Karl Marx believed that religion is the opiate of the masses. I have always thought that sports are the true “opium of the people.” What better escape has there been from the news about the European debt crisis, volatile domestic financial markets, quotidian social incivilities, and the self-destructive atmosphere of current politics, than a summer …
Month: September 2011
Elizabeth Warren: Senate race off to a good start
Elizabeth Warren is one impressive lady and may turn into a rock star candidate. She spoke yesterday at the University of Massachusetts Boston, invited there months ago by Steve Crosby, Dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, to speak as an advocate for “reasonable regulatory reform.” The fact that the ballroom …
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Scott Harshbarger for casino czar
It’s amazing that so much of the negotiation of a casino-and-slots bill has gone on behind closed doors. After proposals had sucked much of the oxygen out of the air last year, Governor Patrick and legislative leadership, especially House Speaker Robert DeLeo, collaborated secretly to reach agreement before a bill reached the legislative floor.During the …
9/11 Remembrance – Words are not enough
My daughter-in-law’s cousin Peter Goodrich, 33, of Sudbury died on Flight 175 that crashed into the World Trade Center South Tower. It seems that almost everyone in Massachusetts is connected in some way with one of the victims of that terrible day. And today, ten years later, hearing the names of the 3000 victims read …
President’s jobs speech kicks off his 2012 campaign
Before President Obama’s much heralded jobs speech last night, NPR’s Scott Horsley called it a “Hail Mary pass.” The reason we remember Doug Flutie’s “Hail Mary pass” is that it worked. Such last-ditch efforts don’t often result in touchdowns, and it’s unclear how we will remember what President Obama’s did last night.Rhetorically, he made the …
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ART’s Porgy and Bess is a worthwhile update
Forget the critics. The current Diane Paulus’ version of Porgy and Bess at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge (based on the Suzan-Lori Parks/Diedre Murphy adaption of the original) is wonderful. And Audra McDonald’s Bess is a stellar performance. McDonald, who has won Tony Awards for Carousel, Ragtime and Raisin in the Sun, has a …
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A tale of two cities: Boston and San Francisco
Fenway Going to two baseball games, a week apart, in San Francisco and Boston, invites comparisons between the two cities, and random thoughts how, in recent years, each has moved beyond its postcard personas. AT&T Park AT&T Park, with its views of sailboats and kayaks in the bay has a beautiful setting, and, as …
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GOP Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman: Obama’s nightmare opponent
Former ambassador and Utah Governor Jon Huntsman is working New Hampshire hard to win next year’s Republican primary there as a linchpin of his presidential campaign. He still registers a scant two percent in national GOP polls, but he is far and away the most impressive of the Republican field. Were he to capture the …
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Marjorie Arons-Barron 