Commentary
Commentary: The filibuster needs to be reformed
The will of the voters is being thwarted. Elections are losing their meaning. And democracy is being mocked before our very eyes. Not by mythical voter fraud or conspiracy, but by Senate Rule 22 – known more colloquially by its stage name, “the filibuster.” Rule 22 is as mundane on paper as it is mighty […]
Commentary: Biden’s infrastructure plan targets lead pipes that threaten public health across the nation
President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan includes a proposal to upgrade the U.S. drinking water distribution system by removing and replacing dangerous lead pipes. As a geochemist and environmental health researcher who has studied the heartbreaking impacts of lead poisoning in children for decades, I am happy to see due attention paid to this silent killer, […]
Commentary: New Hampshire should embrace an offshore wind future
Last month’s celebration of Earth Day provided an opportunity to reflect upon how to build a stronger economic future for New Hampshire’s citizens based on a clean-energy future. The solutions to the crises of mass unemployment and economic inequality can play a key role in protecting New Hampshire communities from the threat of rising seas, […]
Editor’s Notebook: Zen and the art of fire pit assembly
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant took to the New York Times last month to diagnose my problem – and maybe yours. “It wasn’t burnout – we still had energy. It wasn’t depression – we didn’t feel hopeless. We just felt somewhat joyless and aimless. It turns out there’s a name for that: languishing,” he wrote. Languishing. […]
Commentary: Overdose prevention centers will save lives in New Hampshire
Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest provisional data on drug poisoning deaths, it is projected that the United States may be losing 90,000 American lives to drug poisoning every 12 months. The disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marginalized populations is not new news. The impacts of isolation and economic […]
Commentary: What the United States can learn from Canada’s cannabis clarity
The inherent contradictions of American cannabis laws seem to appear in the news almost every week. At the state level, for example, Virginia recently became the latest jurisdiction to allow adult cannabis use, effective this July 1. But just days later, a court upheld United States federal tax laws that treat state-licensed cannabis businesses as […]
Commentary: Fair school funding must be part of state budget
It’s spring again in New Hampshire, a time for blooming daffodils, filling potholes, and passing laws. As the weather has warmed, there has been a lot of discussion about the $90 million state education funding hole our public schools face in the coming year. That hole represents a loss of state aid to districts and […]
Editor’s Notebook: A way forward for ‘The Sum of Us’
I once exchanged emails with a newspaper reader who had submitted a letter to the editor that I rejected for some reason. Maybe he had made unverified claims or perhaps he was responding to someone else’s letter in a way that violated our policy – I can’t remember exactly. What I do recall is that […]
Commentary: It’s time revoke law enforcement’s status as a ‘super constituent’
The most powerful player in electoral politics is the constituent, or so we are led to believe by every elected official ever. Ask a state senator or a state representative and they’ll tell you that the people they want to hear from most are their constituents. They do not specify a particular type of constituent. […]
Commentary: Declaring racism a public health crisis brings more attention to solving long-ignored racial gaps in health
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has joined hundreds of cities and counties across the country in declaring racism a public health threat. On April 8, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky called racism an epidemic that affects “the entire health of our nation.” Declaring racism a public health threat will create a sharper […]
Commentary: I’m a pediatrician who cares for transgender kids
When Charlie, a 10-year-old boy, came in for his first visit, he didn’t look at me or my colleague. Angry and crying, he insisted to us that he was cisgender – that he was a boy and had been born male. A few months before Charlie came into our office, he handed a note to […]
Editor’s Notebook: Life in 100 canvases
For her senior project, my daughter poured out her generation’s childhood onto 100 5-by-5 canvases, which were then organized in a 10-by-10 grid and mounted on sturdy Elmer’s foam board. Some panels are instantly recognizable to parents of my generation, like the classic McDonald’s Happy Meal box, the PBS Kids logo, and a waving Dora […]