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By JOHN BOS
I have this long-term relationship with Abraham Lincoln. The reason is that he and I share the same birthday: Feb. 12. My father told me that Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents America has ever had. Still true to this day. So, the saga of...
By JOHN BOS
There’s a quote on my crowded bulletin board full of prompts and reminders about life questions. One of the quotes is by Richard Bach, born the same year I was, in 1936. “Here,” he wrote over many years ago, “is the test to find whether your mission...
By JOHN BOS
This Christmas past I found myself searching for light at the end of the climate crisis tunnel. It was during the week of the shortest day and longest night of the year, a time when ancient holy people lit “yule logs” to push back the darkness and...
By JOHN BOS
For the past 10 years I have “reinterpreted” the classic “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (aka T’was the Night Before Christmas”), a poem that first appeared in the Troy (NY) Sentinel on Dec. 23, 1823 exactly 200 years ago to the day. There was no author’s...
By JOHN BOS
The ongoing denial campaign to undermine public trust in climate science has been described as a denial machine organized by industrial, political and ideological interests. This machine is supported by conservative and skeptical media to manufacture...
By JOHN BOS
Here in the U.S. each fall season, Thanksgiving is a time we give thanks for the bounty and blessings of the year. Along with the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, homemade cranberry sauce and pumpkin pies, it is a moment to celebrate...
By JOHN BOS
Give me money, that’s what I wantThe best things in life are freeBut you can keep ‘em for the bird and bees;Now give me money, (that’s what I want) yeahThat’s what I want.“Money (That’s What I Want)” is a rhythm and blues song which was the first hit...
By JOHN BOS
The deepest measure of our character, of our very humanity, Maria Popova writes, “is how much we go on giving when what we most value is taken from us — when a loved one withholds their love, when the world withdraws its mercy.” That is what Jane...
By JOHN BOS
I hate what Donald Trump has done to America. And I hate what he says he will do if elected for a second term. I don’t hate this deeply damaged human being whose early parental influence taught him to be fearful of ever being a loser and to value...
By JOHN BOS
The hills of Franklin County are alive with the sound of music. And here’s why.When Hawley resident Alice Parker Pyle (famed choral composer, conductor and 20-year music arranger for the Robert Shaw Chorale) enlisted violist Arnold Black to play a...
By JOHN BOS
Some readers have charged the Recorder with having a liberal bias. One of the reasons this appears to be the case to me is because I see very few letters or My Turn articles that make a case for Donald Trump’s reelection. So, I have a few questions...
By JOHN BOS
Donald Trump is not the first democracy wrecker in U.S. politics. While he may not admit it (he is a master of admitting nothing), he had a mentor who he originally included on his list of vice-presidential candidates for the 2016 election. That...
By JOHN BOS
I must admit that I am one of those people who believes we have passed the tipping point that guarantees our climate crisis can be turned around. My belief is based primarily on: what I have learned about “those” who control the legislation so...
By JOHN BOS
The Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation of ChatGPT maker OpenAI for potential violations of consumer protection laws. Consumers; that’s us. The FTC has asked OpenAI to provide details of all complaints the company has received from...
By JOHN BOS
One cannot avoid the local, national, or worldwide focus on/obsession with this thing we call leadership. Those running/grasping for office and the rest of us looking for legitimate leaders. How do we determine what legitimate leadership is?I think we...
By JOHN BOS
‘Truth or Consequences” was the name of a game show created by Ralph Edwards, a popular American radio and television host. The show first aired on radio in 1940 and later made its debut on television in 1950.The concept of the show was that...
By JOHN BOS
I have mixed feelings about the fact that I will not be writing this column, much less breathing, seven years from now in 2030 when Massachusetts has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 33% compared to 1990 levels.But today, I am in the...
By JOHN BOS
We are facing a third threat to humankind in addition to nuclear warfare (short term) and climate change (long term). Artificial intelligence (AI) is a fast-evolving technology that can speed up the possibility of both of these threats.I asked this...
By JOHN BOS
Professor Lawrence Doner is probably the most brilliant man I ever met. I was working in Washington D.C. in 1966 and a bunch of us had traveled out to NASA’s Goddard Space Center in Greenbelt, Maryland for several lectures.We wanted to find out if it...
By JOHN BOS
My column today is about something that is “smarter” than I am. It is called artificial intelligence (AI). Many people who work in artificial intelligence believe that AI is a thousand times smarter than we are. And that AI can digest information a...
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