December 2016
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas – It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It
Another year, another fake ‘War on Christmas’ is almost in the books. On Sunday morning, a great many of us will wake up, pad quietly downstairs, pour some coffee and wish our spouses and children a Merry Christmas. Others among us will light candles, recite prayers, and wish each other a Happy Hanukkah. Others won’t […]
After Aleppo: We Need a New Syria Policy
Over the past week, eastern Aleppo was completely brought back under control of the Syrian government. The population began to return to its homes, many of which were abandoned when al-Qaeda-linked rebels took over in 2012. As far as I know, the western mainstream media did not have a single reporter on the ground in […]
Lessons Learned From Two Battle Strategies
President Barack Obama and Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina don’t agree on many policy questions. But they have found themselves facing a similar political situation this year. And their very different reactions capture the deep — and alarming — differences between our two political parties right now. Both Obama and McCrory essentially had their […]
LETTER
Mere Point Property a Rare Opportunity In Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s editions of the paper made reference to supporters of a public vote in June on the future 946 Mere Point Road as “asking for a public park that would provide access to shellfishermen on the parcel.” Yes, this could be one of the uses, but […]
TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Friday, Dec. 23, the 358th day of 2016. There are eight days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History On Dec. 23, 1941, during World War II, American forces on Wake Island surrendered to the Japanese. On this date In 1788, Maryland passed an act to cede an area “not exceeding ten […]
To Those Who Light the World
My wife Tina and I recently attended a memorial service at a temple in Andover, Massachusetts for Ina Segal, the wife of one of my college fraternity brothers. Ina had taught third grade in Reading, Massachusetts for 35 years, and several speakers noted her positive impact on hundreds of students during her career. Ina cared […]
America’s political future now in the balance
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” So began “A Tale of Two Cities” by Dickens. And so it is today. The presidential and congressional elections left a still sharply divided American electorate. For Republican conservatives, the federal elections meant a GOP president could allow the Republican Congress an almost […]
FAITH NOTES :
As a college student studying in Jerusalem, I was privileged to spend one rainy and cold Christmas wandering around Bethlehem with my mother. In the days before a concrete wall was built to divide Israel from the West Bank, this majority Muslim city about six miles south of Jerusalem was an easy fifteen minute taxi […]
From the diocese: Students deliver joy to Maine families, help for runaways
AUGUSTA The students assisted representatives from the Capital Region Salvation Army in distributing toys to nearly 200 local families. More than 30 of the students began their work while the sun was still rising to unload the trucks of toys and set them up in advance of the arrival of the recipients. The gifts included […]