Blue Mass Group

I was at today’s meeting in Hudson.  I managed to get there just

before it started, so I didn’t really get a chance to mix with

people.  My estimate was that the crowd was split about 50-50

between supporters of expanded government health care

(single-payer or a robust public option) and opponents.

Confirmation of story The story was first broken to me by my Rep., Sean Garballey who was part of a group of legislators who spearheaded a circular letter opposing both the fare hikes and the service cuts.  The service cuts and dropped routes would have been devastating to Arlington.  See also: More coverage with statements by the legislators who fought the hikes and cuts

Deathers, birthers, teabaggers – this whole cottage industry of right-wing lunatics regurgitated from the surprisingly sustainable cesspool of irrationalism that propped up the Bush presidency – get me down.  

He’s getting out his message!  Awesome.  It’s more of a rally than a town hall meeting. Can’t seem to imbed live but you can find it at this link. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21…

Much has been discussed about Dan Grabauskas’ July 6th email.  How does that reconcile with Grabauskas’ Greater Boston interview on July 21st where he said that even with the sales tax increase, fares will still need to increase (at 5:00 min mark). Good soldier?  Doubt it, in the same interview he called Aloisi a liar. So which is it Dan, were you lying to us then or lying to us now?

This story talks about George Soros (gag me) donating $35 Million to a program in NY which uses a 4-1 matching formula from the Stimulus package to fund school supplies for needy kids. His gift will help fund a program dubbed “Back to School New York” and will allow the state to access about $140 million additional dollars in stimulus funds that are available to programs that fund needy families. George Soros’s donation of $35 million will go to the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which oversees programs for low-income families. The State will receive an additional $140 million in funding through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families emergency contingency fund. This fund was established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and is solely dedicated to covering benefits and services targeted to needy families. Some deatils… Starting today, the $175 million sum is providing eligible families of school children, ages 3-17, with a one-time payment of $200 per child. The funds are available through the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card system, which is used to access public assistance and food stamp benefits. Recipients can use their EBT card to withdraw the funds through an [...]

don’t belong in their jobs.  David Bernstein gives us a nice example of what happens when incompetence meets arrogance meets job security meets public apathy. A first assistant d.a. responding to charges of wrongful conviction in a sophomoric intellectually dishonest manner is an insult to everyone. Hey Mike Flaherty, I don’t care what kind of deal you made with Conley. he broke his part of it by his failure to protect the people of Suffolk County. Innocent people in jail and cops killing citizens at will. All thanks to Dan Conley and his tip top staff.

I was a little surprised that nobody else had posted this yet, but Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away this morning at the age of 88.  There are links to articles and Obama’s statement at the newly reformated Politics1. For those needing a genealogical refresher, she was the sister of JFK, RFK, and EMK.  She was married to Sargeant Shriver, Peace Corps founder and Democratic replacement nominee for VP in 1972.  Her children include Maria Shriver, formerly of NBC and now First Lady of California, and Mark Shriver, former member of the MD House of Delegates. In her own right she is best known for founding the Special Olympics.

Maybe the latest insanity coming out of the Transportation Building isn’t as awful as it appears.  But if it’s not, someone needs to explain why, and fast.  Otherwise, Jim Aloisi’s credibility is shot to hell, and he cannot any longer effectively do the job the Governor appointed him to do.  In which case, he should resign. In retrospect, it’s interesting to review what we all said about the “he knows where the bodies are buried” argument way back when.  For now, I’ll just reiterate what I said about Aloisi on the day he was appointed. [W]hen it’s the bottom of the ninth, two outs, two on, and the home team down by two (which strikes me as a fair description of where we are right now), who do you want at bat?  Do you want a .205 hitter with a record of not many extra-base hits and a lot of strikeouts?  ’Cause that’s how Aloisi strikes me, based on his history with Kerasiotes, Amorello, and all the rest of it. But, hey, sometimes that guy hits a home run, or at least a double that scores two runs and keeps the home team in the game.  If Aloisi can manage [...]

Recently, there has been a flurry of debate over health care reform and reproductive rights, especially the issue of abortion. Opponents of health care reform are using anti-abortion politics as a way to derail real change. NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, our National organization NARAL Pro-Choice America, and other pro-choice groups are working to stop an anti-choice push to impose a new nationwide ban on abortion coverage in private health-insurance plans. Decisions regarding coverage should be made by medical experts and women in need – not anti-choice groups and lawmakers pushing their own agenda. Many anti-choice lawmakers claim there is an abortion mandate in the health care reform bill, and began a misinformation campaign to depict the legislation as such. Nothing in any of the current bills mandate abortion coverage, and taxpayer money would not be used to pay for abortions in the public plan. The organization Factcheck.org has publicly refuted claims from anti-choice groups like the Family Research Council that the health care reform bills will secretly “mandate” abortion. The new health system will not expand abortion coverage beyond where it is now. Currently more than 80% of private insurance plans cover abortion care, and under the new plan consumers could [...]