American Athens

Just a reminder.

2008-02-22T17:23:00.001-05:00

1st Annual Juvenile Justice Awareness Day at Wheelock College in Boston

2007-03-29T10:24:00.000-04:00

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "Definitive 200" List is a Bunch of Crap

2007-03-09T15:55:00.000-05:00

Months after they first announced its inception, the official list of the 200 albums that comprise the Definitive 200 list has finally been unleashed on an angry world and boy does it suck. Considered to be 200 albums that every music lover should own, it should be noted that The Definitive 200 is not an attempt to spark a dialogue on the history of pop music, but rather a transparent attempt by the record industry to spark sales in their back catalogue. In addition to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (who inducted their first hip-hop act just this week!!!), the list is co-sponsored by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), which represents over 7,000 music stores in the U.S.

I know these type of lists are supposed to suck, what was I expecting? Well, when I first heard about this list I assumed that it would have some integrity and that I would at least be able to respect the first 10 selections. This however, was not the case. It seems as though the completely out of touch RRHOF decided to have circus animals rank these though osmosis. If this list was unranked I would almost be able to shut up about it, but since the RRHOF decided to rank these albums 1-200, they have left themselves wide open to my insults. I will now rant through (some of) what I see to be glaring omissions and laughable choices at ranking the Definitive 200 albums of all time:

1. BEATLES - SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND

Was this decision made by a team of middle school boys circa 1992?...

Read the rest at the new American Athens

The "T" In LGBT: Mass House Bill #1722: An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes

2007-02-28T20:37:00.000-05:00

During the last couple of months, through both academic work and personal exploration, I have become interested in gender identity discrimination as a human rights and social justice issue. I felt that since the local blogging community and in particular the straight, white, male, liberal blogging community has not yet taken very much interest in the topic that I would use AA as starting point for this much needed dialogue.

Right here in the Commonwealth, legislation to outlaw discrimination on the basis of "gender identity or expression" was introduced Jan 10, 2007, by lead sponsors Representative Carl Sciortino and Represenative Byron Rushing (This is another of the many issues where Rep. Rushing has been the first of his colleagues to take a stand on. I love this man). House Bill #1722, "An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes,” sends a clear message that transgender and gender non-conforming people in our communities should be able to work, go to school, and live without fear. This bill...

To view the rest of this post please visit us over at our new location: Americanathens.com

Dennis (D.J.) Johnson 1954-2007, R.I.P.

2007-02-22T18:44:00.000-05:00

"And there's a steal by Bird, underneath to DJ, he lays it in..." -Johnny Most

According to the Boston Globe:

Dennis Johnson, the star NBA guard who was part of three championship teams, died Thursday after collapsing at the end of practice. He was 52. Johnson, coach of the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League, died at a hospital, D-League spokesman Kent Partridge said.

Johnson, a five-time All-Star and one of the great defensive guards, played 14 seasons and retired after the 1989-90 season. He played on title teams with the Boston Celtics in 1984 and 1986 and with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979 when he was the NBA finals MVP.

Wow, does this one hurt. It is kind of weird to feel sad about the death of someone I have never met, but I suppose that is the testament to the player that he was. The player Bird once referred to as, "the best I've ever played with," Dennis Johnson, or as he was know to Celtic loyal, "DJ," was the best true guard to play for the C's in my lifetime...

To view the rest of this post please visit us over at our new location: Americanathens.com

Next Time You Say “Bush Sucks,” Remember Saparmurat Niyazov

2007-02-16T09:48:00.000-05:00

R.I.P. Saparmurat Niyazov (1940-2006). Niyazov ruled Turkmenistan as the head of state/cult of personality from 1985 until his death in December 2006. The circumstances of Niyazov’s passing has been surrounded by some media speculation, including that Niyazov had been the victim of poisoning. Some Turkmen opposition sources also claim that Niyazov died several days before the officially announced date of December 21st. According to the Atlantic Monthly:

To read the rest of this article come visit us over at the new American Athens.

Romney, Michigan and the Globe

2007-02-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

Read the full post at the new and improved American Athens.

Though the timing and location were released earlier, Mitt Romney's choice of Michigan --- and specifically the Henry Ford Museum --- to start his Presidential campaign made some news yesterday on the internets. This morning, the Globe's Scott Helman has an article about the announcement and the history of the Romney name in politics.

Romney had nothing to gain by announcing in Massachusetts, other than grabbing some free New Hampshire media time, so it's understandable that he'd fly the coop on this one. The two logical choices remaining would be Michigan, where his father was governer and his last name carries cachet, or Utah, where he can appeal to that state's Mormon population and remind the country that he "saved" the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Read the rest at the new American Athens

The Dangers of Internet Political Quizzes

2007-01-09T15:34:00.000-05:00

A few years back, when I was a freshman in college, one of the first friends I made was a libertarian. He wasn't a "libertarian when convenient" like so many of our chirping pundits or Republican congresspeople, but a legitimate libertarian with whom I spent hours arguing about whether or not the government should continue to deliver mail, construct and maintain roads and highways or educate children. I'm not speaking merely of the federal government, but any government. His stubbornness and complete adherence to the (what I consider foolish) principles of extreme libertarianism were in a way admirable and fascinating, especially to someone who was struggling with his own political identity, as I was at the time. ...

The rest is at the NEW AND IMPROVED American Athens (which doesn't have to deal with Blogger's seven-hour outages) .

Moved

2007-01-05T13:58:00.000-05:00

Posted at the NEW and IMPROVED American Athens also. Please join the discussion there.

We’ll be getting back into the swing of more frequent, yet still infrequent, posting in the coming days. Lee is spending some time in Egypt, hopefully trying to avoid causing an international incident, and will return in a couple weeks. Meanwhile, I’ve moved from frat-row in Allston to the greener pastures of West Roxbury/Roslindale (no one is sure exactly where the house is), which is a most welcome if somewhat sweeping change.

Unfortunately, I moved just in time to be represented by State Rep. Mike F. Rush at Tuesday’s ConCon. Rep. Rush voted in favor of the Anti-Marriage Equality Amendment, though he did at least also vote in favor of the Health Care Amendment, so I’m not entirely ashamed to admit who represents me on Beacon Hill.

I don’t have much more to add, as I’m several days late on this, save to say that democracies don’t put people’s rights up to a vote. Rights aren’t policy, drafted and compromised upon in dusty rooms and voted upon by legislators or the people, they’re the bedrock on which civil societies are built, and without which there is no principled foundation for the government. Indeed, if we decide that rights may be given and taken at the will of government, or even the people themselves, then we cease to be governed by the rule of law. We are rather governed by the whims of demagogues and the tyranny of the majority. I must believe that such a system was not the intention of the founders of this commonwealth, nor this nation. Yet, Tuesday’s vote calls into question whether or not the self-evident truths upon which this nation was founded are, in fact, all that self-evident.

Moving

2006-12-22T10:29:00.000-05:00

So, all of us at American Athens have taken the holiday season off without telling you. We apologize. Between finals, travels, and the holidays, we've not really had time to blog. All that changes on January 2nd. Also changing will be my address (I'll be a homeowner!) and this blog's address. Please stop by and visit the new site at www.americanathens.com.

We'll be posting at both sites for the first few weeks of the year, before finally giving up the ghost here. We hope you'll join us in the new year. And if you want to check out the new site, it's up now and has all our old posts there as well. Leave comments on the design on this post at either place. Thanks for stopping by.

14,000

2006-12-01T15:10:00.000-05:00

That's how many people --- men, women and children --- will be infected with HIV/AIDS today, which happens to be World AIDS Day. 25 years ago, AIDS was considered a "gay disease", that would never effect those outside of that community. In the intervening years, we have learned the disastrous consequences of that kind of thinking, and the bigotry and callousness that permitted it. Governments and health organizations took no action as the epidemic spread across the country and the world, infecting millions, all with no chance of survival. AIDS remains, with the exception of a wealthy few, a certain death sentence. 40,000,000 people are currently infected with AIDS, all destined to meet their death at its ruthless hands. AIDS reaches across race, gender, nationality, religion and socio-economic status; it doesn't matter who you are.

For the 25 million people who have died from AIDS, and the 40 million currently infected with the virus, not to mention their friends and families, take a moment of slence today. Lives have been taken and irrevokably shattered by HIV/AIDS and its consequences. If you have any money to spare during this holiday season, please think about the lives that have been ruined and families torn apart and consider donating to an HIV/AIDS related cause, either for a cure, education, or support. This epidemic will not, contrary to earlier thinking, go away on its own.

Things and Other Stuff.

2006-11-30T14:02:00.000-05:00

Today, I found myself more angry than usual at both the mass media and society in general. So, I decided to post this collection of random thoughts.

- George Will still sucks.

-Are there really people who care who the highest paid actress in Hollywood is? If you do, please stop hurting America, put down the US magazine and go read your kid a book.

- I still can't understand why anyone who doesn't watch it, would care about anything that has do to do with daytime TV.

-I can't believe that it is still news when Snoop Dogg gets arrested for anything, let alone weapons possession. It's F'n Snoop Dogg for Christ's sake.

-Why are people still shocked when a 6-ton mammal that lives in a pool and is forced to literally jump through hoops every day of their life, attacks one of their trainers? This simply is what you get.

-The Pope called on European Union to ensure that religious freedom is a criterion for membership. But still thinks sexual and reproductive freedom can suck a big dick. Why does anyone still consider the Catholic church leadership legitimate in anyway?

