Like Punxsutawney Phil emerging from his cave in Pennsylvania, squinting from the sunlight, folks in my hometown emerged from lock-down yesterday morning. On the surface, it was an ordinary weekend morning in spring, a stop at Peet's for coffee, the dry cleaners, drugstore, the usual. But of course nothing was really usual as we started picking up the …
Category: Politics
Marathon explosions tear at our hearts and community
It's hard not to be shaken to the core by the horrific attacks at today's marathon. The deaths, the mutilation, scores of injuries, and fear. The assault on what can only be described as an iconic (yes, I know the word is over-used) event, emblematic of the spirit of Boston. I have never lived more than …
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Cory Booker’s on the move
Newark's charismatic mayor, Cory Booker, took the stage Sunday at Salem State University's Speaker Series. A man on the move politically (he's planning a run for retiring Frank Lautenberg's U.S. Senate seat in 2014), he's on the move physically. Using a hand-held mike and roaming the stage at the Lynn Auditorium, Booker held forth for close …
PC Police Trivialize Legitimate Issue
Political correctness run amuck: President Obama felt compelled to apologize to California Attorney General Kamela Harris for calling her "by far the best looking attorney general in the country." Frankly, the only person who might legitimately feel slighted is Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, a "good looking" woman in her own right. But those who …
Caroline Kennedy ambassador to Japan?
Yesterday North Korea announced it's restarting its nuclear reactor so it can build its nuclear weapons arsenal. This follows North Korea's increasingly bellicose posturing over the last couple of months, including a nuclear bomb test in February. The United States and South Korea have been carrying out military exercises in the region. North Korea is …
In remembering Newtown, only one thing matters
The Red Sox and Yankees wore insigniae commemorating the Newtown massacre and observed a moment's silence. It was a virtually meaningless gesture. There's only one thing that will help. And that's to do at a national level a deal like that agreed on yesterday by Connecticut lawmakers. Although crime is generally down, in recent years, mass killings …
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Parsing the Lynch and Markey stereotypes
Sometimes it's easy to categorize U.S. Senate candidates Ed Markey and Stephen Lynch. Congressman Markey is the unreconstructed liberal, right? His values on gun control, abortion, climate change, gay rights, and virtually everything else are unequivocally left of center. And Steve Lynch is the conservative in the race - especially when it comes to social …
Boston Olympic bid a silly diversion
Score Boston Mayor Tom Menino:1; Boston Globe:0 on the proposal to bring the Olympics to Boston in 2024. Opined an editorial, a chance to host the Olympics is "too rare to pass up without further consideration." Really? As the Mayor restated Thursday on WGBH's Greater Boston, the city has too many other, higher priority needs - …
This time, the Phoenix does not rise
The announcement yesterday that the Boston Phoenix is ceasing publication marks the end of an era, an era of substantive, long-form journalism. Jim Barron and I wrote for the paper back in the 1970's. It was the place to be, along with The Village Voice, the best of alternative journalism. Back in 1975, Jim Barron and …
Grossman, DeLeo speak reality to Patrick’s dreams
Governor Patrick's hopes for Massachusetts, delivered in his state-of-the-state address in January were big-picture, visionary, limitless in their possibilities - especially in transportation, education and tax reform. They were so big, in fact, they took your breath away. His proposals focused on increasing income and gas taxes to pay for transportation improvements, more early childhood education and extended middle school hours, all the while …
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