The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris is an amazing debut novel by a 29-year-old man about racial and social tensions in the deep South in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Harris’ prose is luscious; his characters are often odd, and complex. His explorations of their loves, animosities, challenges and misadventures are many-layered …
Continue reading Books to settle down with in autumn, pt. 1 – fiction
Ron DeSantis has had quite a summer. Running for re-election in 2022, positioning himself for a 2024 run for President, Florida's Republican governor has been trolling Democrats, whipping up culture wars, cruelly using asylum-seeking Venezuelans as campaign props, and attacking Joe Biden. He contemptuously calls Biden “Brandon” and “the American Nero” and derides Dr. Fauci …
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
Marjorie Arons-Barron 