Is it dishonest to refuse to tell a murderer where his next intended victim is hiding and instead to explain how we can reduce murder rates? If someone did reveal such information to a murderer, would Senator Warren’s critics applaud them for “at least being honest about their plan?” The effort to discredit Elizabeth Warren’s…
The Waltons and the Politics of Education Funding
The three interest groups pushing to undermine the Massachusetts senate’s education funding bill are all Walton funded, two of them essentially full-time agents of the Waltons. They have to solve a problem for the right-wing Wal-Mart heirs: not that funding public education might fail, but that it will succeed. The Waltons, who contributed over $2…
Why Omitting Climate Change from Last Night’s Debate is a Bigger Deal Than You Think
Last night’s Democratic presidential debate ended without a single question—not one—about climate change. The omission has already drawn the ire of a number of presidential hopefuls, including Julian Castro and Tom Steyer who questioned why CNN and The New York Times, the debate’s two host organizations, overlooked such a vitally important issue. To be fair,…
A Town Meeting Drinking Game
Google “debate drinking game” and you’ll get about 36 million results. For instance, the semi-official DebateDrinking.com has a set of rules for the 2019/2020 presidential election debates. Google “town meeting drinking game” though, and you get far fewer results. There are a couple of pieces on local politics related drinking games, like this one for…
Giuliani’s Pals Indicted on Marijuana Licensing Scheme. Could It Reach into Massachusetts?
Today’s indictment of Rudy Giuliani’s two business partners is a disgusting tale of illegality and greed—and it’s worth wondering if it involves any effort to infiltrate Massachusetts’ marijuana licensing program. I’ll tread lightly here. There is no allegation in the Indictment that Massachusetts is involved. In all likelihood there is none. But state regulators should…
Debbie Downer: Women in #MaPoli Style
Elizabeth Warren. Ayanna Pressley. Katherine Clark. Karen Polito. Maura Healey. Did you hear the news? Massachusetts, we are in the midst of a women and politics renaissance! After a span from 1983-2006 where no women served in the MA Congressional delegation, 36% of those currently serving now are — and they are among the highest…
Be Grateful: In Massachusetts politics we can still have nice things
I’m on all the mailing lists, electronic and otherwise. The communications from the MassGOP have never been particularly impressive, but under its current leadership the MassGOP has become a laughingstock. The MassGOP, perennially ineffectual, has understandably employed snark and disingenuousness as a regular feature of its rhetorical portfolio for a long time, but the strategic…
“Arkansas Billionaires Fight to Change Massachusetts Education Policy.”
Arkansas Billionaires Fight to Change Massachusetts Education Policy.” Interesting headline, and true. No Walton family of Arkansas, no Massachusetts Parents United. No Walton family of Arkansas, no Democrats for Education Reform of Massachusetts. It’s that simple. But the Boston Globe and MassLive, among others, simply ignore that fact. It’s the politics of pretending. Readers deserve…
Headline: Arkansas Billionaires Fight to Change Massachusetts Education Policy
“Arkansas Billionaires Fight to Change Massachusetts Education Policy.” Interesting headline, and true. No Walton family of Arkansas, no Massachusetts Parents United. No Walton family of Arkansas, no Democrats for Education Reform of Massachusetts. It’s that simple. But the Boston Globe and MassLive, among others, simply ignore that fact. It’s the politics of pretending. Readers deserve…
Bullshit, Coup, Treason, Civil War. Words Matter.
“I shall do nothing in malice. What I deal with is too vast for malicious dealing.” With these words, President Abraham Lincoln ended a letter to Louisianan Cuthbert Bullitt on July 28, 1862. We see far different words these days from President Donald Trump: “coup,” “treason”, and “civil war.” Words matter and they matter most…