Blue Mass Group

If you’re like me, you do not know much about most of the people running and will probably get only one shot to hear the candidates in person. My personal preference is for a candidate who will commit to exploring and supporting options for eliminating the position as a elected office.  It is an office that few understand and nobody pays attention to outside of the probate bar . . .   until corruption puts it on the front page.  The job is administrative and I suspect the Commonwealth would be best served if the Governor or the Chief Justice of the Probate Court appointed the Registrar. Also, at the risk of offending some, I suggest that the most important qualifications for this job are administrative experience and familiarity with the business of the Probate and Family Court rather than party activism (though the candidates whose names I know all appear to be serious Democrats).  In short, I’m looking for competence and credibility. I hope nobody finds this too obnoxious.  Thanks for listening.

Dear Democratic Activist:

Please give me your support for my candidacy as Register of Probate for the Democratic Party.

I am a progressive Democrat with the administrative, technical and legal skills to improve the function of the Middlesex Probate Court, as well as the legislative experience to be a true advocate for the court.

Having practiced law for 35 years – predominantly in the Probate Courts – I am most familiar with the Middlesex Probate and Family Court, and know many of the hardworking employees, clerks, family service officers and judges who do their best to deal with over 20,000 cases a year.  

This is the court where families in distress come in crisis and I am the most qualified candidate to provide the right leadership to best serve their needs and restore integrity to the office of Register of Probate.

I am a trained mediator and understand the demands placed on the court system by self-represented litigants, as well as the need for lawyers to have a professional and efficiently run institution.  

I am an organized, focused, energetic and creative individual who believes in good government and can bring a spirit of cooperation and caring to the position.  

Although budget constraints may limit immediate broad policy changes, there is much that can be done to incorporate best practices and insure access to justice in the Middlesex Probate and Family court.

I would be honored to have your vote as the Democratic nominee and to serve as Register of Probate, Middlesex County.

Thank you.  

Katherine Triantafillou

That’s what Krugman calls this deal from Treasury Secretary Paulson to give the Treasury Secretary total authorization to hand out $700 Billion taxpayer dollars. And economist Brad DeLong points out: John McCain chose Sarah Palin to be his vice president. There is a 40% chance John McCain will be president on January 21, 2009. There is no way in hell that anybody should give any extra power to any Treasury Secretary chosen by John McCain. I beg the Democrats in congress: write a bill that makes sense. Obama and Barney Frank better put the brakes on this.  If something must be passed now, it’s too bad Paulson couldn’t put forward a transparent plan that doesn’t threaten to rip off $2000 from the average taxpayer.

As we tremble and fret, consider what the unrelenting money storm foretells for universal health care. First, free markets are a joke and a lie. Second, the incredible panic for even saying socialized medicine shrinks to nothing among the bailouts and trillion-dollar subsidies for incompetent capitalists.

There was fudging, hemming and hawing when we gave Chrysler $1.5 billion in 1979 to keep it solvent. That wasn't socialism, rather good business to keep its workers employed.

Now particularly in the administration of George Bush the Lesser, we have seen one deal after another using government guarantees, loans and now ownership to keep huge companies and financial institutions from folding. Of course, the first big joke is how this plays with fiscal conservatives' free-market beliefs and doctrines. In the Reagan era and the encompassing and ensuing spell of Randist Alan Greenspan, the free market meme recurred with hypnotic effect.

In the next few days, Democrats in Middlesex County will convene at a special nominating caucus to elect a democratic candidate for the office of Register of Probate. I intend to be candidate at that caucus. As a lifelong resident and attorney practicing in Middlesex County for 17 years, I possess not only the qualifications necessary to effectively manage the Middlesex Probate Court but also a strong commitment to Middlesex County and a strong desire to restore integrity and professionalism to the office of the Middlesex County Register of Probate. I am a 1988 graduate of the University of Massachusetts/Isenburg School of Management and a 1991 graduate of the Catholic University of America/Columbus School of Law. For the past 11 years, I have served as an Assistant Solicitor for the City of Lowell representing the City of Lowell in all courts in the commonwealth and providing legal counsel on all matters pertaining to a public entity including labor and employment issues, public bidding and purchasing issues and matters involving state ethics laws. As Register of Probate, I pledge to utilize this unique combination of education and experience to ensure that all citizens of Middlesex County are well served by a [...]

The U.S. Senate race between Governor Jeanne Shaheen and incumbent Senator John Sununu is one of the most important Senate races in the country this election season.  As someone who grew up in NH and is a mom, it’s pretty clear that working families haven’t had a voice in the Senate in the 12 years since Sununu was elected.  By electing Governor Shaheen, families like mine and small businesses will finally be able to have a voice in Washington to help them get what they need to take care of their families and get our state moving in the right direction again.   Forget the TV slogans and the pundit debates.  I’m not a politician, I am a mom and I work at a 9-5 job.  I am just sick every time I go to the grocery store, when I open my heating and electric bills, when I go to fill up the car with gas, and when I get my tax bill because the price of everything is so high. The cost of health insurance is so high that I sometimes debate whether it’s worth it or not because my coverage keeps decreasing even though the cost is going [...]

If the Paulsen plan goes forward, the ability of the federal government to borrow money, or support programs other than the Bush agenda is zero. I have taken the time to speak to insiders in the financial services industry.  The consensus of pros who are not in the Greed Gang is that the Paulsen Plan is a panic reaction which will further lead to the rich getting richer, and everyone else moving towards surfdom. Barack, and the rest of us, need to support Barney Frank in saying “NO”.   While I could give you links, and so forth, my position on this is based on doing “due diligence” with real people I know personally and trust.  My opinion does NOT come from reading newspapers and academic journals. The problem with Adam Smith’s analysis and theory of capitalism, is that he premised his theory on the assumption of honesty, frugality, and that the elite would have the “public weal” as their goal.  He did not predict the Czars of Greed.  So Smith was correct that goods would be produced where it was cheapest to produce them; he did not predict the dishonest and greed driven manipulation of the market. Stick to [...]

Today, as negotiations move ahead on the potential massive bailout for the financial services industry, too many leaders are willing to do whatever Secretary Paulson says.  But by standing up and saying no, Congressman Frank, who is the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, may be staking out turf that is essential to helping Barack Obama win the election — while setting the foundation for historic reforms.  The question, as always, is: will we progressives stick to our guns?  There’s more…

More from the wacky world of presidential possessions, where the elitist black guy from the south side of Chicago is running against John Sidney McCain III.  John Sidney III, a 72 year-old “regular guy” is married to a 54 year old beer heiress named Cindy, a couple who is a poster child for middle-class home ownership with a total of seven houses. Seven homes, seven garages.  Chances are they aren’t little garages, either.  So it’s only natural that Newsweek went to the registry to get a count of the number of cars owned by the respective families. Needless to say, McCain ran up the score. Cindy McCain & unnamed friend.

I was just wondering what the interest or feasibility would be of using the upcoming Middlesex Probate Caucus as a launching pad for something more permanent.  There was a comment in another thread about having Obama and Kerry people show up to rally the troops, which is great, but I was thinking beyond even that.  I believe a couple of our counties have County Democratic Committees and in some states county committees are part of the official party structure.  I would love to see this discussed after our official business is concluded Wednesday night and am certainly happy to help get such a group started.  We can even get a discussion going here.  I personally am likely to attend the caucus to observe even if I do not get elected delegate.