-What ass-clown, at a school with a generally intelligent student body, thought they could get away with stealing 10,000 newspapers in an attempt to cover up a report on their frat's hazing violations and not get caught? Another question: Do you think they used the same pledges that were hazed to steal the papers? Answer: You know they did.

"Dude..."

"What?"

"I got it. We just get the pledges to take all of the papers that way no one will ever find out."

"Duuudddeee..."

Looks As Though Someone Had Some Dry Turkey Yesterday.

2006-11-24T09:51:00.000-05:00

No Thanks to Thanksgiving
By Robert Jensen

One indication of moral progress in the United States would be the replacement of Thanksgiving Day and its self-indulgent family feasting with a National Day of Atonement accompanied by a self-reflective collective fasting.

In fact, indigenous people have offered such a model; since 1970 they have marked the fourth Thursday of November as a Day of Mourning in a spiritual/political ceremony on Coles Hill overlooking Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, one of the early sites of the European invasion of the Americas.

Not only is the thought of such a change in this white-supremacist holiday impossible to imagine, but the very mention of the idea sends most Americans into apoplectic fits — which speaks volumes about our historical hypocrisy and its relation to the contemporary politics of empire in the United States.

That the world’s great powers achieved “greatness” through criminal brutality on a grand scale is not news, of course. That those same societies are reluctant to highlight this history of barbarism also is predictable.

But in the United States, this reluctance to acknowledge our original sin — the genocide of indigenous people — is of special importance today. It’s now routine — even among conservative commentators — to describe the United States as an empire, so long as everyone understands we are an inherently benevolent one. Because all our history contradicts that claim, history must be twisted and tortured to serve the purposes of the powerful.

Wow. While I recognize Thanksgiving has taken on an entirely different meaning for many people, in the same way the non-secular holidays have, i.e. being with and celebrating family and friends, giving thanks for all that we have and are afforded, etc. I also believe that taking time on Thanksgiving to pause and atone for our past sins as a people, is a very important idea to keep with us. After all, a whole lot of genocide put that big deformed turkey (who is unable to naturally reproduce) on our plates yesterday.

Get Thee To Sco's

2006-11-21T09:43:00.000-05:00

To see the awesome picture he found from Sunday's Homophobia Rally. And, no, the optical illusion isn't that the Governor is actually in Massachusetts, but that's a good first guess.

The Department of Energy Takes Their Good Sweet Time

2006-11-20T19:50:00.000-05:00

From WAMC's Peter A. A. Berle:

The Bush administration has given the concept of incompetence a whole new dimension. We are reminded almost daily of its biggest blunders, the conduct of the war in Iraq and the response to hurricane Katrina. Those capture the headlines and fester like sores sapping our blood and treasure. But there are less dramatic and less complicated instances in which the nation's business is not getting done. Recently one was addressed by a federal judge in the Southern District of New York who issued a consent decree requiring the Department of Energy to set new efficiency standards for about two dozen commercial and residential appliances as required by law.

Since the beginning of the second Reagan administration more than twenty years ago, rules have been on the books requiring appliances to meet specific efficiency standards. The law requires the Department of Energy to set new stricter standards periodically so future generations of air conditioners, furnaces, clothes dryers and similar gadgets use less energy than the old machines they replace. The trouble is the Department of Energy has not done so. As a result the Natural Resources Defense Council a national environmental organization, two low-income consumer groups, the City of New York and 15 States joined in a lawsuit to force the Department of Energy to do what it was supposed to. The litigants pointed out that for one appliance category the new standard was 13 years overdue. The law suit has just concluded with a court order specifying that amended standards covering a host of products from room air conditioners to home furnaces be adopted on a schedule which extends from 2007 to the year 2011.

Using less electricity, gas, and fuel oil to maintain our lifestyle seems like such a no-brainer it is hard to fathom why the Department of Energy has not acted. The wars in the Middle East, public health, dependence on foreign oil, air pollution and global warming are all exacerbated by our consumption of fossil fuel generated electricity which has been increasing at a steady pace for decades. The plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit allege that new standards will save enough energy to power 12 million households and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 103 million metric tons a year.

Industry response to the Department of Energy's lethargy is noteworthy. The Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association and the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute joined with the plaintiffs to get the Department of Energy to set new standards as the law requires. Intervening on the opposite side in defense of DOE's recalcitrance was the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers which has opposed appliance efficiency standards over the years with the same tenacity that the auto manufacturers have opposed fuel efficiency standards for motor vehicles. Fortunately at least some industry groups see conservation as a worthwhile strategy. I am sure that market opportunities for selling new model machines that use less fuel and are cheaper to operate influence corporate decision making.

Using energy more efficiently has got to be a major component of a national energy policy. The fact that it takes a court order to require the Department of Energy to set appliance standards as required by law reflects how flawed the Bush Administration's approach to energy policy is. In the meantime, wearing damp clothes and living in the dark for the next several years may be something the energy conscious consumer can do. The Court order requires Final Rules covering efficiency standards for clothes dryers and fluorescent lamp ballasts be published on June 30 2011.

It Friday! Here's This Week's: "Things I Found on The Internet."

2006-11-17T09:22:00.000-05:00

If you have yet to hear about this: Tuesday night, a (Muslim) UCLA student was tasered for not having his ID in the library. It seems as though UCLA is planning to continue with their recent track record on race relations.

The video of the actual incident is here.

An update on my boys at Hitch50. They have hitchhiked to 43 state capitals in 39 days!! If you are in any of those other states, give them a call to say what's up.

Odds on the 2008 election.

I'm sorry, but if you buy a Sony Playstation 3 on the internet for $2000.00 or more, you are an asshole.

Maddox from The Greatest Page in the Universe has some thoughts about Sony.

An amazing young artist, Omen8's work is worth checking out.

Kim Jong Il is looking for bands to rock out in Pyongyang this coming March. Visit the Voice of Korea for more details.

A review of Rick Santorum's voting record. In all seriousness, I've deceided that Santorum losing last week was the best thing to happen to America in the 5 years since 9/11.

House Leadership Set?

2006-11-16T10:31:00.000-05:00

CNN reported a few minutes ago that Rep. Nancy Pelosi, every conservative's favorite straw-liberal, had indeed been unanimously selected by her caucus to become Speaker of the House. I am quite happy with the news, because despite the Right's attempts to turn her into the Liberal bogey(wo)man of their nightmares, she seems a good choice. Her First 100 Hours plan is precisely what the Democrats need to get off on the ground running and to show the American people that they are serious about returning the Congress to responsible and respectable governance:

Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation."

Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Time remaining until 100 hours: Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step. Cut the interest rate on student loans in half. Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.

Will all of that get done? Probably not. Will they try? Hopefully. Is trying better than what we've seen in the House for the last six years? Yes. And it's a plan to set this country back on the path of economic and social progress from which we've deviated under the Bush Administration and his Rubber Stamp Congress.

Also in House Leadership news, Hotline on Call is reporting that Rep. John Murtha has conceded in the race for House Majority Leader, acknowledging that his bid will fall short to Rep. Steny Hoyer's. I'm not a huge fan of Hoyer, and I did enjoy seeing Murtha come out so forcefully and knowledgeably against the Iraq war, but given the campaign the Democrats ran nationally, Murtha would be a foolish choice to ascend to a leadership position. Murtha is known as a master of getting pork to his district and is an earmark specialist. He was also caught up in the ABSCAM sting of the early eighties, though he was never charged. After running against pork-laden, corrupt Republicans, I think it would have been a bad idea for Democrats to elevate anyone with those taints to a position as high profile as Majority Leader.

John Kerry Not Picked To Be Kickball Captain...

2006-11-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

This came in yesterday from the UPI:

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer appeared to kick Sen. John Kerry out of a Democratic leadership walk in Washington, a reporter who witnessed the event said.

An ABC News reporter said the incident occurred Tuesday outside of the Old Senate Chamber as members of the new Democratic leadership, of which Kerry is not a part, left the chamber en route to the Ohio Clock Corridor to discuss leadership elections, the incoming majority's agenda and Iraq.

The ABC reporter said Kerry left the room behind Democratic Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Caucus Secretary Patty Murray, D-Wash.; and Caucus Vice-Chair Schumer, D-N.Y. However, when Schumer noticed Kerry, D-N.Y., walking behind him, he turned and said something to the Massachusetts senator that caused him to stop.

Kerry waited for the Democratic leaders to walk ahead and then ducked between two statues. The ABC reporter speculated that Schumer may have told Kerry to stay clear of the leadership shot.

So, it looks like that "joke" did sink the kite surfer's ship for 08'. I suppose this post could also be called: The Least Surprising Thing Chuck Schumer Has Done Recently. Does this mean anything for Massachusetts? And what are Ted's thoughts on the matter? Aside from, "Damn I look good."

Also, anyone hear anything else about Obama's supposed shady land deal? I heard this little snippet on NPR this morning and am at a loss to find anyting else.

Thanks to Power Line for the image.

Why Do Many Conservatives/Republicans Believe That We Love Terrorists?

2006-11-14T10:56:00.000-05:00

I stumbled by this opinion letter from the Lincoln News Messenger out of Lincoln, CA, recently and was once again amazed at the opinion of the Democratic Party/Liberalism in some corners of this country. This is not an isolated letter. This is the opinion of many people in this country, and if we are ever going to bring this country back to where it belongs, we need to work to make these ideas obsolete and bring people back to the table.

Here is the full letter with my comments interwoven:

It seems all lackeys for the Democratic party have been instructed to pour venom into newspaper Letters to the Editor. I'm not a lackey for anybody. I'm a citizen who deplores what liberal Democrats are doing to destroy America. America is in a moral value free fall.

What will you get if you vote Democratic?

