Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category
PAC Attack
The attack ads currently airing against Sen. Scott Brown aren’t anything new. They started as soon as he was declared the victor in the 2009 Special Election to complete the US Senate term left vacant by the death of Teddy Kennedy. Brown’s win set off a period of deep mourning and hand-wringing in the “progressive […]
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Tags: ad, advertisements, committees, Congress, congressman, Daily Item, Elizabeth Warren, John Tierney, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Political Action Committee, political ads, Politics, Rep. John Tierney, Richard Tisei, Scott Brown, Sen. Scott Brown, senator, Senator Scott Brown, Ted Kennedy, US Senator Scott Brown, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts
Columbus: the Man and the Myth
Another holiday, another opportunity to vilify the United States. Actually, the upcoming Columbus Day holiday is just a warm-up for the Thanksgiving main event. We know the narrative by now. Christopher Columbus was not a heroic explorer who discovered a new world. He was a villain who set in motion the centuries-long American reign of […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Opinion, Politics, Profiles | 3 Comments
Tags: America, Americans, Christopher Columbus, Columbus, Columbus Day, discovery, explorer, explorers, Genoa, holiday, holidays, Indians, Italian, Italians, Native Americans, United States
Remember How We Felt on 9/11
Every generation has one of those “always remember where you were” dates. For the Greatest Generation, it was Pearl Harbor. For the Baby Boomers, it was the JFK assassination. September 11, 2001 is one of those dates. The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is upon us, and even more than any of the preceding anniversaries, the […]
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Tags: 9/11, 9/11 attacks, America, Daily Item, Ground Zero, Lorne Michaels, Mark Sardella, New York, New York City, Rudy Giuliani, Saturday Night Live, September 11 2011, SNL, terrorism, terrorist attack, terrorist attacks, terrorists, Twin Towers, United States, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, World Trade Center
Lighten Up
The Boston Globe recently ran a front-page story about people who are hoarding incandescent light bulbs in anticipation of a coming federal restriction on the sale of Edison’s most important invention. Count me among the hoarders. I’m not ready yet for my close-up on reality TV, but I have managed to lay in a small […]
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Tags: banning light bulbs, bulb, bulbs, CFL, CFL light bulbs, CFLs, Compact flourescent light bulb, Daily Item, electric, electric light, electricity, household lighting, incandescent light bulb, Item, light, light bulb, light bulb ban, light bulb law, light bulbs, lighting, lights, Mark Sardella, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item
The Price of Redemption
Debt ceiling, we hardly knew ye. Now that the debt discussion that has held the national airwaves hostage for the past few months is over and the phony threat of default is in the rear view mirror, can we please get back to real issues – like littering? Expanding the Massachusetts bottle law is the […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Opinion, Politics | 2 Comments
Tags: bottle, Bottle Bill, bottle deposit, Bottle Law, bottles, can, cans, Massachusetts, recycle, recycling
Green and Mean
I’m all in favor of being green – if only when it comes to the lettering of my car’s license plate. In a sea of white plates with red lettering, the old “greenies” have become something of a treasure among the dwindling number of car owners who still have them. The green lettered Massachusetts tags […]
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Tags: auto, automobile, automobiles, autos, car, cars, Daily Item, green, license plate, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, number plate, Registry of Motor Vehicles, tag, tags, vehicle, vehicles, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item
It takes the Wakefield Independence Day Committee many months to put together the annual July Fourth Parade, and Monday’s parade was no exception. But even for mere spectators, attending the parade involves a good deal of advance planning in order to stake out a prime viewing spot. As early as Sunday afternoon there were so […]
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Challenge Your Future
My 2011 Commencement Address Winter ended a week ago, and that means it’s graduation time. So I am happy to be here delivering my 2011 commencement address. Graduates, distinguished members of the faculty, salutorian, valedictorian and vegetarians. I guess that covers everyone. I come here today not to tell you how to live your lives; […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics | 1 Comment
Tags: Anthony Weiner, commencement, commencement speech, Daily Item, graduates, graduation, graduation speech, school, speech, student, students, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item
Catering to Apathy
Note to 89 percent of the registered voters in Wakefield, Massachusetts: There was a Town Election on April 26, 2011. Sorry you couldn’t make it. Two selectmen, two School Committee Members and an Assessor were elected. And those were just the contested races. It’s been noted that the 2011 Wakefield Town Election may have seen […]
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Tags: apathy, campaign, campaigns, candidate, candidates, Daily Item, election, elections, Item, voter, voter apathy, voter turnout, voters, voting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Mark Sardella 