Category / Public Affairs

President Trump doesn’t understand the nature of public service. On the apprentice and in his business, the people under him are driven by personal ambition, whereas most public servants are driven by mission. If you fire the department head in your company, the next in line will get the message and come into line, but for many in public service, the mission is more important than promotion or personal gain. That’s why the FBI Deputy Director contradicted Trump’s assertion that …

During a wonderful lunch today with Dennis McCrory, the original psych rehab psychiatrist and long-time consultant to the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, he asked what I thought of MRC, our federal/state rehabilitation agency, and I, of course, digressed, sharing thoughts that had been occupying my mind for the previous week, just waiting for someone to come along and make them relevant.

During our careers, early on in mine, two models of community day programming for people with psychiatric conditions dominated: day …

On a recent afternoon I was subbing in for an older friend for some tennis doubles. It was Super Tuesday, and the talk turned to politics. Then one of the guys, who looked like a reasonable sort, came out with this.

“When Obama got elected, all the blacks were lining up for their Obama bucks. And boy, they got them, you know? Did they ever?!”

That’s pretty much verbatim. In 2016. In Woburn.

Now I didn’t have much in common …

The heinous terror attacks in Paris do not relieve us of our obligation to be steadfast and compassionate. I strongly support the Globe’s editorial position condemning Governor Baker’s small-minded stand against welcoming Syrian refugees to Massachusetts. The US is not just the land of the free, it is also the home of the brave. We can’t cede our courage to a special class of warriors and their families, especially when the strategy of fighting over there so …