You'll get higher taxes. You'll pay more income tax, sales tax, estate inheritance tax, property tax, school tax, car license plates and driver's license fees, to name a few. Democrats love high taxes.

You're right, we probably will have to raise taxes, not because we like them, as much as we believe in the things they afford. We also have to raise them because of the spend crazy President, his tax cuts for Bill Gates and Shaquille O'Neil and for pork projects like Ted Stevens "Bridge to Nowhere."

When did taxes become the end of the world? Do you like schools and roads? I know I do. Well, taxes pay for them. Can you imagine what would happen if we privatized the roads? There would be a beautiful Chanselise in and out of Beacon Hill and the Ho Chi Minh trail in and out of Roxbury.

What about terrorism? Liberal Democrats will give away more intelligence secrets to aid and abet our enemies as they have. Watch liberals surrender to "pacifism" as did England's Neville Chamber-lain before World War II. Watch liberals kiss up to USA haters in the world. Liberals will do away with The Patriot Act, prevent tracing bank accounts of terrorist organizations, prevent profiling, prevent listening to terrorists' phone calls and demand prisoners are treated kindly (like terrorists treat Christians and Jews)!

This is a big misconception that we as liberals need to fight our way out of. When did we become the ones who like terrorism? That is just crazy. All but one Rep voted in favor of the war in Afghanistan. No one supports anyone who wants to kill them. How many liberals do you know that think we should "give away intelligence secrets?" Do you know anyone who wants us to be attacked? This crap has got to stop and we are the ones who need to stand up to those calling us soft on terror and tell them it is a load of crap. Oh, and for the record, Chamberlain was a conservative.

You'll witness a bigger push toward homosexual marriage, more teaching your kids about homosexuality. Forget the ABCs.

That's it kids! Screw fractions today! We are going to hear a sermon from Rev. Ted Haggard and watch Madonna videos all afternoon. C'mon.

Watch for a dumbing down of students, allowing every kid to graduate with a diploma from high school regardless of their learning skills or desire to study. You'll see less talented teachers hold teaching positions in exchange for union membership and votes for liberal candidates.

O.K. first of all, they are getting to the point of graduating without skills because somebody cut school funding. And secondly, why would we blame students for failing schools? Isn't that like blaming ground soldiers for losing a war? Also, that whole thing about less talented teachers holding positions in exchange for liberal votes, is just plan conspiracy theory crazy, maybe we can call in Michael Moore on that one.

Think Hollywood is bad now? Just wait until liberal Hollywood produces more violence and garbage on TV and in movies. And watch for filthier magazines.

Since when are there conservative Hollywood producers? Aren't we the one's who want to ban violence on TV, and you are the ones who want to ban sex? Also, there are already filthier magazines than you could ever imagine behind those black shields at the 7-11. What we need people to realize is that US magazine is causing way more damage to our society than Hustler and Anal Adventures ever could.

Watch the medical profession become subservient to socialized medicine.

This too is a big one. To quote Olga Pierce at UPI: "As a nation, the United States spends far more for healthcare than other developed nations. Americans spend an average of $6,102 per person while in Canada -- the nation with the second highest level of spending -- the average spending is $3,165 per person. In the World Health Organization`s ranking of the health systems of its 191 member countries, the United States is ranked 37th, in the neighborhood of countries like Cuba and Slovenia."

Observe liberal Democrats socializing wealth, spreading your earnings among those unwilling to earn their own way. Capitalism will become a thing of the past.

Think immigration is bad now? Wait until liberals open the floodgates to immigrants in exchange for their votes. Being a citizen of the USA will become meaningless. You'll pay more of your earnings to support illegal and legal immigrants.

Think of Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco liberal extremist, as speaker of the House, a liberal Senate, Hillary Clinton and her morally bankrupt husband returning to the White House in 2008.

Imagine more lax abortions laws, repeal of partial birth abortion, drug laws knocked down, criminals including pedophiles, receiving sympathy from liberal judges who pity criminals, not their victims.

I think we get the picture? It just gets too overwhelming---I, as well as most of A-A's readers and contributors could go on-and-on and could easily make our own list about what would happen if the Republicans had won on Nov 7th. This however, is not what America needs right now. I know that I am as much a perpetrator of this type of negative stereotyping against Republicans as anyone, and it has to stop. We need a new game plan. We need to start sending a strong message about what we believe and we need to make it clear. When the other side tries to contort it, we need to make it clear again. We are at a crossroads coming up to 08', and rather than stall Bush's policies for 2 years, we must search out that compromise, that middle ground, and bring people back to that table to make this country better for the Americans who really need it. Any ideas?

Lieberman Reminds World He's No Longer a Democrat

2006-11-13T09:54:00.000-05:00

This morning's Globe contains an AP article in which Sen. Joe Lieberman says that he will begin the session caucusing with the Democrats, but "won't be ruling out" switching allegiances. He will be "beholden to no political group except the people of Connecticut and, of course, my conscience." With the Senate at 51-49, and Sen. Lieberman playing footsie with both sides of the aisle these days, I'd say that Connecticut will probably come out on top, along with Nebraska (Sen. Ben Nelson), in terms of pork delivered. In an analogy that, quite frankly, works fairly well, Sen. Lieberman is now "the Prettiest Girl in the Senate" or:

He is like the #1 high school football recruit, and 2 schools are trying to woo him. Except imagine that there are absolutely no recruting rules or regulations whatsoever. Money, hookers, coke, you name it is on offer. No matter what happens dude is getting some serious power and CT is getting some serious pork. A remarkable change of events for Ol' Joe.

Now, I don't actually think money, hookers or coke are up Joe's particular alley, I'm sure some things are and the leadership of both parties is going to find out what those things are. Basically, Joe won't be beholden to anything but his consience but the US Senate will be beholden to Joe.

UPDATE: Links fixed (I think), thanks Ryan.

Veterans Day

2006-11-11T15:35:00.000-05:00

I have no eloquence to bring to this day, no long posts remarking on the great sacrifices and great victories wrought from the men and women of our armed forces. Nothing I could write would encompass the immense debt we owe to all those who have served our country. They are heroes not just in the battles they fight, nor the service they render, nor even the victories they have won. They are heroes because they choose the life of their country over their own lives. Our armed forces deserve the utmost in respect and honor, as they do an often thankless job with often the most selfless intentions. Our gratitude cannot be expressed deeply enough. Our support can not be broad enough. And, so, on this day, I simply say, as words escape me:

Thank you for serving. God bless you and God bring you home.

Romney Again Vetoes Spending

2006-11-10T14:34:00.000-05:00

Our esteemed executive has taken the opportunity, while spending a few hours actually in the commonwealth he was elected to govern, to ... well ... govern, kind of. In what has become something of a ritual, Willard has picked up his pen and overruled the Legislature again, freezing state spending. This move comes after the Leg had already over-ridden his vetoes of this same spending months ago. Granted, the money is meant to come from the state's Rainy Day Fund, and that might not be a great idea, but the money would be going to fund health care and education initiatives.

I'm of the mind that we're not taxed highly enough in this country or in this state and that our government should be providing more services than it does presently. I realize that this puts me at odds with many people, including many of my friends and most of my family. I don't think the government should be the only provider of those services, but that it should offer some baseline of support for those who need it or choose it. Government spending generally is not the problem, in my mind, but rather the efficiency with which the government spends and what the government is spending its money on. In this case, the government is attempting to fund crucial health care and educational programs, and Romney is blocking those attempts. Basically, the guv wants our commonwealth to be filled with stupid, sick children ... but what does he care, he's not around anyway. How long until Deval Patrick takes office again?

And, yes, I'm a big-government, tax-and-spend liberal. I'm not going to apologize.

Not So Fast Liberal America...Remember Gay Marriage?

2006-11-09T09:40:00.000-05:00

While Tuesday was a huge win for Democratic America is was not so much for liberal America. While it may be great that he can't fall off again for a while, humpty did fall off the wall, and putting him back together again is going to be really difficult. The Democrats may have taken control of one of the three branches of government, we still have a lot of work to do in bringing this country into the 21st century, and the outlook for that is not too good.

Remember gay marriage/rights? I know, you too forgot about it when you were cheering for Pro-Life Bob Casey is his defeat Rick Santorum. The bad news is that one largest civil rights issues of our time just took another large step backward on Tuesday. According to the New York Times:

Just because progressives came up with a turnout-driving alternative on the left doesn't mean the gay marriage issue disappeared as an Election Day option on the right. In fact, voters in seven states approved constitutional amendments to bar same-sex marriage. Those states - Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin; bring to 23 the number of states that have written provisions limiting marriage to a union between a man and a woman into their state constitutions, according to the Initiative and Referendum Institute.

This is a very telling sign and will be the start of something much larger, if we do not put a stop to homophobia and ignorance at the ground level, starting now. I'm going to assume that you don't tolerate racism and racial slurs in your everyday life? Then why do we let homophobia slide by? Why do we have to tolerate bigotry, if it comes out of someone's religion? If I were to say that interracial marriage was against my religion, you would call me a racist, and you would be right. Then why is it more tolerable to be against marriage on the basis of sex? Bigotry is bigotry no matter how you slice it and it should not be tolerated by anyone, let alone someone who claims to believe in democratic ideals.

I can’t stress enough that Democrats from left to right need to take this issue on as a civil rights issue before it’s too late. If these religious ideologues can tell us the sex of the person we can marry, why not the religion? Or the race. It really is time to stop pussy footing around people who are against this issue for any reason and call them out. Civil rights are not just a legal issues, but issues of consciousness, and changing belief and thought is much more difficult than changing law. We need to challenge these backward ideas and we need to start now, in our communities, our schools and our workplaces.

