Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Home Essay

Essay

Assessing the 2017 Trump tax cuts

4
In 2017, President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It was his signature achievement. Now that several years have passed since the law was enacted, what has been its impact?...

A step across a cultural divide 

6
From the street, you could hear the muffled beat of Brazilian house music up in The Loft on Oak Bluffs Avenue.  It was my first time going to “Brazilian night,” a Sunday tradition for many...

Remember?

4
Don’t ask me to remember where I left my coat. Or when I last ate. Or even what day it is.  But I remember clearly eight decades ago, bathing in the brook we called the...

Congress’s disgrace: the failure to reform immigration

79
Congress once again failed to resolve the critical immigration problem plaguing the southern border of the United States. Thousands of undocumented migrants are crossing into the country. Just a year and a half ago,...

The court and the E.P.A., yet again

4
The Supreme Court has another chance to reduce the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency when it hears a challenge to its regulatory authority on Feb. 21. Last year, the court sidelined the E.P.A.’s authority...

A sign of the times?

4
First came the high winds. They blew hard against the “MV Times” sign above the entry to our newsroom, leaving it hanging by one rusty nail, twisting in the wind.  “A sign of the times,”...

Trump eligibility and the Anderson petition

1
In its Jan. 11 edition, my op-ed in The MV Times reviewed the Trump argument before the Supreme Court to allow him to appear on the Colorado primary ballot. To reiterate, the focus is...

Presidential eligibility and the Supreme Court

0
News first broke last September that two highly conservative law professors argued that Donald J. Trump was no longer eligible to run for president because he was directly involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection...

Keep the faith in public education

6
Before we sign off completely for 2023, I have a short message: Our public schools are under attack, but they are stronger and more resilient than their enemies assume, and more effective than you...

The supreme court adds three (maybe four) to its schedule

0
Like most government agencies, the U.S. Supreme Court winds down its schedule as the Christmas and New Year’s season draws closer. The last day on which the justices heard arguments was Dec. 6.   Since then,...

Labeling

3
People take one look at me and immediately label me a sweet little old lady who feeds the birds and goes to the library a lot. If I had a label on the back of...

Two deaths, two different lives, a retrospective

0
Two deaths, Henry Kissinger at 100 on Nov. 29 and Sandra Day O’Connor, 93, two days later, mark the end of an era. Few people will be able to emulate them, their achievements, or...

For a permanent ceasefire

54
Controversy rages on our Island and around the world over the Israel-Gaza war. Some Island residents, myself included, have publicly expressed outrage over the Israeli military’s assault on Gaza, which we, along with millions...

How to be an ally to Jews in these difficult times

15
It is now almost eight weeks since Hamas perpetrated horrific attacks, including murders, kidnappings, and sexual violence, on innocent Israeli civilians of all ages from the very young to the very old. In the...

I did it

8
Thanksgiving is over, and I did it! I did not say one word about genocide, indigenous peoples, or Day of Mourning. I did not interrupt halftime, get up on my soapbox, and tell people...

Community service versus ‘serving your community’

2
Some years ago, when I was visiting a high school classmate in a small town in Ohio, he showed me some benches near a bus stop and a small park. “Our high school kids...

The world needs more Waylon Sauers

2
A couple of weeks ago, I left work early to attend the final home game of the MVRHS Unified Basketball team. It was unlike any other high school basketball I’ve ever seen.  The team includes...

Religion in America today

26
The First Amendment’s two religion clauses require the government to “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Historically, the Supreme Court has interpreted these clauses by saying,...

More and more secrecy

13
We are all going to have to trust Superintendent Richie Smith's interpretation of the school lawyers' interpretation of the law.  Again. Despite a high level of public interest in the legality of the MVRHS School Committee's...

High time that Trustees own stewardship responsibilities

0
We take pride in our family's enduring ties to the Vineyard and the Chappaquiddick community. Our family history here is one of service and stewardship — past presidents of the Chappaquiddick Island Association, Trustees...