We’ve reached that point in a long winter — the ground at my house has been covered by snow since Nov. 11 — when it seems that nearly all conversations start with the weather and soon include the F word. Florida. Seems we’re barely into a conversation when someone says, “Maybe next winter I’ll go […]
Perspective
Posted inOp-Eds, Perspective
Going to college through the ‘side door’
Oh, Felicity Huffman, say it ain’t so. For 20 years, the actor you may know as Lynette Scavo on “Desperate Housewives” was a role model in our house for a role she had played earlier. Now, she is a role model for how the elite cheat. Damn. Huffman was indicted on Tuesday by the federal Justice […]
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Posted inOp-Eds, Perspective
Donald Trump using the Clinton playbook to defend against Mueller
Anticipating the imminent release of Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible presidential wrongdoing, Donald Trump and his surrogates are stepping up their relentless campaign to discredit Mueller’s investigation. Their tactics – denial, obfuscation and character assassination — are not original, but come straight out of the playbook […]
Posted inPerspective
Loss of local news hinders ability to watchdog government
The loss of a reliable local news source has many consequences for the community. One of them is the inability to watchdog the actions of government agencies and elected officials.
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Police often use broad exemption to keep videos from public
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The video is brief but disturbing: An officer is seen hitting an unarmed suspect with his pistol as the man falls into the grass. An autopsy would later show that he died from a gunshot to the back of the head. After the death last July of 26-year-old Daniel Fuller […]
Posted inNation / World, Perspective
Measles vaccine doesn’t cause autism, says a new, decade-long study of half a million people
The findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, further discredit warnings about the two-dose course for the highly contagious virus.
Posted inPerspective
How do you get anti-vaxxers to vaccinate their kids?
Statistics and shaming tactics don’t persuade anxious parents. Talking to them — for hours — does.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion, Perspective
Character revealed, good and bad
An old saying among coaches who expect a losing year is, “This will be a character-building season.” We won’t win many games, but we’ll turn out some really decent kids. The truth, though, is that sports doesn’t build character so much as it reveals character. Something about competing, about camaraderie, about performing in public brings out the […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Perspective
Basic Democracy? Maybe not
New Englanders have long had two religions. Our faith religion is slowly sinking beneath the hard boulders of our countryside. Our secular religion, “local control” of government, may be a bit stronger, but it, too, may be fading. When we came to New Sharon 39 years ago, we took up the practice of both religions. I became a […]
Posted inPerspective
Sobering stories of recovery
“I broke down weeping like a baby.” Interventions, support, meds, determination help some achieve longterm sobriety.