First Lady Betty Ford has died at the age of 93. She was known for her candid public statements about breast cancer and addiction, as well as for her support of the Equal Rights Amendment. She lived to be the same age as President Ford. … [Read more...]
Archives for July 8, 2011
Reality report: more GOP economics = more recession
Members of the reality-challenged community (the politically correct term for surreality-based logicians) are free to disregard this data from the St. Louis Fed, but Paul Krugman captured its significance nicely today: I’m not the only one … [Read more...]
Slimy creatures thrive at the bottom of the barrel
Republicans are just as arrogant and secretive as Democrats once they become entrenched incumbents, at least in this state. Here, the House Minority leader was quoted, too: "Bradley H. Jones Jr., the House Republican leader, said he … [Read more...]
What’s a chained CPI and why should I care?
You may have been reading about the current proposals to switch Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to be based on "chained CPI". Perhaps you've read things like "oh, that's less than a 1% cut - no big deal". Well, what … [Read more...]
The Looming Compromise on Revenues
Against the backdrop of heightened political rhetoric among conservatives about not being willing to raise tax revenues as part of the deal to raise the debt ceiling, there is a growing acknowledgement among many Republicans in Washington … [Read more...]
Brown Turns Back on Constituents
The Globe has a report that Scott Brown has amazingly not held a single open town hall meeting since being elected to office. The MA Dems have posted a clock to the the front page of their website counting the time that Brown had turned … [Read more...]
Fair Districts Mass new State Maps on Monday July 11
BOSTON, JULY 8, 2011-- Fair Districts Mass.org (FDM) will unveil its proposed state legislative maps that are mandated by the 2010 census this Monday, July 11, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. on its web site at www.fairdistrictsmass.org FDM's … [Read more...]
Amend Rule 1D!
(Well, I admit, "Amend Rule 1D!" doesn't have a good ring to it, like "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!", but I'm still thinking of alternative slogans. I do, however, already have a chant: "Hey, hey, ho, ho / Testimony's public, No?") Over … [Read more...]
A few thoughts on reality
A ponderous title indeed for a not-especially-ponderous post. The topic arises in light of Alex Beam's Globe column today, in which he expresses displeasure with phrases like "evidence-based medicine" or, apropos of us, "reality-based … [Read more...]
Patrick and Murray form hack politics tag team
I wrote earlier about the pathetic, inexcusable hack-a-palooza that Patrick and Murray were engaging in for their nomination of Berkshire State Rep. Christopher "No Show" Speranzo for (cushy job for life) clerk magistrate, and their … [Read more...]