News Websites without Paywalls
These are news websites without paywalls (although a few may have pay enticements): NPR; Reuters; US News; Huffpost; USA Today; PIX11; 1010WINS; News12; ABCNews; CBSNews; MSNBC; NBCNews; The Hill; Politico; The Guardian; NY Post; Village Voice. 5/27/25.
Current Affairs (L’Actualité)
Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman split! He's country and she's rock and roll. They listed their incomes in excess of $100,000 a month. Money doesn’t buy you happiness, or love for that matter. 9/30/25.
The Other Letter got 74 visitors yesterday, and 46 a week ago last Friday. This has been fairly consistent for twenty years. That’s not so many. Why bother then? The Crucifixion eclipse, and Karen Carpenter, among other unusual articles. It’s like Star Trek, to boldly go where no one has gone before... 9/6/25.
Ever hear of spyware? It is not always illegal. It can be used to protect your children, or it can be used against you. Spyware can log phone calls, record nearby audio and video, and the phone doesn’t even need to be turned on for it to do its job.
It can be installed without the cell phone being in the possession of the hacker. The government can also install spyware, although they would need a search warrant to do so.
Signs of spyware on your phone include power drains, and stolen passwords. 7/14/25.
Karen Carpenter did not die when she was reported to have died. Check out this YouTube. She did not die at thirty-two years of age as reported everywhere. Ms. Carpenter is near fifty-five in this video (posted eighteen years ago). She is seventy-five-years-old now!
How is this explained? The class act Carpenters may have been the butt of jokes as a brother-sister act, so they checked out of the music industry. Or maybe they were just burnt out. Or perhaps they simply wanted to enjoy retirement, out of the spotlight.
This opens the door to the possibility that other musicians are still alive, if they faked their demise. These might include: Jerry Garcia, Jim Croce, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison, or even Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston, and Michael Jackson.
Catholics have a new pope, Pope Leo XIV, aka Robert Prevost. He is the first pope ever from the U.S., and hails from Chicago. When I heard he was from Chi-town, I hoped they picked an African American pope, but unfortunately, no — not yet, at least. Pope Leo was very good friends with Pope Francis. The Pope will be up against financial difficulties, and diminished interest in Christ’s church. Good luck, Pope Leo! 5/08/25.
If this sounds like a cheap shot, it’s because you’re Catholic. Catholicism only gives lip service to women’s rights: Pope Francis was firm in denying women roles as clergy, and was in no rush to give women agency over their own bodies. As a result, the Vatican supports teenage motherhood, welfare moms, and unwanted children. You don’t like what I just said, then lapse.
To shore up the Québécois demographic, the editorial team and I have been working overtime, writing the French-language version of The Other Letter (L’Autre Lettre).
Here are quotes from Pope Francis. I especially like his overall message, for the: “faithful not to ignore the suffering of others.” Pope Francis was less of a hardliner on abortion than one might expect. 4/21/25.
Easter is nonsensical. Jesus the Christ was not resurrected, because he never died on the Cross. Check Luke 24:39-41... 4/20/25.
I updated my TV themes YouTube play list, TV at its Best. I tried to make it more intellectual with Sixties classics such as: The Flying Nun; My Mother the Car; Gilligan’s Island (with Ginger and Mary Anne); and Bewitched.
You’ve likely heard of the movie, Schindler’s List, but do you know how this true story was recovered from obscurity, and how Oskar Schindler saved 1,200 Jewish lives? (This is from the British Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC.)
Did you do your taxes yet? As you’re likely well aware, you have until April 15th. What is really odd about tax filing season, is that the IRS has the documents to check your computations. Then why don’t they just do the entire tax computation by themselves? Why are you involved?
The IRS could just send out a verifiable receipt in May. Why do we have to sweat the return, or hire someone to do the work? A Certified Public Accountant can be rather expensive. I’m not saying to simplify the tax code, I’m saying to make taxpayer tax filing obsolete. 2/27/25.
The 97th Oscars are being presented tonight. This looks to be a showdown between Anora, and Conclave. Anora is my favorite, with Mikey Madison a true delight as possible Best Actress (she did win). So far, Anora won the Oscar for best original screenplay, and Conclave took home the gold for best adapted screenplay.
