Author Archive

New York and marriage equality

Last night, when New York became the sixth state in America to legalize same-sex marriage, it was an event of great historic import, but from this Massachusetts perch, it was a bit anti-climatic. Contrary to all the predictions of Western Civilization as we knew it collapsing back in 2004 when…

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The real Rat Patrol

Those of us who grew up watching The Rat Patrol harbor a latent interest in desert warfare of World War Two. While The Rat Patrol was entertaining TV, it also took some historical liberties. The series was loosely based on the British Army’s Long Range Desert Group, an elite unit…

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Take a 12th grade history quiz

The “Week in Review” section of this Sunday’s New York Times reported that only “only 12% of a representative sample of the nation’s high school seniors demonstrated proficiency in the subject last year” according to recent National Assessment of Educational Progress test results. While it’s critically important that we improve…

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Flag retirement ceremony

The Global War Veterans of Greater Lowell held a “flag retirement” ceremony today at the Veteran’s Square section of the Westlawn Cemetery. Flags that had become unserviceable due to ordinary wear and tear were collected and then “retired.” The proper method to do that is to burn the flags in…

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Battle of Bunker Hill: June 17, 1775

Yesterday was the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. The battle is noteworthy because it was the first major engagement between the colonial militia and the British troops. Eight weeks earlier, an intense fight had occurred at Lexington, Concord and on the route back to Boston, but while those…

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