Contrary to the prevailing wisdom, I believe that Governor Deval Patrick came out of Tuesday night’s debate as the winner. Why? Because people are often guided by their impressions more than the substance of candidates’ arguments. Cahill proved likable enough to be Mr. Geniality to the Scott Brown crowd. And, if Cahill solidifies his support, …
Continue reading Governor’s Debate – sparring, with the fight to come
President Obama’s Oval Office address, just the second he has made in his half term, was dramatically underwhelming. There was nothing new and little, if anything, that was emotionally stirring. We knew that our combat troops had been removed from Iraq, as he had pledged as a candidate. But we also know that Iraq’s democracy …
Continue reading Obama Oval Office Speech: Mission Not Accomplished
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 …
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 …
Continue reading "The Mosque" near Ground Zero: a battle of the heart, head and gut
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 …
Continue reading Down-ballot Auditor’s Race Deserves Our Attention
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 …
Continue reading Pakistan flood challenges compassion fatigue and local politics
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 …
Continue reading Remembering August 3rd and Silent Cal’s Values of the Past
Scott Brown drew a huge crowd to a New England Council breakfast this week. His speech was a reminder of the regular-guy appeal that won him the seat last January and the power he is currently relishing as the 41st vote in the U.S. Senate, a guy who can stop a filibuster or put a …
Continue reading Scott Brown is at once appealing, appalling and even a cause for optimism
Sometimes you just have to pile on, which is why I feel compelled to weigh in on the firing and potential rehiring of Shirley Sherrod by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The executing arm may have been that of Secretary Tom Vilsack, but the Obama administration is on the hook for this unprofessional and …
Continue reading Shirley Sherrod incident shows race in U.S. remains touchy subject
Question 1: What has shed more heat than light? Select from: a) Massachusetts politicians b) Massachusetts media c) the public debate about replacing Massachusetts testing standards with new national ones. Answer: all of the above.Massachusetts’ education standards and testing achievements, first adopted in the Education Reform Act of 1993, have helped place the Commonwealth at …
Continue reading Pols and Media confuse the public on new education standards
Marjorie Arons-Barron 