Author: Thomas Purcell

When I drove by Eddie Gabor’s old house, I was transported back more than 20 years – back to the wonderful Fourth of July outings my family once enjoyed there.:  Eddie Gabor was my grandmother’s longtime boyfriend and companion. For the last 20 years of her life, Eddie treated her like gold.: My grandmother had a […]

“Who the heck cares about a bunch of guys playing footsie with a little ball?”: “Ah, you speak of the World Cup. The fact is billions care. It’s the most-watched sporting event in the world. And the Wall Street Journal reports that Americans are increasingly developing a taste for the sport, at least when their own […]

No wonder I am so cynical about government health care.Unless you live under a rock, you probably know that the Department of Veterans Affairs is facing some care-delivery challenges. As it goes, according to the VA’s internal audit report released last week, more than 57,000 veterans who signed up for care at VA-run facilities have […]

Hey, young adults, living at home with Mom and Dad isn’t the end of the world – if you follow the right advice.: As it goes, reports the U.K.’s Daily Mail, nearly 30 percent of adults under age 35 are living at home with their parents.:  Why? Well, the economy continues to sputter along, producing few […]

Get this: Dads are essential to kids.According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, kids who grow up without dads are more likely to grow up poor, drop out of school, end up in jail and encounter numerous other struggles in life than kids who grow up with dads do. This information comes as no shock to […]

Students, faculty, family members and friends, it is my great honor to deliver your commencement speech today.It is my opinion that our society must take every opportunity to praise our young people for their hard work and accomplishment, and that is why ceremonies such as this are so important to our country’s future. It was […]

Sheesh, China, you sure know how to kick a country when it’s on its way down.: I speak of recent reports that your state-sponsored computer whizzes have allegedly been using their skills to steal intellectual property from American businesses.:  I admit that I am envious of your pluck – how you’re so full of pep and […]

Hurricane Isabel struck Washington, D.C. hard that night.: â€¨â€¨It was Sept. 18, 2003. I lived in Alexandria, Va., at the time. I rode out the storm reading a book and enjoying a glass of wine.: â€¨â€¨At the Arlington National Cemetery, just a few miles from where I sat, the sentinels who stand guard at the Tomb of […]

President Obama is going to make me rich.That’s because the Obama administration, which has done everything in the government’s power to hamper economic growth, just loosened lending standards so that people with poor credit can buy homes. Why not? It worked out well for some people the last time the government loosened lending standards.“The Obama […]

What do you mean Americans have gotten ruder?”: “Poll after poll has been showing it in recent years. More than 70 percent of the respondents questioned in an Associated Press poll believe people are ruder than they were 20 or 30 years ago.”:  “Why would that be?”: “Life is moving faster these days. Companies are employing technology […]

I’m beginning to think homeownership is overrated.: My house is in a picturesque setting on the edge of the countryside. It sits high on a hill, surrounded by lush green grounds and many trees. My nearest neighbor is a football field away.:  That’s the good news. The bad news is that I am in a bitter […]

Get this: People are becoming addicted to their smartphones.: According to a report from Flurry Analytics, says The Washington Post’s Style Blog, the average mobile consumer checks his phone 150 times a day. A “mobile addict” is defined as someone who launches apps more than 60 times a day – 10 times as often as the […]



Proms sure have gotten expensive these days.: â€¨â€¨According to the San Jose Mercury News, high school kids spend nearly $4 billion annually for dresses, accessories, flowers, beauty products, limos and other prom-related items. The average couple spends upward of $1,000 for the one-time event.:  

That got me thinking about my own prom in 1980.: â€¨â€¨I didn’t know […]

Get this: The U.S. Supreme Court is about to decide whether false accusations and mudslinging during political campaigns are illegal.: As it goes, during the 2010 election in Ohio, an anti-abortion group, the Susan B. Anthony List, sought to launch a billboard campaign that accused then-Rep. Steven Driehaus, a Democrat, of supporting taxpayer-funded abortion – because […]

