Lincoln/Douglas it was not. Last night's Hillary Clinton/Bernie Sanders face-off in Florida was substantive but problematic. The debate was feisty, often angry, occasionally misleading but, like the one in Flint, Michigan the week before, on a much higher level than GOP debates, but that's not a high bar. Clinton is engaging, smart and the most …
Can you say President Trump?
I hope Les Moonves is happy. The head of CBS said that Donald Trump is great for business."Donald's place in this election is a good thing," Moonves said at a conference Monday in San Francisco. Trump's circus-like antics have been great for ratings, and that means business for the media. "Bring it on, Donald. Keep …
The other man in my life
For the past seven years, there's been a second man in my life. His name? Elias P. Demetracopoulos, hereinafter referred to as Elias. I never met the man, but he figured importantly in our household. My husband, Jim Barron, is writing a biography about the life and times of Elias, an independent journalist, a fighter for freedom …
GOP candidates make U.S. a laughingstock
"Listen to this guy. He has one idea and repeats it over and over again." "No, you're the one who repeats himself. You have nothing to say." "You can't be trusted. You lie." "You're the liar." "So's your mother." Why don't you take it outside, fellas. If you watched the last GOP "debate" before …
Apple versus national security: a tough call
A relaxing Florida vacation has made me even more of a techno-peasant than I usually am. The issue that now challenges me is the dilemma presented by Apple's refusal to comply with the U.S. government's request to facilitate access to the contents of the iPhone of Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the two San Bernadino terrorists, now …
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Granite State results for real – finally
Remember when it seemed fairly certain that voters in November would have to choose between Clinton and Bush dynasties? Over the last nine months, voter anger and dissatisfaction have laid waste to that aura of inevitability on both sides of the aisle. Among the big winners Tuesday night were the pollsters. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders went into New …
Suffolk trustees botch the job
Suffolk University board members should be ashamed of themselves. They are passing up the chance to put the school back on the map as a proud and storied urban university and a meaningful player in greater Boston's civic life. Its inbred board, concerned only about its own power, has launched an attack to undermine the school's new …
Democratic race a battle of heart versus head
Bernie Sanders has given Democrats what they needed and what many wanted: a healthy debate on issues. Not just stock positions on this or that, because he and Hillary Clinton agree on most goals. His willingness to take on the presumptive nominee has provided an exploration of philosophy and style of governance and a choice between leading …
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Fleeting impressions from Trumpless debate
Fox News may have missed Donald Trump. Its viewership was down to 11-13 million viewers, half what they got in the first debate last fall. (The Democrats' debates have had only eight million viewers, thanks to DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz's scheduling them at low viewership times to protect Hillary Clinton.) But, if the eyeballs were …
A fan’s lament
I feel as if I’ve been hit by a truck. Hung over, despite the fact that I had no alcoholic beverages yesterday or all of last week. The Patriots have let me down. Me. Personally. It was hard to get out of bed this morning. If only the Pats had beaten lowly Miami in their …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 