THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO EVERYONE – SEE INFO BELOW: DNC Convention Watch Party Young Voter Revolution – Be The Change! Hosted by: Young Democrats of Massachusetts THURSDAY, AUGUST 28TH @ 8PM VOX POPULI, 755 BOYLSTON STREET (Near the Copely & Back Bay T stops) We know everyone can’t get to Denver – so instead we are bringing Denver to you. Join YDM as we come together and watch Barack Obama’s Historic Nomination Acceptance Speech! $10 Cover – includes Complementary SVEDKA Cocktail and Appetizers. Doors Open @ 8PM The Convention speech is set to air between 9-10PM EST. But, the Party & celebration of the new Democratic Nominee will continue well into the night. RSVP at the Link Below: http://action.yda.org/c/1223/t… Facebook Invite: http://www.new.facebook.com/ho… 21+ ONLY SPONSORED BY SVEDKA VODKA & VOX
Young Democrats of Massachusetts – DNC Convention Watch Party, August 28th @8PM
Second Suffolk Figures, Hold the Salt
Regular readers here know I'm likely too consumed with the Second Suffolk Senate race — Dianne Wilkerson and challenger Sonia Chang-Díaz. On the recently released poll showing Chang-Díaz ahead, I mealy mouthed the findings, referring to a two-year-old report in the Phoenix, calling for Heavy on the Salt.
It was almost like my old reporter days. I ended up following up and getting connected by her campaign to Dem pollster and strategist Dan Cohen. He conducted the poll the first time Chang-Díaz ran and the latest one. He says he has nothing to apologize for in 2006. His consultancy is Connection Strategies.
I confess that because BMG already carried the latest Chang-Díaz poll figures for the Dem primary, I put this only on Marry in Massachusetts. Everyone's favorite rabble rouser, Ryan Adams, suggested that this probably was a decent addendum to the BMG post.
Patrick administration forces MBTA to rescind pay raises
Excellent news. Under pressure from the Patrick administration, MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas today agreed to rescind a 9 percent pay increase granted last week to 273 executive employees and to replace it with a 3 percent raise only for those making less than $70,000 per year. Earlier, Secretary of Transportation Bernard Cohen announced that he would send Grabauskas a letter asking him to immediately halt the raises. Cohen, who chairs the MBTA board, added that “other MBTA Board members have been made aware of and support this request.” Really, to issue dire warnings of “hefty” fare hikes because of the T’s fiscal problems, and then to unilaterally raise managers’ salaries a week or so later, is astonishing in its tone-deafness. I’ve defended Dan Grabauskas in the past, but boy, he sure blew this one. Thank goodness he’s been set straight.
Character. Integrity
Nobody is actually saying it, but the debacle at the Warren Debate is a matter of trust and character.
Obama’s behavior, character, and trustworthiness in this debate was exactly as one would want a Presidential candidate and possible future President to be: exemplary, honest, trustworthy.
McCain’s behavior, character, and trustworthiness in this debate was exactly what one wouldn’t want a Presidential candidate and possible future President to be: Childlike, dishonest, and shameful.
In 2004, we had a Republican Presidential candidate who cheated. In 2008, we have another Republican Presidential candidate who cheated.
Cheating is a fatal flaw and is a hallmark of a bad President.
Follow me to the extended text to see what transpired during the Warren debates according to the reports.
Gang Hate Crime Attack
There’s been a lot of terrible attacks against GLBT people and those who support us recently, but in many ways, this one makes me the saddest. A teen who was a member of the Family Swans (a subset of the Bloods gang) was killed by fellow gang members after they discovered he was gay, according to police in Baltimore…. Angered by the messages and a photograph they found, they worried that their Bloods group would appear weak to others if word got out that they had a gay member, according to court records. ‘As a result, they decided that Steven Parrish ‘had to go,” police wrote in charging documents. ‘There was no date or time discussed for the killing, but it was made very clear to all those present that Parrish was going to be killed.’ Flythe later told his fellow gang members that he and Hollis confronted Parrish, who did not deny that the messages were ‘gay’ in nature, according to court records. Flythe also told his associates that they stabbed and hit the victim before stomping on his neck, according to charging documents. A red bandanna was placed over Parrish’s face and he was left in the woods.” [...]
Judge lifts gag order on MIT students who found Charlie Card flaws
Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU of Massachusetts convinced a federal judge to lift a gag order on three MIT students who researched flaws in the MBTA’s fare payment system. Essentially, the students had found a way to ride free forever — but they weren’t sharing critical details that would allow others to exploit their discovery. The MBTA responded by getting a temporary restraining order on Aug. 9 that prevented the students from discussing their findings any further, even though their research was based on publicly available information. That’s exactly the wrong response. We raised questions about the security of other systems the MBTA was putting in place for the Charlie Card and Charlie Ticket more than three years ago, and we wish that the MBTA would focus on ensuring the security of its systems instead of trying to silence the messengers. It’s better to find out that there are problems in a system like this through the marketplace of ideas than through a malicious attack.
Blogging from the DNC
My name is Giovanna Negretti and I am the Executive Director of ¿Oíste?, the first and only statewide Latino Political Organization in Massachusetts. However, today I am writing to you as a registered Democrat. Last March I was the only Latina elected as an Obama Delegate for the 8th Congressional District of Massachusetts. This coming Sunday, I will be at the National Democratic Convention and I want to ensure that everyone who had a part in ensuring my election has the opportunity to experience the Convention as if you were there. For this reason, I have accepted an invitation by The Boston Globe to be one of 7 bloggers at the Democratic National Convention. Starting on Sunday, August, 24, 2008, you can go to www.boston.com to read updates on what is happening in Denver every day until Thursday, August 28, 2008. I am excited at the opportunity to bring you insights on the different events, activities, speakers and inside details of what promises to be a historic Convention! The better informed we are, the better decisions we make. I am looking forward to sharing my experiences so that you can have a different perspective on what is happening. My goal [...]
The Pentagon agrees: Kerry was right about terrorism.
The Pentagon released a report on how to deal with terrorism, and it sounded eerily familiar. Let’s start with The Young Turks’ interpretation of it:
There is nothing like seeing the Pentagon, under the guidance of Robert Gates, thumbing their nose at Bush/Cheney/McCain, and of course, making sense. Check out the quotes below the fold.
Wasting taxpayer dollars- or how I came to understand Barbara Anderson’s existence.
BMGers tend to enjoy discussing the big issues of the day, so I hope I will be forgiven for raising what might seem like a small issue. To paraphrase Oliver Wendall Holmes, paying taxes is the price we pay for a civilized society and for our quality of life. However, how those taxes are spent matters. There are a lot of bridges and roads in this state that need major work and there are a school systems in this state that are not able to be the best they could be due to a lack of funds. There also are state parks that need improvements. So this morning when I read an article in the local newspaper about how some money may be spent at one of my favorite state parks, I began to understand why people like Barbara Anderson exist. (MORE BELOW.)