The good news is that you can start at today's Constitutional Convention at the Massachusetts State House. According to TakeMassAction:

Show up at the State House anytime you can but the earlier the better. We expect to be greatly out-numbered by our anti-gay opponents. They are busing people in from all over the state and even from other states. The outcome of today's vote is uncertain. We need everyone who cares about equality to be at the State House. Gay or straight - if you care, be there. We cannot expect to be granted our rights, we need to fight for them. No social justice movement in history has had their rights handed to them. It takes all of us together to make change. You have an opportunity to impact the future of LGBT rights in this country. Do something. Show up. I will see you there.

I don't even want to get into the fact that the people preaching for states' rights on the abortion issue are the same ones busing people to events in other states to protest...Anyway, here's your chance, I'll be down there on my lunch break, say hi if you see me.

Happy Day

2006-11-08T09:25:00.000-05:00

Now that most of the votes are in, it's time to celebrate the change that was set in motion last night. Deval Patrick is our Governor, and this is just a preview of what is to come:

This was not a victory just for me. This was not a victory just for Democrats. This was a victory for hope.

If you missed it, you should read the transcript of his victory speech.

The Democrats have taken the House, and are currently two wins (in Virginia and Montana) short of taking the Senate. James Webb's victory in Virginia will likely lead to recounts, but for now, it is hopeful. The results from the Montana race between Tester and Burns should be in later today.

In Missouri, Claire McCaskill's victory was made all the better after the drama concerning her stem cell research ad. And in South Dakota, voters rejected the controversial abortion ban that would allow an abortion only to save the mother's life.

Let's hope that these changes mean that we will have more answers and accountability from the White House. Let's hope that for the next two years, the Bush administration will have some 'splainin to do. Today is hopeful, indeed.

Update: Further rejoicing!

Goodnight and Good Luck

2006-11-07T23:59:00.000-05:00

Tonight was a great night for Massachusetts and the country. We've got a governor who respects his constituents and who has a positive agenda to move the state forward. We've returned a mostly progressive Congressional delegation to Washington. And they'll return to a House of Representatives in which they'll be part of the majority, which hopefully means that we'll begin to see some of the changes the country is clamoring for. The Senate is looking less-likely to fall into Democratic hands. It's 48-48 right now, with Tennessee, Virginia, Missouri and Montana up for grabs. Allen and Webb are in a race tight enough to likely warrant a week's worth of recounts. Harold Ford is behind 60 thousand with 88 percent in. Tester's leading in the early going and seems poised to pull it off in Montana. I don't know which half of Missouri is left at this point, but Claire McCaskill is down six to Jim Talent and it seems unlikely that she'll unseat the incumbent. I'm not giving up hope, but it's feeling like a long shot at this point to take three of those four (a 50-50 just leaves it to Cheney), and that's relying on Lieberman to vote with Democrats, which is certainly not a given.

But, hey, this was a good night. We should be proud of what we've accomplished so far, even if the work's only just started. But that's a post for another day. Tonight, let's just be thankful that we can voice differing opinions on every subject and change our government without fear. There may be a lot wrong with this country, but there's certainly more right with it. Tonight, let's concentrate on the latter. Tomorrow we fix what's wrong. Cheers and thanks for stopping by tonight.

P.S. In Virginia, Allen leads Webb by 1800 votes out of a total of 2.3 million ballots cast for the election. That's .7% difference with 99% of precincts reporting. If I don't fall asleep in the next ten minutes I might update it.

And that was the last we ever heard of Kerry Healey...

2006-11-07T22:19:00.000-05:00

AHHHH!!! Oh sorry, I'm glad I'll never have to get used to seeing that. Bye Bye Kerry Healey. It looks like you are no better at winning the state, then you were at winning the Essex 6th...Goodbye to your administration that pushed our state back 15 years. Goodbye to your lies, your culture of hate and your xenophobic fear mongering. We don't want you in charge of anything anymore and a good chunk of us are glad to see you go. May you go the way of Evelyn Murphy, Teve Torbs and Color Me Badd.

Fast Forward 20 years:
Guy #1: Who was that woman we had as Lt. Governor under that Mormon guy who lost in the '08 primary?
Guy #2: I think her name was Evelyn Healey? Yeah, something like that.

Sorry, Linc.

2006-11-07T21:40:00.000-05:00

Nothing personal against the Senator from Rhode Island, but I am quite glad that he'll not hold that position after the next couple months. MSNBC (can't stand Wolf and Fox News is for gloating puposes only) reports that Sheldon Whitehouse has defeated the actually-moderate Lincoln Chafee in their race. Sen Chafee, I really did like you, and in a different era, might have supported you. But not now. Now I am unfotrunately glad to see you lose. Maybe you are too.

Really, in Virginia?

2006-11-07T20:22:00.001-05:00

Totally ridiculous and un-important, but the race in Virginia's 5th Congressional district is between Virgil Goode and Al Weed, making this the Goode-Weed election. Awesome. Also, I'm sorry for bringing this to your attention, but we're excited right now and so we're laughing at things we might not usually.

More importantly: Brown and Casey are projected to win seats in the Senate; Ellsworth has already been declared the winner over Hostettler while Yarmuth leads Northrup. We're on our way. This night has been fun so far. As Lee just said, "Nothing bad so far."

P.S. Tucker Carlson is sans bowtie this evening. Is that new? It's rather disconcerting to have to pick apart his words rather than his cravat.

CALLED AT 8:06

2006-11-07T20:04:00.000-05:00

MSNBC REPORTS: DEVAL PATRICK WINS MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR RACE.

The Republican Party, We're Sorry

2006-11-07T19:08:00.000-05:00

This is a little late, but with no idea about tonight's outcomes, I thought that I would share this clip from last week's "Real Time with Bill Maher" via One Good Move::

Talking Point # 2 "When they say the terrorists want the Democrats to win. You say, are you insane? George Bush has been a terrorist's wet dream. He inflames radical hatred against America and then runs on offering to protect us from it. It's like a guy throwing shit on you, and then selling you relief from the flies."

Watch the whole thing here.

BERNIE!

2006-11-07T18:51:00.000-05:00

It might not matter to anyone else, but Lee and I are ecstatic that Bernie Sanders is, according to Fox News (we're gluttons for punishment), going to be the next Junior Senator from Vermont. As my history professor once said about Bernie, "Everyone in the House gets to eat lunch with someone. Everyone. Except Bernie. He brings his lunch and he eats it at his own table." He was a commencement speaker at our college and he's been great for Vermont. I was more than happy to vote for Bernie twice, and I wish I'd been able to vote for him today. Congrats, you crazy (not-so)Socialist, you!

National Exit Polls

2006-11-07T18:33:00.000-05:00

Just in case you stumble upon this site before myDD, Chris Bowers put up some Senate numbers he'd heard. Here they are:

VA: Webb 52-47 Allen
RI: Whitehouse 53-46 Chafee
PA: Casey 57-42 Santorum
OH: Brown 57-43 DeWine
NJ: Menendez 52-45 Kean, Jr.
MT: Tester 53-46 Burns
MO: McCaskill 50-48 Talent
MD: Cardin 53-46 Steele
TN: Corker 51-48 Ford
AZ: Kyl 50-46 Pederson

So that happened. That's six seats, which puts the Dems at 51 seats.

Stay tuned, we're all gathered in one room tonight and it's going to be a race to be the first to post when something happens. There's also some podcast technology here, but we have no idea how to work it, so we'll see where that goes.

It feels like Christmas

2006-11-07T09:43:00.000-05:00

I have not been this excited for an election for as long as I can remember...I haven't voted yet...I think I saw a 10-year-old holding a "No on 1" sign in Cambridge this morning...Does he really care? Does anyone who doesn't own a liquor store or live their life in fear really care? My boss voted at the same polling spot as Deval this morning. What a way to start your day...Thinking good thoughts today. I want to be surprisingly happy tonight.

Tick, Tick, Tick

2006-11-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

After all these many months, the moment of truth is fast approaching. After all the speeches, debates, ads and flyers, the candidates basically wait for the next 36 hours. There's not much more they can do. Even those of us who've worked from inside or outside campaigns have only a few things we can do. All the phone calls, yard signs, blog posts, google bombs, and conversations with acquaintances and strangers are pretty much over. Aside from last minute "Do you need a ride to the polls?" or a chance encounter, it's up to everyone else now. Yet, we still have the most important thing left to do, the actual vote.

This weekend, some national polls came out that were less-than-encouraging, none less-so than the results of the Pew Research Council's generic ballot, which showed the once-gigantic Democratic advantage having shriveled to a mere four points among likely voters. All races and polls tighten as the election nears, so some of this was expected, but such a precipitous drop (though still a lead) is disheartening. The Democratic wave that seemed only a week ago inevitable might now be just a figment. Or, as I certainly hope, simply a statistical outlier come along at the scariest moment. Of course, the latest Fox poll shows the Dems leading by 13%, 49-36, so it's possible that the Pew result is unduly pessimistic (if a poll can be pessimistic in itself). I'll be rooting --- more like hoping and praying --- for substantial Democratic gains in the House, Senate and various Governor's Mansions (or corner offices in our commonwealth's case).

We should be around for most of the afternoon and evening tomorrow with updates national and local and a post-mortem or two on Wednesday. Please feel free to join us tomorrow or let us know in the comments what you'll be doing.

Eat Some Pie, Please.

