The recent post by lanugo was a real wake up call for me. It brought to mind a recent op-ed article by by Archon Fung on a citizen congress citizen congress. The post reminded me that the approach recommended by Mr. Fung was what I had been expecting from the Patrick administration. When the Governor’s 1st year is recapped, what will be the highlight; casino gambling for sure. Even if he is right on this issue, think about how different we would feel if, BEFORE his decision, citizen groups had been given much of the information the governor had and been invited to provide advice and input. The governor’s aides stressed how important confidentiality was in making this decision. Why? This is the traditional rhetoric that has robed legislative and executive decisions on Beacon Hill for decades and many of those decisions have led to the type of cynicism and disenchantment that Patrick vowed to change. I do not think that I am being naive. The type of process I am talking about would have involved a good deal of messiness, leaks & whatnot, but it could have been transforming in a way little in government has been. The administration’s efforts at citizen involvement have been tepid at best. A lot of one way communication. Advice is asked for but all politicians do that. Fung’s op-ed article mentions Canadian citizens deciding redistricting for themselves. What a concept! I know our legislators would rather have needles in their eyes than agree to relinquish the power of redistricting, but think of the energy such a proposal might unleash. Patrick has made a lot of good decisions and appointments, better than Reilly or Gabrielli would have done, but lanugo is right; time is short. You promised much more Governor Patrick and it is time that you started delivering.
You might need to clip this up some for it to fit into fair use. You are addressing an important point in a useful way, so maybe sharpening this post would be worth the time.
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On fair use from the Editors
Thank you for cluing me in to fair use. Having already made the post, I do not know how to remove or change it at this point. Also, I think including this entire short column is important for readers so that the concepts I am talking about are fleshed out.
YOu can edit your post by clicking on the edit this post line under your post.
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The Editors have helped with a handy dandy formatting tips section. Which shows how to do links, which is what you should do for your article.
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Oh and always remember to host your own photographs on photobucket or some other similar webpage. If you don’t David my screw with you. đŸ˜‰
I have my own hosting, so that’s not an issue – I’ve just never figured out how to place a photo/picture in a comment or post.