Blue Mass Group

Too much annoying real news that demands a palliative to wait until the traditional Friday. First up, Taiwan’s CGI masters review “Wall Street Journal takes on New York Times” and indirectly help explain the ongoing takeover of the WSJ’s news operation by its regressive editorial page. Onion: “Construction Complete On 9/11 Truther Memorial.” On a remote patch of Kansas prairie believed to fall outside the range of U.N. spy satellites, construction is finally complete on the long- awaited 9/11 Truther Memorial, sources confirmed Wednesday. Funded by donations from dozens of websites and fringe publishers, and dedicated to “the fearless amateur research and bold guesswork” of those seeking to “expose the secret machinations of the world’s true puppet masters,” the 7,000-square-foot monument has already attracted hundreds of visitors. Political cartoon of the week from Daniel Kurtzman.

My proposal is that the Department of Education allow for the refinancing of all loans – public and private – into one loan.  This can be done solely through the Department of Education, or it can be achieved through private lenders assuming they are under the watchful eye of the Department of Education. Should the latter path be chosen and non-government banks be allowed to fully consolidate student loans, the political right will rest easy knowing that this is not another “government take-over” that they so greatly despise. The political right will also be happy knowing that the free market will still be able to regulate itself with regard to college tuition and fees.  Ultimately, no matter how it is achieved the government must move on this issue and enact a framework that allows deeply indebted current and past students relief that they so desperately need.  Working with one lender, rather than numerous lenders, will instantly allow for a light at the end of the tunnel with all loans now being on one page.  Additionally, with government oversight and a repayment cap at 15% of a borrower’s discretionary income, we will quickly see movement within the economy.  Houses will be selling faster, savings will increase, and goods and services will continue to be bought and sold in the same manner that made our economy so prosperous those many years ago.

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I’ve already posted on Bump’s endorsements by the Boston Globe, the Newton TAB, the Brookline TAB, the Cambridge Chronicle, the Somerville Journal, the Needham Times, and the West Roxbury Transcript, but there are several more to report: The Bay State Banner: The major qualification for auditor is unchallenged probity. Suzanne Bump’s opponent, Guy Glodis, has not lifted a disturbing cloud of impropriety. Ten days before the election for sheriff of Worcester County on Sept. 14, 2004, he borrowed $20,000 from a friend. He immediately loaned his campaign $22,000. It is unlawful for candidates to accept personal loans from individuals for more than $500. Bump should win by default, but there is much more to recommend her. An attorney, Bump has served as state representative and as state secretary of Labor and Workforce Development in Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration. Her objective is simply to assure that state funds are honestly spent and to determine whether programs perform as expected. The Boston Phoenix: SUZANNE BUMP, former state representative and secretary of labor and workforce development, is a superb candidate to take the auditor’s office in that direction. Bump’s experience in and around state government have given her impressive insight into how it [...]

Newstalk – 9/8 On September 8, 2010, in Latest News, by The News Staff Primary election is next Tuesday, go out and vote, in particular vote to re-elect Sal DiDominico who represents only two precincts here in Somerville. Remember to give him a vote; he was just elected in a special election only a few months ago…so the’s not an entrenched incumbent.      One other candidate we are working and hoping will get the Democratic nomination is Guy Glodis who has a great record as Sheriff of Worcester County. We hope he wins.

If you listened to Michael Graham – as in Crackers, “AXE The Governor” Jay Severin, Charlie “Boyo” Manning,  Howie” I Stabbed Jerry Williams in the back to get this job” Carr, you would think that Charlie Baker was the best debator since the Golden Days of Greece and the Lyceum and that Deval Patrick was uable to utter a cogent word. Huh? What a ship of fools – Graham,Severin,Manning & Carr. Charlie Baker presented one of worst performances of any candidate in years short of the governor of Arizona. Even Barbara Anderson had to admit that it was not her darling Charlie’s best night and if only she agreed with his policies she would vote for Deval Patrick.

Today, I’m proud to release a special web-only video and formally announce my candidacy for Congress because I’m anxious to keep fighting: to grow jobs, to help small businesses, to increase renewable energy, and to expand biotechnology.

The Christian Science Monitor reported yesterday: The Islamic Society of North America organized a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington where leaders from the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths argued against what organizers called “an atmosphere of fear and intolerance” toward Islam. C-SPAN and CNN carried the interfaith press conference live. Fox News Channel had no coverage, but instead had commentator Lou Dobbs holding forth on President Obama and the “sad isolated state this president has put himself in.” Meanwhile, MSNBC offered talking heads discussing Mr. Obama’s latest plans to spur the economy. Interesting. Separately, is it too extreme to label Florida pastor Terry Jones a traitor in light of General Petraus’ comments: “The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Monday the planned burning of Korans on Sept. 11 by a Florida church could put the lives of American troops in danger and damage the war effort.” What do you think?

In the past 13 months, 54 food items were recalled in Massachusetts.  According to Recipe for Disaster, a study released this morning by MASSPIRG, Consumer Federation of America and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, our current food regulatory system is dangerously ineffective.  The Senate must act quickly to bring us into the 21st century.

In a little over a year, Bay Staters have been exposed to a long list of unsafe foods, including baby food, pretzels, spinach dip, green onions, macaroni and cheese, alfalfa sprouts, cheese, and beef.   In all these cases, the foods made it on to our store shelves and our kitchen tables before they were recalled.  

Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farm’s voluntary egg recall happened two and a half months after the first Salmonella illness was detected because the FDA does not have the authority to properly safeguard our food. In fact, the FDA’s authority has not been updated since 1940.  This is why the Senate must pass the FDA Modernization Act, which will prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness with new preventive controls and performance standards.

I’m putting together two quotes, one from a web site which I’ve been reading quite a bit, with a lot about urban planning and economic change, and another which presents the failure of this kind of change through battering realist approach, and suggests a better solution. Also a more productive path for many of us than just getting on the web to post a chart or graph (which is just a less tiring failure than the old going out in the streets to complain). As it is, we still need to have a long discussion as to exactly what these new institutions — a gold standard, some sort of healthcare system, perhaps another sort of retirement system, a solution to the problems of Suburban Hell — should look like. We couldn’t really accomplish any of that today, because there isn’t a workable consensus on what to do. It will take another fifteen years or so of dealing with the Crisis for these ideas, which are now in their early stages, to ripen and spread. I am mostly in the “planting seeds” business around here — seeds which will not sprout into real-world institutions until the following Spring period. Until then, [...]

If I can get CoverItLive to work right, we’ll be discussing issues with the Democratic candidates for state auditor @ 1pm today. Join in the fun, with Guy Glodis, Suzanne Bump, and Mike Lake. Dem auditor’s debate