David Graves: George Floyd

For those that haven’t seen “The Fall of Minneapolis” documentary on the internet, it will provide a lot of suppressed evidence about George Floyde’s arrest and death that you should understand. It is very well done and will help you understand any future pardon of Derek Chauvin that may occur.

Laurie Rhoades: The price tag

No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, this administration is costing you money. Exactly how much depends on how long the current tariffs remain in effect, as well as your family’s spending pattern, but barring a change, tariffs will cost the average American household over $2,300 a year (Yale Budget Lab, May, 25, 2025). And that’s not the abstract theoretical money that rides the waves of the stock market, it’s the actual, real dollars you fork over for back-to-school clothes and Christmas gifts. Perhaps sticker shock hasn’t set in yet, but once retailers exhaust their pre-tariff inventories this summer, all of us are going to feel how high the price tag on Donald Trump’s trade war actually is. I wonder if we’ll think it’s worth it.

Todd Damon: Not everyone is on edge, can do without invasive leftist activism

I appreciate the efforts of Recorder columnist Daniel Cantor Yalowitz. His column every other Monday feels like an attempt at helping people cope with what he and others perceive as a difficult time for all Americans. It’s true many are disappointed in the election results of 2024. However not everyone is suffering from (TDS) Trump derangement syndrome. For every, outspoken/in your face activist lecturing others on the dangers of Orange Hitler and whatever else is trending with America’s betters, there are many quietly going about their day with a sense of optimism and pride. This group is inclusive, a term that has become ubiquitous and often weaponized in recent years.

Constance Pike: Protests about budget cuts, president’s policies

Indivisible North Quabbin has been meeting regularly in Memorial Park in Orange every Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon. The purpose of these gatherings is to protest President Donald Trump’s budget cuts and his policies in general. Because there are so many budget cuts in numerous areas and so many assaults on our democracy, we have a highly mixed group of protesters with varied interests and concerns. We usually have between 95 and 100 people attending weekly, holding signs and discussing these issues. We have had as many as 300 attendees.

My Turn: School privacy bill a digital wolf in sheep's clothing

By PETER B-G WELLER

Last week, my 8-year-old daughter used her school-managed internet browser to research information for a science report on cheetahs. She entered key words to discover sites describing the big cat’s sleek golden coat, tear-marked face, and explosive speed. She learned about its habitat, prey, and the unique features of its claws, designed to grip the ground like cleats. She then paused, looked up, and asked if the computer was “watching her type.”

My Turn: Southerners, not Democrats

By MIK MULLER

In his May 21 letter (“Reparations? Let the Democratic National Committee pony up!”), writer Norman Schell makes the mistake of equating slavery to the Democratic Party, alone. I believe he is confusing political parties with the divide between northern states and slave-owning southern states before and after the Civil War. Here’s some history.

My Turn: Menopause bill a vital investment in the health and well-being of women

By OLIVIA LARAMIE and TORY EDWARDS

The Hampshire-Franklin Commission on the Status of Women and Girls advocates for the needs of women and girls in our community. As part of this mission, the commission asks for your support of Bill H.2499, “An Act pertaining to women’s health at midlife and public, medical and workplace awareness of the transitional stage of menopause and related chronic conditions.”

Joe Kurland: Slavery and the dance of Republicans and Democrats

“Half the truth is often a great lie” Ben Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1758.

Deb Friedman: State commission’s interpretation of antisemitism shows bias

I appreciate the Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism’s desire to combat antisemitism in Massachusetts, but am troubled by the bias shown by the commission’s noticeable deference to a Zionist-leaning/Israel-promoted interpretation of what constitutes antisemitism. There are many Jews in Massachusetts who are not Zionists, and the assumption that equates Israel and Zionism with Jewish self-identity is itself antisemitic. (Also, some Jews consider themselves Zionists without meaning it politically, i.e., not as followers of nationalist Zionism and its state, Israel.)

My Turn: Big money and government

By DENNIS MERRITT

Here’s a hypothesis explaining government today. We all know that money in politics is behind both major parties. But this has made me wonder why the Republicans and Democrats have been so much at war with each other over the past decades. I mean, if the billionaires are supporting both parties, what do they really care if one or the other is in control of Congress, or the White House?

My Turn: It’s time again for punk

By ALAN HARRIS

It’s wake up time folks. Put down your smartphones, take out the ear buds, remove the sludge of our compulsions, and the destructive culture of the internet. Go outside and walk around. Read an actual newspaper or a book. Smell the flowers that bloom in the spring, tra la, if and when they bloom. Acknowledge people. Fall in love with life.

Susan Triolo: Remembering George Floyd

May 25th: We remember George Floyd, murdered in Minneapolis at the hands of four police officers. Only because of Darnella Frazier do we know the truth. That 17-year-old courageously videoed Derek Chauvin as he brazenly knelt on Floyd’s neck, while the other cops stood by. On Darnella’s video we watched and heard George Floyd call out “I can’t breathe” while Chauvin choked the life out of him.

Mary McClintock: Nuclear power is not ‘clean’ energy

Thank you for publishing Ann Darling’s opinion piece “Gov. Healey makes an undemocratic wrong turn” in the May 22 Recorder that shines a light on Gov. Healey’s push for bringing nuclear power generation back to Massachusetts. As Ms. Darling wrote, “… nuclear power is filth y…” and costly and creates radioactive waste that will harm many future generations. I was particularly distressed to hear that Gov. Healey considers nuclear power to be “clean” energy.

My Turn: ‘War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.’ — 1984 in 2025

By CARRIE N. BAKER

Columnist Judy Wagner: The lions of spring

By JUDY WAGNER

“What a blue sky!” so says my husband as we pause in our garden prep work. “Looks pretty grey to me,” I counter, looking straight west under the brim of my garden cap and noting the piling, darkening clouds on the horizon. Then I tilt my head to look up: magnificent depthless blue sky! Yet again this garden place teaches: just a slight change of perspective can alter everything.

Jerry Markoski: Don’t submit. Resist

“Stand for something, or fall for anything.”

Columnist Daniel Cantor Yalowitz: The positive power of memory

By DANIEL CANTOR YALOWITZ

“Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.” — Oscar Wilde

Guest columnist William Lambers: Decoration Days After Civil War Inspired Memorial Day

By WILLIAM LAMBERS

The origins of Memorial Day can be found in the hearts of grieving families after the Civil War. Casualties were felt in almost every community. While the nation healed, families were trying to cope with the devastating loss of loved ones.

Trouble Mandeson: Kudos to Valley Medical Group

Kudos to Valley Medical Group for 25 years serving the community. I’ve been a patient there for 20 years and these days it seems a privilege to have health care, much less a primary care physician with a ratio of 1,580:1 (patients:doctors) in Franklin County.

Eve Brown-Waite: What’s hiding in the One Big Beautiful Bill

Hidden somewhere in the 1,000-plus page, “One Big Beautiful Bill” — among the tax breaks for billionaires, drilling and mining rights on public lands, and cuts to Medicaid and SNAP — there is also a golden ticket for Trump himself. It is here, in a section that reads, “No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued ...”