Former Massachusetts House Speaker Sal DiMasi used his office to enrich himself to the tune of $65,000, securing a state contract for Cognos, which paid him on a monthly basis for his efforts. The third House Speaker in a row to be found guilty of crimes related to office, DiMasi was convicted on seven out of nine corruption …
Author: aronsbarron
Donald Trump is a jerk
When John F. Kennedy was asked how he became a hero in World War II, he said, "It was involuntary. They sank my boat." But it wasn't the Japanese sinking of PT 109 that made JFK a hero; it was what he did to save his men after the sinking. The inimitable GOP buffoon candidate Donald Trump said …
Lesson for Bush in Dukakis
Jeb Bush put his foot in it last week when explaining his aspirations for improving the economy. His assertion that "people need to work longer hours" continues to prompt outrage. Even looking at it in context doesn't help much - “My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it, is 4 percent growth …
Amazing week – how sweet it was
The July Fourth holiday heightens an appreciation of the remarkable events of last week, events that validate our forebears' notion "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Who could have imagined that in a …
Is the nation’s “best” casino policy good enough?
Massachusetts is officially a casino state. Yesterday at two p.m. a slots parlor opened to the public in Plainville. Penn National reportedly spent $250 million to build and start up the facility, the first to bring Las Vegas to the Bay State. It could bring between $86m and $100m a year in state revenues and have some …
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S.C. mass murder prompts forgiveness?
Thirty-six hours after Dylann Storm Roof slaughtered their loved ones in a Charleston, S.C AME Church, family members of the victims grieved their loss but urged the mass murderer be treated with grace, dignity and forgiveness. Like Nadine Collier, who lost her mother, they echoed her despair but also her goodness. “I will never talk to …
My love/hate relationship with Hillary
Take a yellow legal pad. Draw a line down the middle. Put Hillary Clinton's pluses on one side and minuses on the other. The symmetry is disturbing. Let's start with the good stuff. I confess to a sense of pride that a fellow alumna of Wellesley College could become the nation's first woman President (as …
Secrecy tips the case of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
President Obama's proposed trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), has me in a quandary. I've long held that free trade benefits everyone in the long run. It's what happens in the short run that can be daunting. Reduce or eliminate barriers to other nations' products and we get the benefit of lower prices and greater selection …
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Globe struggles to balance Olympics coverage
Yesterday the Boston Business Journal revealed some of Boston 2024's duplicity in misrepresenting to the public what it had included in its bid for bringing the Olympics to the Hub. Information the BBJ obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request indicates the bid outlined the need for public funding (and a public authority) for land acquisition …
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George Stephanopoulos should know better
Many bemoan the revolving door in government/media circles. For a while you're a politician; then you get a job as a lobbyist, retaining your politicians' access; then you're a candidate again. One day you're a journalist; the next you're a communications director for a candidate or elected official; the next you're a TV or radio analyst. …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 