2006-11-04T14:21:00.000-05:00

I've recently heard of a great program called Pie in the Sky, which is run though Boston's Community Servings. The organization delivers food to clients who are homebound with a life threatening illness. Each pie goes for $25, and every pie sold is enough to feed a Community Servings client for one week. They come in Apple, Diabetic Apple, Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, and Pecan. There's also a very fancy gift-wrapped raffle pie that can be purchased for $75, and you get the chance to win some prizes. Also, they're all baked by chefs and caterers througout the city.

You can order through pieinthesky.org and choose a location where you would like to pick up your pie. The only catch: they must be picked up on Wednesday, November 22, and alas, I am out of town that week and can't order any myself. So, I'm asking all of you to pick up the slack for me. You're getting tasty treats for yourself and helping those in need at the same time. Really, you can't go wrong.

Thanks For The Laughs, Rev. Ted Haggard.

2006-11-03T11:54:00.000-05:00

The headline for this posting probably should be: Evangelicals Led By Hypocritical Homosexual Methhead Adulterer...

From the Associated Press:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - A leading U.S. evangelist and outspoken opponent of gay marriage has given up his post as president of the National Association of Evangelicals while a church panel investigates allegations he repeatedly paid a man for sex.

Rev. Ted Haggard resigned as president of the 30 million-member association Thursday after being accused of paying the man for monthly trysts over the last three years...

Mike Jones, a male escort, alleged that Haggard, whom he knew as "Art", paid for sex with him during trysts which had been taking place between them on an almost monthly basis over the course of the previous three years.

Further, Jones said Haggard used methamphetamine before their sexual encounters to heighten his experience.

The church official filling in for Haggard said there has been "some admission of guilt," but not to all of the allegations.

Whaaahhhh...hahhahahhahaha...Hold on one sec..Did he admit to the sex or the meth? hahahahahahawaaaahhhh....let me catch my brea...waaaahhahhahhhhahahahaha...O.K. I think I'm over it now...no...wait...I'm not.

Oh, Ted. I felt so bad for you and your family when I first read the reports of these vicious rumors that were being propagated about your being a hypocritical homosexual adulterer. Then I read that you were high on crank the entire time and that just put it over the edge, into the realm of total absurdity.

You know what? There is a good chance that Mike Jones is full of crap and that you are merely a hypocritical asshole out to ruin the name of Jesus and rid the world of reason and not a homosexual adulterer meth-head. But the best part is that most reasonable people I know are saying to themselves: "Yup, that makes sense, a man of the cloth, totally hell bent against homosexual equality and rights, I can totally see that guy high as hell on meth, giving some dude a rim job in an Econo Lodge bathroom." Without a hint of sarcasm.

This is because we believe in decency and especially in karma, and karma Ted, is a bitch. And it seems that every couple of years one of you hell bent anti-gay hypocritical ministers turns out to be totally full of crap when it comes to your own lives (see Jim Bakker, Bob Gray, Jimmy Swaggart, etc.) I guess now it is just your turn. So although a very small part of me does feel bad for your (rumored) sexually deprived wife and your children with their shaken image of their father, this Ted, is what you get.

Here's a clip of Ted getting served by Richard Dawkins, a leading intellectual in the field of evolutionary biology. Ted clearly gets owned, and gets a bit out of control towards the end:

Update: It turns out Ted bought the meth from the gay prostitute. Now it all makes sense, because all good ministers know gay prostitutes are the "hook up" for meth...and anal sex.

Halloween, Where Racism Lives

2006-10-31T22:10:00.000-05:00

I know I live in Allston, and BU kids aren't representative of the town, and I think there's less racism in the northeast than in most places (Kerry Healey's Prisoner's for Deval and those who would be swayed by her race-baiting ads aside), but when I step outside my door and see a white guy dressed in an afro and a dashiki, I realize how far we still have to go. Especially since the guy he was with (of course, also white) was wearing the Flava Flav oversized clock. I don't have any great words of wisdom to add other than these: That's not okay. Not even close. It's racist. You might think it's funny and charming, and I'm certain that your all white fraternity thinks it is, but it's racist. I don't care if you listen to rap and took an African American studies course. It's racist.

Maybe this guy was making a political point about the struggle that black people face in American society, I don't know. But what I find more likely was that he and his friend were looking to find a few cheap laughs by perpetuating caricatures of black people. And this kind of racism is no less insidious and harmful to racial equality than the KKK. It's disgusting and I wish I'd never seen it; and if I lived in a city that wasn't so incredibly segregated, I probably wouldn't have. Because if these guys thought they might run into a black person tonight, they probably would have thought about whether or not it was over the line, and he'd have gone to the party with a T-shirt that said "this is my costume", because that's what all good hipsters wear.

More Polling on Patrick and Healey, et. al.

2006-10-27T14:51:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, we had encouraging electoral news from Suffolk and SurveyUSA, with Deval Patrick enjoying a healthy lead over his challengers, with the second place Kerry closer to third place Christy Mihos than Patrick. Today a new Boston Globe poll gives more good news for Patrick, as he garners a majority of voters (54%) while Healey doesn't even hold onto a third (29%). Healey's only majorities come in a most distasteful manner --- more than half of voters surveyed (51%) view the Lt. Gov. unfavorably and even more (54%, perhaps not coincidentally Patrick's share of the vote) believe that her negative ad campaign "crossed over the line." Only 34% viewed Healey favorably and only her ads only increased her vote by 10%.

At this point, I might as well cut and paste my last three posts on the polling in this race. Patrick has a ton of support that can't be moved by a wholly negative, substanceless campaign. The voters of Massachusetts are fed up with that kind of campaigning and don't think that the politics from which it springs represents them. Pandering to fear and racism will not win elections in this state. Etc., etc., etc. It's not to say that I'm not encouraged by the results and grateful to love among people who feel this way, but there is a sense of redundancy in the polling.

Which is also not to say, or imply, that it's not Patrick and his policies and tactics to which people are responding. I honestly believe that this lead is more a result of Deval Patrick's outstanding platform than it is a repulsion and repudiation of Healey's inability to campaign on issues that don't exist. Patrick's campaign has resonated with the people of Massachusetts on many levels, from his personality to his policies to his refusal to engage in negative politics. As I said earlier this week, a victory for Patrick will be a victory for sensible, rational and substantive politics over campaigns of fear and smear. And I will be all the more thankful on that day because not only did we reject those tactics, but we embraced a campaign of hope, a politician of integrity and a platform of progress.

But back to the poll, what is perhaps most revealing in this poll is Absentee Governor Willard Romney's showing in a fictional 2008 Republican primary. His Expediency (ht: BMG) comes in third place to Rudy Guiliani and John McCain, though admittedly nearly within the margin of error. Romney's distancing from the state, literally and politically, as well as his utter ineptitude as Governor (though that seems secondary at this point), has lost him significant support even among those who voted for him only a few years ago. I know that Romney isn't running on a platform that Republicans in this state (more clear-headed than those elsewhere, for the most part) find palatable, but it can't bode well that those who know him best place him third among likely options.

On a completely different note, in the coming days, you'll notice that there will be new contributors to this humble site. Though they will be infrequent and, most likely and sadly, temporary additions to this space, I hope that you'll welcome them and enjoy their posts, as they're more knowledgable on the subjects they'll be posting on than Lee and I are on the things we choose to write about [/self-deprecation]. I'll let them introduce themselves if and when they feel the need, but we're expanding for a little while, both in numbers and in scope. After all, once this election is over, we'll need something else to write about. Hopefully, our new posters will give us that opportunity. Enjoy and have a good weekend.

Friday Links.

2006-10-27T11:40:00.000-04:00

Neighboroo.com: Using Google Maps, it gives you all kinds of crazy data relating to your (or any other) neighborhood. Politics, housing prices, cost of living, racial breakdown, crime rates, air quality, tax rates, commute times...

A List of members of 109th Congress who are being investigated by DoJ

The 40 greatest concerts in Boston history. (Sadly, I only went to three of these. Plus: check out number 8. U2 at the Paradise in 81'...Oh, to have been at that show, and not be 1-year-old.

The worst Halloween costumes of all time.

A way too detailed map of Springfield.

'Beginning of the End of America' Olbermann Addresses the Military Commissions Act.

2006-10-26T11:41:00.000-04:00

This is so good I have to repost the entire thing. A big thank you to the guys over at Common Dreams.

By Keith Olbermann

We have lived as if in a trance.

We have lived as people in fear.

And now—our rights and our freedoms in peril—we slowly awake to learn that we have been afraid of the wrong thing.

Therefore, tonight have we truly become the inheritors of our American legacy.

For, on this first full day that the Military Commissions Act is in force, we now face what our ancestors faced, at other times of exaggerated crisis and melodramatic fear-mongering:

A government more dangerous to our liberty, than is the enemy it claims to protect us from.

We have been here before—and we have been here before led here—by men better and wiser and nobler than George W. Bush.

We have been here when President John Adams insisted that the Alien and Sedition Acts were necessary to save American lives, only to watch him use those acts to jail newspaper editors.

American newspaper editors, in American jails, for things they wrote about America.

We have been here when President Woodrow Wilson insisted that the Espionage Act was necessary to save American lives, only to watch him use that Act to prosecute 2,000 Americans, especially those he disparaged as “Hyphenated Americans,” most of whom were guilty only of advocating peace in a time of war.

American public speakers, in American jails, for things they said about America.

And we have been here when President Franklin D. Roosevelt insisted that Executive Order 9066 was necessary to save American lives, only to watch him use that order to imprison and pauperize 110,000 Americans while his man in charge, General DeWitt, told Congress: “It makes no difference whether he is an American citizen—he is still a Japanese.”

