It felt a little like my gasp when Hillary uttered the term "deplorables" to describe Trump supporters. That meant trouble ahead. Biden's poorly qualified assertion that the pandemic is over may not have been quite that explosive. But it was a thoughtless communications error. Sure, we're not where we were in 2020. Some of us …
Continue reading Biden’s Covid declaration an unforced error
It was nearly 90 years ago that thousands of Germans gathered around bonfires to destroy books by leading writers, artists and other intellectuals, many of them Jewish. It was only the beginning of a fascist movement to eradicate Jews and others who didn't fit the Aryan ideal. This was the cultural genocide that preceded the …
This week's inflation numbers were a cold splash of reality to many who had, over the summer, become more optimistic about Democrats' ability to hold onto Congress. At least, not lose the Senate. After all, the Biden Administration has put together a substantial list of accomplishments in the last 22 months. Gas prices were coming …
Continue reading The mid-terms: pessimism to optimism to hanging on for dear life
The down-ballot race for state auditor is often lost in the noise about campaigns for governor or attorney general. That shouldn't happen next Tuesday. The auditor's office is responsible for ensuring that our tax dollars are spent in the public interest, wisely and efficiently. This year's race for auditor is especially important because one candidate, …
Continue reading Chris Dempsey, the perfect fit for MA Auditor
Getty Image He was 32 years old and had been sworn into Congress just three days previously. There he was on January 6th, on the floor of the House, standing on broken glass, watching violence erupt, stunned to see Republicans – even after the attempted insurrection – still vote to decertify the election results. “Believe …
An eclectic collection to savor before the leaves turn color. “Every Good Boy Does Fine” by concert pianist Jeremy Denk is part memoir (child prodigy in a dysfunctional family) and part voyage through classical music (his favorite composers, techniques, a little music theory, the life of a professional.) The book is divided into three sections: …
“You see the mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why would you take the Fifth Amendment?” Stupid question if you understand the basic principles of the Constitution. But an ironic question if posed by America’s hypocrite-in-chief, Donald Trump, who made the remark in a speech in Council Bluff, Iowa in 2016. This week, the same man took …
Tuesday's primaries in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Arizona, and Washington all sent important and conflicting messages. The high point was in Kansas. By an unexpectedly large 20-point margin, this thoroughly red state defeated a move to eliminate from the state constitution protections for abortion. It sent waves of hope to Democrats across the country that Republican …
Continue reading Signs of hope and despair in Tuesday’s primaries
It is the end of the beginning; I wish it were the beginning of the end. I have seen every minute of these riveting, often jaw-dropping sessions. While the events were known in their broad contours prior to the hearings, the Committee's meticulous documentation and building of the timeline before, during and after the January …
We may be transfixed by the January 6 hearings, but, when Donald Trump is back invading our dreams at night after 18 months absence, we can benefit mightily from a summertime escape into fiction. Horse by Geraldine Brooks is a tour de force. A gifted, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, Brooks has used thoroughbred racehorse Lexington, raised …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 