Marching Backward
Following the Jan. 29 collision of a jet and an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C. that killed 67 people, the president blamed hiring practices at the Federal Aviation Administration for the crash....
View ArticleNo Hands, No Brains
As I read news reports about the team of young engineers and computer scientists deployed by Elon Musk to take over the financial systems of the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, I’ve been thinking a lot...
View ArticleDon’t Stop Talking
“Media mistrust has been growing for decades — does it matter?” asked a recent report from the Pew Charitable Trusts. “Midway through the 20th century, the news media was among the most trusted...
View ArticleMessing With the Mail
The U.S. Postal Service was in the news again this week, thanks to a head-spinning series of flipflops by the administration about its plans for the mail. The president, who has called the U.S.P.S. “a...
View ArticleWomen’s Words
This Saturday, March 8, is International Women’s Day, and while we listen to the 19 women DJs on WOMR (see page C9), I’ll be thinking about the women on the front lines of democracy and decency at this...
View ArticleTown by Town
“People think news deserts are only in flyover country,” said veteran reporter Samuel Freedman, who was quoted in a 2023 article in The Nation. “Local news, local journalism, is disappearing...
View ArticleMen Behaving Badly
I learn a lot by reading the Arts & Minds pages. This week my antennae were activated by Dorothea Samaha’s article about Daniel Waite Penny and his podcast, Non-Toxic (see page C6 of this issue)....
View ArticleWhat Not to Know
What is the purpose of newspaper headlines, and who should write them, people or computers? At the Independent, we work on headlines at both ends of the editorial process. We ask reporters to write...
View ArticleOut of the Doldrums
Saturday was a dreary day. A good example, I think, of what Wyman Richardson was talking about in the chapter of The House on Nauset Marsh titled “The March Doldrums.” We were at the Inn at the Oaks in...
View ArticleCan Wellfleet Survive?
The opponents of affordable housing in Truro have rallied around the slogan “Keep Truro Rural.” Now we are hearing the same line about the Maurice’s Campground project in Wellfleet. We should ask what...
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