Blue Mass Group

Is it just me or do others think it lame for Joe K 3 to have a pretty uncontested field for the Dem nod for Barney’s seat. He may be great, but I don’t know that yet. He will have to prove it and a tough primary would do that. Maybe things are just quiet before some known and potentially strong candidates come forward, but so far it seems a lot of potentials are taking a pass. Some, like sitting legislators, won’t want to risk their seats for a long shot and Congress is a mess right now. But I’m just surprised and bit worried. I don’t want all our eggs in one Kennedy basket. What sayeth the BMG community?

In a January 9th post I wrote that the shift of Boston property to from taxable to non-taxable continues apace as properties are bought by wealthy not-for-profits. Today, The Boston Conservatory announced the $5.1 million purchase of 132 Ipswich St. http://www.boston.com/Boston/businessupdates/2012/01/boston-conservatory-buys-fenway-building-for-million/js6e3E98obJZJR1LLXKwjK/index.html The current annual tax for 132 Ipswich is $41,671.56, based on its assessed value of $1,305,500.  (Way below the real value of $5.1million Boston Conservatory paid for it.  Low assessments are another thing killing residents who either make up the difference or lose services.) So, in 10 years, not accounting for tax rate or value increases, $410,672 will have been lost to the city.  In 20 years it will be about a million and on and on in perpetuity.  I haven’t read anything about Boston Conservatory’s willingness to keep the city whole or even pitch in for part of it.  But why should it when so few others feel any compunction to do right by the city that supports them so well? And as long as places like Northeastern University hires City Councilors, e.g. John Tobin Jr., at much higher salaries, residents can’t expect to see City Councilors back Menino in asking for not just payments in lieu of [...]

Clearly am last to know that longtime Middlesex Registrar of Deeds Eugene Brune has decided to retire. This creates a very open seat on an already busy 2012 ballot. Any takers? Any Kennedy 3rd cousins? Anyone already talkin’ the talk?

Quoting Arianna Huffington:”Though the country is sorely in need of solutions, and the public hungry for real debate, that’s not what was served up in Iowa [or in New Hampshire] – either by the candidates or the vast pack of media covering their every word. What we got instead was a deluge of attack ads, largely financed by the super PACs allowed by the Citizens United decision. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, 264 super PACs have been spawned for the 2012 race and they’ve already spent almost half of the $32 million they’ve raised. Perhaps this disconnect between what people are really concerned about and what the candidates are talking about is why only 17 percent of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going” Campaign 2012: The Disconnect Widens; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/new-hampshire-2012_b_1196161.html So this brings up the question of what may be one of the great unintended developments resulting from Citizens United: Has its effect spawned an avalanche of intraparty attacks within the conservative movement that may cripple if not badly hamper the prospects of many of the remaining 2012 contenders? We saw Gingrich upended in Iowa and the same thing is already happening to Santorum. Now when Citizens was decided there was much jubilation on [...]

to recall Scott Walker http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/wis-dems-make-it-official-one-million-signatures-collected-to-recall-walker.php?ref=fpa   Those Wisconsin Democrats don’t mess around when they get riled up!

As you may recall, freshman GOP Rep. Paul Adams was mysteriously able to pump $50,000 into his campaign, despite not really having, you know, a job or anything.  Good reporting by the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune forced Adams to concede that the vast majority of that money came from Adams’ parents and brother, after his hilarious story that the money came from his awesome investment prowess fell apart.  Complaints were filed, and today, the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance announced its conclusions.  Short version: you can’t do what Adams did, so the contributions were illegal. Based on a consideration of the timing and circumstances involved in this case, some portion of the checks written to the Candidate by his family that were deposited into the Candidate’s personal account prior to the formation of the Committee were contributions given to help the Candidate run for office. The Candidate organized with OCPF after receiving the initial influx of funds in February and March 2010. In 2010, each of the Candidate’s Parents, and the Candidate’s Brother, gave the Candidate more than $500. The timing of the checks written to the Candidate from his family, in particular the $13,000 portion received from the Candidate’s Brother, who did not have an established [...]

Blue Mass Group and Red Mass Group are going dark this Wednesday from 8 am to 8 pm.  Here’s why. Despite our many differences, BMG and RMG strongly agree on the need for the internet to remain a place where robust and unfettered discussion can take place, free from overly burdensome regulation and the threat of costly litigation. Unfortunately, legislation is pending in Congress that would undermine those important values. The bill, known as the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, is written by and for the big Hollywood studios, and it’s awful. It also has a big and bipartisan list of cosponsors.  From one site that opposes the legislation, here’s an excerpt from its 2-pager summarizing the bill’s problems: SOPA would chill the growth of social media and force sites to adopt a new role as content police. Under SOPA, general-purpose social media sites with no bad intent could be argued to “facilitate” infringement – and thus get tagged as theft sites – simply by virtue of providing the platforms for usersʼ content. To protect themselves, platforms of all kinds would be pressured to actively monitor and police user behavior. The new de facto duty to [...]

The link to Occupy Congress includes a livestream channel. So you, too, can virtually attend. The approval rating for Congress is currently at 5%. Pretty low, wouldn’t you say? There are meetings set up with Congressfolk, teach ins, workshops on topics like Citizens United and pending legislation. Something for everyone – even the virtual community – which includes me and if you like, you as well.