John McCain died on August 25th, the same day Ted Kennedy died nine years ago, from the same lethal disease. Two old warriors, who disagreed on much but fought for their principles in the national interest and became good friends in the process. But I wonder whether our celebration of him and his life would …
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Seventh CD a battle between good and better
Whoever wins the Massachusetts 7th Congressional district Democratic primary on September 4th will be uncontested in November and serve in the next Congress. It will be a Democrat, but what kind and what difference will that make for us? In the intergenerational struggle for control of the Democratic Party, Ayanna Pressley, 44, hopes to unseat long-term incumbent Michael Capuano,66, from the …
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News media are not “enemies of the people”
I ask you: do I look like an enemy of the people? Given my 30+ years in journalism (including Boston Phoenix, WGBH-TV, WCVB-TV) and nearly a decade more as a blogger, Donald Trump would probably say yes. Journalism is certainly in my DNA. Which is why I’m so proud of what my local newspaper is …
Summer reading part two: non-fiction
The following are suggestions from when I wasn’t fleeing the daily news into real fiction, as noted in my previous blog. I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey behind the Lines of Jihad, a memoir by Washington Post national security reporter Souad Mekhennet, takes us into dangerous territory to places she was uniquely qualified to …
Summer reading part one: escape into fiction
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 …
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Elizabeth Warren: tribune for the downtrodden or capitalist to the bones?
"I'm a capitalist to my bones," Senator Elizabeth Warren this week told a New England Council audience of business leaders, adding, "We have to make markets strong so everyone can do better." Addressing an arcane and often dry subject, she made an impassioned pitch that good bankruptcy laws are essential to well-functioning markets. She was …
Continue reading Elizabeth Warren: tribune for the downtrodden or capitalist to the bones?
Legitimate questions on recreational pot?
Massachusetts voters voted in 2016 to allow the growing and sale of marijuana for recreational purposes, and last week the state's Cannabis Control Commission issued its first permit for a retail outlet. The doors are not yet open because the dispensary still faces another level of inspections and background checks. Statewide implementation was initially delayed …
Civility and indignation can go together
Red Hen owner Stephanie Wilkinson asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave her Lexington, Virginia restaurant , declaring it a moral issue. Wilkinson said her request was in the name of upholding "certain standards, like honesty, compassion and cooperation." Some of her gay employees had objected to Sanders' defense of Donald Trump's ban on transgenders in …
Trump a candidate for Nobel Appease Prize?
Remember Lucy pulling the football away just as Charlie Brown was about to kick it? Imagine if Charlie Brown, instead of being dejected, ran around the field with his arms stretched high shouting that he had just kicked the winning field goal. North Korea’s nuclear threat is gone!! We can now all sleep easily. Mission …
The war of the roses
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 …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 