Opinion
Feelings about SoulFest
Maybe SoulFest isn’t appropriate fore the small town of Northfield, but not for the reasons one writer lays out in her letter to the editor “SoulFest not appropriate for Northfield,” Recorder, Jan. 5). Her stated concern is the mental health of the...
Astonished by town officials’ response to mass resignations
I was astonished to read that all seven members of the Council on Aging in Leyden have resigned after submitting a letter to the Select Board citing continued “harassing” and “bullying” by a local resident (“Citing lack of support, Council on Aging...
Commentary: Climate change efforts won't work if they exclude people with disabilities
By Sébastien Jodoin, Penelope J.S. Stein and Michael Ashley Stein
At the recent United Nations climate negotiations in Egypt, disability activists urged governments to include people with disabilities in their plans to address climate change. In response, the member states adopted an “overarching decision” and a...
Darcy Sweeney: Unmanaged forests critical to mitigating the climate crisis
I couldn’t disagree more with guest columnist Mike Leonard’s diatribe against Gov. Healey’s ambitious goals to preserve the commonwealth’s forested lands, starting with her campaign promise to invoke a logging moratorium in our public forests...
Chaos and extremism in the House
The new Republican House majority is a collection of election deniers, QAnonconspiracists, and political arsonists hellbent on gaining power at the expense of our democracy. They’ll be in control of the House of Representatives for the next two years...
Farmland for food not lights
There are positive ways to satisfy our needs for renewable energy, food, and forest carbon sequestration.Just as it is counter-productive to attempt to reduce climate change by logging carbon-sequestering forests, in order to build large solar arrays,...
Cult mentality
In Daniel Brown’s My Turn “Yes, Trumpism is a cult mentality,” (Jan. 3), he states that he was in a cult for a decade and a half. He now believes us Trump supporters are in a cult. That’s pretty humorous.You see, cultists see no faults in their cult...
My Turn: City leadership disappointing
By WENDY GOODMAN
I resigned from the Greenfield Human Rights Commission in October, in protest. The behavior of Mayor Roxann Wedegartner and her lack of engagement with the commission (other than to criticize or control) was insulting at best. I could no longer serve...
My Turn: After Singer sang, the curtain came down
By BILL NEWMAN
Rick Singer was, in the government’s words, “the architect of a massive, decades-long scheme to use fraud and bribery to secure the admission of high school students to elite colleges and universities ...” The scheme, known by its FBI code name,...
Congress must better support disabled veterans
Our disabled veterans are grossly undercompensated. The consequences for all of us could be dire. In FY2023, a totally disabled veteran with no dependents is compensated at the ridiculous rate of $43,463 annually. The National Average Wage Index...
Speaker of the House battle
I am completely ambivalent in my feelings about the speaker fight in Congress. Maybe it will be resolved when this gets printed, but my concerns remain.On the one hand, I would love to see the moderate Democrats make a deal with the moderate...
Enjoyed letter
Recorder, Readers Write, Dec. 31, “Greenfield and its thought police.” Mr. Russ Kimball. Well said, well written. The truth be told. Thank you.Ed GregoryGreenfield
The World Keeps Turning: Profits from American health care
By ALLEN WOODS
It’s always dangerous for me to watch TV since I am especially susceptible to infectious earworms that repeat a musical chorus or catch-phrase long after the commercial has ended. (I thought “earworm” was a humorous term, but like everything else...
Guantanamo — Still open, still wrong
Many people may be surprised to know that Guantanamo Bay Prison in Cuba is still open and will mark its 21st unhappy anniversary on Jan. 11. Of the 780 prisoners whom the Bush Administration assured us were the “worst of the worst,” that same...
Councilors must take deeper look at rezoning French King Highway
Over 10 years ago, I was a city councilor who eagerly voted to change zoning on the French King Highway to allow for commercial development. More than a decade has passed and this area has seen zero new commercial development. This despite the fact...
Appreciates efforts to amend cannabis zoning regulations
As a resident of Factory Hollow Road in Greenfield, I was one of the interested parties attending an informal meeting there sponsored by “Greenfield Grows LLC” on Aug. 22.The meeting was to outline a preliminary proposal for a major cannabis growing...
Seize the opportunity to rezone French King Highway
I want to add my voice to those who are asking the City Council to reconsider their vote taken last month prohibiting the industrial rezoning along the French King Highway. Manufacturing is how we thrived historically and precision manufacturing is...
New election needed after Santos controversy
The truth about U.S. Rep.-elect George Santos should bring about a new election for that seat. He presented himself as someone that does not exist. This is voting fraud and the people should not have to accept it. He did not tell little white lies but...
My Turn: Resistance to reality
By J.M. Sorrell
Humans have a tremendous capacity to deny and ridicule reality. Wisdom comes from seeing things as they are whereas foolishness rules when we engage in willful ignorance. Our fears or arrogance regarding tough truths are counter to evolution; yet we...
End war and famine in 2023
By WILLIAM LAMBERS
In 2023, everyone can be a voice for peace and support humanitarian aid for war victims in Ukraine, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and many nations in desperate need. Lives depend on it as hunger has escalated because of the violence.Many...
