The NFL has taken a knee in craven obeisance to the man Illinois war hero Senator Tammy Duckworth calls “Cadet Bone Spurs.” And Chuck Todd greeted his Meet the Press audience with a cheery “Happy Memorial Day,” reinforcing how synthetic and shallow our sense of patriotism and national remembrance have become. More people obsess about …
Continue reading NFL kicks off unpatriotic national anthem policy
The nickname for any Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance is “Deputy Governor.” Jay Gonzalez, A & F Secretary under Governor Deval Patrick, wants to remove the “deputy.” He’s working hard to defeat lifelong activist and minister Bob Massie in the September Democratic primary and go on to beat Governor Charlie Baker (himself a former …
Continue reading Gonzalez brings liberal gubernatorial campaign to Newton
Net neutrality isn't just an issue for millennials and techies. The Federal Communications Commission's December decision to change the rules governing access to the internet will affect us all. Your eyes glazing over? Our attitudes won't be so "whatever" come June 11th when the change takes effect and internet service providers like AT&T, Verizon and …
The creepiest image from Donald Trump's announcement that he was withdrawing from the Iran deal was new NSA chief John Bolton’s looming presence as the president exited the podium. It's too soon to tell whether Bolton will get the Iran war and regime change he has lusted after, but Israelis were told to open bomb …
It was June 1990, Severance Green at Wellesley College. Blue sky, warm sunshine, graduating seniors and their families waiting to hear from two commencement honorees, Raisa Gorbachev, the wife of Russian premier Mikhail Gorbachev, and Barbara Bush, First Lady, wife of President George H. W. Bush. Local press and national networks were there to cover …
Renaming Yawkey Street next to Fenway Park as Jersey Street, its original name, should be a no-brainer. The reputation of the Boston Red Sox under the leadership of the late owner Tom Yawkey reinforced the sense of Boston as a racist city. In the 1940's, City councilman Isadore Muchnick had to pressure the team to …
President Trump hints he wants the death penalty for drug traffickers. (He's an unabashed admirer of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.) Is the President calling for the death penalty for doctors prescribing Oxycontin, Percocet, morphine, and other pain killers? After all, an estimated 80 percent of people using heroin first got hooked by misusing opioids. On combating …
Every time you renew your driver’s license in Massachusetts you have a chance to say whether you’d donate an organ upon your death. Waiting lists for cadaver transplants can be six to eight years, far too long for many gravely ill patients. In the case of kidney disease, an alternative is a transplant from a …
Since the evacuation of the HMS Birkenhead in 1852, “women and children first” has been the code of conduct to protect the most helpless among us from impending disaster. Today we look to them not only to save themselves but to save the rest of us as well. Last year, women were marching. Today, they …
It’s an article of faith that random violence can strike anywhere, but, when it strikes close to home, we are still surprised and shocked. My grandson went to a memorial service this week for the older sister of a friend of his. Her name was Deane Stryker, and she was 22 years old, a medical …
Continue reading Is this Trump’s Nixon-to-China moment or more “BS”?
Marjorie Arons-Barron 