Apparently having their unvaccinated children barred from school since December wasn't enough to persuade some New York area parents to get their kids inoculated against measles, mumps and rubella. So Rockland County, just north of Manhattan, has now barred those under 18 years of age and not vaccinated from being in public places. And that's …
Continue reading Anti-vaxxers jeopardize more than their own children
Whether he admits it or not, Donald Trump's explicit summons to hate and his dog-whistle signals have helped to encourage white supremacists at home and abroad. Worse, his administration is undoing programs designed to deal with the problem. The gunman who slaughtered 50 people in two New Zealand mosques was allegedly motivated by online white …
Continue reading Trump shares blame for white supremacist attacks
Regular readers of my blog have expressed their displeasure that, when I wrote my last blog on non-fiction books, I promised a follow-up blog with my recent adventures in fiction but failed to do so. In the spirit of some unnamed Virginia politicians, I apologize for the lapse and humbly offer the following. The Orphan …
Shock, disgust, schadenfreude, anger and pity for the mighty one who has fallen due to his own flawed character. Shock, because I still remember the Bob and Myra Kraft who lived modestly in Newton decades ago, always opening up their home to good liberal causes. Disgust, because of the tawdry nature of the allegations and …
I continue to be shocked by the extreme road rage exhibited Friday on the Mass. Pike by Mark Paul Fitzgerald, 37, of Ashland, and Richard Kamrowski, a 65-year-old Framingham man . After a side-swiping encounter, after which SUV driver Fitzgerald refused to exchange information with Kamrowski, the older man grabbed a water bottle from Fitzgerald's …
You're probably as sick of the daily news cycle as I am, despite the satisfaction of seeing the progress of the Mueller investigation. Still, I highly recommend House of Trump, House of Putin, by former Boston Magazine editor Craig Unger. This well researched tome documents a Donald Trump who is a wholly owned asset of Vladimir …
Continue reading Non-fiction books for season’s gifts – or just for you
Words fail to capture adequately the shock and aching sadness at yesterday’s slaughter of 11 and wounding of others Saturday morning at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh. The randomness of the target selected - it could easily have been a synagogue in Newton, MA, Shaker Heights, OH, Highland …
Every year at this time I share books that that may interest my readers. What I have discovered in year two of the Trump administration is how I often have I sought escape into fiction, though it is fiction with a political edge. Waking Lions by Israeli writer Ayelet Gundar-Goshen is a thriller about a …
Continue reading Summer reading part one: escape into fiction
Candide says, "We must cultivate our garden," and it's all the more important today as an escape from Donald Trump and the malevolent cacophony he brews. My garden is one reason I shall never move out of our house. But, really, how does my garden grow? The answer rests with Peter Rabbit. And Brer Rabbit, Roger Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, and …
Net neutrality isn't just an issue for millennials and techies. The Federal Communications Commission's December decision to change the rules governing access to the internet will affect us all. Your eyes glazing over? Our attitudes won't be so "whatever" come June 11th when the change takes effect and internet service providers like AT&T, Verizon and …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 