Richard D. Little: Time to celebrate county’s armored mud balls

Dear readers: you don’t need a geology course to visualize dinosaurs! Two hundred million years ago, the Connecticut River Valley was indeed “Jurassic Park” in a great rift valley similar to the famous ones of east Africa today. Podokesaurus, our new...

Sara Cohen: Oct. 7 rape reports weren’t ‘fake news’

I am writing in response to Pat Hynes’ recent letter claiming that the reports of rape and sexual violence during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel were “fake news” [“Why feminists are silent about Oct. 7,” Recorder, Jan. 10]. She cited her sources. We...

Donald Moskowitz: Politicians propose abandoning Ukraine

Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and joined by Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri have made wild statements and taken absurd positions. The three of them want to abandon Ukraine, which will allow Russia to...

Laurie Boosahda: Our taxes are funding the war in Gaza

I urge every tax-paying adult to contact your senator and representative and insist that the U.S. government stop sending funding and weapons to the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Congress is poised to vote on a package of $14.3 billion of...

Maura Morrison: Franklin County’s demographics

I read the Dec. 29 My Turn column by Marguerite Willis, “Repackaged old, failed education ideas still fail” and was disappointed that the writer begins with a statement that is incorrect. She states that she lives in the “poorest and whitest county in...

Pushback: So much wrong with OK for market

By AL NORMAN

On Sept. 29, 2021, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey sent a letter to the town of Shutesbury disapproving one sentence from a bylaw passed at their annual Town Meeting. The Shutesbury bylaw allowed associate members of the town’s Planning...

Wendy Foxmyn: Acknowledge the dirty hands on all sides

I write to both thank Daniel Brown for his opinion pieces over the years and the Recorder for printing them. Brown’s recent piece questioned the lack of response from women’s and feminist organizations to the reported rape and sexual mutilation of...

My Turn: Another 3 hypocrisies of the American immigration system

By RAZVAN SIBII

Last month, my column was an end-of-the-year top 5 list of hypocrisies that poison our current discussions about the migrant crisis at the southern border [bit.ly/3RLgE6s]. I think I got more emails about that column than about any other I’ve written...

My Turn: Little League's mercy rule in a time of war

By ROB OKUN

Let’s start with some basic assumptions: 1) Israel is not Jewish — just as the U.S. is not Christian. 2) Palestine is not Muslim. 3) Hamas perpetrates heinous acts, puts civilian lives in peril, and regularly violates the “rules” of war. 4) Israeli...

Guest Columnist William Lambers: Congress must urgently fund program that feeds infants, mothers

By WILLIAM LAMBERS

President Harry Truman was right when he said “No nation is any healthier than its children.” Congress needs to live up to this standard by fully funding the WIC program that feeds low income mothers and infants throughout America.The Special...

Travis Drury: Heat pump success

In response to the Jan. 7 article on heat pumps, I want to add my experience [“Public slow to warm to heat pumps,” Recorder, Jan. 8]. Overall, air-source heat pump options aren’t that complicated. If you have existing forced hot air ducts, you can...

Ruth Witty: Sexual violence in Israel should be taken seriously

A representative of Traprock Peace center believes the rape of Israeli women did not take place [“Why feminists are silent about Oct. 7,” Recorder, Jan. 10]. Well there are videos showing just this, as well as other barbarous cruelties. They have not...

Susan Haff: Get informed for Deerfield special election

As a Deerfield resident I am writing to thank Police Chief John Paciorek, Public Works Superintendent Kevin Scarborough, and Select Board Member Tim Hilchey for their public presentations concerning Tuesday’s special election. Each person contributed...

Ben Clark: Support Deefield infrastructure on Jan. 16

I saw firsthand the damages to our roadways during the July rainstorms, including watching a section of Lower Road fall away in front of me, taking a car with it. I was involved in the storm recovery efforts through the Deerfield Fire Department and...

Columnist Daniel Cantor Yalowitz: Continuing to build on MLK’s legacy

By DANIEL CANTOR YALOWITZ

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Stride Toward Freedom (1958)The wars that rage around the world are not only to be found elsewhere, beyond our soil and nation. Yes,...

My Turn: Wasteful spending in Deerfield 

By SHIRLEY MAJEWSKI

I read the article in the Recorder and am in agreement with resident Charlene Galenski about the raising of assessments in town. And now borrowing $5 million for road repair. The roadwork borrowing of money was voted down, but the town will hold...

As I See It: Where hate burns in America

Dictionaries define “hate” as “intense or passionate dislike for someone or something.” When hate is intensified to a point where it defies death, yours or someone else’s, we might add, it becomes “pure hate.”And the world is full of it. Consider how...

My Turn: Fighting back against library book banners

By BILL NEWMAN

This is scary. The number of books being banned in school libraries is spiraling upwards. Nationwide, for the 2022-2023 school year, PEN America substantiated 3,362 school book bans that targeted 1,557 unique titles. That’s a 33 percent increase from...

Katie Tolles: Don’t let Mideast war divide us

The mission statement of the Interfaith Opportunities Network, an organization 21 faith congregations and campus ministries in the Amherst area, says that we are “seeking to strengthen bonds of mutual respect and understanding.” Along with so many in...

Guest columnists Mark Reynolds and Linda Butler: Energy alternatives will protect Americans from blackouts 

By MARK REYNOLDS and LINDA BUTLER

As we reflect on a year of unprecedented weather events, we must move into the new year embracing a diverse mix of power options to protect Americans from blackouts and climate extremes.While Massachusetts escaped the worst of the U.S. heat waves this...