By Ray Giving up" something for the forty day period of Lent in the Christian calendar has been a time honored practice since the earliest days of the church. Up until recently the practice of attending church on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, has been a practice observed only by Catholics wh...

When President Obama addresses the nation tonight in a State of the Union fashion, it won't just be Congress and members of the public tuning in. Special interests, too, will be paying close attention to what the president has to say about upcoming plans that could affect them. While the president w...

RedState published a list of the projects included in Porkulus. I have comments about a few of them, I think some of them are pork and some of them will really stimulate the economy. $2 billion earmark for FutureGen near zero emissions powerplant in Mattoon, IL Pure pork, a payback to the environmen...

Most of us know of the Grand Prospect Hall through the ubiquitous television commercials starring its current owners, Michael and Alice Halkias (“The Grand Prospect Hall – we make your dreams come true!�). Prospect Hall, as it was known until its newest incarnation, has a very special place in...

It's no secret that President-elect Obama, his new Cabinet and the 111th Congress have some seemingly insurmountable tasks in front them, the most pressing of which is to fix the tanking economy (and fast!). But their agenda also includes sweeping reform of the health care system; slowing global war...

In 2005, Matt Taibbi wrote a takedown of NYT mouthbreather Tom Friedman's unique idiocy that remains the greatest thing ever written about the mustachioed private-jet-frequent-flyer. Now Taibbi has a new piece; top ten anti-'stache material. His original story was all about The Earth is Flat, and wh...

With the curtain closing on 2008, it’s time for me to take out my crystal ball and predict what will happen in 2009. 1- Even with a surge in the polls, due to the Israeli/Hamas conflict, both Ehud Barak and Tzipi Livni will falter badly in the upcoming Israeli elections, paving the way for for...

HARRIMAN, Tenn., Dec. 25 -- Environmentalists worry the ash-laden sludge that coated a Tennessee neighborhood when a power plant dike burst could pose a health risk, although initial tests by a public utility company have shown no threat to drinking water....

The Center for the Urban Environment (CUE) had an opportunity to speak with Jasper Goldman, Senior Policy Analyst at the Municipal Art Society of New York, about the film City of Water and the future of our waterfront. To learn more about the subject, come and see the compelling new documentary by t...

Observing a recent and fascinating blog debate (originated on Brooklynian.com) about the oldest business in Park Slope (it is most probably Neergaard’s)—set my mind reeling with another business, a most unusual structure with green domes on the corner of 25th Street and Fifth Avenue across from ...