American citizens, in American camps, for something they neither wrote nor said nor did, but for the choices they or their ancestors had made about coming to America.

Each of these actions was undertaken for the most vital, the most urgent, the most inescapable of reasons.

And each was a betrayal of that for which the president who advocated them claimed to be fighting.

Adams and his party were swept from office, and the Alien and Sedition Acts erased.

Many of the very people Wilson silenced survived him, and one of them even ran to succeed him, and got 900,000 votes, though his presidential campaign was conducted entirely from his jail cell.

And Roosevelt’s internment of the Japanese was not merely the worst blight on his record, but it would necessitate a formal apology from the government of the United States to the citizens of the United States whose lives it ruined.

The most vital, the most urgent, the most inescapable of reasons.

In times of fright, we have been only human.

We have let Roosevelt’s “fear of fear itself” overtake us.

We have listened to the little voice inside that has said, “the wolf is at the door; this will be temporary; this will be precise; this too shall pass.”

We have accepted that the only way to stop the terrorists is to let the government become just a little bit like the terrorists.

Just the way we once accepted that the only way to stop the Soviets was to let the government become just a little bit like the Soviets.

Or substitute the Japanese.

Or the Germans.

Or the Socialists.

Or the Anarchists.

Or the Immigrants.

Or the British.

Or the Aliens.

The most vital, the most urgent, the most inescapable of reasons.

And, always, always wrong.

“With the distance of history, the questions will be narrowed and few: Did this generation of Americans take the threat seriously, and did we do what it takes to defeat that threat?”

Wise words.

And ironic ones, Mr. Bush.

Your own, of course, yesterday, in signing the Military Commissions Act.

You spoke so much more than you know, Sir.

Sadly—of course—the distance of history will recognize that the threat this generation of Americans needed to take seriously was you.

We have a long and painful history of ignoring the prophecy attributed to Benjamin Franklin that “those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

But even within this history we have not before codified the poisoning of habeas corpus, that wellspring of protection from which all essential liberties flow.

You, sir, have now befouled that spring.

You, sir, have now given us chaos and called it order.

You, sir, have now imposed subjugation and called it freedom.

For the most vital, the most urgent, the most inescapable of reasons.

And — again, Mr. Bush — all of them, wrong.

We have handed a blank check drawn against our freedom to a man who has said it is unacceptable to compare anything this country has ever done to anything the terrorists have ever done.

We have handed a blank check drawn against our freedom to a man who has insisted again that “the United States does not torture. It’s against our laws and it’s against our values” and who has said it with a straight face while the pictures from Abu Ghraib Prison and the stories of Waterboarding figuratively fade in and out, around him.

We have handed a blank check drawn against our freedom to a man who may now, if he so decides, declare not merely any non-American citizens “unlawful enemy combatants” and ship them somewhere—anywhere -- but may now, if he so decides, declare you an “unlawful enemy combatant” and ship you somewhere - anywhere.

And if you think this hyperbole or hysteria, ask the newspaper editors when John Adams was president or the pacifists when Woodrow Wilson was president or the Japanese at Manzanar when Franklin Roosevelt was president.

And if you somehow think habeas corpus has not been suspended for American citizens but only for everybody else, ask yourself this: If you are pulled off the street tomorrow, and they call you an alien or an undocumented immigrant or an “unlawful enemy combatant”—exactly how are you going to convince them to give you a court hearing to prove you are not? Do you think this attorney general is going to help you?

This President now has his blank check.

He lied to get it.

He lied as he received it.

Is there any reason to even hope he has not lied about how he intends to use it nor who he intends to use it against?

“These military commissions will provide a fair trial,” you told us yesterday, Mr. Bush, “in which the accused are presumed innocent, have access to an attorney and can hear all the evidence against them.”

"Presumed innocent," Mr. Bush?

The very piece of paper you signed as you said that, allows for the detainees to be abused up to the point just before they sustain “serious mental and physical trauma” in the hope of getting them to incriminate themselves, and may no longer even invoke The Geneva Conventions in their own defense.

"Access to an attorney," Mr. Bush?

Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift said on this program, Sir, and to the Supreme Court, that he was only granted access to his detainee defendant on the promise that the detainee would plead guilty.

"Hearing all the evidence," Mr. Bush?

The Military Commissions Act specifically permits the introduction of classified evidence not made available to the defense.

Your words are lies, Sir.

They are lies that imperil us all.

“One of the terrorists believed to have planned the 9/11 attacks,” you told us yesterday, “said he hoped the attacks would be the beginning of the end of America.”

That terrorist, sir, could only hope.

Not his actions, nor the actions of a ceaseless line of terrorists (real or imagined), could measure up to what you have wrought.

Habeas corpus? Gone.

The Geneva Conventions? Optional.

The moral force we shined outwards to the world as an eternal beacon, and inwards at ourselves as an eternal protection? Snuffed out.

These things you have done, Mr. Bush, they would be “the beginning of the end of America.”

And did it even occur to you once, sir — somewhere in amidst those eight separate, gruesome, intentional, terroristic invocations of the horrors of 9/11 -- that with only a little further shift in this world we now know—just a touch more repudiation of all of that for which our patriots died --- did it ever occur to you once that in just 27 months and two days from now when you leave office, some irresponsible future president and a “competent tribunal” of lackeys would be entitled, by the actions of your own hand, to declare the status of “unlawful enemy combatant” for -- and convene a Military Commission to try -- not John Walker Lindh, but George Walker Bush?

For the most vital, the most urgent, the most inescapable of reasons.

And doubtless, Sir, all of them—as always—wrong.

Thanks Keith.

Every Seat Is Sacred

2006-10-26T10:04:00.000-04:00

Nothing surprising, nor even particularly noteworthy, in this morning's Globe editorial, in which they endorse the five Democratic candidates for the US House that are actually facing competition. The piece does go so far as to imply that it really wouldn't matter whether or not they were facing Republican challengers worth considering, the specter of continued Republican control of the House would be reason enough to vote Democratic. While there is no chance I would consider voting for any Republican for precisely that reason, it's nice to hear that sentiment in the local paper.

Along those lines, The New York Times recommended voting against Republican Chris Shays, whom they've endorsed in every other election. Shays, once a moderate Republican who worked across party lines and lived in reality, has recently called Abu Ghraib "a sex ring" rather than torture and made other comments that have demonstrated just how out of touch he and his party are. His opponent is Diane Farrell and she's put up a hell of a fight; Farrell has a chance to win this race and Democrats need every seat they can in order to win a majority or more.

Democrats --- or at least individual Democratic candidates --- have seized the moment and the momentum from a disastrous decade of Republican Congressional rule. Our candidates, across the nation, are running to represent their districts with honesty and integrity, with their constituents best interest at heart, rather than their own wallets. We have veterans of wars, political neophytes and even former Republicans campaigning under our banner this fall. While some of them may be a little less committed to progressive issues than I'd like, they are running for their district and not me. Their potential presence in Washington, however, does effect me, as it could mean a new Democratic majority and the end of Republican non-oversight of the Federal Government and thier dangerous domestic and foreign policy.

No matter where you are this fall, voting Democrat is a vote for engaged government, safe and healthy people at home, peace and security abroad, a better today and an even better tomorrow. There is a chance, for what feels like the first time in a long time (certainly since I began voting), to make an honest-to-God change in the way this country is governed. I find myself looking forward to next Tuesday not with my usual fear and loathing, like a test for which I have not studied, but with a quiet excitement and anticipation, like waiting in the airport for my girlfriend to come home. I think I'll make up a sign: "WELCOME HOME RATIONAL GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE!" Hopefully, it gets off the plane Tuesday night; I sure have missed it.

Suffolk Poll on Patrick and Healey

2006-10-24T18:17:00.000-04:00

Since Deval Patrick's Democratic primary win last month, there have been nine polls. In seven of them, Patrick has polled over 50%, the two in which he did not were Suffolk University polls. Well, today, Suffolk released their latest and he's now broken 50% in this poll as well: 53% to be exact. In those same nine polls, Lt. Gov and Republican candidate Kerry Healey has never garnered more than 34%, and has polled as low as 24%. Though the previous three polls had shown her with 33-34% support, today's drops her down to 26%. Subtract that abysmal smattering of support from Patrick's numbers and you are left with 27%. Patrick leads by a margin wider than Healey's total support. That's ... um ... good.

Also in the realm of good news from this poll, the public isn't buying Healey's negative campaign. According to the Suffolk press release: "61 percent of voters say the recent tone of her campaign made them less likely to vote for her." As if this weren't enough, her already horrific favorability numbers have also taken a dive. 53% view her unfavorably, the same percentage favoring Patrick in the election, while only 30% viewed her favorably. That's a -21% rating among people who had an opinion of her. Patrick, meanwhile, enjoys a robust 60% favorability, with only 24% against: that's a positive 36%.

David Paleologos, who ran the poll, all but calls the race for Patrick:

"It’s too late for Healey to go informative; there aren’t enough undecided voters for her to go comparative; and she can’t continue to go negative,” said Paleologos. “Her aggressive style lost her too many political chess pieces. The next two weeks may make for a painful endgame marked with a dwindling army and just a few squares to move to."

I'm not quite as willing to announce Patrick's win as a foregone conclusion, but I will absolutely rejoice in the failure of any negative campaign. Healey has not said anything substantive about her own agenda to govern (likely because there is no there there), and she chose instead to descend into some of the worst gutter politics I've ever seen --- and I've spent election seasons in Ohio.

