The Red Sox and Yankees wore insigniae commemorating the Newtown massacre and observed a moment's silence. It was a virtually meaningless gesture. There's only one thing that will help. And that's to do at a national level a deal like that agreed on yesterday by Connecticut lawmakers. Although crime is generally down, in recent years, mass killings …
Continue reading In remembering Newtown, only one thing matters
Scream! Make that, primal scream!! Washington's failure to deal with the sequester before it kicked in is just the latest in a series of failed attempts to deal responsibly with federal deficit and budget issues. So bad are the constant failures and so great the frustrations with Republicans, Democrats and the White House that I …
How effective the President will be on gun safety remains to be seen, but today he took a first step in the right direction by laying out an agenda to minimize future gun violence. He sounded like a leader. We eagerly await his action. To many, the recommended measures are a no-brainer: universal background checks wherever guns …
That clanking sound you hear is that of the proverbial can getting kicked down the road. That can is the much-needed solution to the federal debt. This week's "solution" was not a solution at all. At least initially, the financial markets responded with enthusiasm to the idea that Bush era tax rates would become permanent for 98 …
How many times after a tragic shooting have we heard politicians say, in the guise of respect for the victims. "this isn't the time" to talk about gun control. White House spokesman Jay Carney used the same language on Friday. “There is, I’m sure, will be, rather, discussion of the usual Washington policy debates, but I …
I don't doubt it. Senator John Kerry could be a close to perfect Secretary of State. All aspects of his life have prepared him for the job, save for running a large bureaucracy. UN Ambassador Susan Rice has been touted as the President's first choice. They have been close allies since she started advising him on foreign policy …
Last night's vice presidential debate, expertly moderated by ABC's Martha Raddatz (a former Channel 5 colleague), was engaging, high energy, substantively revealing, stylistically contrasting, and reassuring to partisans on both sides. (David Brooks' piece in today's NY Times see this as a generational divide.) Vice President Joe Biden had facts, passion, authenticity, and an often …
Governor Deval Patrick has always been a great campaigner. (Remember how he dramatically he came to life to run successfully for a second term against popular and accomplished Republican candidate Charlie Baker?) Last night's speech to the Democratic National Convention showed Patrick in his very best campaign mode. His role was to remind Americans that …
Elizabeth Warren is a stronger candidate than Martha Coakley was in 2010, but Scott Brown is a far better candidate than he was back then. He was in full campaign mode at today’s New England Council luncheon. His message was clear: he knows that many in the room didn’t vote for him in his 2010 …
Continue reading Scott Brown in full campaign mode at New England Council
A family medical crisis that keeps you from even reading the newspapers not only interrupts blog writing. It also gives you a distance from breaking events that provides perspective on what’s important and what’s not. For example, the obsession with the Red Sox collapse and the details of Theo’s new contract with the Chicago Cubs …
Continue reading Occupy Boston and the Wall Street/Washington mess
Marjorie Arons-Barron 