The galaxy lost a stellar jewel last night with the passing of WCVB-TV's bright and talented Mary Richardson. Sadly, her star had gradually lost its sparkle over the seven years in which her dark disease - Alzheimer's - increasingly sucked her into the void and stole her essence. Her loss - to her devoted husband …
Month: December 2021
Saying goodbye to 2021
I like to think of myself as a glass-half-full sort, looking for reasons to be optimistic even when events in this country seem to be circling the drain and democracy seems more fragile than ever. Realism does matter because, if you aren't clear-eyed about the problems, how can you seek solutions? But, as a recovering …
Books for the holidays, pt. 3 – non-fiction
For lovers of non-fiction, two deep dives into the fragility of democracy, here and in the land in the land of its birth. These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore is a mammoth tome, published in 2018. I started reading it when it was launched; I finished reading it ten days …
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Books for the holidays, pt. 2 – more fiction
I have always followed my instincts in choosing books to recommend, so this posting is a little different. The five books explored here were selected by David Moskowitz, a thoughtful and dedicated course leader at Brandeis Lifelong Learning. Their theme is war and its impact on those directly and indirectly involved. The reader is reminded …
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Books for the holidays, pt. 1- fiction
This is Happiness by Niall Williams is not a book to be read in a hurry. Set in the remote village of Faha in County Clare, Ireland, the story is set in the 1950’s before electricity came to dirt-poor Faha. The characters painstakingly described with love and humor, the all-important pubs and church, the social …
Cong. Lauren Boebert – censure, don’t strip
MA. Representative Ayanna Pressley is filing a resolution to strip Cong. Lauren Boebert of Colorado of her committee assignments as punishment for Boebert's anti-Muslim slurs against Cong. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. With time ticking down on more serious matters, debating this issue now is not only a waste of time and a fundraising trap, but, …
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Charlie Baker and the end of bipartisanship in Mass.
GOP Governor Charlie Baker's decision to opt out of a third-term election he'd probably have won is part of his appeal to the Massachusetts electorate. His disdain for the all-too-familiar despicable aspects of today's political discourse has been reason enough to embrace him at home and place him consistently among the most favorably viewed of …
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Supreme Court abortion hearing portends dire future
Elections matter, and nowhere has this been clearer than in Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing on abortion. Donald Trump (you remember the erstwhile lothario who was loudly pro-choice when he was openly sleeping around) pledged to name Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision recognizing a woman's fundamental right to control …
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Marjorie Arons-Barron 