Blue Mass Group

Some interesting stuff in this AP story. Video of police Tasering a persistent questioner of Sen. John Kerry became an Internet and TV sensation Tuesday, generating fierce debate about free speech and the motives of the college student involved — a known prankster who often posts practical jokes online…. [D]etails from his online writings and videos raised the question of whether his harangue during the forum was genuine or some kind of stunt. Meyer, a senior telecommunications major from the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Weston, has a Web site featuring several homemade videos. In one, he stands in a street with a sign that says “Harry Dies” after the latest Harry Potter book was released. In another, he acts like a drunk in a bar while trying to pick up a man dressed in drag…. Another site had pictures of Meyer licking a woman’s face and making a suggestive pose as he stood behind a fake cow. The site listed his activities as “getting wasted” and “being ridiculous.” … Just before Monday’s scuffle started, Meyer asked a woman to tape his exchange with Kerry. One officer said the woman was “there to film him” and that Meyer asked, “Are you [...]

… but it was not a pretty sight. That’s right, Michael J. Sullivan, the US Attorney for Massachusetts and Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, was prominently featured on tonight’s Daily Show with Jon Stewart (no video yet — will update when it’s available see below). And it was tough to watch.  Stewart was doing a little recap of the farewell ceremony for Alberto Gonzales’s blessedly last day at the Justice Department.  One of the speakers was Sullivan, who declared that he recalls his time serving under Gonzales with three words: … Stewart interrupted at this point with some clips of Gonzales lying testifying before Congress saying “I don’t recall” … But no, that wasn’t it.  Sullivan said the three words were “discipline, duty, and honor.” Gag me. UPDATE: Video’s up.  FURTHER UPDATE: … and, it’s down.

Awaiting speculation/information about how this changes the reorganization of the UMass system.   Governor Deval Patrick today named five new members to the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees, including former chairman James Karam, in a broad shift that could realign the balance of power on the committee.  Those who decried Wilson's “power grab” shouldn't laud this one. It's the same thing, done at a higher level. And I don't have a problem with this one anymore than I did when Wilson proposed studying organization. Like the previous moves by Wilson, I'm taking a wait and see. Interested to see Deval's plans. (iWas, iIs, UMass) And I'm sure everyone is looking forward to studying Deval taking on another “big” issue.  

Cool (HT Dick Howe): President Bill Clinton will visit Lowell this month to campaign on behalf of Democratic candidate for Congress Niki Tsongas. Clinton’s appearance on Sept. 30 will precede the special election by about two weeks … The evening campaign event, at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, marks the most prominent endorsement to date in the compressed race to replace former U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan. “I strongly support her candidacy, am delighted she is running and Congress will be a better place because she is there,” Clinton said in an e-mail via his communications director. That should be a good event.

Hillary Clinton has just released her health care plan (more detailed pdf version is here), which joins plans she has already released on controlling health care costs and improving quality.  Reviews of her plan are coming in, and they’re pretty good. Ezra Klein: Here’s the thumbnail: Clinton’s plan is of the “individual mandate” variety, in which universal coverage is achieved by mandating that every American purchase health care. In order to ensure that that’s both possible and affordable, the Clinton plan creates a few new coverage options, reform the insurance industry, limits coverage costs to a percentage of income, and washes your car.  Okay, it doesn’t wash your car…. So the policy is very, very sound. Jonathan Cohn (TNR): Would she be vague, figuring she had the least to prove on the matter and that details could only come back to haunt her? Would she settle on something less than universal coverage, figuring the political support for it was too weak? Would she kowtow to the insurance and pharmaceutical lobbies, which had started donating to her campaigns? The answer seems to be no, no, and no…. Broadly speaking, the Clinton plan is as ambitious as any plan touted by a [...]

From Marc Ambinder (HT Bernstein): “Thank you AFSCME!” That was how New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson closed his speech to the SEIU membership in Washington today. Can things get any worse for this poor guy?  It’s starting to border on the comical.

Myth Romney has a radio ad playing in Iowa.  He’s banking on Ye Olde Politicize Homophobia Maneuver No. 5, or, A Call for a Federal Anti-Equality Constitutional Amendment. That’s right folks!  He claims that he will accomplish at the federal level what he failed so miserably to do at the state level.  Nee, what even the bona fide homophobe Bush failed to do with a congressional republican majority! A brief recap: gay marriage became a reality in MA on Romney’s watch, and he and his comrades failed to thwart it in MA with a state constitutional amendment. But according to his ad, he’s gonna protect marriage from the likes of me and mine, by golly!  Throughout the Land!  And without being prejudiced! What remains to be seen is whether the good people of Iowa will see through his act.  Are they thrilled at the prospect of marriage equality?  Well, their state motto is “Our Liberties We Prize, and Our Rights We Will Maintain”, so you never know!  But I’ll wager that they’re absolutely not thrilled at being played the bumpkin fools by slickety Mitt, and having some outsider butt into their state business.  What do you think? UPDATE:  Republican Mayor [...]

Eveyone has been talking about the hidden costs related to casino gambling. Let me tell you something Rep Bosley,  why don't you take a minute, get off your high horse and examine the hidden BENEFITS!

Let me explain this nice and clear like.

1. As Tim Cahill said at the Mass Inc meeting today, we don't have enough money to fund programs for gambling addictions. So in order to raise more money for programs we are going to use revenue generated from adding 3 casino's to fund those programs.

Get it? I know that some people out in Western Mass are a little slow. Try to follow along. Let me explain it this way. Smoking is a big problem right. We should spend more money on prevention. So how about we encourage more smoking so we can have enough money to spend on prevention. Makes sense, right? Ah, now you get. Sweet! 

I was shocked to read today that there is an elementary school in Holyoke, MA (just north of Springfield) where 20% of children live in homeless shelters or emergency housing!  What is the world coming to!   http://www.masslive….

All Bluest Pundit posts

I’m on a roll!  Here we go with chapter 4 of Jon Keller’s “The Bluest State,” which is cryptically entitled “Up the Gravity Hill.”  Basically, chapter 4 is about abortion.

And basically, I think Keller has a point on this one, though I’d disagree with him in some particulars.  Abortion rights are important, but so are lots of other things.  And in general, the sight of Democrats kowtowing to interest groups like NARAL has not always been a pretty one, especially when NARAL periodically stabs the party in the back by backing a Republican seen as vaguely choice-friendly, apparently not realizing that Republican legislators tend to vote for Republican leaders who are anti-choice as well as anti-everything else NARAL believes in.  The refusal of abortion-rights groups to back Bob Casey against Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania was, as Keller rightly notes (p. 83), poor strategy, to say the least (contrast the interest groups with pro-choice women in the Senate like Barbara Boxer, who noted that “to dislodge Santorum is a pro-choice victory”).  This issue has been beaten to death on Daily Kos (kos himself is no NARAL fan) and elsewhere, so there’s no need to get into that aspect of it in great detail here.

With that, let’s to’t!  Follow the telltale “there’s more” link for more.