Blue Mass Group

So it sounds like there’s a compromise stimulus bill.  And the Republicans, with the full cooperation of centrist Democrats and praise from Harry Reid, have stripped billions from it. What have they cut, you ask?  Perhaps some crazy pork-barrel bridge to nowhere?  Or a lab studying the effect of constant exposure to Gilligan’s Island on dolphins? Well, almost.  They’ve cut from that most wasteful area, schools: One Republican-proposed document that circulated earlier called for cuts of $60 billion from money Democrats want to send to the states. That money is targeted to avoid budget cuts for schools as well as law enforcement and other programs. Sure, that makes a hell of a lot of sense!  Municipalities are at risk of laying off teachers.  So let’s cut money to allow them to keep teachers in their jobs!  After all, what does KEEPING PEOPLE IN THEIR JOBS have to do with stimulating the economy and getting people back to work? And those kids who’ll now be crammed into even more poorly-resourced schools?  They’ll still behave, right?  And if they skip or drop out, there’s no reason to worry that they’ll get in trouble with the law, right?  Especially since there are so [...]

Well, well, routed and impotent Republicans, it looks like Prez Barack will squeeze out a half to three-quarters stimulus measure. As the nation clings to, what is that word, hope?, the national GOP is trying to Limbaugh us into oblivion.

Obama apparently gets it now. Republicans in Congress and in the national party will have to walk the streets wearing their signs of shame. With the duplicitous help of too many Democrats while the GOP owned all three branches of government, they have ruined our economy, subverted our Bill of Rights, and plunged the world into a financial abyss.

Now is the time for the new President to be the adult. He has to play both cards as needed.

First, there's the nuclear option to cut off debate and stop a minority of obstreperous Senators from screwing the nation. Second, there's allowing filibusters to show who's willing to destroy the United States.

If Obama uses these two as needed, the games will stop.

Courage Campaign asks you to consider what is at stake when marriage is stripped from loving couples, and to sign onto the open letter to the California Supreme Court.

This has been mentioned before, but I'll just pile on: “centrists” Olympia Snowe and Ben Nelson are currently the worst enemies of your quality of life as a taxpayer. Members of the bipartisan group, led by Senators Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, and Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said they wanted to trim provisions that would not quickly create jobs or encourage spending by consumers and businesses. They spent much of the day scrutinizing the 736-page bill and wrangling over what to cut. By early evening, aides said the group had drafted a list of nearly $90 billion in cuts, including $40 billion in aid for states, more than $14 billion for various education programs, $4.1 billion to make federal buildings energy efficient and $1.5 billion for broadband Internet service in rural areas. But they remained short of a deal, and talks were expected to resume Friday morning. It is truly amazing, horrifying, and depressing that these jokers don't realize that a state job saved  — teacher, firefighter, cop, librarian, mental health worker — is the same as a new job created; in fact, due to the efficiency of continuous employment, it's probably a hell of a lot better. If [...]

Later, speaking to House Democrats gathered at the Kingsmill Resort, Mr. Obama strayed from his text to express frustration with the barrage of criticism that has bogged down the plan. The plan’s opponents say, “‘This is not a stimulus bill, this is a spending bill,’” Mr. Obama said. “What do think a stimulus is? That’s the whole point! No seriously, that’s the point! Now I’m getting carried away.” Thus, spending = stimulus.  By this logic, the President is claiming there is no reason to limit government spending.  It’s all stimulative!  The American people sense this is at best hyperbole, at worst, a falsehood, no matter what the content of the bill, so it follows that support for it is waning.   Worse, still, is if anyone looks at the contents of the bill.  Is it any wonder that Reid and Pelosi and the President want a vote on it without Congressional debate? The voters want a stimulus bill that has a chance of actually stimulating the economy beyond the momentary pop one gets by shoveling dollars from helicopters.  There’s plenty in the current bill worth enacting, but the bulk of it is politically-driven government largess.   Taxpayers know this.

We’ve been speculating about who will run to replace Sal DiMasi in Boston’s 3rd Suffolk state house district.  Someone mentioned Susan Passoni and I said I hope she runs.  Well, it turns out she is going to run! I remember Susan Passoni from her 2007 run for Boston City Council, where she came in “surprisingly close” according to Blue Mass Group.  During that race, sco interviewed her for .08 acres.  She focused on education and housing; clearly understood and talked about the fact that education leads to economic growth, something we’ve discussed recently. Interestingly, the 3rd Suffolk house district overlaps with the city council district she ran for.  About 2/3 of the city council district is in South Boston.  Although she did well enough there to come close to winning overall, her best results were in the smaller South End portion of that district, which overlaps with this House district (which is primarily a North End / South End district, and also includes Chinatown). Passoni won overwhelmingly in the south end precincts that overlapped with her city council race, where Passoni is president of the Ellis South End Neighborhood Association.  I think this may make her the only candidate in [...]

(Posted on behalf of the Fernald League for the Retarded, Inc.)

The families and guardians of residents of the Fernald Developmental Center are taking their case to the United States Supreme Court to stop the Patrick administration's attempt to summarily close the facility.

Here's why we're doing it and why we think we have a better than average chance of success:

The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals made a key mistake in overturning U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro's 2007 ruling that Fernald must remain as an option for care to its current residents.

Barack Obama for Beginners publisher Chip Fleisher (among many, many other books) makes the case well at TruthDig.com: The position of HHS secretary would play to Dean’s proven strengths-his medical training and his ability to work within budgets, to name just two. And no one could bring more passion to the job. To my mind, an old congressional hand, a Washington insider-another nominee like Tom Daschle-who knows how to wheedle and stroke egos and trade this for that in order to make things happen the old-fashioned way would not achieve meaningful reform on health care. There are just too many entrenched interests, and Washington insiders are congenitally incapable of making things happen with so many well-connected players trying to affect the game’s outcome. If people think insurance company paper pushers are doing more harm than good as they take decision-making powers out of doctors’ hands, imagine the damage that could result from an effort led by a career politician with no understanding of the dynamics at play in our health care system, let alone the human organism.  After so many years of fruitless rhetoric by politicians, why not let a medical doctor with proven success as a political operative and [...]

Always a classic: D’oh Daschle’s car campaign ad. Fabulous. Wretched thing won’t embed. Check it out. (Hat tip to KBusch, who got it to embed below. Thanks, KBusch!) Pretty much sums it up: UPDATE (by David): My personal favorite addition to the Weekly Joke Revue is courtesy of the Boston Phoenix, which has outdone itself in awesomeness by excerpting some … well, colorful excerpts from Barack Obama’s rendition of his book “Dreams From My Father.”  For example, here’s what Obama might say the next time some sorry-ass Republican tries to stand in the way of the stimulus bill (WARNING: not work safe!!): click here.  Hilarious.

Crossposted from DailyKos

“Conflicts are created, conducted and sustained by human beings; they can be ended by human beings.  This effort must be determined, persevering and patient. It must be backed up by political capital, economic resources, and focused attention at the highest levels of our government. And it must be firmly rooted in a shared vision of a peaceful future by the people who live in the region. At the direction of the President and the Secretary of State, and in pursuit of the President’s policies, I pledge my full effort in the search for peace and stability in the Middle East.”

 Former Senator George Mitchell, Special Envoy For Middle East Peace

On February 4th, Congressmember William Delahunt (MA-10)and 31 co-sponsors introduced the bipartisan House Resolution (HR) 130 supporting President Barack Obama’s appointment of former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell as his Special Envoy for Middle East Peace.  Representative Delahunt deliberately introduced this legislation before Senator Mitchell returns to the region at the end of the month so as to send a signal of support for the envoy’s efforts.