The big winner in last night's "big boy" (top ten Republicans in polls, all male) debate was Fox News itself. While the network isn't my default choice, the moderators, stalwart defenders of Republican orthodoxy, and the format wrung the most out of the sometimes unruly lot and provided some illuminating moments. Megyn Kelly, flanked by Chris Wallace …
David Mofenson stood tall, reached down to help others
Most weekend mornings, a small group of men gathers at the front table of Peet's coffee in Newton Center to gab about breaking news, politics and whatever else catches their fancy. It's hard to imagine the gathering without one of its regulars, former State Representative David Mofenson, who died suddenly on Sunday morning just steps away from Peet's. …
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The Holocaust through a child’s eyes
In 1990, my husband and I visited Prague, including the old Jewish section - the synagogue, the cemetery, and the tiny adjacent museum displaying drawings done by Prague children during their imprisonment in Terezin, the Nazi concentration camp outside the Czech capital. The children signed the drawings, and scribbled their ages - nine or 10 years …
What kind of animal would kill this lion for sport?
Walter Palmer's pleasure in life is apparently hunting and killing large animals, legally or illegally. In the last few days, millions of people around the world have come to know that the American "sportsman" has slain Zimbabwe national treasure Cecil, a magnificent 13-year-old black-maned lion, whom tourists came from far and wide to see. Palmer's guides illegally strapped …
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Walsh stands tall: now how about Boston 2030?
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who has long seemed in thrall to the Boston 2024 Olympic bid, said at a press conference this morning that he refuses "to mortgage the future of the city away." He added, "I will not sign a document that puts one penny of taxpayers' money on the line for Olympics cost …
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Fox Olympics debate more heat than light
A serious debate over the bid to bring the 2024 Olympics to Boston was a good idea. What took place Thursday night wasn't. Promising a no-rules, informal format, the two moderators (the Boston Globe's Sasha Pfeiffer and Fox 25's Maria Stephanos) let the Boston 2024 supporters run roughshod over the opponents and the moderators themselves. Five …
Sal DiMasi doesn’t deserve death sentence
Former Massachusetts House Speaker Sal DiMasi used his office to enrich himself to the tune of $65,000, securing a state contract for Cognos, which paid him on a monthly basis for his efforts. The third House Speaker in a row to be found guilty of crimes related to office, DiMasi was convicted on seven out of nine corruption …
Donald Trump is a jerk
When John F. Kennedy was asked how he became a hero in World War II, he said, "It was involuntary. They sank my boat." But it wasn't the Japanese sinking of PT 109 that made JFK a hero; it was what he did to save his men after the sinking. The inimitable GOP buffoon candidate Donald Trump said …
Lesson for Bush in Dukakis
Jeb Bush put his foot in it last week when explaining his aspirations for improving the economy. His assertion that "people need to work longer hours" continues to prompt outrage. Even looking at it in context doesn't help much - “My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it, is 4 percent growth …
Amazing week – how sweet it was
The July Fourth holiday heightens an appreciation of the remarkable events of last week, events that validate our forebears' notion "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Who could have imagined that in a …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 