Donald Trump read a teleprompter-guided speech to a joint session of Congress last night that was softer in tone than his usual dystopian rants. He didn’t froth with insults, sneer disdainfully, gesticulate wildly or drift off message into solipsistic indulgences. Because the bar is set so low for this, the least popular new White House …
Immigration issue overwhelms
Immigration advocates called President Barack Obama the "Deporter in Chief." His administration deported record numbers of immigrants while Republican critics insist he was soft on illegals. Now comes Trump, with his vastly expanded list of immigrants who could be subject to deportation and his proposed cut-off of federal funds to sanctuary cities refusing to help ICE officials …
News media a bulwark nationally and locally
The news media aren't perfect, to be sure, but now, as never before, they're the living embodiment of Thomas Jefferson's opinion that "were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter." If it weren't …
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Elizabeth Warren speaks truth to power
So, let me get this straight. It's okay if Senator Ted Cruz calls Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a liar on the floor of the Senate. But it's not okay if Senator Elizabeth Warren reads letters critical of Attorney General nominee Senator Jeff Sessions from the late Senator Edward Kennedy and Coretta Scott King (describing him …
Political lessons from the New England Patriots
Set aside the friendships between Donald Trump and New England Patriots MVP quarterback Tom Brady, or coach Bill Belichick or owner Bob Kraft (who, as a young man, stood with his late wife as leading progressive Democrats), there's still plenty of inspiration to be found in last night's epic comeback by the Pats in defeating the tough, aggressive, skilled and energetic Atlanta …
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Walsh positions Boston in the vanguard
"We face a new reality in our relationship with the federal government," and mayors, city councilors, state legislators, the public and the business community have to tackle the challenges together, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh told the business community Thursday at a meeting of he New England Council. In a focused and forcefully delivered speech, the …
Charlie Baker on tightrope, moves carefully
Governor Charlie Baker's life is a balancing act - a Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic state, a reasonable and enlightened moderate while the top of his party is anything but. With an entirely blue Congressional delegation, he will be, for better or worse, this state's interlocutor with a potentially vengeful Trump administration. He took a rhetorical …
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Women’s March Boston: life in the bubble?
I hate being in large crowds but had to be at Boston Common yesterday for the local version of the Women's March occurring in hundreds of cities around the nation and on all continents. As with anti-Vietnam War marches in the late sixties and early seventies, this was a time to stand up and be …
President Trump little changed from candidate Trump
The newly elected president of Gambia had to be sworn in in Senegal, and Senegalese and other African military may be needed to force Gambia's despotic president to relinquish power he's held for 22 years. It was quite a contrast to events at the same time in Washington. The peaceful transition of power from one President of the United States to the …
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Black arm bands not boycott for inauguration protest
So, Ringling Bros. is closing down the circus after 146 years. But, in this inaugural week, the circus hasn't left town. We can't be sure where the lions and trapeze artists are going, but we certainly know where the elephants and marquis clown are headed. And it's not to entertain little children. Until now, I never understood fear …
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Marjorie Arons-Barron 