During our sheltering from the COVID-19 virus, reading can provide a meaningful escape from the constant hand washing, planning our grocery orders and listening to the news. The following are some of my recent immersions in fiction and non-fiction. FICTION An American Marriage by Tayari Jones is an extraordinary novel about an upwardly mobile young …
Continue reading Books to consider in flight from viral infection
Today is One Boston day, the seventh anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, when the Tsarnaev brothers set off two crude pressure cooker bombs that resulted in three deaths, wounded hundreds of others and sheared off limbs brutally and indiscriminately. The terrorist attack bloodied one of Boston's most iconic events and shattered our sense of …
Continue reading Grasping bits of optimism and glimmers of hope
Friday night, at precisely seven o'clock, people in our neighborhood opened their doors and, as did others across the world, clapped, cheered, used noisemakers, even honked the horns of their underutilized cars to cheer for first responders and providers of health care, some of whom live in our midst. The communal outpouring was deeply touching, …
Continue reading Trump fails 3 a.m. crisis call, before, during and after
There are so many good things that are happening as we adjust to the scary new normal of hunkering down, staying at home. But every time I listen to the President at a White House COVID-19 task force press conference I am simultaneously repelled and outraged, and the good things happening on the ground slip …
Continue reading COVID-19 crisis: silver linings and rot at the top
My last blog warned about the need to separate reliable COVID-19 information from misinformation, whether intentional or unintentional, and rumor. Last week an esteemed British scientist passed on a podcast to my brother-in-law, who shared it with me. I vetted it as best I could and now share it with my readers. Joe Rogan is …
Continue reading An infectious disease expert speaks: worth a listen
Everyone has an opinion on how serious is the WHO-identified pandemic coronavirus. Many share guidance on how to deal with it. Far fewer share evidence-based science. Disturbing though it may be, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised at how much our assessments divide on partisan lines. According to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll: unease is strongly …
Continue reading Beware coronavirus misinformation, well-intentioned or not
The Freedom of Information Act has never been celebrated by those in power. After Congress passed it in 1966, LBJ signed it quietly at his Texas ranch. Even under President Obama, the federal government was loath to facilitate Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. They spent millions defending their reluctance in court. But Donald Trump …
Continue reading Sunshine Week: government transparency needed now more than ever
It's time to play my role in Super Tuesday. I've joked that in November I'd vote for a ham sandwich over Donald Trump. Any of the remaining candidates could do a better job than the incumbent. Nevertheless, I have twisted and turned. I used to scoff at voters who were still undecided days before an …
Continue reading Super Tuesday: resolving the struggle between head and heart
Last week's WGBH debate between Senator Ed Markey and challenger Congressman Joe Kennedy took me back to August, 1979. Joe Kennedy's uncle Ted was about to challenge fellow Democrat and incumbent Jimmy Carter for the Presidency. Seasoned CBS News correspondent Roger Mudd went to Hyannisport to interview Kennedy. The network set aside a full hour …
For all of his hundreds of millions spent in promoting his candidacy in polished and effective ads, billionaire philanthropist and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg bombed in his first appearance on the Democratic presidential debate stage. He would have been well served had he hired Boston-based consultant and political advisor Michael Goldman. Goldman shared …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 