between the lines

Between The Lines: Oil’s Well With Drivers, But Not Consumer Prices

Gas prices at a Knapp Street gas station. Photo by Neil FriedmanBETWEEN THE LINES [/tag/between-the-lines/]: The law of gravity dictates that whatever goes up must come down. But, when it comes to consumer prices that rule seldom applies. Even so, for the time being, it is relevant. For weeks,

Opinion

Amending Archaic Law Won’t Turn City Into The Big Reefer

Source: Hupu2 via Wikimedia Commons“…Legalize it, yeah yeah, that’s the best thing you can do” – Peter Tosh, “Legalize It,” 1975 BETWEEN THE LINES [/tag/between-the-lines/]:Start spreading the news — the times they are a-changing and New Yorkers will soon be a little less anxious about getting high with

between the lines

Streets Paved With Good Intentions Won’t Solve The Pothole Predicament

Source: _chrisUK/FlickrBETWEEN THE LINES [/tag/between-the-lines/]: Since the snow and ice evaporated, most drivers probably assumed maneuvering along city streets would be trouble-free. But now they have to deal with another aggravating upshot generated by this year’s severe weather — a plague of potholes. They’re not nearly as

between the lines

“Knockout” Attacks Are Anything But A Game

Source: What What/FlickrBETWEEN THE LINES [/tag/between-the-lines/]: There has been a succession of media reports over the last few weeks about pedestrians being sucker-punched by a single attacker or one among a group of passing youngsters. The series of episodes reported in New York and several other states are

between the lines

When It Comes To E-Fraud, I (Hope I) Won’t Get Fooled Again

Yeah, screw Canada. (Source: mezzoblue/Flickr)BETWEEN THE LINES [/tag/between-the-lines/]: In conjunction with occasional Sheepshead Bites postings of Crime Prevention Tips from the NYPD’s 61st Precinct [/crime-prevention-tips-from-the-nypds-61st-precinct/], here’s my tale of identity theft. You’ve probably heard the expression, “If something sounds too good to be true,

between the lines

Op-Ed: DOMA’s Dead — Let Freedom (& Wedding Bells) Ring!

Source: joseanavas/FlickrBETWEEN THE LINES [/tag/between-the-lines/]: The Supreme Court gaveth a day after it tooketh away. Less than 24 hours after the Supreme Court invalidated part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, it — sort of — righted justice by an identical 5-4 margin when it ruled the federal Defense of

2nd amendment

Op-Ed: Congressional Cowards Need To Bite The Bullet

Source: Silvercore Training / FlickrBETWEEN THE LINES [/tag/between-the-lines/]: What we have in Congress — to paraphrase the iconic line from “Cool Hand Luke” — is a failure to legislate. That was quite evident last week after the Senate failed to expand existing gun laws without infringing on the Second Amendment. On top

Opinion

Do All Our Guns Make Us Any Safer?

A Bushmaster AR-15, one of the three firearms the Newtown killer used to ambush his defenseless victims. Source: barryt83 / FlickrBETWEEN THE LINES [/tag/between-the-lines/]: When I wrote my first column about gun violence in the wake of the fatal Columbine shootings years ago, I knew it wouldn’t be the

between the lines

Op-Ed: Military Stays In Step After Repeal Of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

Source: FacebookBETWEEN THE LINES [/tag/between-the-lines/]: Fifty-three weeks ago, the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy, which denied homosexuals from serving openly in the armed forces without the anxiety of expulsion, was repealed. The struggle to end it lasted twice as long as the war in

Opinion

Op-Ed: Rush To Report Is Not Always The Right Decision

President Harry S. Truman gets a chuckle out of the November 3, 1948 edition of the Chicago Tribune, with the famously inaccurate headline. Source: National ArchivesBETWEEN THE LINES [/tag/between-the-lines/]: Every American news enterprise was most likely primed and on its toes for last Thursday’s landmark Supreme Court of

Opinion

Op-Ed: Hydrofracking Gamble Is a Gas, Gas, Gas

The NYC watershed and a state forest and park are located within the Marcellus Shale, where drillers want to hydrofrack for natural gas. (Source: NYC DEP) BETWEEN THE LINES: As drivers in Brooklyn feel the pinch of gas prices that have rapidly increased since the year began, there’s another