Walking to the subway one recent morning, I saw a torn bit of plastic lying in the gutter: a common sign, found in any hardware store, made for routine use. This one had a jet-black background from which angry orange letters glared. It originally commanded “NO PARKING,” but all that remained (of insubstantial plastic) was [...]

Mourning the loss of Krystle, Lingzi, Martin, Sean ____________________ The week opened here with two bombs exploding and closed with the arduous pursuit of those responsible. The weight of our grief is incalculable. At the boundaries of life and death, and overwhelmed by brokenness, it is tempting to say that words fail. But that is [...]

(1) Lawrence A. Zelenak, a professor of law at Duke University, is the author of Learning to Love Form 1040: Two Cheers for the Return-Based Mass Income Tax, in which he bravely describes the origins, history, and current complexity of the federal income tax. He also offers philosophical reasons and practical suggestions for changing the [...]

Disembarking from a subway car one recent evening, I was engulfed by a chattering bunch of middle schoolers (all of eleven or twelve years old) returning from a soccer game. Bunched together, we climbed the steps to the station and I dutifully followed the pair of pink-socked legs that appeared at my eye level. How [...]

I’d been encouraged, during the past week or so, by seeing more and more crocus flowers during my trips through town. The brave green leaves have been up for almost two weeks now, but the petals are a lovely new addition to the landscape — purple, yellow, white. Daffodils, too, and jonquils — though I’ve [...]