scottlingamfelter

It’s a depressing statistic when the FBI highlights the widespread anti-Jewish hatred in America today.  Jews account for two percent of the US population, yet they were the second most-targeted group for violence that is categorized as a “hate crime.”  In 2024, that was at 18 percent, up from 5.8 Read more

The topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI) evokes all sorts of emotions.  On one end of the spectrum, it’s the way of the future, the route to progress that will create jobs, advance medical research, and revolutionize our lives.  On the other hand, it will usher in Armageddon, and people will Read more

When Army soldiers are taught map reading and land navigation, they are trained to know where they are, the directions they will take, and how to navigate from point to point to their destination.  I recall doing this several times during my Army ROTC summer camp experience in 1972 at Read more

Today, many of us will gather around the table with family and friends to give thanks for the blessings of life.  My family—Shelley and I—have much to be thankful for, including our kids and grandkids. The former bless us with their example as adults.  The latter are a blessing by Read more

Like so many of you, I can hardly imagine what will be the outrage du jour.  Most of what passes for outrage today is vastly out of proportion to what should cause a person to be frothing at the mouth over a particular issue.  I thought I had seen it Read more

I am not an economist.  That’s a good thing because Econ 101 was not a strength for me as a freshman at the Virginia Military Institute in 1969.  Most of my physical and intellectual energies were devoted to surviving the “ratline” each day, not economics.  But I digress.  Despite suboptimal Read more

Imagine for a moment that you are a voter in New Jersey, New York City, or Virginia who has not decided who you will support in the election in your jurisdiction next week. Yes, it’s a hard thing to imagine such indecision given the flood of annoying television ads, glossy Read more

Government shutdowns are a failure of leadership.  There’s really no excuse for them.  I suppose that many readers can stop now. You know where I’m headed with this particular commentary.  We are almost a month into an impasse in the US Senate that cannot get 60 votes to proceed to Read more

Apologies are a personal thing for many people.  And if you are like me, you’ve had to make more than a few over your lifetime.  Apologies don’t always come easily because people often render them for pretty serious transgressions.  Of course, apologies are not one-size-fits-all.  Apologizing for bumping into someone Read more

In a recent election, several people confided in me that, while they wanted to see their side of the aisle win, they did not like the candidates themselves.  For them, the dilemma was the character of the candidates as opposed to their policies.  In sum, they did not like the Read more