Blue Mass Group

I should have to pay something to watch the latest videos of Micheal Jackson's hair catching fire, it should not be free, because there is a real cost to the planet and future generations when I download videos.  My cable billl should reflect bandwidth use, not be the same whether I download a thousand videos or never download any.  Bandwidth should be progressively taxed to compensate society for the full cost of excess use.  Someone who keeps Pandora on all day streaming music to them should pay more than someone who goes on line once a day to check their email.  There should be incentives to turn off the computer and go to sleep, and disincentives for watching porn all night. Speaking of pornography, how can we justify allowing it at all in the face of this climate catastrophe?  If we insist that pornography is just as worthy of our precious energy as all other uses of energy, and has just as much right to contribute to greenhouse gases as political speech or literature or art, then we are truly stupid.  There is no first amendment right to destroy the planet.  There's no right to build a gigantic printing press [...]

What the Zoo itself has to say can be found here

Here is most of their two public statements – you can find any parts I edited here for brevity at the link, above:

Based on questions received, Zoo New England is providing the following clarification of yesterday’s statement (below)

There are no plans for the Zoo to euthanize any animals in the collection as a result of the budget cuts.  

As the original statement explains, IF the Zoos were to close to the public and control of the Zoos reverted back to the Commonwealth (as described in Massachusetts General Law 92B), it would take 2-3 years to place as many of the Zoos’ animals as possible in other facilities, and it would not be possible to place an estimated 20% of them.  Under this scenario, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts – NOT Zoo New England – would be faced with the prospect of choosing between two options for the animals that could not be placed: caring for these animals for many years to come or euthanizing them.

Failing to over-ride the governor’s veto is projected to cost the state more than twice the supposed $4 million “savings” in direct FY10 expenses – such as staffing costs, utilities, food and veterinary care for the animals, and property maintenance – and millions more in subsequent years.  

Help me think out loud for a moment. Ernie got me thinking. If you’re Tim Cahill, would you run as an independent? Charlie Baker jumped in, and he is the all-but-certain GOP nominee. So you have no chance of getting Republican votes. In theory, independents are “the majority party,” so in theory an independent can win. But the problem, for Cahill, is the Democratic Party, which will muster everything it has to defeat a strong Republican challenger. There will be no ideological space for Cahill to occupy, and no party structure for him to use. His only hope is to remain a Democrat and hope he can scare enough people away from Deval. It would be an ugly, brutal campaign, and there’s no real rationale for abandoning Deval in favor of Cahill right now. I don’t want to see this happen, but again, I’m just thinking out loud. Cahill can beat Baker in a general election, but he has no chance in a field with Deval. He has to take on Deval directly in the Democratic Primary. He might look erratic if he changes his mind, and he might unite the party behind Deval and doom himself to pitiful primary [...]

Back “in the day” (another overused phrase) WBZ FM was 106.7 on the dial and played nothing but album music. No DJz, no commercials. WBCN was king in the album format. Christ, they invented it. WCOZ, 94.5 was a close a second. WFNX was still a sperm inside of Steve Mindich. WTTK, 100.7 gave it a shot and played album music. It didn’t last. Kiss 108 was exactly as it is now. With the same listeners who are now joined by their daughters. Rest in Peace Sonny Jo White. WBCN played imports. Songs from new bands such as the Clash, The Police, U2 and The Boomtown Rats. And the local bands like The Stompers, the Fools, The Sex Execs, The Atlantics, I remember one evening in the late 70s when they had a “band from Lynn” in the studios and played their album which was being released the next day. Nothing good could come from hearing that. But it was The Cars. An album classic.   The lunchtime song with Ken Shelton was a treat in the pre-digital age. ————- Now WBZ FM is back. The only question I have is will it compete with EEI as sports radio or [...]

Wow! And this is being aired in Arkansas, Indiana, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio and the District of Columbia — the very places where one can find “moderate” senators currently making nuisances of themselves on health care. I'm really impressed by the level of political organization, money, momentum and passion on the side of the left. Along with the release of the House's health care bill yesterday … dare I be optimistic? Will we see a bandwagon effect when the real bill gets rolled out?

“Judge Sonia Sotomayor Denied My Appeal and I Spent 16 Years in Prison for a Crime I Didn’t Commit.” Sounds like just the kind of headline one might want if one sought a substantive attack on Judge Sotomayor. The Republicans gave Jeffrey Deskovic, author of the article, a cold shoulder. Substantive issues — reality-based commentary, to use the phrase in our masthead — apparently don’t interest them. Instead, two decades after he failed to win Senate confirmation to the federal bench because of “gross insensitivity” on racial issues (one of just two nominees not to be recommended for confirmation in the past 50 years — details here) Rush Limbaugh Dick Cheney ranking Republican Judiciary Committee member Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions became the voice of the moment for the G.O.P.: SESSIONS: Aren’t you saying there that you expect your background and — and heritage to influence your decision-making?. … [follow-up question - Bob] you’ve repeatedly made this statement: Quote, I “accept the proposition” — I “accept the proposition that a difference there will be by the presence of women and people of color on the bench, and that my experiences affect the facts I choose to see as a judge.” SOTOMAYOR: [...]