Massachusetts has a long connection with the freedom and justice movement in South Africa, and those ties will be renewed this week when a key leader of the current fight for democracy there arrives in Boston to draw attention to that cause.
George Bachrach
Posted inOpinion
Markey didn’t reinvent himself, he was rediscovered
IN 1972, a 25-year-old Ed Markey came to the Massachusetts State House as a freshman state representative straight out of Boston College and BC Law. He was a product of the Immaculate Conception Parish School and Malden Catholic High. He was the literal definition of “parochial” in every sense of the word. As he listened […]
Posted inOpinion
Remembering Ralph Gants
AT AGE 15, Ralph Gants protested outside one of the exclusive country clubs in his hometown. Blacks and Jews were not welcome at the club. Ralph and a small group of students decided to do something about it. They marched, the media arrived, and neither the police nor the club were happy. At one point […]
Posted inOpinion
Post-COVID reimaginings
IN THIS GRIM TIME of a worldwide pandemic, while properly preoccupied by the present crisis, government leaders and leaders of major institutions must also look to the future. As we move to a post-COVID era with phases of relief, recovery, and rebuilding, there must be a parallel phase: reimagining. The COVID crisis has dramatically reshaped […]
Posted inPolitics
Border wall talk is affront to American creed
SOME HAD NUMBERS stenciled on their forearm. Some carried pictures of relatives lost forever. They came from a different place. They spoke a different language. Most came with only the shirts on their backs. They did not want to come. They came to escape persecution and certain death. That was my childhood dinner table. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker’s unkept promise
IN THE SUMMER of 2014, then-candidate Charlie Baker made a pledge to the environmental community. He walked into a large hall at Suffolk University Law School, filled with hundreds of voters interested in his position on the issues. The audience shared one simple interest, adequate state funding for state agencies charged with environmental protection. While […]
Posted inOpinion
Baby boomers need to let go
ALMOST A DECADE AGO, a small group of civic leaders in business, government, labor, and academia decided to organize an intimate retreat, a mini Aspen or Renaissance weekend, called the Commonwealth Summit. It had one objective, to think big. We believed Massachusetts had much to offer the nation, but we needed to get out of […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Three must-do steps for Congress
TO STATE THE OBVIOUS, Americans are fed up with our political process and disillusioned by a dysfunctional government. It can’t get much worse. The critical question is: can we fix it? Consider three urgent steps. First, the US Senate must change the cloture rule, and it must be done now, before we know who wins […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Energy ‘combo platter’ doesn’t need new greenfield pipelines
WE HAVE HAD TWO STRONG WINTER SEASONS in a row with high energy costs. Some have said we lack infrastructure capacity, resulting in a classic supply and demand dynamic that drives costs. This economic yin and yang can be resolved as part of a longer-term plan by increasing a broad range of energy sources and […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Stop covering politics as if it’s a game
IT’S OVER! Why can’t political campaigns be more fun? Where’s the drama? Where are the hero’s that enthrall and excite us? Why are we so turned off, tuned out, and not voting? The answer is simple. Candidates are mere mortals. They are not superstars. They are not always handsome and charismatic and Nobel laureates. This […]