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
It is the end of the beginning; I wish it were the beginning of the end. I have seen every minute of these riveting, often jaw-dropping sessions. While the events were known in their broad contours prior to the hearings, the Committee's meticulous documentation and building of the timeline before, during and after the January …
We may be transfixed by the January 6 hearings, but, when Donald Trump is back invading our dreams at night after 18 months absence, we can benefit mightily from a summertime escape into fiction. Horse by Geraldine Brooks is a tour de force. A gifted, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, Brooks has used thoroughbred racehorse Lexington, raised …
For maximum impact, play the soundtrack of Jaws. An assault on press freedom may not be imminent, but it's looming. For full details, see today's issue of Washington Monthly, with a front-page article on the gathering storm. James H. Barron (yes, he's the same author of the critically acclaimed The Greek Connection) documents the erosion …
Women's reproductive rights; pollution regulation and climate change; separation of church and state; Native American rights; gun safety - the alt-Right U.S. Supreme Court has dealt a series of severe blows to hopes for an enlightened society. In all those areas, the Court is taking the country back to where it was when I was …
In the last 24 hours, the Supreme Court has made it easier to kill people as long as it's with a gun, but it has barred women from removing from their own bodies embryonic or fetal material not viable as human beings-- even if caused by rape or incest. SCOTUS has taken a wildly absolutist …
Continue reading SCOTUS decisions: rage and grief the order of the day
Marjorie Arons-Barron 