Barbara Mende
Cognoscenti contributor
Barbara Mende lives in Cambridge. She fends off retirement by freelancing as a bookkeeper, database manager, editor, webmaster and writer.
Recently published
What's So Terrible About Kneeling During The Anthem? It Never Represented Our Country
The U.S. didn't have a national anthem until 1931, writes Barbara Mende. Then Congress adopted the "The Star-Spangled Banner": words written by a slaveowner, sung to a drinking-song tune.
Memo To Hillary Clinton: Forget Trump — Steal A Page From Truman, Instead
Give ‘em hell, Hillary, writes Barbara Mende. Run against the Congress, and win.
Let’s Not Fall Back: Should Massachusetts Ditch Its Time Zone?
At 2 a.m. on Sunday, clocks will be set back an hour all over the country. But Standard Time isn’t cast in concrete.
In Corporate America, Public Scrutiny's Protective Bubble
Compared to mistreated workers at under-the-radar small businesses, it can be argued that the threat of bad publicity insulates some corporate employees.
I’m Cool With Yule
I'm Jewish, and...I adore this season. I have fun opening cards that say “Merry Christmas” and seeing public Christmas trees that don’t have Hanukkah menorahs next to them. I love...
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Living Longer: The Untapped Skills Of Senior Citizens
Remember -- we were people before we were seniors. And we still are.