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?
Good news coming out of this morning’s speech by Deval Patrick to the Mass. Municipal Association. He will be filing legislation to require cities and towns to provide public employee health insurance either by joining the state’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC) or devising a similar plan on their own. This was something Republican Charlie Baker …
It’s good to know that, when we’re tired of the political vitriol and the rantings of Sarah Palin as she insists she is being “blood libeled,” we can turn for sport to the most recent iteration of the mommy wars. For decades, this has referred to the debate between the virtues/shortcomings of working moms versus …
People continue to cast about to identify lessons learned and take-away “to do” agenda items in the wake of last Saturday’s shooting rampage in Tucson. The overarching theme has been the need to dial back the hatred that colors so much rhetoric across the political spectrum. Restore civility. Eliminate or reduce incendiary language. There are …
Continue reading Lesson from Tucson: First Aid Training courses in high school
Is this a wakeup call? Is it wrong to look at the unspeakably tragic shootings in Arizona as an opportunity to call for the toning down of political rhetoric and the return of civility to public discourse? I think not. But will those who are advocating a return to civility walk the walk?Ironically, Congresswoman Gabrielle …
Continue reading Gabrielle Giffords: LET THE SOUL SEARCHING TRANSLATE INTO ACTION
Governor Deval Patrick is nothing if not a good speaker, and his inaugural address today was no exception. It was sobering, as appropriate to the times, yet inspiring, as appropriate to the occasion. He touched on, but didn’t wallow in the accomplishments of the last four years but moved quickly to the challenges that lie …
Continue reading GOVERNOR’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS SOBERING, IF STIRRING
Marjorie Arons-Barron 