When John F. Kennedy was asked how he became a hero in World War II, he said, "It was involuntary. They sank my boat." But it wasn't the Japanese sinking of PT 109 that made JFK a hero; it was what he did to save his men after the sinking. The inimitable GOP buffoon candidate Donald Trump said …
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Lesson for Bush in Dukakis
Jeb Bush put his foot in it last week when explaining his aspirations for improving the economy. His assertion that "people need to work longer hours" continues to prompt outrage. Even looking at it in context doesn't help much - “My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it, is 4 percent growth …
Is the nation’s “best” casino policy good enough?
Massachusetts is officially a casino state. Yesterday at two p.m. a slots parlor opened to the public in Plainville. Penn National reportedly spent $250 million to build and start up the facility, the first to bring Las Vegas to the Bay State. It could bring between $86m and $100m a year in state revenues and have some …
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My love/hate relationship with Hillary
Take a yellow legal pad. Draw a line down the middle. Put Hillary Clinton's pluses on one side and minuses on the other. The symmetry is disturbing. Let's start with the good stuff. I confess to a sense of pride that a fellow alumna of Wellesley College could become the nation's first woman President (as …
Secrecy tips the case of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
President Obama's proposed trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), has me in a quandary. I've long held that free trade benefits everyone in the long run. It's what happens in the short run that can be daunting. Reduce or eliminate barriers to other nations' products and we get the benefit of lower prices and greater selection …
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Globe struggles to balance Olympics coverage
Yesterday the Boston Business Journal revealed some of Boston 2024's duplicity in misrepresenting to the public what it had included in its bid for bringing the Olympics to the Hub. Information the BBJ obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request indicates the bid outlined the need for public funding (and a public authority) for land acquisition …
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Tom Brady’s punishment – Oh, nooooo
I long ago gave up my belief in the Easter bunny. (The rabbits who regularly destroy my garden took care of that.) Santa Claus is a relic of a decades-past childhood. But now, harsh reality demands that I can no longer cling to the idea of Tom Brady, man god. Mr. Perfect. The National Football …
Remembering my mother: a reprise
Three years ago, I wrote about my mother, Mim Myers, who died in 2006 at the age of 93. She's now been gone nine years, and the aching loss is felt no less today. In fact, the meaning of things ephemeral becomes all the more acute with each passing year. There are so many things I …
Civic leadership through robust public dialogue and love of language
At the risk of sounding immodest, I want to share with readers how deeply moved I am to be receiving an honorary doctor of letters from Regis College, a dynamic and growing university in Weston, MA. Last night I was privileged to deliver an address to the hundreds of students receiving master's and doctoral degrees. …
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Newt Gingrich made me weep
Back in the 1990's, new House Speaker Newt Gingrich made me furious with his Contract with America, which critics dubbed the Contract on America. It was an era of slash-and-burn, anti-government GOP ascendancy, when in 1995 the Republican Party took over the House for the first time in 40 years. The victory signaled a more intense fight for smaller government, …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 