MassMoments reminds us that on this day January 9, 1961, President-elect John Fitzgerald Kennedy addressed the Massachusetts legislature. He acknowledged in an oft-quoted reminder that “of those to whom much is given, much is required.” Yet, the main subject of his address was the unique legacy of the Commonwealth –…
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With the demolition of the former St. Joseph’s Hospital on Pawtucket Street nearly completed as part of the UMass Lowell creation of University Crossing, it seemed appropriate to offer some information about the hospital and its origins. Originally it was known as the Lowell Corporation Hospital – established on November 1, 1839 –…
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Earlier today on Facebook I linked to a story about the conservative group “Club for Growth” sending out a “NO Vote Alert” urging all Republican members of the U.S. House to vote “NO” on the bill to expand the National Flood Insurance Program’s borrowing authority by $9.7 billion. This is…
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Today’s Globe reports that soon-to-be former Senator Scott Brown took to the talk radio airways yesterday to swipe at Congressman Ed Markey, a likely opponent in the upcoming special election to fill the US Senate seat now held by John Kerry. Brown asked whether Markey, who has been a Congressman…
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Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI – member of the Justice/Peace and Integrity of Creation Ministry – continues his work on bringing faith and values into the financial world where the Oblates and other religious organization are invested. Fr. Finn is well-connected locally in Lowell and Greater Lowell. He writes regularly on the…
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On this day – January 2, 1960, U. S. Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy of Massaachusetts first announced that he would run for President. He made the announcement in the Senate Caucus Room in Washington, DC. I am today announcing my candidacy for the Presidency of the United States. The Presidency is the…
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I don’t agree with the opinions in the regular essays by Ross Douthat in the NYTimes, but he makes a useful point in his new column when he encourages citizens to at least try to read or listen to political and policy views that come from way over on the other…
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I couldn’t find my Lowell list from 2008 so we’ll just skip from yesterday’s 2007 Top Ten to the following inventory from 2009: (Originally posted on December 29, 2009) It was a busy year in Lowell politics, so I won’t limit myself to just ten items. Here is my list…
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I was 20 years old in 1974, a sophomore studying political science at Merrimack College. when John Kerry announced he would not make a second attempt to be elected to Congress in the Fifth District. I had been a volunteer in the 1972 campaign, helping in a modest way in…
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With John Kerry being nominated today to serve as America’s next Secretary of State, his career in elective office is almost certainly at an end. Here is a Lowell-centric record of the eight general elections (and corresponding primaries) in which he appeared on the ballot: 1972 – Congress – 5th…
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