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Lowry: The Bud Light meltdown is good for America

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:20 GMT

We should all be grateful to Anheuser-Busch.Some corporation had to show how “woke” marketing could cost an iconic American brand dearly in terms of its image, its sales and its market capitalization.Through its special beer can produced for transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Anheuser-Busch, in effect, volunteered for duty.The CEO of General Motors didn’t really say in the 1950s that what’s good for GM is good for the country.Still, to paraphrase the famous misquote of auto executive Charles Wilson, what’s terrible for Bud Light sales is now good for America. With every viral anti-Bud Light video and 12-pack moldering on a store shelf or in a warehouse, the message is being sent to other corporations that they may come to regret their gratuitous forays into the culture war.Now, Target has directly learned the same lesson with its Pride apparel, and has removed some clothes and made associated displays less prominent. Coupled with the ongoing content...

Tee Thursday: Pembroke’s road back

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:20 GMT

A revelation, perhaps: Some of my friends are not perfect. Like me (and most humans when they’re honest about it), they show flaws; moments of glory and flashes of not so great. I think it makes them all the more interesting.I may feel the same way about golf courses. Of course playing an absolutely pristine course with every advantage one could want is more than embraceable – like I said, I’m human. But there’s beauty, too, in a course that’s trying. In a course that has great bones, a decent look overall and tries to be their best.In that spirit, consider a round at Pembroke Country Club (https://www.pembrokegolf.com). I headed there for 18 recently, knowing they’d faced hard times in the semi-recent past (foreclosed and run-down circa 2008; working its way back since).What I found was the course layout set into place by designer Philip A. Wogan back in 1973 and recognized then as one of the best course layouts around still provides the base and challenge that makes a golf day gre...

These styles make fab summer looks a shoe-in

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:20 GMT

I’ve decided that this is the summer of the iconic shoe. Inspiration came early this season, when the great and oh-so visionary Dame Helen Mirren showed up at the Cannes Film Festival donning the Cariuma OCA Low Top ($79 on cariuma.com) in glorious emerald green, launching oodles of wait lists. The coveted shoe checks all kinds of boxes — it’s earth-friendly (made of recycled materials); wallet-friendly (less than $80); and closet-friendly (it comes in colors from tomato red and petal pink to hot fuchsia). I love them, can’t wait to wear my own pair, and am spreading that same level of love and energy to the rest of my summer shoe wardrobe.Let’s dive into the espadrilles. These pretty and preppy classics never get tired, but I’m ready to take them to the next level. The exquisite weaving and gorgeous fabric ribbon on Chloé’s Piia Woven Ribbon Wedge Sandals ($725 on saksfifthavenue.com) make these the kind of shoe that makes an entrance..Then there are the gladiator sandals, a must f...

‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ weaves animated magic

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:20 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”Rated PG. At the AMC Boston Common, AMC South Bay and suburban theaters.Grade: A-Are you ready for “Spider-Man” meets “Everything Everywhere All at Once?” As much as I enjoyed the art, effort, talent and ingenuity mustered in the making of “Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse,” Sony’s follow-up to its 2018 Academy Award-winning, computer-animated hit “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” this whole “multiverse” thing has gotten way out of control and has become a gimmick and a bit of a cliche, allowing for all manner of excess and overkill. Fanboys love it.In this installment of the “Spider-Verse” series (next up: “Beyond the Spider-Verse”), Brooklyn’s own Spider-Man aka Miles Morales teams up with multiverse Spider-Woman Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) to battle the Spot aka Jonathan Ohnn (Jason Schwartzman) , a wise-cracking, faceless, blob-like creature capable of opening up holes to other dimensions. Eventually, Miles and ...

Lucas: From Rollins to replacing bridges, Healey steps up for state

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:20 GMT

So much for the old girls’ network.You know you have been totally abandoned when even fellow progressive Gov. Maura Healey, once a strong supporter, cuts you adrift, as she did last week to former U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins.Once comrades in arms, Healey said there “was no question” Rollins had to resign following a pair of federal investigations accusing Rollins of violating the Hatch Act and of interfering in last year’s race for Suffolk County district attorney.She called Rollins’ conduct as U.S. Attorney “troubling and disappointing.”No doubt Rollins, the former Suffolk County DA, was also troubled and disappointed by Healey’s comment. So were progressive supporters of both.After all, Healey did come to Rollins’ aid following a 2020 Christmas Eve road rage incident at the South Bay Shopping Center where Rollins and another motorist vied for the same exit at the same time.Rollins, in a state car, turned on the blue lights and the siren to bully her way past, according to the mo...

