“A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE is a dangerous thing.” It’s an old saying that perhaps resonated more clearly than ever before when one heard the person holding the office of president of […]
National Politics
Posted inPolitics
Walsh, Baker condemn hatred, bigotry
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH delivered a stern message on Monday to “hate groups” who may be planning to come to Boston this weekend. “Boston does not welcome you here. Boston […]
Posted inOpinion
Trans (and Republican) in the time of Trump
SINCE COMING TO TERMS with my identity, I cannot recall all the times that I’ve been called brave and strong. I remind people that coming out has nothing to do […]
Posted inPolitics
Tsongas not seeking reelection
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE US REP. NIKI TSONGAS, who has served in Congress since 2007, will not seek reelection in 2018. Tsongas, who is the widow of the late Sen. […]
Posted inOpinion
Nixon legacy lives on through Trump
THE MEDIA AND VARIOUS JOURNALS are overflowing with comparisons of Donald Trump to many political figures past and present. A recent Harvard Political Review article compared Trump to Maine Governor […]
Posted inPolitics
Warren calls Baker detainer bill ‘un-American’
NEWTON MAYOR and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Setti Warren doubled-down on his criticism of Gov. Charlie Baker’s ICE detainer legislation on Friday, calling the governor’s proposal “un-American.” Baker’s bill seeks to […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: YIMBYs take on NIMBYs
It has become almost axiomatic that communities will resist new housing development projects. They will generate unbearable traffic! There isn’t enough parking here! They’ll hurt property values! The developer wants […]
Posted inThe Download
4 takeaways from sales tax moves
You could actually see an industry in transition on Wednesday. Amazon held a giant job fair at nearly a dozen of its US warehouses, including the one in Fall River, […]
Posted inOpinion
Escaping the news Thunderdome
FOLLOWING THE NEWS has become exhausting. We hardly know what to believe anymore. In response, many people now feel the need to curate reality, by pre-selecting news sources on their […]
Posted inThe Download
On to the next ballot questions
Now that last year’s final ballot-approved law is in place (Gov. Charlie Baker signed the legislatively amended marijuana bill into law on Friday), Beacon Hill is gearing up for the […]
Posted inThe Download
Another big mention for Moulton
Politico’s massive profile of Seth Moulton struggles with the opposing Beltway views of the congressman from Massachusetts: Is he a rank opportunist willing to say and do almost anything to […]
Posted inThe Download
McCain goes maverick-y
In the end, John McCain, whose career has been marked by periods of both swashbuckling independence and fall-in-line toeing-the-Republican party line, chose the former for what may go down as […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. national parks desperately need new funding
EVERY YEAR, millions of visitors flock to Massachusetts’ 15 national park and historic sites for fun and recreation. They leave with a better understanding of our nation’s past and the […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Political payback and whatnot
JAMES VALLEE. CHARLEY Murphy. John Rogers. Jonathan Hecht. To that list of past and present lawmakers, you can add state Rep. Russell Holmes as someone who has crossed House Speaker Robert […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
For Jackson, tight squeeze to Walsh’s left
Marty Walsh is out of touch with issues affecting working-class people and those in the city’s less affluent neighborhoods. He’s more attuned to downtown development than down-on-their-luck constituents, and he […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
As the Globe churns
The newspaper industry is volatile enough because of outside pressures that stability at the top is a requirement to ensure as smooth a ride as possible in navigating the shifting […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Hingham drama
For a small, toney town, Hingham generates an awful lot of news. The latest comes in Sunday’s Boston Globe with the recounting of a suicide by a distraught 26-year-old man […]
Posted inHealth Care
Deregulated health care not the answer
THE UNITED STATES has by far the most expensive health care system in the world. We spent $3.35 trillion, almost 18 percent of GDP and more than $10,000 per person, […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
My flag won’t be flying this July 4th
THERE’S NO FLAG flying above the front porch of our place in Maine this year. That flag was a personal expression of belief in the fundamental integrity and stolidity of this great […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, The Download
How a health care bill becomes a law
While all eyes yesterday were on the Senate hearing where Attorney General Jeff Sessions was testifying, some actual legislating is taking place in Washington — or so we are led […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion, Politics
Warren: GOP trying to ram through health care bill
Sen. Warren sent the following message to her supporters on Friday. I LEARNED SOME SCARY NEWS yesterday: the Senate Republicans are going to try to repeal the Affordable Care Act […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
From refugee camp to high school grad
The following is a pre-graduation speech delivered at the City on a Hill charter school. MY NAME IS MARYAN ADEN and I am a member of the founding class at […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Guns and hearing aids apparently mix
A gun advocacy group is opposing legislation allowing hearing aids to be sold over the counter because the measure is sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and it might, somehow, infringe […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Political polarization complicates Watergate comparisons
THE CASCADING INVESTIGATIONS into relationships between Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign and staff rings loudly with echoes of Watergate. Trump sometimes seems to invite the parallel, tweeting about taping White […]