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Presentation of the traditonal “Shamrock Bowl’” President Obama – 2010 Since the Eisenhower Administration – the St. Patrick’s Day presentation of shamrocks to the President of the United States has become an important tradition. In 1952 what was then a ceremonial “box of shamrocks” became a custom-made Waterford crystal vase – now…
Read More »In this week when we celebrate St. Patrick and all things Irish, it’s natural to think back on the history of the Irish in Massachusetts – the firsts, the lasting contributions and then the prejudice. In his Boston Globe column today, Kevin Cullen tells the story of Barney McGinniskin – “the first Irish cop,…
Read More »MassMoments advises us today that on this day – March 15, 1820 – Massachusetts lost the over 30,000 square of the “province” of Maine. The relationship between Massachusetts and Maine was always rocky from the 1650s to the separation – with Maine feeling discontented by the political control, the great distance…
Read More »Erica Noonan writes from the Globe MetroDesk of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s initiative with five women’s liberal arts colleges – Barnard, Bryn Mawr and the Massachusetts colleges – Mt. Holyoke, Smith and Wellesley – now known as “The Sisters.” The focus of this partnership is “to increase the participation of…
Read More »On this day – March 12, 1933 – just a week after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his first national radio address or “fireside chat” broadcast directly from the White House thus launching a series talks with nation. FDR relied on simple language and folksy anecdotes or analogies to explain the often…
Read More »David Brooks in today’s NYTimes wonders out loud if the contemporary American behavioral trend of heightened self-approval may be weakening the national civic culture. He often asks such “community” questions as he tries to puzzle out the workings of our democratic-republic system. He makes a comment on the connection to toxic partisanship in…
Read More »On today’s “Political Intelligence” page of the Boston Globe, senior political writer Glen Johnson tell us of his meetings and inaction of the recently deceased writer and columnist David Broder. The site posts the actual note from Broder to Johnson – a longtime admirer – who was seeking a position with him at…
Read More »Lately, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich talks more and more about a possible run for president in 2012. Early on, one of the major issues candidate Gingrich will need to address is his past infidelities. Recently, Gingrich sat down with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network and…
Read More »MassMoments reminds us today of the Boston Massacre that played out over several days in early March of 1779. Boston was a tense town with many in the populace unhappy with British troops in occupation. For many months there were taunts and skirmishes with the troops that culminated in actions and…
Read More »On this day – March 4, 1861 – Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th President of the United States. The Inaugural Address given that day was long-awaited, historic, eloquent and far-reaching. Would Lincoln threaten slavery in the states? Would he enforce federal law? Seek returned of seized federal properties? How would he handle the…
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