Blue Mass Group

First, the link before I louse it up from late night posting:  http://www.nytimes.c…

What is scary to me, is having THIS country linked with the vivid hatred for nazism that is still vibrant, live in Russia.  This has to be seen to be understood.  In what was then “Stalingrad” I walked in a silent park whose green and grassy banks were the mass graves of the 800,000  citizens who died there.  A huge statue of a woman, with an undying flame that snapped in the wind. No Russian walked on those grassy banks.

President Vladimir V. Putin seemed to obliquely compare the foreign policy of the United States to the Third Reich in a speech on Wednesday commemorating the 62nd anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.

The comments were the latest in a series of sharply worded Russian criticisms of the foreign policy of the United States – on Iraq, missile defense, NATO expansion and, more broadly, United States unilateralism in foreign affairs.

I would not find this so troubling, but there are the rendition flights, guantanamo, the ICE raids and the choice of which factories and concerns to raid, the unilateral invasion of Irag based on “the big lie” of weapons of mass destruction…

More from Putin

Mr. Putin’s analogy was a small part of a larger speech, otherwise unambiguously congratulating Russian veterans of World War II, known here as the Great Patriotic War. ….Mr. Putin called Victory Day a holiday of “huge moral importance and unifying power” for Russia, and went on to enumerate the lessons of that conflict for the world today.

“We do not have the right to forget the causes of any war, which must be sought in the mistakes and errors of peacetime,” Mr. Putin said.

“Moreover, in our time, these threats are not diminishing,” he said. “They are only transforming, changing their appearance. In these new threats, as during the time of the Third Reich, are the same contempt for human life and the same claims of exceptionality and diktat in the world.”

Well, ’tis the time again for one of my posts on education.  Despite the kind invitation of John Hosty to opine on health care, education is really the policy area that I know well enough to take a shot.  I don’t know enough about health care to realize when I should go get a shot.

And here’s my shot this week: I’m ready to deal.

I’m ready to deal on accountability.  I am ready to accept “accountability” as risibly measured on standardized tests.

Here’s my price: the parents are accountable, too.

The UMass Board of Trustees thought they could use graduate commencement at UMass to suck up to Andy Card by awarding him an honarary degree. They are sorely mistaken.

Andrew Card is responsible for the lies and distortions that led to the Iraq war and occupation. He is therefore not eligible for an honorary degree which can be awarded only to “persons of great accomplishment and high ethical standards who exemplify the ideals of the University  of Massachusetts”.

UMass students and faculty will an emergency rally Thursday, May 10th at 12:30 to protest this disgrace and demand the degree be rescinded.

Gov. Deval Patrick spent an hour Tuesday with the editorial board of the MetroWest Daily News. You can watch some highlights here.

On the 50th day of the strike by Sign and Pictorial Local #391 and IBEW Local #103 members against Clear Channel Outdoor, the entire Massachusetts Congressional Delegation sent a letter to the corporation’s top executives urging an immediate end to the strike. 

Romney ♥ L. Ron Hubbard?? Recently, when asked what his “favorite novel” was, Mitt Romney came up with perhaps the most bizarre choice any candidate for president has ever given to that answer: L. Ron Hubbard’s “Battlefield Earth.” Let’s just begin with a safe assertion: “Battlefield Earth” is not only not a great novel.  It is in fact a terrible novel, at least in comparison to some others that Romney might plausibly have mentioned.  Looking for a great American novel?  How about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” or Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” (which apparently is on Romney’s MySpace page).  Need something a bit more contemporary?  Try Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” or maybe Jane Smiley’s “A Thousand Acres” (heavy), or “Moo” or “Horse Heaven” (lighter).  Want to stay away from American authors all together, for fear of offending some obscure voter bloc?  Go for a safe classic British choice, like Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”  Deeply committed to fantasy and sci-fi?  Why not J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” or “The Lord of the Rings,” or perhaps an Asimov classic, like “The End of Eternity,” or the “Foundation” trilogy? But “Battlefield Earth”??  Good grief.  Something really weird is going on there.  [...]

Bill Richardson’s latest TV ads are, as far as I know, the first in this presidential cycle to depart from the soft-focus swelling music bio spot and instead try for a laugh while making a point.  I thought they were pretty good.  The first one is on the air in Iowa, and you can see them both here. The campaign is looking for feedback on the ads here.

It is great Gov Patrick wants to grow Biotech in Mass. It is great he is looking around at the competing states in this industry. A better use of tax payers $ is to lower corporate tax rate. Deciding on who gets funded, who runs what stem cell bank is not what goverment does best. A lower corporate tax rate gives everyone the same incentives to grow and build in Massachusetts. Let the VC’s, researchers and large drug co’s decide who is funded.

This is it, folks.  The MA Constitutional Convention will reconvene at 1 pm on June 14th.  At that time, it is probable that the anti-equality marriage amendment will be addressed.  This amendment would, for the first time in Massachusetts history, strip a minority of civil rights.  Specifically, access to civil marriage. Friends & Allies, it is time to open your phone books and call each and every person you know in the Bay State, and make sure that they tell their legislators to kill this amendment in June.  Do not rely on others to act for you.  The pro-equality organizations are hard at work for us, but they can’t deliver the most powerful message a legislator can hear: direct words from a constituent.  Use MassEquality’s great new interactive maps to see which legislators most need our attention.  Contact infomation is provided.  Tell them to kill this amendment. Btw, the legislature proved in the last session that it is A-OK to kill an amendment procedurally by not voting on it.  They did this with the Health Care Amendment.  If the 151 votes aren’t there in June to kill the anti-equality amendment by direct vote, they can kill it procedurally with only [...]

For your consideration: I’ve received replies from both Ed Markey’s and John Kerry’s offices regarding Cape Wind. I wonder about their appeals to the importance of “process”, since the process has changed due to the 2005 energy bill, which transferred authority from the Army Corps of Engineers — where it was expected to be approved — to the Minerals Management Service. In other words, is this a clarification of the approval process, or is it a regulatory shell game, designed to frustrate and paralyze the approval process? Anyway, here are their stated positions. Markey: QUESTION:  Does Rep. Markey support Cape Wind? ANSWER:  Rep. Markey would like to see Cape Wind get approval from the Department of Interior and the Coast Guard, but only after it goes through the regulatory process set up to answer legitimate questions concerning the environment and navigation. There should be no shortcuts in the environmental impact statement process, but there also should be no unnecessary delays.  Wind is a huge contributor to the fight against global warming, contributing jobs and energy with no CO2 emissions  So far, about 150 wind farms have been successfully permitted in the US ONSHORE.  The pioneering aspect of Cape Wind is [...]