Beyond COVID: A crisis of coalescing epidemics
On an average day, nearly 8,000 people die in the U.S., which is about 300 an hour, or 5 every minute. Many of these deaths can be traced to the multiple epidemics and crises...
Libel and a free press
With its awardwinning reporting staff, The MV Times prides itself on precision. No news publication is, however, above criticism, because some people will always find fault with a story or commentary. Newspapers have long...
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 seven billion copies, with annual sales of well over $400...
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 his retirement will take effect at the end of the...
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 he does not want to initiate a war to protect...
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 have taken place in public.
Take, for example, updates to the...
My white privilege
“Walt, I think you missed our turn. Weren’t we supposed to turn left back there?”
“Shoot, you’re right. I’ll find a place to turn around.”
“Well, there’s no traffic. Just make a quick U-turn, and we...
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 on the United States. It was an assault on American...
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 be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.”
–Justice Louis D....
Outrage fatigue
Recently a neighbor of mine asked how I was doing. Sighing, I responded, “I think I have COVID fatigue. The months and months of confinement, uncertainty, bad news, and fear have worn me down,...
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 to end this practice by allowing parole hearings for prisoners...
Combating childhood obesity with technology
Childhood obesity is one of the most pressing issues facing our public health community, and an emerging technology in the form of “precision nutrition” is poised to combat this crisis effectively.
The CDC reports that...
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 a pregnancy. This timing fits with Supreme Court precedent for...
Narcan is the new EpiPen
While we have been consumed with the evolving COVID virus, the economy, and Afghanistan, drug overdoses were up 30 percent this year in the U.S., accounting for 93,000 deaths. From Los Angeles to the...
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 Vineyard Commission report recommending a “carrying capacity” study of the...
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 continue to question the outcome of the 2020 presidential election....
Is history a value?
I’m an architect from Florence, Italy. I have been coming to the Vineyard every year since 1994, and since then, I have become fascinated by the local architecture, so different from the stone Palazzi...
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 study the Supreme Court.
Disgruntled Democrats led the effort after President...
The unvaccinated find themselves increasingly isolated
This past week I spent time coaxing a neighbor into going to the emergency department because he was having trouble breathing, and felt like he was dying. I assumed COVID, given his symptoms and...
Journalist integrity, thy name is Fox!
The George Foster Peabody Award is broadcasting’s highest honor, and so, when the Peabody Committee announced the creation of a Peabody Award for Journalistic Integrity, I naturally assumed that it would go to either...