Thoughts and Views: Robin Williams: A final act

The ability of someone to make us laugh, to make us forget the stress we have to deal with every…

Thoughts & Views: ‘Wretched writers welcome’

The Bulwer-Lytton Contest winners for 2014 have been announced, and I feel compelled to share some of them with you. I…

Getting a leg (or ankle) up on crooked pols

It has been widely reported that the City of London is tackling hooliganism on the public streets triggered by repeated…

. . . and don’t call me Shirley

A few weeks ago, I did a column on “essential” movie quotes, which was prompted by newfound awareness of a…

Thoughts & Views: Check your freedom to fly at the gate

Much has been made of civilian authorities abusing their statutory powers – and responsibilities to the constituencies they serve – by…

Thoughts & Views: The thin blue line

When the news first broke Sunday morning that a Jersey City police officer had been killed in the line of…

Thoughts & Views: We can all learn from the ‘write’ stuff

In its July 1 editions, The New York Times reported that, starting this month, the Associated Press would use computer…

Thoughts & Views: Two bullets, 10 million dead

There was a seismic change to the world on June 28. Didn’t notice anything? That’s okay. The change occurred 100…

CORRECTION

Photos in last week’s entertainment story on The Whiskey Café were not properly attributed. Louise Surace…

Thoughts & Views: 52 million without country to call their own

Imagine a winter scenario in which New York Gov. Cuomo is persuaded that his neighbors are meddling with the intrastate…

Thoughts & Views: Go ahead, make my day

So, one day I’m sitting at my desk at The Observer when there came this brief but loud noise…

WE’VE GOT MAIL

EXPECT ‘AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY’ To North Arlington High School graduates:  I want to congratulate you on your graduation…

Thoughts & Views: Before you take that overseas trip, read this

With the summer vacation season upon us, those of us fortunate enough to be able to afford it will be…

CORRECTION

A story in last week’s issue of The Observer incorrectly reported that Ponte Romana Restaurant in…

Thoughts & Views: In Normandy, ‘Longest Day’ lives on

  That’s not a real paratrooper hanging from a church steeple. It’s a representation of one — and it’s a…

CLARIFICATION

Last week’s issue of The Observer contained a photo display of the new Portuguese monument slated…

WE’VE GOT MAIL

‘A MAYOR’S SON REMEMBERS’ To the Editor:  Several friends e-mailed, called and sent the link to a story…

Thoughts & Views: The world according to Hagel

In an interview with Charlie Rose aired last week on PBS, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was explaining the…

WE’VE GOT MAIL

‘KEEP INTERSECTION CLEAR’ To the Editor: As was recently reported in The Observer, a pedestrian was struck and killed…

Thoughts & Views: A poet for Memorial Day

  Joyce Kilmer, New Jersey native and long-time Garden State resident, is most famous for his poem “Trees,” memorized by…

Thoughts & Views: Sealing up the borders of our minds

There’s been a lot of talk among our lawmakers these days about how the U.S.A. should restrict the flow of…

WE’VE GOT MAIL

‘DON’T BE MISLED BY CAMPAIGN’ To the Editor:  As a cofounder of Belleville United Coalition, a growing grassroots…

Thoughts & Views: Picture windows on the past

This week’s column is a thank-you to the Observer readers who have provided such positive feedback on our “Then & Now”…

Thoughts & Views: Football union could be ‘extra point’ this sport needs

Football players at Northwestern University, a Division 1 team in Evanston, Ill., may soon have a union to call their…

Thoughts & Views: Driven to fatal distraction

  A few years ago, having picked up my brand new car at the dealership, I…

WE’VE GOT MAIL

THANKS FOR CARING To the Editor: To the dear friends of our beautiful mother, Barbara Gangi,…

CORRECTION

A story in the April 16 issue of The Observer incorrectly reported the amount of additional…

Thoughts & Views: Jeff Bahr: An Appreciation

  In the movie, “The Misfits,” Gay, the cowboy character played by Clark Gable (in what…

Thoughts & Views: In harm’s way around the world

Anja Niedringhaus These days, when we’re used to getting our news so easily on the internet,…

Thoughts & Views: Once there was a ‘debris field’ in N.Y.

As the mystery and media feeding frenzy over Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 continue, I have been…