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By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson Part of the Memorial Day tradition in the town I love best is that we don’t observe the day on the day itself, but on the Saturday nearest to it. I’ve never been part of the planning, so I’m not sure of the reason, but I can think of a few. […]

Posted on May 31st, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: American Wars, Economy, Social Justice | 1 Comment »

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By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson All day long I’ve been thinking about the creatures in the Gulf of Mexico who are being buffeted by globs of oil, have no idea what’s happening, and no way to ask. This is not a case of the Bambi syndrome.  I don’t ascribe human desires and emotions to animals. (I […]

Posted on May 26th, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Environmental disaster | 5 Comments »

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By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson When we moved in 1985 from the Massachusetts coast 100 miles west to our home in Tiny Town, it was an article of faith that you didn’t put in any seeds or frost-sensitive plants before Memorial Day Weekend, and you could expect a killing frost by September 15th. In the past […]

Posted on May 25th, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Kitchen gardens | No Comments »

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By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson The last time (before this one) I was a hospital patient was in May 1965. The difference between my two hospital experiences is so vast, I have to tell you about it. I was 29 in 1965. The hospital was attached to a university medical school in what was then the […]

Posted on May 22nd, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Health and Healing, Health Care | 8 Comments »

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By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson Thirty-eight states are spending tens of billions of dollars to import coal, draining their own economies and enriching other states and foreign countries instead. People who pay electric bills would be better off pressing their governments to improve energy efficiency and develop renewable energy sources locally. Money that stays home could […]

Posted on May 20th, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Climate Change, Climate Change Legislation, Energy Savings, Global Warming | 1 Comment »

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By Al Cross “Between cartoonish reality shows and grotesque game shows, there isn’t much dramatic television giving big, clear windows into America,” David Masciotra writes for the Daily Yonder. “However, on the rare occasion that TV does get it right, it is often the stuff of pure emotive and intellectual brilliance.” Masciotra’s first example, his urban one, […]

Posted on May 19th, 2010 by Debby
Filed under: Rural Life | No Comments »

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By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) today introduced the American Power Act, a new take on improving the nation’s energy future. Missing from the rollout event was Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who worked on the bill with Kerry and Lieberman until late April, when Graham withdrew, giving a reason […]

Posted on May 13th, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Climate Change Legislation, Senate | No Comments »

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By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson Led by its chairman, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN7), the House Agriculture Committee has begun work on the Farm Bill for 2012. It should be obvious by now that when money gets tight, people get threatened and mean. With the budget deficit the Obama Administration inherited from an intentionally spendthrift Bush43 administration, […]

Posted on May 12th, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Agriculture, House of Representatives | 1 Comment »

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By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson Here you have the fourth and final excerpt from the sample chapter Elliott Blass, my writing partner, and I sent along with our proposal for a book on childhood obesity. We’re changed our focus and this chapter will change accordingly.  But there’s information here that you may find useful in thinking […]

Posted on May 11th, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Childhood obesity, Nutrition | 3 Comments »

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By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson From Washington comes word that on Wednesday, May 12, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (Party of Joe–CT) will introduce their comprehensive climate change and energy bill. Absent from the rollout will be Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who on April 26, after months of collaborating on what was to […]

Posted on May 10th, 2010 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Climate Change Legislation, Senate | No Comments »