Editorial: Budget woes could swamp top-heavy UMass ship

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:20 GMT

University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan used a sailing analogy to describe the institution’s coming fiscal squeeze.The university system, Meehan said,  is sailing into some “very strong headwinds,” with lower birth rates affecting enrolment, more competition for students, and people questioning whether a college degree is worth the money.The USS UMass, however, is in danger of running aground even in calm waters, thanks to its overloaded cargo hold.As the State House News reported, salary and fringe benefits constitute 60% of UMass’s expenses in fiscal 2024, an increase of $186 million compared to the fiscal 2023 projection. A Boston Herald deep dive in to state payrolls revealed that most of the state’s top earners are employed by UMass. One chancellor took home over $1 million. A year.No wonder people are questioning whether they should take on the financial burden of a college education – knowing that a good chunk of their tuition is...

Dear Abby: Off-leash dogs harass walker on trail

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:20 GMT

Dear Abby: I live in an area with a large number of dog owners who frequent the same walking trails I do. On several occasions, I have encountered dogs that are off-leash and running ahead of their owners. Sometimes the owner isn’t even in sight.On several occasions, dogs have jumped up on me, almost knocking me to the ground. I’m in my late 60s, under 5 feet and weigh 105 pounds. I could easily be injured. I was once attacked and bitten.My question is this: What’s the best thing to say to these dog owners when they finally appear? The last time it happened, the owner happily said to her DOG, “I know you’re excited, but …” The rest I couldn’t hear because she had already passed me on the trail. Abby, she saw her dog jump up on me and never even acknowledged me. I don’t want to respond angrily or sarcastically, but in a friendly yet firm manner. — Walker in WashingtonDear Walker: You are far too nice, lady. Start carrying pe...

Revised DACA program to be debated before Texas judge who previously ruled against it

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:20 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children is set to be debated Thursday before a federal judge who previously ruled the program illegal.Attorneys representing the nine states that have sued to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department and DACA recipients were scheduled to appear at a court hearing before U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen.In 2021, Hanen declared DACA illegal, ruling that the program had not been subjected to public notice and comment periods required under the federal Administrative Procedures Act. Hanen also said the states seeking to stop it had standing to file their lawsuit because they had been harmed by the program.The states claimed they incur hundreds of millions of dollars in health care, education and other costs when immigrants are allowed to remain in the country illegally. The states that sue...

LGBTQ+ Pride month kicks off with protests, parades, parties

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The start of June marks the beginning of Pride month around the U.S. and some parts of the world, a season to celebrate the lives and experiences of LGBTQ+ communities and to protest against recent attacks on hard-won civil rights gains.This year’s Pride takes place in a contentious political climate in which some state legislators have sought to ban drag shows, prohibit gender-affirming care and limit how teachers can talk about sexuality and gender in the classroom.Events have been disrupted. Performers have been harassed. And in Colorado in November, five people were killed and several injured when a gunman shot them inside a gay nightclub.“What we’re seeing right now is probably the worst that it’s been since the early days, in terms of the demonization of our communities,” said Jay W. Walker, one of the co-founders of the Reclaim Pride Coalition, a New York City-based group.But that won’t stop people from coming out to mark Pride this month, he said.“You can’t k...

After sailing though House on bipartisan vote, Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling deal now goes to Senate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Veering away from a default crisis, the House overwhelmingly approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, sending the deal that President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated to the Senate for swift passage in a matter of days, before a fast-approaching deadline.The hard-fought compromise pleased few, but lawmakers assessed it was better than the alternative — a devastating economic upheaval if Congress failed to act. Tensions ran high as hard-right Republicans refused the deal, but Biden and McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition to push to passage on a robust 314-117 vote late Wednesday.“We did pretty dang good,” McCarthy, R-Calif., said afterward.Amid deep discontent from Republicans who said the spending restrictions did not go far enough, McCarthy said it is only a “first step.”Biden, watching the tally from Colorado Springs where Thursday he is scheduled to deliver the commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy, phoned McCarthy...