Opinion
Richard S. Bogartz: Locusts of agency
By RICHARD S. BOGARTZ
Consider the last time someone made you angry. Or, if that would upset you, think about the last time you were delighted by a surprise call from a long-lost friend. Or recall how happy you felt when your Thanksgiving dinner turned out perfectly. Or...
Guest columnist Andy Morris-Friedman: Take the MAGA test
By ANDY MORRIS-FRIEDMAN
My sincere apologies to my liberal friends, our once great country and the world. I really thought that my last satire was going to keep Donald Trump (sic) from winning re-election. Instead, reality has become a satire of itself and things are so...
Helena Donovan: Letter distorted messaging on Jones Library
I want to correct a letter that was published in the Nov. 30 edition under the title “Spreading disinformation about the Jones Library.”First, the writers misquoted the sign near the Amherst Farmer’s Market, making it seem slightly more provocative...
Matteo Pangallo: Millionaires dancing, but millions are not
A Dec. 9 letter writer (“From UFC to NFL, everybody’s happy again”) bizarrely proposes that “people seem to be happy again” simply because she has seen some professional athletes dancing like Trump. No doubt some millionaires are dancing at the...
Martin Garnar: We all benefit from the Jones Library
I am writing to support the Jones Library building project. Though I am a resident of South Hadley, I work in Amherst and am a regular user of the Jones Library. As a librarian myself, I am deeply concerned by the attempts to block this project when...
Peggy Matthews-Nilsen: Avoid massive demolition of Jones Library, renovate instead
The Nov. 27 letter in the Gazette in support of The Jones Library demolition-expansion project appears to be unfamiliar with the interior of the Jones Library and reasonable alternatives to tearing down the Jones’ 31-year-old brick addition. The...
Guest column: Let’s move on from Jones Library divisions
By BRUCE M. PENNIMAN
Let’s move on from Jones Library divisions
Jan Norris: From UFC to NFL, everybody’s happy again
Has anyone else noticed how many professional athletes are now doing the “Trump dance” when celebrating? From the UFC to the NFL, people seem to be happy again! People feel a sense of relief to express themselves without fear and the country is in a...
Anne Burton: Vote was on roads and sidewalks, not schools
Regarding the Nov. 21 Gazette story “Council Rejects $1M for sidewalk and road repairs,” why would six members of the Town Council assume a competition between school funding and safe sidewalks and roads? Both need funding. Safety — maintenance of...
Cynthia Brubaker: Support The Jones Library
In these tumultuous times, it is more important than ever that we safeguard and support our civic institutions. In Amherst, one of our most beloved and democratic institutions is the Jones Library. It is in dire need of renovations and expansion. I...
Cyd Reiman: University Drive rezoning proposal a danger to local businesses
I was saddened and angry by the time I finished reading the Nov. 5 Gazette article regarding the proposal of rezoning the entire stretch of University Drive in Amherst [“Planners consider modifying U-Drive rezoning”]. The focus of rezoning is to build...
Eric Bright: Trump will be seen as status quo
On Dec. 3, 1860, President James Buchanan delivered his State of the Union address justifying the fugitive slave laws, denying the right of the territory of Kansas to abolish slavery, and blaming Northern abolitionist agitators for inciting slave...
Leyla Moushabeck: Palestinians need our voices
This week, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American, addressed the UMass community — a community facing violent repression by the UMass administration and local and state police to protect the university’s investments in weapons manufacturers...
Guest column: Turning from rage to mourning
By SARENA NEYMAN
We have just elected a cruel and ruthless monster who represents the worst of humanity and I feel my blood vessels pulsing with rage. I’m boiling with fury at the ignorant, mean-spirited electorate who were duped into thinking that a billionaire...
Darcy Dumont: Bike buses go viral ... why not here?
By DARCY DUMONT
It may seem odd not to address the expected reversal of progress on climate and what that will mean at home and abroad, but pardon me while I take a breath. My latest thought is to simply to keep moving in a positive direction, doing whatever we can...
Marilyn and Jeff Blaustein: Spreading disinformation about the Jones Library
Recently at the Amherst Farmers Market, we approached people with a sign that said, “Stop the Library Demolition.” We pointed out that their statement is simply not true; the library is not being demolished but renovated and expanded. The person we...
Felicity Hardee: Anonymous criticism of school superintendent ‘abhorrent’
Anonymous letters are abhorrent. However, the hypocrisy of the Amherst Pelham Education Association in criticizing the “low tactics” of the correspondence disparaging Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman is truly stunning. Many of us remember that, in the...
Anthony Fyden: Playing politics with public safety
So, let’s get this straight — a violent international fugitive, wanted for committing assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in Massachusetts, was finally arrested. Northampton and Amherst officials, including two new police chiefs, want to...
Why we lost the future
By LOU CONOVER
The Democratic Party is consumed with its defeat. The discussion goes back and forth between finger-pointing, navel gazing, terrified wailing, and depression. Of course there is a recognition of what victories there were and a renewed determination...
Richard Bogartz: No such thing as might have been
By RICHARD BOGARTZ
My favorite spiritual teachers teach what happens in the world is simply what happens. It is what it is. How we react to what happens, what we make of it, how we evaluate it, how it annoys us, whether we want it to not be what it is, label it bad,...
