John Henry’s call on Yawkey Way is a home run

Fans bustle in anticipation of the opening pitch. Vendors hawk programs and other souvenirs. The mouth-watering smell of grilled sausage fills the air - all on a street named after someone whose racial attitudes should not for one minute be allowed to stand. Three cheers for Red Sox (and Boston Globe) owner John Henry, who …

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Charlottesville: could it happen here?

One blue-eyed, baby-faced demonstrator in Charlottesville, Virginia tells you all you need to know about what drives the alt-right haters, the white supremacists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan and their ilk.  Said Sean Patrick Nielsen, "I'm here because our Republican values are: standing up for our local white identity...which is under threat; the free market; and …

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Can bipartisanship keep Trump at bay?

Donald Trump has left the White House. For 17 days. For a vacation in New Jersey. Is it safe to come out? Initially, I thought so.  After Senators John McCain, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski stood tall to defeat a miserable "skinny" bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, I was encouraged that bipartisan efforts …

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Finding America in Freedom

This is Old Home Week in Freedom, New Hampshire, population 1500. The town was incorporated in 1832 after it seceded from next-door Effingham in a dispute over whose taxes would pay for a bridge between the two. Freedom is a place of peacefulness and beauty, a little village of well maintained, white-painted homes, many dating …

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Escape from Trump 3.0, pt. 2 – non-fiction

  History is often best revealed through the personal stories and relationships of individuals. So it is with these non-fiction books I've read of late. An Invisible Thread is a deeply personal memoir of two lives brought together by one small act. Laura Schroff was a successful ad executive in the go-go 1980's who brushes past …

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Escape from Trump 3.0 – real fiction

On a rainy October-like day, there's nothing like settling in with good fiction to escape from the Trumpian travails of our time. Here, in no particular order, are some of the books I've been reading over the past months. The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks is what The New York Times called "thundering, gritty, emotionally devastating." …

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Tanglewood a refuge from Trump

Finally, a good Russian story.  No, not Vladimir Putin or lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who met with DJT, Jr.  Instead, it was Daniil Trifonovv, the brilliant young pianist who thrilled audiences last week at Tanglewood Music Center, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  Just 26 years old, he started at the age of five …

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America celebrates – despite Trump

Welcoming summer's glories with friends in Ogunquit, listening languidly to waves lapping the rock-strewn sandy beach, long walks on the Marginal Way, lobster and steamers - life's pleasures endure, despite the despicable political environment. Our nation's birthday is still a cause for celebration. Years ago, we were regulars on the Esplanade for the Boston Pops …

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Black & White Boston, a model to build on

A wonderful reunion was held Thursday, a celebration of the 20-year history of John and Diddy Cullinane's stewardship of Black & White Boston Coming Together.  They have published a book commemorating the contribution of that organization and of many civic and business leaders to the economic and spiritual health of Boston, a community with still-open …

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Who is Bruce Poliquin, and why we should care

U.S. Sen. Angus King (Ind.) says the House-passed health care bill, "the most ill-conceived, damaging and downright cruel piece of legislation that I have ever seen," will cost Maine people their health insurance. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is concerned about its impact on older and rural Americans, of which Maine has a disproportionate share. …

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