The sun shone brightly on Saturday's Beaumont Avenue block party in Newton, complete with kids, dogs, tee shirts and balloons. Setti Warren, the Garden City's two-term mayor, was announcing for governor in front of the house in which he grew up. The mood was warm; the mayor's message, visionary and upbeat. After his speech, some of …
Author: aronsbarron
Impeachment, the 25th Amendment or neither?
It’s too early to talk seriously about Presidential impeachment. Increasing reports about apparent obstruction of justice or enrichment of Donald Trump's own and family businesses in violation of the emoluments clause are still at the fact-gathering stage, especially now that former FBI Director Robert Mueller has been named Special Counsel to investigate all things Russian. Building a case for impeachment …
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Mueller good choice for a crucial role
Finally, some good news out of Washington. The Department of Justice has appointed former FBI Director Bob Mueller to be Independent Counsel to investigate all issues related to Russian intervention in the American election. Mueller has the latitude and resources to investigate President Donald Trump's relationship to the Russians, contacts between Trump campaign officials and …
Saturday night massacre 2.0
If you tuned in late, you might think you were watching The Apprentice, just another episode of Donald Trump's "You're fired." Or you might think a time machine had catapulted us back to the infamous "Saturday night massacre," when embattled President Richard Nixon sacked Watergate independent prosecutor Archibald Cox, which prompted the resignations of Attorney General Eliot …
Fenway: the past is now?
Fans' racial slurs at Fenway Park this week led to national news stories about Boston as a racist city. People are all too quick to believe that and damn the city, as did Saturday Night Live's Michael Che several weeks ago. The same attitude was reflected by Stephen Colbert on CBS and headliners on CNN and elsewhere. But Boston's …
Moulton and the great mentioners
Speculation is stirring; the mentioners are mentionning. Despair about the lack of a Democratic bench is giving way to thoughts of who may really be "out there" as potential contenders for opposition party candidates for President in 2020. So there it was, in this morning's Boston Globe, front-page speculation about a potential 2020 presidential bid by …
College students need more, not fewer controversial ideas
Right-wing provocateur Ann Coulter has cancelled her plan to speak tomorrow at Sproul Plaza at U.C. Berkeley, on the very spot at which the Free Speech Movement was launched more than 50 years ago. She was supposed to talk about immigration, (of great importance to the academic community) and event planners had hoped there would be a …
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How Trump is succeeding in his first 100 days
Don't snicker at Donald Trump's high unfavorable ratings and lack of legislative achievements. He's doing better than you think. Trump may not have succeeded yet on his promise to repeal/replace the Affordable Care Act. He may not have succeeded in building a wall or ending immigration. He may have reversed himself on the Export-Import Bank, …
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Charlie Baker: the vision thing
For Democrats hoping to unseat Republican Governor Charlie Baker in 2018, my advice is: hang onto your day job. Would-be opponents will charge that Baker may be an okay manager, but he lacks vision. Making the charge stick will be difficult, if not impossible. Baker's immediate goals upon taking office may have lacked rhetorical flourish. They were: rebuilding relationships …
Will the Senate nuke itself?
Once upon a time, when students learned civics in high school, we were taught that one of the inspired decisions of our Founding Fathers was the creation of a bicameral Congress with different yet complementary roles. The House was closer to the people, its members serving two-year terms. It was the "cup," containing the passions and …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 