Brian Cooper: Train travel not so great

My eyes rolled a bit when I read about how wonderful and convenient it is that we can take an Amtrak train between Northampton and New York City (“More Aboard!” Recorder, Dec. 27). It certainly is convenient for the city dweller without a family car,...

Pushback: The best property tax break for seniors

By AL NORMAN

Property tax relief for senior citizens in Massachusetts has never been better. In early October, Governor Maura Healey signed into law a wide-ranging tax relief bill, including a provision more than doubling the refundable property tax credit known...

As I See It: Between Israel and Palestine: Which side should we be on, and why?

By JON HUER

On Oct. 7, Hamas, the militant faction of Gaza Palestinians, in a surprise attack, killed more than 1,400 Jews. Three weeks later, the avenging Israeli military has killed close to 9,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and counting. Such attacks and...

Greg Werner: The hypocrisy of Democrats

I see a lot of hypocrisy among Democrats, and as far as I’m concerned that makes their viewpoints invalid. Here are a few examples.Democrats wanna stop climate change but they still drive gas-powered vehicles, fly on airplanes and heat their homes...

We should learn from Texas

For the past few weeks, Texans have been going through an unusual heat wave. This puts pressure on its electricity grid as everyone runs their air conditioners at the same time.Like New England, Texas generates most of its electricity using gas. But...

As I See It: In one man are four Horsemen of Apocalypse

By JON HUER

Amid the uproar over Donald Trump’s indictment, I am awakened by a sudden revelation that Trump is the Dark Angel of Apocalypse sent from Hell to bring the cataclysmic destruction to America. He is the very personification of the Four Horsemen —...

Stop the double standard and tell the truth about Ukraine

By ALLEN J. DAVIS and TOM WEINER

The first casualty of war, as many have noted, is the truth. This war is no exception.Why was it acceptable for the U.S. to give an ultimatum to the Soviet Union to remove its missiles from Cuba in 1962, thereby almost igniting a nuclear holocaust?...

Forests and grasslands needed to feed humanity 

To combat climate change and feed humanity, we need both forests and grasslands. Forests and grasslands both provide critical ecosystem services — like storing carbon and providing wildlife habitat — and both deserve protection. Grasslands are...

My Turn: Why we mark International Respect for Chickens Day

By KIM CLARK

Thursday, May 4 is International Respect for Chickens Day! This day was declared in 2005 to promote compassion and respectful treatment of chickens and other domestic fowl.Before you begin to guffaw at a day dedicated to fowl, please take a minute to...

Guest columnist David Gottsegen: As war rolls on, support for Ukraine must continue

By David Gottsegen

With the approaching anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked onslaught on Ukraine, I think back to the Dec 5 column in the Gazette by the Rev. Peter Kakos on “defusing Ukraine.” He wrote of his hopes for an “irenic” peace, a hope that “both warring...

My Turn: In the fight against logging, conspiracy takes the (profitable) reins

By KATE LINDROOS CONLIN

The Massachusetts-based Partnership for Policy Integrity has been a vocal opponent of wood harvesting on public lands. They believe that ceasing to harvest wood would “expand our natural forests’ ability to store carbon.” This, of course, assumes that...

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,...

My Turn: White Christians still taking native children

On Nov. 9, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which gives a preference for Native American people to foster and adopt Native American children. The lead...

Pushback: A resolution to abolish home equity theft

By AL NORMAN

Tonight, the Greenfield City Council may take the first step towards ending an unconstitutional state law that has come to be known as “home equity theft.”Massachusetts is one of only 13 states that allows home equity theft. In Alabama, Arizona,...

Cellphone pouches are a bad idea

By Eve N. Bogdanove

Facebook is exploding about Superintendent Christine DeBarge’s decision to buy Yondr pouches to control student cellphone use.Here’s what parents are saying: It criminalizes student behavior rather than responding to needs. It show a lack of real...

Who is on our currency and why?

One dollar bill — George Washington (1732-1799).  He was commander of the Colonial Army in the Revolutionary War with England to gain our independence (1775-1783).  Washington was our first President of the United States of America (1789-1797).Two...

Speaking Out with Carrie N. Baker: State law should recognize coercive control is domestic abuse

By Carrie N. Baker

When the Connecticut mother of five Jennifer Dulos left her husband in June of 2017, she sought a restraining order against him. A judge denied her request because she could not show he physically abused her.In May of 2019, as she returned home from...

Post Offices serve as lifeline

It is a great honor to serve Bernardston as your new Postmaster. In my years with the United States Postal Service, I have seen firsthand the role the Postal Service plays connecting neighbors and our community to the nation. Our Post Offices serve as...

My Turn: Correcting the record: Shays Rebellion was no Jan. 6

By DANIEL BULLEN

With the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection, Michael Steele and Miles Taylor published an article on MSNBC that invoked “Shays’ Rebellion” as a historical precursor for the insurrection, but these two events have very little in common, and come...

My Turn: More research needed on industrial solar arrays

By DEVLIN SELMAN

Not all industrial solar arrays are a “sunny” great thing. Large solar companies such as Nexamp offer “too good to be true” incentives for landowners to lease their land and build a solar “farm” to capture the sun’s energy so they can do “good!” We...