I am ecstatic that the people of Massachusetts have emphatically rejected the disgusting tactics on which the Healey campaign has been run, and run into the ground. It's a victory for Deval Patrick, for the Democratic Party and for Massachusetts. I hope this signals the end of campaigns run on attacks and more like the positive and substantial one Patrick has run. Of course, that would leave Republicans with little to say.

IMMEDIATE UPDATE!: Hey, look at that, another new poll! CBS4 reports these results from their own poll, conducted by SurveyUSA: "In the survey of 623 likely voters taken earlier this week, Patrick garnered 56% support, easily outdistancing Healey's 31%." John Keller sounds a different, more cautionary note than Paleologos, partly because he has a debate to pimp:

"This race isn't over, not with Healey's financial resources, polls showing a majority of voters in agreement with her on key issues, and two televised debates still to come. But she must immediately find a winning issue where she can take him on while simultaneously projecting a more positive image, a tricky task under any circumstances. And she must roll out this new strategy starting Wednesday night in the CBS4 debate, which could prove her last best chance to turn what looks like a pro-Patrick tide," said Keller.

I agree it's not over, if only because of Healey's massive bankroll. Still, she's tried hard thus far and Patrick retains a majority of voters, Healey can't even garner a third, and the result is a margin of over 20 points. In short: good news.

Gubernatorial Candidate Campaigns on Cleavage

2006-10-24T16:02:00.000-04:00

This is Loretta Nall. She is the Libertarian Party's (write-in) candidate for governor of Alabama. She has one of the worst websites that I have ever seen. It seems as though she is using her cleavage as her campaign's main selling point. Some of campaign literature includes photos with the phrase "More of these boobs." Below this statement are pictures of the other candidates for governor - including Republican incumbent Bob Riley and Democratic Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley - and the words: "And less of these boobs."
According to Phillip Rawls of the A.P:

Loretta Nall, the Libertarian Party's write-in candidate for governor of Alabama, is campaigning on her cleavage and hoping that voters' eyes will eventually refocus on her platform.

"It started out as a joke, but it blew up into something huge," Nall said.

Nall, who spoke in an interview Friday on the Capitol steps, realizes that's about as close as she is going to get to the governor's office. But her "anything goes" style of campaigning - including campaign gear showing her smiling in a low-cut dress - has helped her attract attention not normally enjoyed by write-in candidates in Alabama, including spots on conservative radio talk shows and speeches at staid civic clubs.

Nall said that once she gets voters' attention, they eventually notice her campaign platform, which calls for tax credits for sending children to private school and home schooling, opting out of the No Child Left Behind Act, legalizing marijuana, and not complying with the Patriot Act and the Real ID Act.

Nall said one issue in her platform that seems to be getting lots of positive response is trying to withdraw the Alabama National Guard from Iraq.

"When people in Alabama get tired of kicking the ass of brown people, it's time to pull out," she said in her characteristically over-the-top style.

I'm going to put in my two cents against further ideas like this one. While this is all quite amusing, taking politics to an even lower level is probably a pretty bad idea. We need people to get involved and vote because of how important a vote really can be, not because they like or do not like boobs. We need people to vote out of passion not lust. Because peoples' lives are at stake not their hard on's. Nice try Loretta.

Money, Hey John and Marty

2006-10-21T10:50:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, I wrote a post that mentioned the $8 million in John Kerry's warchest from his 2004 presidential bid, and now the Globe has a piece about it as well. I know that Sen. Kerry has indeed been there for many candidates, giving money, advice and other assistance. So, don't think I'm ungrateful for what Kerry's done for many Democatic candidates this cycle. He's been out there, pushing hard, and I'm appreciative of that. What I don't appreciate, however, is that our junior Senator is holding on to 8 million dollars that people gave him more than two years ago to spend on a national, general election.

Well, this is the next national, general election in some ways. And I want my money out there, being spent, not rotting away in an account that Kerry may use to defeat other Democrats in the 2008 primaries. This money was given as much to "the Democratic nominee" as it was to John Kerry. While I didn't support Kerry until the nomination process was over, I certainly rode the rails for him once he was the choice to represent the clear-headed, rational, Democratic position. Both authors of this blog spent election week 2004 in Ohio working hard to put John Kerry in the White House. And now, I want him to use everything in his power to put a Democratic House (and maybe Senate) in charge of the final two years of Bush's Administration. That money was given to him so that he could change the manner, method and substance of politics and policy in this country. Though he didn't succeed two years ago, he has the opportunity to do that now, and I adamantly believe that he should.

And as for the website to which I linked on Thursday, HeyJohn, I don't care who runs it. It doesn't matter. I can't understand why anyone would actually think that the DSCC was somehow behind an anonymous website, when they would be much more effective using either the mainstream media or the usual beltway backchannels, criticism from which drive Kerry insane. And even were they behind it, it wouldn't matter a lick to me because they'd be right. The content of that site is correct. John Kerry has the opportunity to inject more than $8 million into this race, with two weeks left, and dramatically shift the way politics are done in this country for at least two years. It's a huge amount of money that could generate a tremendous wave of advertising, GOTV and and other programs that might just swing the election, and thus make this country and the world a better place. Here, in terms of political capital: John Kerry can save the world!

There's another candidate close to home who's sitting on money that could be used to help his fellow Democrats over the next two weeks: Rep. Marty Meehan. I know he actually is running right now, but his seat isn't in danger and he really has no chance of losing --- and no prospect of spending all his $5 million. He's saving it up for a potential Senate bid when one of our lions steps down. That's his right, and I appreciate that, just as I appreciate Sen. Kerry's right to save his. But squirreling that money away for another day doesn't help folks like Diane Farrell (CT-4), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI-Sen) or Paul Hodes (NH-02), and those are just a few of the Dems in need in only neighboring states. Meehan could easily give $100K-500K to each of those races and still retain more than enough cash to set up a campaign for Senate. And if he does that, he'll probably have my support.

I'm adamant about spreading the money around right now because we're within striking difference of taking over at least one house of Congress, and we could potentially take both. But we can't do it without everyone going above and beyond. We're asking regular folks to donate every dime they can, all while they man phonebanks and canvass door-to-door; and many are stepping up and doing just that. All I'm asking John Kerry and Marty Meehan for is a level of dedication to other Democratic candidates that they've taken for granted from their own supporters.

And now I will take Deval Patrick's advice and "get off my high horse."

So, Oops

2006-10-19T21:50:00.000-04:00

I was just looking around in the Settings for our little slice of the internet and found a bunch of comments that didn't make it onto the site because I didn't know I had anything to do with comments appearing. I'm terribly sorry if you've posted a comment here and it hasn't shown up. We weren't ignoring you or trying to silence your input. Instead, we never knew anyone was even trying to comment here. I've tried to go through and display most of the ones I could retrieve. I apologize to any of you who have left a comment and not seen it appear. It was completely unintentional and we look forward to hearing from you and discussing with you in the future.

And let us never speak of this again.

Polls and Money

2006-10-19T13:30:00.000-04:00

Josh Marshall at TPM has been riding Democrats in safe seats and Democrats not up for re-relection to pony up some of their excess cash to help out those Democrats who are in tight races. It goes without saying, of course, that such folks should be doing their damnedest to help out, emptying their coffers to assist fellow Dems in need --- especially if not only are their seats safe but not even up for re-election this cycle.
While Marshall has gotten some e-mails that say John Kerry has been available and willing to fundraise for folks, he can certainly do a lot more, given that he's still holding on to a sizable warchest left over from his failed presidential run in 2004. With that in mind, I give you Hey, John:

In 2004, over 171,154 Americans donated $328,479,245 and countless hours of time to help John Kerry get elected President. Now, two years later, Democrats have a real opportunity to regain a majority in both chambers of Congress.

John Kerry? He’s still hanging on to $8,352,685 of our money, while Democratic candidates in competitive districts are short on funds, and the DNC, DCCC, and DSCC are out of money.

Tell John Kerry to “let our money go” and help take back Congress by sending an email to info@johnkerry.com.

I don't begrudge our junior Senator for wanting to have some scratch should he deem himself a viable candidate in a couple years, but I do think that he should feel obligated to dole some of that out to candidates who need it now. Should he garner the nomination in 2008 --- and now we're way into Hypothetical Land --- I'm sure those candidates he helped out will be more than willing to help him, and he can remind all of us that he did this in order to help secure a Democratic majority in 2006. So, please, send him a line and tell him to use our money wisely this time.

Before I get back to the paper I'm supposed to be writing, I want to point out the newest Zogby poll for our gubernatorial election, in which Kerry Healey's negative and insubstantial campaign comes back to bite her in the ... numbers. Whereas she seemed to be narrowing the gap between herself and Deval Patrick with the initial onslaught of attack ads, it now appears that she's carried on the attack too long. Patrick's re-opened his lead, now up to 22 points, with 56% of the vote headed his way. Healey's barely got a third of the state in her corner. With less than three weeks remaining before election day, Healey and Hillman are going to have to work awful hard to even make this one close. (I hope that doesn't jinx anyone.)

Now back to writing about the goodness of creation amidst the fallen nature of humanity, which is completely un-related to the above. Completely.

I Know That's Not What They Mean, But ...

2006-10-17T13:19:00.000-04:00

I was just watching CNN and a new, and admittedly clever, AARP ad came on. It's got a shiny, sparkly candidate singing about how wonderful he is personally, but "don't ask me about Social Security." Obviously, Social Security is and should be a huge deal for the AARP --- and probably ought to be for more people at that. The ad was really well done, right up until the end, when they show the name of the website they've set up detailing which candidates support Social Security. The name of the website, believe it or not, is www.dontvote.com. Now, I know AARP isn't actually suggesting that one not vote at all, but rather "Don't vote until you know where the candidates stand on the issues." Still, "dontvote.com" doesn't exactly strike me as "le mot just", as it were.

