I've commented here about how failure to competently frame critical issues haunts both the Obama and Patrick administrations. Framing focuses on key issues, reducing complexity while keeping credibility. Framing reaches out to the political … [Read more...]
Howard Zinn 1922-2010
I took the first course that Howard Zinn taught at Boston University. It was PO 306 Civil Liberties. Fall, 1964. No text book. Original documents. American Friends Service Committee field reports. Congressional committee reports. Get … [Read more...]
Freeze: Really Bad for Mass.
One of the truly cheering things that happened when the Obama administration took office in 2009 was the intent to revive two departments crucial to our cities: HUD and DOT. The new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development was Shaun … [Read more...]
Downward Mobility, Anyone? Part 2
Last week I argued that fear of downward mobility among Massachusetts middle-class families was a motivating factor in the Scott Brown-Martha Coakley race. Towns that had voted strongly for Obama just 14 months ago went for a conservative … [Read more...]
In Defense of Scott Brown
I think Gail Collins was right to call out Keith Olbermann for his attack on Brown. Olbermann's defense that right wing talk show hosts have said much worse is beyond lame. And one of my favorite local pundits, Charles P. Pierce calls Brown … [Read more...]
Downward Mobility, Anyone?
A spectre is haunting America. The spectre of downward mobility. The American dream in reverse. The elements of this have been in place for years now. The current prolonged economic downturn will provide the last push. At least this is what … [Read more...]
Owned by Moguls, Written by Interns
My wife (much more hot-tempered than me) writes to the Globe: Hello Boston Globe: My husband and I are long-time Boston Globe subscribers. The paper gets more irritating with every passing week. For now we'll pass over issues of writing … [Read more...]
The Decade of Arrogance and Ignorance
You may recall that the Dunning-Kruger Effect shows that whereas people who do things well tend to underestimate their performance, the inept have no idea how bad they are. Indeed incompetent people consistently over estimate their … [Read more...]
Tennyson Nails It, 160 Years On
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light: The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let … [Read more...]
Capuano to Dems: “You’re Screwed.”
Ryan Grim (no pun!) over at Huff Post has a story about Mike Capuano's remarks to the House Democratic Causus. Writes Grim: "Capuano took to the microphone, looked out at his colleagues and condensed what he'd learned into two words. … [Read more...]
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