Sunday, December 10, 2023
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Essay

Labeling

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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’

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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...

Four fine Island whines: Not Chardonnay or Montrachet

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Tipping Lord knows I believe in tipping. I may be poor, but I’m not cheap. In fact, I usually overtip to make up for the parsimonious ways of my fellow senior citizens who...

Undermining the federal agencies

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An effort is underway to undermine the authority of federal regulatory agencies, some 100 of them. Scholars call these agencies the foundation of the contemporary administrative state. Conspiracy theorists call them “the deep state,”...

Inhabiting the light

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My paintings are worked out in the studio, but my information — my inspiration, people like to say — comes from places I go to and look at and take in. The Vineyard has...

Badly behaved bikers, and lax and lazy lawmakers

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My neighbor tried to run me off the road in late August. He was in his car, and I was on my bike, and if I hadn’t stopped, he would have crashed into me....

Help save public education with teacher business cards

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Friends,  At every back-to-school night I can remember, I made a point of introducing myself to the women and men who taught my three children. It went this way: “I’m John Merrow, (name of child)’s...

The Dover Amendment and the turf battle

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In his Sept. 5 decision, Land Court Judge Kevin T. Smith interpreted the so-called Dover Amendment (G.L. c. 40A, § 3) to reject the town of Oak Bluffs’ attempt to protect the sole-source aquifer...

Sacred memories

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Baruch atah adonai elohenu melech ha’olam asher kidshanu bemitzvotav vitzivanu lehadlik ner shel (shabbat ve) yom tov. Blessed art thou, O Lord Our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Thy commandments,...

A planning tool for Tisbury’s future

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I’m curious, what was your experience with summer traffic this year? In particular, Tisbury traffic. Worse? Better? About the same?  On one July day, as I drove to an appointment at the speed of a...

Does the Fourteenth Amendment disqualify Donald J. Trump?

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In an extraordinary law review article, two highly respected and quite conservative law professors argue that former President Donald J. Trump is ineligible to become the next president of the United States. William Baude...

Martha’s Vineyard Museum’s Confederate plaque exhibit must tell the whole truth

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Four and a half years ago, I took to task the Martha's Vineyard NAACP over a matter that goes to the heart of the organization's work.  I insisted it demand the removal of two plaques...