I remember the Obama years well. There was a massive surge of national pride when Barack Obama was elected. America had done something important. It had overcome a hurdle on its path to racial inclusion. It had dealt a blow to its past.
Donald Trump’s administration overpromised on coronavirus vaccines. In November, his secretary of health and human services said there would be 40 million doses available by the end of the 2020; he was off by about a month. Trump himself promised 100 million doses in that same period. Everyt…
To make a lasting impact on diversity, equity and inclusion in Williamstown, we should turn our attention to housing.
PITTSFIELD — On Jan. 20, 2021, Joseph R. Biden Jr. took the oath of office and was officially sworn in as America’s 46th president. Wasting no time, on day one, he took action to undo what he described as over a dozen of former President Donald Trump’s most harmful policies, which included r…
It’s not often that one loses two dear friends in the span of a month. Yet that merciless contagion, Covid, recently dealt me such a blow.
Now that I’ve finished watching almost every British mystery I could find on BritBox or Acorn TV, I have changed gears and begun to plant my virtual garden. With a stack of seed catalogs waiting on the table, I have looked for gardening inspiration in a new place this year, the weekly BBC ga…
“Who am I to stand and wonder, to wait while the wheels of fate slowly grind my life away? Who am I?”
Right now, hope may feel illusive.
Amid all the exhausted relief and Twitter euphoria, it’s worth being honest: The inauguration of Joe Biden to the presidency was a dark scene overall, with strong decline-of-the-republic vibes.
In January 1838, when Abraham Lincoln was a member of the Illinois state Legislature and two weeks shy of his 29th birthday, he delivered what was probably the most prophetic speech of his political career. It’s a speech whose time has arrived again in 2021.
Many Americans, myself included, were deeply relieved when Joe Biden is finally sworn in as president. But almost everyone has a sense of foreboding, not just because of the specific threat of right-wing terrorism, but also because Biden will take office in a political environment polluted by lies.
American exceptionalism was a term first used by American socialists in the 1920s in debates over whether the U.S., the quintessential capitalist state, was an exception to Marx’s theory that all capitalist societies would inevitably move toward communism through violent revolution.
“This campaign isn’t just about winning votes. It’s about winning the heart and, yes, the soul of America,” Joe Biden said at the Democratic National Convention in August. “You see, I believe in the possibility of this country,” he told his listeners. “We’re always looking ahead, ahead to an…
Here we go again. For the second time in 12 years a newly elected Democratic president is inheriting an economy in deep distress. And while it’s hard to focus on such things after last week’s Trumpist putsch, a lot depends on whether Joe Biden’s plan to deal with our economic woes is effective.
PITTSFIELD — In the aftermath of the 2020 election, healing and coming together were a priority for many, including this very paper, which held a call for letters asking how to heal political division, as well as President-elect Joe Biden, who swore to be a “president not to divide, but unif…
“Spare the rod and spoil the child,” is the “modern-day” proverb that a child who gets their own way, and is not disciplined for bad behavior, will become a “spoiled brat.”
Coronavirus
The upper Deerfield valley, bordered by Monroe State Forest, is the wildest part of Massachusetts.
The Rites of Passage and Empowerment program is a holistic mentoring program that emphasizes the development of mind, body and spirit and supports adolescent girls in discovering their inner voice.
Before I discuss the time I mistakenly thought Donald Trump had sent a guy named Vito over to break my legs, just a quick public service announcement:
On Wednesday, 75 days post-election, Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. During this long, lame-duck period,
I had a notion about writing my next column on new Netflix films, but that seemed impossible after compulsively watching the violent insurrection that unfolded in D.C. on Jan. 6.
“Once or twice and maybe again, who knows
Closer to the beginning of the Trump administration, I was asked by my editor at The Eagle to write a column answering the question: What is wrong with what Trump is doing? I began the answer with another question: What if America is an idea, and the strength of that idea is the number of ci…
With the Civil War over, Massachusetts legislators turned their attention to domestic matters, not the least dealing with rampant abuse of alcohol laws in Boston. The Legislature enacted a bill that took effect June 16, 1865, establishing a commonwealth constabulary.
Sports betting failed to make it into a recently passed economic development bill, although the House voted to legalize it. That debate is likely to get taken up early in the new legislative session, lawmakers say.
PITTSFIELD — The flood of media headlines regarding the bad news of the destructive action at our nation’s capital by an uncontrolled mob, incited by lame-duck President Donald Trump, has swept the story of some good news from the front pages of newspapers and from leading news stories on te…
In the days after Donald Trump whipped up a mob to overrun the U.S. Capitol in a desperate attempt to stop the certification of his defeat, many conservatives have voiced their outrage over the true victims of the failed putsch.
For a long time, people have predicted the crackup of American conservatism, the end of a Republican Party dominated by the conservative movement as one of the major powers in our politics. Demographic trends were supposed to permanently marginalize the right. Barack Obama’s 2008 victory was…
“The Next Voice You Hear …” was a 1950 film featuring James Whitmore and Nancy Davis, soon to be Nancy Reagan, as they listened each afternoon to the voice of God taking over the radio waves. We never got to hear God’s voice. And unless we wander in the wilderness or have synesthesia reading…
COVID-19 is a public health challenge, but as the pandemic goes on, it’s clearly an economic crisis as well.
Letters to the Editor
Why mention previous Lee Police woes?
A response to letter on Five Corners intersection
Editorials
In a winter when most Americans could use a good news story to lift their patriotic spirits, we find one unfolding — albeit 4,000 miles from here — in snow-covered places like Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Finland. That’s where the women’s U.S. Cross-Country Ski Team, led by the standout p…
There’s a new guy on the rostrum as the 192nd session of the Massachusetts House begins work, but an astonishing sameness in the way business is conducted — the same lack of transparency, a place where being a lawmaker is an insider’s game.
The Donald Trump administration is officially gone, but some of the deeper wounds it left in our republic remain — as do lessons on how to better fortify our political institutions against a similarly reckless executive.
As plans for mass vaccine distribution become reality, regional equity should factor into Massachusetts’ efforts to deal a crushing blow to the coronavirus.
{{summary}}
A tribute to those we have lost, September-November 2020.
Holiday gift ideas from your favorite local retailers.
The best of the best of Berkshire County, chosen by Berkshire Eagle readers.
The Berkshire Eagle presents a celebration of exemplary high school athletes.
The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires presents the 2020 Berkshire Nonprofit Awards.
The Berkshire Eagle's annual business feature puts a spotlight on downtown renaissances in Berkshire County.
Berkshire Community College presents an annual roundup of forty young leaders making a difference in Berkshire County.
Looking for a change? The Berkshire Eagle presents great opportunities at top employers in Berkshire County.
Look into the future of education in the Berkshires and Southern Vermont.
