Two cows are standing in a field. One says to the other, "What do you think about this mad cow disease?" "What do I care?" says the other, "I'm a helicopter." --From "Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar", Thomas Cathcart and Daniel … [Read more...]
Deval on Left Ahead! Tuesday
Gov. Deval Patrick joins our ragged trio on Left Ahead! Tuesday 2/2/10 for our weekly podcast. We'll cram as much Q&A as we can in a half hour, starting at 1 p.m. Eastern.Catch the live stream here. After the show, it's … [Read more...]
A disagreement with Mike Capuano
We got those touchscreen machines all over the country after the 2000 election made a national spectacle of the problems with punch card voting machines, but Massachusetts had its statewide spectacle of the same thing four years earlier, … [Read more...]
Here is that pesky healthcare bill! With Poll !!
The bill itself Generally it is a good idea to read first, and pontificate later. Mind, anything with 1018 pages is hiding a lot of stuff, and probably a legislative bit of healthcare vivisection. Myself, I have a growing list … [Read more...]
The Return of the Line Item Veto
Ed Brayton alerts us: This is an interesting development. Fox News reports: A bipartisan group is giving the line-item veto another go at it, albeit with some key tweaks, more than a decade after the Supreme Court struck down the procedure … [Read more...]
Massachusetts Autism Insurance Reform Bill
Autism Insurance Reform Bill (HB 0067_001) has been submitted by Representative Barbara A. L'Italien (D-42) and Senator Frederick Berry (D-7). The bill will require private healthcare policies to provide coverage of the … [Read more...]
Jen Benson, Coolest Freshmen State Legislator
Benson has introduced a special education reform bill that works towards identifying administrative efficiencies and cost savings for schools districts, while providing more consistency for special education students with high needs. … [Read more...]
Dissenter on the Farm Bill
Last week the House passed the farm bill 318-106, a veto-proof majority. President Bush had threatened to veto, but many Republicans joined almost all Democrats in voting yes. I noticed that only two Democrats within a 1000 mile drive … [Read more...]
Massachusetts
We have some serious work ahead in the next few months for the state legislature and the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts to grapple with and it's called budgets. The real work of government is centered around this grueling phenomenon. … [Read more...]
Legislation on corporal punishment – protection for children or invasion of privacy ?
As a practical matter, DSS already traumatizes families where children are not at risk. To have every "swat" a reportable "offense" and essentially overturn the case of Cobble v. Commissioner would be very bad. Anyway, Mike's Op Ed … [Read more...]