Sunday, November 8, 2026

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Viewpoints

JOHN BREASTED: The Great Barrington Selectboard’s credibility gap

Transparency does not require officials to reveal legal strategy. It does require them to tell voters when the town has been sued.

A dose of reality for those living in the fantasy world of ‘alternate facts’

I know I am omitting dozens of things here. This is just a taste of what awake people are protesting and resisting.

Maura Healey’s infrastructure mirage: A Commonwealth divided

This is not a partisan lament but a centrist plea: Massachusetts deserves better than a governor who excels at optics yet falters at execution.

I WITNESS: Presidential mentorship meeting #217 (Transcript)

D: I have appreciated your guidance! After reading “Mein Kampf” several times, I realized that the direct coaching of an expert would be very useful.

STEPHEN COHEN: A historical perspective on Trump’s invocation of the Enemy Aliens Act of 1798

The law that was used to intern our innocent countrymen and -women 80 years ago—and only once before in World War I—is now being used again.

It is time to fix school-choice funding

Without reform, school choice will continue to be a financial burden rather than an opportunity for our communities.

LEONARD QUART: Living with the Trumpian ethos

I know self-criticism is as important as criticizing the other side, but Trump and his cohort seem unable to engage in self-criticism or stop operating like a juggernaut that lays waste to its critics and opponents.

CONNECTIONS: We have all we need to prevail. We just need to stop wasting it.

We need to recognize potential. We need to truly understand prejudice, the purposeful misunderstanding and undervaluing of any group. We live in a land of plenty. That does not justify waste, but it enables it.

We need a new statewide approach to affordable housing

Instead of dealing with this in 351 places, I suggest the state treat this as a one-place problem and fund a statewide public housing plan at a number of strategically placed locations with minimal financial obligation from local communities.

I WITNESS: Leadership

Good leaders lead by example. Bad leaders lead by example, too.

PETER MOST: Et tu, attorney general?

To HWW ratepayers, the attorney general’s message is clear: “Let them eat cake.” To HWW, despite its ongoing breach of the Settlement Agreement, the message is just as clear: “Have at it.”

Aging in place? Consider the Home Modification Loan Program (HMLP)

HMLP is a state-funded no-interest loan program to provide modifications to those in need of accessibility improvements to their homes.

The current Republican House budget proposal is as poisonous as the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

I remember well the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution by a vote of 533 to two in August 1964.

Putin’s Project 2025 carried out by Trump

Putin’s entire wish list to destroy the West is being carried out by Trump, Moscow’s man in Washington.

Holding on to hope

We fulfill our dreams and make meaning in life by envisioning and then co-creating beauty, truth, goodness, and justice. This is how we push back against entropy.

Local boards of health and state legislators are working on emergency legislation to prepare for a potential emergence of avian influenza

TTHD and the SBPHC continue to advocate and support active working relationships with various sectors of the South County community to help develop safeguards to protect the residents of South County.

CONNECTIONS: Uncertainty and destabilization are the road to our undoing

There is uncertainty in the markets, and nerves are frayed from Wall Street to Main Street.