You never know when a natural disaster on the other side of the world wreaks havoc with lives right in our own community. These CNN photos are just the beginning of our education about this. Middlesex Community College is a case in point. It works with exchange study programs and cultural organizations in Japan and Hawaii. Friends …
Continue reading Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster in Pacific prompts local concerns
It’s hard not to think “fox in the chicken coop” in response to the public workers union proposal that, if the union were to agree to receiving its health insurance coverage through the state’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC), the union would want half the seats on the GIC board. They already have four of 15 …
Continue reading Union counter-proposal on health insurance falls woefully short
The process for deciding and ratifying former Blue Cross/Blue Shield CEO Cleve Killingsworth’s exorbitant severance package seems to reflect what happens when movers and shakers in any sector get too comfortable with each other. We saw it on Wall Street; we see it in high-end non-profit health insurers. In neither area does coziness serve the …
Continue reading Cozy relationships lead to Blue Cross/Blue Shield excesses
I’ve never worked for the public sector, except indirectly. I work, I earn money, I pay taxes on that income, which supports public employees, among other things. Most public employees do important jobs for their communities, but too many of the perks they get are beyond my comprehension. Not having to pay more than a …
Last night, Boston-based web site globalpost.com partnered with WGBH’s Frontline program to document the youth movement that fueled the ouster of Egypt’s longtime president Hosni Mubarak. Half the program explored The Muslim Brotherhood, in a far more nuanced way than conventional network coverage. The program, produced by Charlie Sennott, GlobalPost’s managing editor, formerly Boston Globe …
Continue reading GlobalPost.com brings the world a lot closer
Revelations by Senator Scott Brown that he was sexually abused follow by weeks Governor Deval Patrick’s going public with the depth of wife Diane’s depression. Do we really need this tell-all trend? Do we want to know the gory details?Certainly it will help sell their memoirs, about to be published. Is that what it takes …
Continue reading Do we need our politicians to become Oprah-ized?
Congressman Stephen Lynch was against the President’s health reform proposal before he was for it, and now he thinks that Republican efforts to repeal the law are “a colossal waste of time.” Better, he says, to focus on improving it, especially to get costs under control. Meanwhile, speaking at a New England Council briefing this …
Continue reading Health law bill includes nasty surprise, due in 2018
A million electric cars on the road by 2012? Utilities getting 80 percent of their fuel from clean sources by 2035? These and other clean energy goals are exciting to contemplate as part of the President’s agenda, especially given volatility in the Middle East. But how realistic are those goals? Especially since the Republicans have …
Continue reading Richie Neal – a pragmatic politician looks at Obama’s energy ideas
Last week’s referendum on South Sudan may provide a respite in the stories of one of the most savage and dehumanizing conflicts in Sub Saharan Africa, but we must not turn away from the uncomfortable news that persists elsewhere on that continent. The current Huntington Theatre production delivers this message in a most disturbing way. Lynn Nottage’s …
Continue reading African violence against women brought home at Huntington Theatre
President Obama’s SOFU address was a good speech, not a great one. There were moments that were inspirational, but there were also moments that were, dare I say it, boring. In all, however, he was setting the right tone – bipartisan – and right course – centrist. Some conservatives wish this could have been his …
Continue reading Obama’s State-of-the-Union address tone-setting, but so what?
Marjorie Arons-Barron 