Author Archive

History Repeats Itself: Vietnam and Iraq

Today’s headlines forecast the imminent demise of the regime now ruling Iraq as the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria rolls across the country. The Iraqi military, upon which the US spent billions of dollars to train and equip, melts away. Bagdad is expected to fall imminently. We’ve…

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Student photo exhibit at Zeitgeist Gallery

The Lowell High Compass Program Photography group has an exhibit up at Zeitgeist Gallery located at 167 Market St, Lowell, MA 01852 (formerly Olive That and More). The exhibit will be there until Monday June 16th. Items are available for purchase and all proceeds will go towards purchasing new cameras.…

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City Council Meeting: June 10, 2014

Mayor Elliott introduced Hannah York, the new City Auditor. She says she’s delighted to be here and everyone has been wonderful, especially the staff in the Auditor’s Office. Public Hearing on Proposed FY15 Budget Councilor Kennedy congratulates City Manager Murphy on the budget document but says because it proposes a…

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“Minimal Scrutiny” by John Edward

John Edward teaches economics at Bentley and UMass Lowell. He’s a frequent contributor of columns on economic issues. Here is his latest: There are three things certain in life. Benjamin Franklin identified death and taxes. The third certainty is that without taxes and government intervention, people will die. Two years…

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Lowell Week in Review: June 8, 2014

I’m still recuperating from knee surgery so my own participation in the week’s political activities was limited but here are some observations from the sidelines. Nancy Pelosi visits Lowell Early Monday morning, Nancy Pelosi and ten Congressional colleagues rolled into the parking lot of Middlesex Community College as part of…

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Boston Globe launches “Capital”

Today is the inaugural edition of the Boston Globe’s new weekly political section called “Capital” which the Globe describes as “the week in politics and the issues.” I’m impressed. The twelve page section is packed with substance including news stories, opinion pieces, graphs and photographs. While there are a few…

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D-Day, June 6, 1944

Today is the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the great amphibious and airborne assault that returned the Allies to France in 1944 and commenced the final phase of the war in Europe. Below is a blog post I did two years ago which includes photos from a 2004 family visit to…

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