Jack Fruchtman
Banning books
Chances are you’ve read a banned book. Take, for example, the Bible, the best-selling book of all time, estimated to be between five and...
The court after Breyer
Observers have rightly noted that Justice Stephen G. Breyer’s replacement on the Supreme Court will not alter its ideological balance. At 83, he announced...
Why the crisis in Ukraine matters to us
We must not underestimate the danger of the Russian buildup of some 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border. While Russian President Vladimir Putin claims...
Revising history, renewing ideas
The new year always brings renewal, as do new historical ideas. Revisionism usually occurs in the academy. But not always. Its most recent manifestations...
‘Storm Lake’ revisited, and your community newspaper
Who will make the checks at City Hall? Who — among America’s great din of flackery and cant — will tell us in...
Jan. 6, executive privilege, and the rule of law
The Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington, D.C., leaving five dead and more than 140 injured, was an attack not only on a building, but...
More, not less, speech
“If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the process of education, the remedy to...
Tsarnaev and the death penalty’s future
Anyone convicted of a capital crime in Massachusetts faces life in prison without parole, although for the past two years, some legislators have attempted...
The Texas abortion law has no legs
Massachusetts law allows a woman to have an abortion in consultation with her physician, nurse practitioner, or licensed midwife up to 24 weeks of...
August’s four critical news stories
Martha’s Vineyard Times readers should be aware of how four crucial reports, released last month, relate to one another. They are: 1. the Martha’s...
Rule by the minority
When voting is not only mistrusted but threatened, a democratic order may well fail. That seems to be the goal of many people who...
Reforming the Supreme Court?
A little-noticed action by the Biden administration, but one with potentially sweeping consequences, was the formation last April of a 36-member bipartisan commission to...
What to make of the heat
In New England back in the day, driving around in summertime with the windows down, the air was cool despite a hot sun. Maybe...
Who owns history?
As a Harvard professor of moral philosophy in the early 20th century, George Santayana memorably noted, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned...
More immigration — now
The United States needs more people. Here’s why.
In early May, President Biden increased the refugee admissions cap to 62,500 from the historically low Trump...
The government and the rule of law
Three years ago, in 2018, the Supreme Court, ruling 8 to 1 in Pereira v. Session, determined that immigration officials failed to properly inform...
Student speech: Free, or not so much?
School administrators, staff, and faculty have a legal and moral obligation to act as surrogate parents while children are in school. The legal principle...
Immigration reform: Long overdue
“Remember, remember always that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.”
–Franklin Delano Roosevelt, addressing the Daughters of...
Whom does the Senate represent?
The above question is incorrectly framed. We ought to ask not who but what does the Senate represent. The answer is the 50 states....
Comparing 1861 and 2021
An astonishing and eerie chain of events chillingly links the pre-Inauguration days of two presidents-elect: Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and Joe Biden this year....