Blue Mass Group

An interesting letter from an expatriate in Japan on a variety of topics. Goes to show the incredibly constrained range of alternatives that are typically presented as the entire spectrum of possibilities in Massachusetts. If the state reimbursed everyone’s commute by the least expensive alternative, for example, I dare say transportation reform would take on a whole new meaning.

“There are many things here that make life difficult, but on the other hand, make life much easier, some planned, some dictated by circumstances and by accident. It seems very socialist. Makes it very difficult to compare Japan and the US.

There is national health care here. Due to a focus on disease prevention (they have started to take waist measurements and warn you if your waist is say more than 34 inches), not eating too much meat, getting enough vitamin D from sunlight and getting a little exercise because you have to walk 10 minutes to the train station, you can expect, on average, to be fully functional until about 75 and live into your 80s.

Almost everyone is reimbursed for commute to work, by least expensive route, say bus and train, even if you work in a convenience store.

From State House News Service's weekly email roundup*:  ”We pulled back,” Patrick said of the administration's 2007 retreat from a grassroots offensive against tax-resistant legislators, “and I'm sorry we did to tell you the truth, because it doesn't quite keep faith with the notion of democracy that citizen involvement would be … a deterrent to good policy. Now, we went back to this in the last few weeks with the reform agenda. And I think it was important, and I think it helped.” Going to keep that up, Guv? “Sure. Oh yeah.” The new-old outside-in thing has definitely been better. In January 2007, Patrick locked himself in the office to study the budget — to try to get on top of all the levers and buttons he could push. Didn't really address the press or the grassroots or the public — just got right down to work. Admirable, really. But he's also supposed to have good staff that can do some of that for him, and give him bottom-line assessments and recommendations. Anyway, if you don't have the figurehead of the governor out there driving the agenda, the agenda gets driven by someone else. And so we were left with [...]

(Cross-posted from Blue News Tribune.) I have mixed feelings about Joan Vennochi’s column today. On one hand, she said what everyone is thinking. On the other hand, everyone thinking it does not automatically justify saying it. It’s not fair to compare anyone to Barack Obama, even someone as theoretically close to him as Deval Patrick. Promising a different kind of politics as a candidate and delivering on it as a public official is a delicate task. The now-worn narrative about Patrick’s early missteps includes his choice of state vehicle – a Cadillac – and the expensive new drapes he ordered for his office. He ran as an outsider, then quickly started losing the inside ballgame to legislative leaders. He alienated his liberal base by pushing for casinos. He alienated the general public by backing a state senator for a $175,000-a-year job without explaining why and then leaving her to twist in the wild political winds that followed. Communication is Obama’s great strength and Patrick’s great weakness. The Massachusetts governor is effective one-on-one. But, unlike Obama, he has trouble driving a cohesive political message and doesn’t seem to enjoy the mission. This tidbit is devastating: From the day he won election, [...]

You’ll learn that and much more in this interview with the smartest man in the world.   Not to be confused with the Dos Equis guy.  Or Bill Belichick.   *You’ll learn why Obama fired the general in Afghanistan and brought in the new guy.   *You’ll learn the price that Russia wants in exchange for Obama’s request that they help him on Iran. *You’ll learn what China’s been up to while we have been focused on Iraq and Afghanistan.   Best read I’ve had in a while!  Free via the internets.  

Driving Equality was unconstitutionally searched today.

We left Niland, CA in the afternoon and headed toward Los Angeles. On our way, there was a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint. We were not anywhere near the border, but still, every car traveling north on this road had to stop. We were asked our citizenship status and the contents of the van. I told the officer that we are American citizens and that we had film and camping equipment in the van. He asked me if he could look in the back of the van. I said no. He asked me why not. I told him that there was no reason for him to look in the back and that I had the right to refuse a search under the 4th Amendment. He asked me to pull the van over to the side.

“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both” – Benjamin Franklin

This just in (email, no link): Governor Deval L. Patrick announced today that Arthur Bernard — currently a Senior Advisor to the Governor — has been appointed Chief of Staff in the Governor’s office.  Bernard will replace Doug Rubin who is leaving state government to join the Governor’s re-election campaign. “Arthur has become one of my closest and most trusted advisors since joining the team last year,” said Governor Patrick.  ”His experience, judgment and level-headedness have been enormous assets to me already and make him perfectly suited to help lead our ambitious agenda.” Note that Rubin is not heading back to the private sector just yet; instead, he is shifting over to the Gov’s political operation in preparation for 2010.   Here’s hoping both that Rubin continues his engagement here on BMG, and that Mr. Bernard will do so as well.  Congrats to both.

NPR: Exhausted, confused and extremely frightened, Owen immediately ran to the safety of a giant tortoise when we released him in Haller Park. Mzee, our 130 year old tortoise, just happened to be nearby and he was very surprised by Owen’s odd behavior cowering behind him as a baby hippo does to its mother. Mzee quickly came to terms with his new friend and even returned signs of affection. The unusual relationship between this baby hippo and the ancient tortoise amazed people the world over and has featured in most countries on television and in news papers. What is the moral of this story for Massachusetts politics? UPDATE: Wikipedia has the backstory here, and Owen and Mzee’s official website (of course, although sadly no blog) is here.