Posts Tagged ‘Opinion’
Hijacked holiday
When did Wakefield‘s official Martin Luther King Day observance turn into a partisan political rally? That’s what happened on Monday when two of the main speakers, State Senator Jason Lewis and State Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian, stepped to the microphone and hijacked this solemn event to bash the sitting American president with highly partisan speeches. There […]
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Tags: activists, audience, auditorium, crowd, First Amendment, free speech, holiday, inclusion, Jason Lewis, Kate Lipper-Garabedian, Mark Sardella, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Opinion, partisan, politicians, Politics, progressives, rhetoric, United States Constitution, unity, Veterans Daty, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA
Future tense
If you thought 2025 brought a lot of troubling changes, you ain’t seen nothing yet! But as the old saying goes, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” So, for my first column of the New Year, here are some bold predictions for 2026. The town can reconfigure all the intersections it […]
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Tags: 2025, 2026, Christmas, crystal ball, development, Donald Wong, driving, Edgewater Park, election, English, Fence Viewers, forecast, Forest Glade Cemetery, Hamas, housing, Humor, intersection, Israel, Jason Lewis, Jonathan Chines, Juneteenth, Kate Lipper-Garabedian, land acknowledgement, Mark Sardella, Moby Dick, New Year, No Kings, Opinion, Pleasure Island, Pledge of Allegiance, Politics, predictions, Pride, protest, radical chic, Sachem, Saugus MA, stop sign, Town Meeting, voting age, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA change, Wakefield Public Schools, Wakefield School Committee, William Carroll, wreaths, Youth Council
Minor party
I’m here to provide your periodic update on the effort to allow children to vote in local elections. The Wakefield Youth Council had planned to get an article on the Nov. 8 Regular Town Meeting warrant, but there “wasn’t enough time.” Too much homework, I guess. But after listening to a recent Youth Council meeting, […]
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Tags: children, Columbia University, cursive, elections, Humor, legislature, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Opinion, petition, Tom Mullen, Town Counsel, Town Meeting, vote, voting, voting age, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Youth Council, Zohran Mamdani
Lost in translation
Lots of professions have languages all their own, filled with terms and jargon that are foreign to the average human. Nowhere is that truer than in the field of public education. Even when “educators” are creating presentations for public consumption, their primary goal is to impress other educators, who are the only ones who can […]
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Tags: align, aligned, alignment, curriculum, Douglas Lyons, education, educator. teacher, eduspeak, Fahey's Tire Center, frameworks, goals, Google Translate, Humor, instruction, jargon, language, Mark Sardella, Opinion, School Superintendent, schools, space, stakeholder, teaching, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Public Schools, Wakefield Tire Center, WPS
Faux Kings Day
As the world witnesses the joyous reunions of freed hostages and their families, the “No Kings” crowd will be back in Wakefield Square on Saturday morning to demonize the architect of the cease fire that led to the hostages being released. The “No Kings” protesters boldly claim to be against genocide. So, on Saturday, they’ll […]
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Tags: AFT, American Association of University Professors, American Atheists, American Federation of Teachers, Arab American Institute, authoritarian, cease fire, Donald Trump, Founding Fathers, Gaza, genocide, Hamas, History, hostages, Israel, Mark Sardella, MoveOn.org, No Kings, Opinion, oppression, Our Revolution, peace, Planned Parenthood, Politics, President Trump, schools, Tax the Greedy Billionaires, teachers, Trump, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Missed message
Unlike many of those who have spent the last few weeks celebrating, excusing or minimizing his murder, I had heard of Charlie Kirk before a politically motivated assassin’s bullet tore through his neck as he spoke at a Utah university campus on Sept. 10. I wasn’t a big consumer of his content – I’m a […]
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Tags: assassination, brainwashing, Charlie Kirk, college, democracy, demonize, free speech, leaders, Mark Sardella, Opinion, Politics, rhetoric, students, teachers, TPUSA, TurningPointUSA, university, voters, Wakefield Daily Item
War of words
The move to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War has been met with predictable shrieks of horror from those who have never liked the military for defending a country they deem unworthy of protection. The idea of the name change, as I understand it, is to project a more reality-based, warrior […]
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Tags: America, chickadee, Department of Defense, Department of War, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Galvin Middle School, George Washington, Humor, Indian, John R. Galvin, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Native American, Opinion, Politics, presidents, School Committee, State Seal, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, War Department, warrior, Warriors
No time for townies
Whomever the Wakefield Town Council appointed this week as the next Town Administrator, it was sure to spark questions. Here’s one: Out of the 23 individuals who submitted resumes, was there really only one qualified male? A lot of people thought that local resident Ann Santos, having grown up in Wakefield, had the inside track […]
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Tags: Americal Civic Center, Ann McGonigle Santos, Bandstand, Dee Casey, Galvim Middle School, Gazebo, Greenwood, Hiker, Humor, Joseph Domelowicz, Junction, Junior High, Lake Quannapowitt, Mark Sardella, Montrose, native, North Avenue, North Ward, Opinion, Pagoda, Politics, Ristorante Molise, Rockery, selectmen, The Gulch, Tom Mullen, Town Administrator, Town Council, Town Counsel, townie, veteran, Wakefield Common, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, West Side, women
One child, one vote
Don’t be surprised if you see an article on the fall Regular Town Meeting warrant aimed at lowering the voting age in local elections to 16. The Youth Council voted in June to push Town Meeting for a home rule petition to that effect.
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Tags: athletes, children, elections, government, Humor, kids, Mark Sardella, Opinion, Politics, polling, President, School Committee, students, teachers, teenagers, Town Council, Town Meeting, turnout, vote, voters, voting age, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Youth Council, Warrior logo
The real ‘No Kings Day’
On July 4th, throngs of people will line the sidewalks of downtown Wakefield, but they won’t be holding “No Kings” signs. No, this crowd will be proudly celebrating their country’s founding and the brave men who fought for independence from a real monarch. What a difference a quarter of a millennium makes.
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Tags: America, American Revolution, celebtation, Dan Hicks, Donald J. Trump, England, fireworks, Founding Fathers, Fourth of July, George W. Bush, Humor, Independence Day, July 4, July Fourth, King George III, Mark Sardella, monarch, No Kings, Opinion, Parade, patriots, Politics, President, Revolutionary War, teachers, Uncle Sam, United States, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Mark Sardella 