Jeff Jacoby Column

From my new Boston Globe Opinion column:

𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 *𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨* 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴. 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘧𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴' 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘢𝘸, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵.

When a president clung fiercely to the rule of law THE PRESIDENT'S speech had been a triumph. It was April 25, 1912, five days before the Republican primary in Massachusetts. A massive crowd packed the Boston Arena to see William Howard Taft, who was seeking his party's nomination for a second term,

When tens of thousands of people leave Massachusetts year after year, they’re answering a question with their feet.

Massachusetts keeps losing residents. That’s a choice. - The Boston Globe When tens of thousands of people leave year after year, they’re answering a question with their feet.

The first recorded acts of civil disobedience were committed by two humble midwives who defied Pharaoh's order to kill Hebrew babies. 3,300 years later, their principle endures: Some orders must be refused, regardless of who issues them or what punishment follows.

From my latest Arguable newsletter, an essay on the tradition of moral courage — from ancient Egypt to the Underground Railroad to Martin Luther King Jr. to our own time:

From two midwives in Egypt to Martin Luther King AROUND THE corner from my home in Brookline, Mass., is the William Ingersoll Bowditch House at 9 Toxteth Street. In the 1840s and 1850s, the house was a "station" on the Underground Railroad, part of the elaborate network of secret routes and safe havens

Year in, year out, Massachusetts remains one of the states that people most want to leave. In U-Haul's 2025 tally, Massachusetts once again ranked in the Bottom 5, along with New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California.

Massachusetts Ranks Bottom Five In U-Haul Growth Index Again Massachusetts ranked 46th in U-Haul’s 2026 Growth Index, remaining in the bottom five nationally as policy groups warn high taxes and rising costs are driving residents out.