I cannot recommend strongly enough that you read this Shirley Leung piece interviewing historian Nancy MacLean about the malign forces attacking higher education, including the Claudine Gay case. Then listen to the entirety of Ms. Leung’s interview with Professor MacLean at the Globe’s Say More. These are the same folks attacking K-12 over CRT and…
Moms for Liberty Cuddles Up to Proud Boys . . . Again
Moms for Liberty got caught canoodling with the Proud Boy. Again. In stage horror, Moms for Liberty issued a press release stating “Moms for Liberty is in no way affiliated with the Proud Boys…”. Again. So let’s revisit some of the coverage of the Moms for Liberty-Proud Boys coupling—the one we know the Moms would…
How to Understand Democrats for Education Reform Using Two Quotes from Democrats for Education Reform
Democrats for Education Reform face-planted again in Tuesday’s Boston municipal election and that got me thinking about how to define DFER in two quotes from DFER itself. Here they are. “We’re essentially bundlers”—Joe Williams, DFER president, 2012. (He went on to be director of the Walton Education Coalition and now is political director of Walton…
Massachusetts Exceptionalism is getting its due at CommonWealth Beacon
The newly rebranded CommonWealth Beacon has put the concept of Massachusetts exceptionalism front and center lately with several thoughtful pieces about the quality of life in the Bay State based on the results of a brand new CWB/MassInc poll of Massachusetts residents. Michael Jonas’s Putting Massachusetts Exceptionalism to the Test asks whether Bay Staters can…
Attorney General Campbell got the legislative audit question exactly right.
Click HERE for the CommonWealth Beacon story about Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s rejection of Auditor DiZoglio’s claim that her office has the legal authority to audit the legislature, with or without the legislature’s consent. Campbell’s analysis is entirely consistent with my earlier conclusion that DiZoglio’s push for legislative audit authority is a “well-intentioned bad idea.”…
A Citizens Guide to School Privatization
A Citizen’s Guide to School Privatization Last week was the annual conference of the Network for Public Education and part of my contribution was an 18 page report, A Citizens Guide to School Privatization. I’ll be adding to it over time as phony billionaire “moms” and “parents” groups proliferate. For now it includes national groups…
CommonWealth Op-Ed on Auditor’s “Legislative Audit”
Click HERE to read Professor Duquette’s CommonWealth Magazine op-ed about the state auditor’s effort to audit the state legislature.
What is political courage?
In the aftermath of the mass shooting in Lewiston last week, Maine Representative Jared Golden publicly acknowledged his previous rejection of federal bans on assault weapons was a failure. His Democratic colleague, Massachusetts Representative Lori Trahan took to social media to declare his statement an example of “Courage in the face of unimaginable tragedy. Selfless…
Matt Gaetz and the Red Popsicle Approach to “Governing”
Whaaaa! That is the sound Representative Matt Gaetz and seven of his colleagues made when they did not get exactly what they wanted from Kevin McCarthy. The now former Speaker had the audacity to side with the majority of the Republican caucus to raise the debt ceiling in May 2023 (149-71) and again side with…
What Senator Dianne Feinstein Meant to Girls Like Me
Did Dianne Feinstein stay in the Senate too long? Yes. Is that how she should be remembered or how I will remember her? No. I remember Senator Dianne Feinstein’s election to the Senate as a part of the “Year of the Woman” in 1992 where four women won Senate seats. That this was such a…