Brilliant Irish satirist Jonathan Swift was said to have loved individuals but loathed mankind. Specifically, he wrote, "I hate and detest that animal called man, although I heartily love John, Peter, Thomas, and so forth." In that spirit, I love Joan Vennochi, Scot Lehigh, Brian McGrory and other Globe reporters and editors, but I have …
Continue reading Boston Globe delivery problems: the route to insanity
Sometimes the answer to who wins a debate lies in what sticks with you two days after the event. In the case of Tuesday's CNN GOP Presidential debate out of Las Vegas, there were several sparks that still glow. After a bumbling start, in which Jeb Bush flubbed his opening remark (hasn't he found a …
It's great fun to see two outstanding Boston Globe opinion writers going at a subject hammer and tong, in total disagreement about the Olympics, Boston 2024 and the psychic state of the organizers as well as that of the people of Massachusetts. Joan Vennochi does a surgical rearrangement of John Fish, the driving force behind …
Continue reading Globe columnists duel over Boston Olympics bid
Elizabeth Warren insists she is not running for President, most recently this past Sunday on Channel 5's On the Record program. This is a good thing. There's been too much bandwagon buzz about a possible Warren presidential candidacy, with even estimable Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi quick to portray Warren as a contender. Such effusiveness is getting …
Don't tell me the end of summer isn't until the third week in September. Virtually everyone understands summer ends on Labor Day (or the Friday before for those who want to beat the rush.) The leaves are beginning to turn. Crickets are making a racket at night. Returning college students are clogging the streets with …
A WBUR poll this morning about who might run to fill John Kerry's Senate seat if/when Kerry becomes Secretary of State showed an overwhelming preference for Scott Brown over former Governor Bill Weld for the GOP nomination. A valedictory op ed by Senator Scott Brown in a recent Boston Globe shows why the decision shouldn't …
Most attorneys general don’t go after political corruption because acting against colleagues can translate into a dead end politically. But Martha Coakley has a new Public Integrity Division, a welcome addition. And she has the new 2009 ethics law, which criminalizes behavior previously treated civilly. Still, there are questions about whether she is being too …
Continue reading Charging Tim Cahill: too much or about time?
The unidentified “they” have often said that Boston’s three favorite pastimes are sports, politics and revenge – and not necessarily in that order. Thursday night’s MassInc’s 15-year anniversary celebration at the Kennedy Library brought together media and pols to wallow in a hilarious celebration in a bipartisan spirit of humor and across-the-aisle friendship that, I …
Continue reading MassInc shows how humor can bridge the political divide
It’s amazing that illegal immigration has become such a hot-button issue even where the population of undocumented workers is negligible. In Alabama, where about 3.5 percent of the population is foreign-born, a harsh new immigration law has caused many in that population to flee, taking children out of schools, avoiding trips to the hospital, even …
Continue reading Finding nuanced solutions to illegal immigration
By all accounts, Marty Meehan has done a terrific job at UMass Lowell, expanding the campus, lifting academic standards, sharpening connections with the business community, raising funds and enhancing the overall brand of the university. Not surprising then that he became a prime prospect for replacing University of Massachusetts President Jack Wilson, who will retire …
Continue reading Marty Meehan’s decision to stay put for now
Marjorie Arons-Barron 