Anora was the big winner tonight. The director, Sean Baker, won for original screenplay, editing, directing, and best picture. Mikey Madison won for best actress.
For Documentary Short, this one is really tough to take: I Am Ready, Warden. It’s about someone named John Henry Ramirez, who was an inmate on death row. It’s tough enough to deal with death, but at the hands of the State is truly brutal. And to make peace with your Creator, and tell the warden, I am ready for you to take my life.
Not so surprisingly, that documentary didn’t take home the gold statuette. The Only Girl in the Orchestra did. It’s a much more heartwarming story about a woman named Orin O’Brien, who was the first female musician hired by Leonard Bernstein.
NBC is showing SNL at 50 tonight, Sunday, at 8pm. This promises to be entertaining. 2/16/25.
Get the full story on Trump here...
Trump pardoned 1,500-plus insurrectionists from January 6th, 2021, including ones who assaulted police officers.
I figured I could go easy on Trump as he settles into the White House, but oh, my, my, what could he be thinking? This is dark. Trump may ultimately say something along the lines of: “To avoid distraction, I needed a fresh start or a clean slate, for the new administration to function.” But to have the commander-in-chief pardon cop-killers? 1/21/25.
All I wanted to hear at the Trump Inauguration, and I didn’t, was that Medicare and Social Security would be untouched. Good luck, President Trump.
This wasn’t quite Kennedy’s call for public service — “ask not what your country can do for you” — more, lets go to Mars. First Lady Melania Trump was very well attired, though — Gwynnie, note talk-show, talking point. 1/20/25 (also MLK day).
If you’re a homeowner, you pay property tax to help support your community’s library. Patronize their services. If visiting in person is inconvenient, check out your library’s on-line resources. There are books available on-line, as well as magazines and newspapers, such as Consumer Reports, and the New York Times. Librarians are a dedicated lot fostering literacy at every age and level. Most library systems also have substantial collections of audio CDs and audio books, that like print books, can even be requested from other, county libraries. 1/20/25.
I used a microwave oven for the first time in my life today. I have reached stasis with the culinary universe. I held off using one, because of unfounded disease fears, not backed by any statistical measure. I will say this: Microwaves meals (like ones from FreshDirect) are fast, and easy to prepare, and have little (or no) pots and pans to clean up. 1/20/25.
Who caught President Biden’s farewell address? Who is the class act, Biden or Trump? 1/15/25.
(We’re in the process of developing a French version of The Other Letter named (appeller) L’Autre Lettre. We have the funding, the manpower, and the French-Canadian work visas, we just need to find the time... 1/13/25.)
Southern California is fighting devastating wildfires. Instead of passive prayer, you might want to consider tangible action, like contributing to a disaster relief agency, such as the Red Cross.
You could do both, or just be glad you’re unaffected where you live — but let’s be honest, talking to the clouds won’t do a damn thing to help SoCal. God is around us — as evidenced by self-reliant, majestic Creation — not above us — as in passive prayer. By the way, there’s no Santa Claus either. 1/08/25.
Happy new year one and all! May this year be better than the last, although with unpredictable Trump one can never be too sure. Hopefully, with this go-round, he’ll be known more for a robust economy, than irresponsible cheap shots. (Remember “look at both sides” with Nazis in Charlottesville, “lock her up [Secretary of State Hillary Clinton]”, saying Africa was a continent of “sh*thole nations”, and worst of all, getting away, scot-free, with inciting a riot on January 6th, 2021.)
I try to be somewhat “fair and balanced” on this blog, this op-ed page, although I am a lifelong Democrat. Fiscal, balance-the-budget conservatives I can tolerate; social conservatives, who deny women agency over their own bodies, I really find repugnant, and misogynistic. Trump plays both hands.
By the way, I do not have any obligation, Constitutional or otherwise, to be “fair and balanced,” but I do try to attract readers to my message of treating people with respect, from both sides of the aisle. Competition mostly belongs on the pitch; cutthroat competition has no place in a civilized society. 1/01/2025.
Repeal 2A. 1/02/25.
