I am not an economist, nor do I play one on TV. I am struggling along with others to understand all the moving – and not moving – parts. And I am yearning for President Obama to outline a bold and comprehensive approach to solidifying gains and moving forward.Today’s “hastily arranged” Rose Garden speech by …
Month: August 2010
"The Mosque" near Ground Zero: a battle of the heart, head and gut
Sorting out my feelings about the so-called "Mosque" near Ground Zero has been an odyssey of heart, gut and head. The journey has not been easy.Some 9/11 survivors are genuinely aghast at the location of this proposed Islamic community center. There’s precedent for this reaction. When Carmelite nuns sought to establish a convent near Auschwitz, protests …
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Down-ballot Auditor’s Race Deserves Our Attention
Say the word “auditor,” and you probably think sweaty palms, sleepless nights and maybe a nervous tic. But the race for state auditor has nothing directly to do with your tax returns or individual finances. The words “state auditor” should, if the job is done right, be reassuring for every taxpayer in the Commonwealth. It’s …
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Pakistan flood challenges compassion fatigue and local politics
ABC news calls the Pakistani flooding “the worst floods in memory.” Fourteen million homeless. Six million children affected. Sixteen percent of the country under water due to two weeks of monsoon rains, which have created literally hundreds of lakes, some the size of the state of Delaware. It’s hard to get one’s mind around the …
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Remembering August 3rd and Silent Cal’s Values of the Past
Eight-seven years ago yesterday, then-Vice President Calvin Coolidge was visiting his father, Colonel John Coolidge, in the tiny Vermont village of Plymouth Notch when word arrived that President Warren Harding had died. By the light of a kerosene lamp, John Coolidge, who was a notary public, swore in his son as the 30th President of …
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