“I can’t believe it. The wife and I owe the IRS again!”“You mean you aren’t getting a refund this year like millions of working Americans?”“Refund? The wife and I run a small business. We are crushed by taxes. We can barely keep up with what we owe.” “It can’t be that bad.”“We pay 28 percent […]

I stumbled upon my father’s 1959 income tax return a few years ago. How I long for the simplicity he enjoyed when he filed his taxes that year. For 1959, my father paid a measly 5 percent in federal taxes, even though his name wasn’t Rockefeller. How did he do it? It was easy. For […]

Ring. Ring. “Hello, this is Tom.” “We know who you are, Tom. In the digital age, you will be shocked by what we know about you.” “Who is this? The National Security Agency? I thought President Obama issued orders to rein you in!” “That’s a good one, Tom. Obama told the NSA to stop storing […]

Ah, springtime has finally arrived in Washington, D.C. The National Cherry Blossom Festival is beginning. The cherry trees, 3,700 of them given to America by the Japanese in 1912, will soon be in full bloom. It reminds me why Americans are so wary of Washington. In the spring of 1999, you see, some culprits had […]

“Pope Francis, I have never been to Catholic confession before, but I have a few things I have to get off my chest.” “Go on, Barack.” “Between you and me, pontiff, I can’t believe I am president. There I was, trying my hand at presidential debates, and all of a sudden I am sitting in […]

“You have been warned, Vladimir. If you don’t reverse your impending annexation of Crimea, you’re going to pay a steep price.” “Steep price, Obama? More silly personal sanctions placed on a handful of individuals, rather than sanctions on my energy industry and banks – something Vladimir actually fears? Sticks and stones may break Vladimir’s bones, […]

“Look, if you want ObamaCare, you are just going to have to make some better budgeting decisions.” “Budgeting decisions? I make $36,000 a year. The best deal I could find on ObamaCare, with subsidies, is $350 a month. That is a hefty 10 percent of my income!” “Like President Obama recently said at a Spanish-speaking […]

Get this: Old-fashioned baby names are beginning to make a comeback. That was the finding of BabyCenter, a digital resource for parenting and pregnancy, which released the top 100 baby names for 2013. Some of the names at the top of the list are oldies but goodies, such as Sophia, Isabella and Olivia for girls. […]

It’s a compelling event — something we all better hope we see more of, if America is to thrive. I speak of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competitions, which will be taking place at various cities across Canada and the U.S. through the first week in April. Teams of […]

There’s a reason why American men drive big pickup trucks: Women dig them. According to The Washington Free Beacon, a new poll by Insure, an independent consumer insurance website, found that women think attractive men are most likely to be driving a pickup truck. The survey asked 2,000 men and women what type, brand and […]

We must stop them. We must stop the millions of Girl Scouts who are, right this moment, preying on a helpless public, making us buy and consume calories we don’t need – at the rate of one or two rows of cookies at each sitting. I am on a diet, you see – not just […]

It disgusts me more every year. I speak of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, which is published the middle of February every year. I’m not the only one disgusted. Other folks, such as those in the American Decency Association (ADA), often criticize the publication. “Sports Illustrated disrespects women by displaying demeaning stereotypes of female sexuality,” […]

Let’s keep it together, people. I speak of the way we are responding to record snow and cold sweeping across vast regions of the country. People are cussing at snowplow drivers and each other. Panicked shoppers are fighting over toilet paper and milk. Americans are suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder in unprecedented numbers. For goodness’ […]

Get this: The government is incentivizing people to not work. So said the head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office last week. CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf told lawmakers that millions of workers could either cut back their work hours or opt out of the job market completely because of ObamaCare. The CBO report says millions […]

For the past 40 years or so, a movement has been afoot to make men more like women and women more like men. This movement has been successful. I cite exhibits A and B as proof: Cosmopolitan and Men’s Health magazines. According to one past issue of Cosmopolitan, women are in a panic to “follow […]

Get this: Americans are getting sick of McMansions. So says The Wall Street Journal in a recent report. Americans are favoring more historic designs, such as the arts-and-crafts houses their grandparents once lived in, over gargantuan suburban houses. A new style of housing developer is emerging to serve this demand. These developers are designing and […]