If Ronald Reagan was the great communicator, Barack Obama is the great synthesizer. In an artfully designed presentation, he pulled together all the disparate themes that have been raised in the last three weeks regarding our Libyan involvement and wove them into a (superficially) coherent tapestry of history, policy, philosophy, critical analysis and doctrine. It …
Continue reading Obama speech: still more questions than answers
I listen to Cong. Michael Capuano and Niki Tsongas criticize President Obama for not taking the Libyan military action to Congress and, as an old anti-Vietnam War activist, I applaud their stance. It’s hard not to be concerned that what starts out as a police action may suck us into something more prolonged, costing American …
The public can derive enormous satisfaction from taking action against public worker misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance or just plain nuisance, but that visceral satisfaction can be short-lived, whether you’re talking about ending “hack holidays” or even voting to recall public officials.Sure, it was delicious when Beacon Hill eliminated irritating Suffolk County holidays like Evacuation Day (really …
Continue reading Getting mad and getting even don’t always sync
Today’s college students are reading less and partying more. So says New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, based on a new book entitled “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses.”Authors Richard Arum of New York University and Joseph Roksa of the University of Virginia surveyed 2300 students at 24 colleges over a two-year period and …
Continue reading Judging today’s college students by yesterday’s standards
You never know when a natural disaster on the other side of the world wreaks havoc with lives right in our own community. These CNN photos are just the beginning of our education about this. Middlesex Community College is a case in point. It works with exchange study programs and cultural organizations in Japan and Hawaii. Friends …
Continue reading Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster in Pacific prompts local concerns
It’s hard not to think “fox in the chicken coop” in response to the public workers union proposal that, if the union were to agree to receiving its health insurance coverage through the state’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC), the union would want half the seats on the GIC board. They already have four of 15 …
Continue reading Union counter-proposal on health insurance falls woefully short
The process for deciding and ratifying former Blue Cross/Blue Shield CEO Cleve Killingsworth’s exorbitant severance package seems to reflect what happens when movers and shakers in any sector get too comfortable with each other. We saw it on Wall Street; we see it in high-end non-profit health insurers. In neither area does coziness serve the …
Continue reading Cozy relationships lead to Blue Cross/Blue Shield excesses
Marjorie Arons-Barron 