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Bye, bye, Herschel Walker

Thanks to the failed senatorial candidacy of Herschel Walker, the Republican Party has egg on its face – again.There’s something sweet about that.Not just because Democrats now have the outright majority (51 to 49) in the U.S. Senate. But because Republicans got caught trying to play the ...

Labor still leaning on ‘Union Joe’

Strikes always hassle someone. Trolley operator strikes in the early 20th century aggravated commuters. Coal miner strikes in the 1920s inconvenienced manufacturers. Auto worker strikes in the 1950s irked new car buyers, car salesmen, and advertisers.Almost by definition, just about any work ...

Fatigued by Trump Derangement Syndrome

First things first.I have a correction to make.In my column about my love of high school basketball last week, I talked about how the Raider Dozen (Uniontown High School’s spirited pep band) would start playing “Sweet Georgia Brown” as the Red Raider basketball team came on to the court.I ...

Nancy and Jack: a political love match

At first glance, they were an unlikely duo. One – Nancy Pelosi, the future House speaker – represented tony, well-heeled San Francisco. The other – John Murtha, the powerful military appropriations chairman – hailed from Johnstown, a decaying steelmaking hub in middle Appalachia.One ...

Basketball!

The Uniontown Red Raiders of my youth never lost a game.That’s an exaggeration.They may have lost, but not nearly as much as they won.The Red Raider basketball teams of the mid-1950s until the mid-1960s functioned as precision-made machines – calibrated to destroy enemy high school ...

A special speakership: Nancy Pelosi

Wielding power is just as important as gaining power. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker that Republicans love to hate, is expert at both.Pelosi, 82, one of the most consequential speakers in U.S. history, has announced she is stepping away from the role, in time for a new ...