For many of us, last week’s election loss was about more than politics and we’re still coming to terms with the fact that millions of our fellow citizens voted for a candidate who is brazenly racist, xenophobic, and misogynistic. Since … [Read more...]
Confronting Inequality on MLK Day & Beyond
Martin Luther King Jr. Day challenges each of us to confront the racial and economic inequality of our time. Geography, income, and race stubbornly and persistently shape opportunities for too many Massachusetts families. The census tract … [Read more...]
What the GITMO Files Reveal About State Secrecy
by Kade Crockford As researcher Darryl Li points out, most of the Wikileaks Gitmo dump consists of US intelligence “’detainee assessments’ that reveal more about the inner fantasy world of the US intelligence apparatus than who the … [Read more...]
DA Sutter says “Who needs the Defendant – hold their trials without them!”
DA Sutter says who needs a Defendant - hold the trial without them and send them to jail Everyone is entitled to their day in court, but many defendants don't want to be there for it. No matter, the show will go on, prosecutors say, with … [Read more...]
Betsie Gallardo: We’re Doing Great So Far, But January 5th Is Key
The clouds dispell'd, the sky resum'd her light, And Nature stood recover'd of her fright. But fear, the last of ills, remain'd behind, And horror heavy sat on ev'ry mind. --Taken from "Theodore and Honoria, from Boccace", by John Dryden In … [Read more...]
On Starving In Prison, Or, Who Gets Pardons In Florida?
"Forgiveness, particularly at this time of year, is a very worthwhile message for all of us to be reminded of..." --Florida Governor Charlie Crist, December 9, 2010 So right off the bat, if you're 21 years old and you're having sex with a … [Read more...]
The MBTA holiday fruitcake
The good news, delivered quietly and without fanfare at a May MBTA Riders Oversight Committee (TROC) meeting was that the T will not raise fares in 2010 or 2011. The reasons are equally good - the MBTA has instituted enough cost-savings … [Read more...]
Proposed Amendment to Article VIII of the Draft Democratic Platform – lets talk about JUSTICE
What bothered me, personally, the most about the draft platform is that while it had plenty to say about "tough on crime" and law enforcement, the Draft Platform says nothing about access to justice, nothing about an independent judiciary, … [Read more...]
Federal DOMA to face challenge
Of course it's pretty self evident that DOMA discriminates. Of course discrimination by itself isn't wrong... its only wrong when based on 'wrong' criteria (I discriminate based on party affiliation all the time in the voting booth). … [Read more...]
WGBH puts interview with SJC Justices online
They were painfully frank. However, I will soldier on, with the hope that telling the truth, at the highest level, may make a difference. And according to Justice Cowin, it really can do so. … [Read more...]