk), but also Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Recently, Zelensky inflamed the situation by demanding the severing of Ukrainian links with Russian Orthodox institutions, breaking religious ties of ethnic Russians and many ethnic Ukrainians that date back a millennium. With both the U.S. and Russia now warily approaching the negotiating table, the time for mediation is at hand. Possible mediators include the United Nations, Türkiye, Pope Francis, China, and perhaps others, in some combination. The contours of successful mediation are actually clear, as is the basis for a peace settlement. The main point for mediation is that all parties have legitimate interests and legitimate grievances. Russia wrongly and violently invaded Ukraine. The U.S. wrongly conspired in the overthrow of Yanukovych in 2014, and then heavily armed Ukraine while pushing NATO enlargement to encircle Russia in the Black Sea. Following Yanukovych, Ukrainian Presidents Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelensky refused to implement the Minsk II agreement. Peace will come when the U.S. backs away from further NATO enlargement towards Russia’s borders; Russia withdraws its military forces from Ukraine and backs away from the unilateral annexation of Ukrainian territory; Ukraine backs away from its attempts to retake Crimea and from its repudiation of the Minsk II framework; and all parties agree to secure the sovereign borders of Ukraine under the UN Charter and backed by the guarantees of the UN Security Council and other nations. The Ukraine War is an extremely dangerous war between nuclear superpowers in a world desperately in need of peace and cooperation. It is time for the U.S. and Russia, two great powers of both the past and future, to show their greatness through mutual respect, diplomacy, and common efforts to ensure sustainable development for all—including for the people of Ukraine, who are most urgently in need of peace and reconstruction. https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/12/05/mediators-guide-peace-ukraine Jeffrey D. Sachs is University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he directed the Earth Institute from 2002 until 2016. He is President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Co-Chair of the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development, academician of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican, and Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah Honorary Distinguished Professor at Sunway University. He has been Special Advisor to three United Nations Secretaries- General, and currently serves as an SDG Advocate under Secretary General António Guterres. He spent over twenty years as a professor at Harvard University, where he received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. Sachs has received 41 honorary doctorates, and his recent awards include the 2022 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development, the Legion of Honor by decree of thePresident of the Republic of France, and the Order of the Cross from the President of Estonia. His most recent books are The Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions (2020) and Ethics in Action for Sustainable Development (2022).

By John Rolfe / Red Hook, N.Y. I grew up around racists in an all-white community during the 1960s, so I know what they sound like and how they act. Without a doubt, Donald Trump is the most unusual racist I’ve ever seen. It’s a rare individual indeed who can break bread at the same time with a white supremacist and a Black antisemite, welcome their support, and leave some people still debating whether Trump is a racist or not. Trump is what I call an indifferent racist. He will embrace absolutely anyone who is of immediate use to him. That’s why he will say things like there were “good people on both sides” of the deadly clash between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlotte in 2017. Consider: The former president has been hailing West since 2018 and claims to have done more for Blacks than any president since Abraham Lincoln. Yet Trump and his father’s real-estate business were the target of racial discrimination allegations and a federal civil rights lawsuit in the 1970s. During his time in office, Trump wanted to violently crush the Black Lives Matter movement and the nationwide protests that erupted after the murder of George Floyd by police officers. Trump frequently spouts the antisemitic trope that Jewish people have dual allegiances to America and Israel, yet among his actions as President were moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and the Abraham Accords that normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and former antagonists Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Trump has described Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries,” strongly suggested that Mexican immigrants are mostly drug dealers and rapists, that people who are Chinese (such as Mitch McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, Trump’s Secretary of Transportation) or who have names that sound Chinese (such as Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin) are Communist sympathizers, and tried to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. Yet he claimed during a 2020 debate with Joe Biden to be “the least racist person in the room” and many people still believe that. It’s hardly unusual for racists to deny they are racist — they are either too cowardly to admit it or they have absolutely no grasp of what racism is — but they usually carry a consistent, obvious contempt if not hatred for those they look down upon. They can’t bear to be in the same room with them. The bottom line with Trump is always what is in it for him rather than how he can actively hurt minority groups he dislikes. The damage he does is usually incidental, a byproduct of his self-interest if that’s where his self-interest leads. Trump reminds me of former American Major League manager Billy Martin’s statement: “I’d let Hitler pitch for me if he could get left-handers out.” Yet Trump will quickly turn on anyone who crosses him or ceases to be of help. So it’s no surprise that Trump’s recent dinner later devolved into a public hissing match between him and West once the media, public and even GOP blowback hit, possibly damaging his candidacy for President in 2024. (The cynic in me can't help feeling that Republicans who condemned him for it wouldn’t have cared much at all if the midterms had gone better for the party.) Trump called West “troubled” and claimed West set him up by inviting Nick Fuentes, about whom Trump claimed ignorance. Never mind that Fuentes is very well-known in Republican circles and has been an open, high-profile supporter of Trump. When the heat is on, Trump’s “I don’t know so-and-so” tactic is now as inevitable as the sunrise. It pretty much guarantees that, if need be, he will thrice disown even Melania, Ivanka, and old pal Rudy Giuliani before the cock crows twice. Trump’s behavior would have torpedoed most public figures long before now, but he maintains his popularity and political viability because he’s able to milk the cognitive dissonance that grips so many of his supporters, even those in minorities. It’s why they can claim Trump loves America even though he dodged serving in the military, avoids paying taxes to help fund the country, and sows unfounded but corrosive distrust in the institutions of our democracy. His claims about anything can be blatantly, mind-numbingly false, but there’s an unshakeable belief in his base that he is merely using BS as a tool to serve them. They never see that they are classic marks for an extraordinary con man who will leave them high and dry as soon as it is expedient for him. The worst danger in Trump’s brand of weather-vane racism is that it provides a national stage and legitimacy to virulent cranks like West and Fuentes. It normalizes their views in the national discourse the same way Trump’s lies have made crackpot conspiracy theories and political violence part of the everyday scenery. It’s the normalization of insanity and Trump has been making racism acceptable in a way that bigots of the kind I grew up with could only dream about. John Rolfe is a former senior editor for Sports Illustrated for Kids, a longtime columnist for the Poughkeepsie Journal/USA Today Network, and author of The Goose in the Bathroom: Stirring Tales of Family Life. His school bus drivin’ blog “Hellions, Mayhem and Brake Failure” is parked on his website Celestialchuckle.com (https://celestialchuckle.com) with the meter running.