In fact, the other spot seems even worse, although it's equally attention-grabbing and lays the foundation for the site/campaign name. That one should probably have been the first spot, although I don't particularly care for the idea of saying don't vote under any circumstances. Also, of course, after I watched the commercial I couldn't remember whether it was .org or .com. Check out the former.

Weekend Fun

2006-10-14T10:46:00.000-04:00

It's Saturday morning, I have a sermon to write for tomorrow and Michigan doesn't play until this evening (speaking of which, Go Blue). Therefore, I've had to seek other avenues of procrastination than my usual rooting interest. And so I present you with one of the funnier things I've come across on "teh tubes" lately (via Ivan at JSW):

Of course, I'm sure it could have been pulled off to hilarious effect in the US as well. Locally, I'd have liked to see it parked on the concrete park that is Government Center ... or perhaps outside Harvard Stadium before the Yale game. Any others worth a laugh?

Pseudonyms and Dream Candidates

2006-10-13T17:34:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, I sent an e-mail to the blogger formerly known as Henry David Thoreau that basically said I wasn't comfortable blogging pseudonymously anymore. Though I enjoyed the idea of us using the names of famed literary Bostonians who were similar in political, social and (at least in my case) religious thought, it seemed both anachronistic and at least a little cowardly, even if our intent was never to shield our identities but rather to make a point about the seriousness we meant the site to have (and which has likely not been achieved anyway; so less then the loss). I now see that he's changed his name, and I will be doing so post-haste.

Also, in response to the previous post about Mark Warner's dropping out of a race that hasn't really started, I'll say I never bought the hype that Warner was a desirable candidate for the Democratic nomination. Anyone who planned on running to the right of Hillary (I'm not scared to throw the name out, since she's not going to get any momentum from the blogosphere) was never going to be my candidate of choice. Though he has quite an affable presence, Warner's certainly not the kind of progressive and prophetic voice for whom I could see myself voting in a primary.

As for the remaining options, I've long had a soft spot for John Edwards. As a divinity student, I'm particularly concerned with poverty and Edwards is the only candidate in recent memory to devote considerable energy to crafting a pragmatic solution to the situation rather than spouting platitudes about it. Superficially, he's Southern, young and charismatic, none of which can hurt. Sadly, he's also a one-term Senator, and a former one at that. As Ezra Klein points out almost weekly, the new structure of the primaries (Iowa, where he polls well; union-heavy Nevada; New Hampshire; his birth-state South Carolina) tilts the process in his favor as well. Edwards is my favorite; Al Gore still has a hold on me after all these many years; Russ Feingold would be interesting.

Strictly from a standpoint of what might win in November and wouldn't be anathema to me (HRC might be close), I'd like to see Gen. Wesley Clark take the nomination with Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as his running mate. Gen. Clark's presence --- particularly his leading a mostly successful humanitarian intervention in the former Yugoslavia, which is what Iraq is or is becoming --- helps Democrats on the National Security/Commander-in-Chief front. He's not exactly progressive, but he seems to at least be more so than Evan Bayh, HRC or Bill Richardson. Gov. Sebelius has spearheaded a movement that is turning Kansas blue, by being a clear-headed and straight-forward leader who values progressive economic policies. The Kansas Republican party has collapsed under her leadership (and national Republican ineptitude) to the point that its chairman recently bolted the party to run for Lt. Gov. as a Democrat. I've read some of what she's got to say and I like everything I've read. Anyway, no one asked, but I figured I'd mention it anyway.

Mark Warner and looking ahead to 08'

2006-10-13T16:15:00.000-04:00

I was very disappointed to hear about Mark Warner. It was really nice to have someone going into 07', not have to do any more research about the candidates, and to actually have a national Democrat to be hopeful about, who really could win. Oh, well I guess I'll dry my tears and go back to the drawing board. But who now? Bayh? Vilsack? Edwards? According to Houston's own James Dallal:

Bayh's as hard to pronounce as Tsongas. Also, he's got a tired fortunate-son bio. Vilsack probably can't win the primary because no one seems excited about him. Edwards could take the nomination but he'll lose in November because he's still 12 (years-old).

Kerry is...well, you know...a kite surfer. Don't get me started on "Tough on Drugs" Biden and his war on Ketamine, or Richardson and his minor league baseball days, and I don't want to put her name in print for fear that it may give her some momentum. Ahhh...

Also, I would like to take this moment to say that Deval's statement in response to the Herald story about his family is absolutely amazing. Kerry Healey you are a joke, you have embarrassed your party and your social class, I can't wait until January when you are back playing polo and sipping Pimm's Cups.

50 States in 50 Days..Word to Hitch 50.

2006-10-12T13:52:00.000-04:00

First of all, be sure to check out. hitch50.com

Last night I gave these guys a ride to Concord, NH in the pouring rain. It was great chatting with Scotty and Fiddy about their plan and the ridiculousness of it all. These guy’s are legit and they have a great plan and great attitude about the whole thing. This isn’t some Hitch50 sponsored by Coca-Cola, commercial crap, these guys are the real deal and they are just out there trying to have fun and accomplish something totally absurd.

If you have a car and free time to help them accomplish their goal of seeing all 50 state capitals in 50 days. They are good dudes and the whole experience will be surreal enough for you to make it worth while.

What It Means To Be A Liberal

2006-10-11T12:21:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Geoffrey R. Stone, law professor at the University of Chicago, published a great piece in the Chicago Trib entitled "What It Means to Be a Liberal." I'm with him 100%. I love stuff like this, because it can be so easy to get caught up in stuff like the Red/Blue, Congressional Page-blame game crap, that we often lose sight of the philosophies that brought us to these beliefs. I would also like to open these comments to the invitation that Stone presents at the end of his article. Here is Stone’s piece in totem:

For most of the past four decades, liberals have been in retreat. Since the election of Richard Nixon in 1968, Republicans have controlled the White House 70 percent of the time and Republican presidents have made 86 percent of the U.S. Supreme Court appointments. In many quarters, the word "liberal" has become a pejorative. Part of the problem is that liberals have failed to define themselves and to state clearly what they believe. As a liberal, I find that appalling.

In that light, I thought it might be interesting to try to articulate 10 propositions that seem to me to define "liberal" today. Undoubtedly, not all liberals embrace all of these propositions, and many conservatives embrace at least some of them.

Moreover, because 10 is a small number, the list is not exhaustive. And because these propositions will in some instances conflict, the "liberal" position on a specific issue may not always be predictable. My goal, however, is not to end discussion, but to invite debate.

1. Liberals believe individuals should doubt their own truths and consider fairly and open-mindedly the truths of others. This is at the very heart of liberalism. Liberals understand, as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once observed, that "time has upset many fighting faiths." Liberals are skeptical of censorship and celebrate free and open debate.

2. Liberals believe individuals should be tolerant and respectful of difference. It is liberals who have supported and continue to support the civil rights movement, affirmative action, the Equal Rights Amendment and the rights of gays and lesbians. (Note that a conflict between propositions 1 and 2 leads to divisions among liberals on issues like pornography and hate speech.)

3. Liberals believe individuals have a right and a responsibility to participate in public debate. It is liberals who have championed and continue to champion expansion of the franchise; the elimination of obstacles to voting; "one person, one vote;" limits on partisan gerrymandering; campaign-finance reform; and a more vibrant freedom of speech. They believe, with Justice Louis Brandeis, that "the greatest menace to freedom is an inert people."

4. Liberals believe "we the people" are the governors and not the subjects of government, and that government must treat each person with that in mind. It is liberals who have defended and continue to defend the freedom of the press to investigate and challenge the government, the protection of individual privacy from overbearing government monitoring, and the right of individuals to reproductive freedom. (Note that libertarians, often thought of as "conservatives," share this value with liberals.)

5. Liberals believe government must respect and affirmatively safeguard the liberty, equality and dignity of each individual. It is liberals who have championed and continue to champion the rights of racial, religious and ethnic minorities, political dissidents, persons accused of crime and the outcasts of society. It is liberals who have insisted on the right to counsel, a broad application of the right to due process of law and the principle of equal protection for all people.

6. Liberals believe government has a fundamental responsibility to help those who are less fortunate. It is liberals who have supported and continue to support government programs to improve health care, education, social security, job training and welfare for the neediest members of society. It is liberals who maintain that a national community is like a family and that government exists in part to "promote the general welfare."

7. Liberals believe government should never act on the basis of sectarian faith. It is liberals who have opposed and continue to oppose school prayer and the teaching of creationism in public schools and who support government funding for stem-cell research, the rights of gays and lesbians and the freedom of choice for women.

8. Liberals believe courts have a special responsibility to protect individual liberties. It is principally liberal judges and justices who have preserved and continue to preserve freedom of expression, individual privacy, freedom of religion and due process of law. (Conservative judges and justices more often wield judicial authority to protect property rights and the interests of corporations, commercial advertisers and the wealthy.)

9. Liberals believe government must protect the safety and security of the people, for without such protection liberalism is impossible. This, of course, is less a tenet of liberalism than a reply to those who attack liberalism. The accusation that liberals are unwilling to protect the nation from internal and external dangers is false. Because liberals respect competing values, such as procedural fairness and individual dignity, they weigh more carefully particular exercises of government power (such as the use of secret evidence, hearsay and torture), but they are no less willing to use government authority in other forms (such as expanded police forces and international diplomacy) to protect the nation and its citizens.

10. Liberals believe government must protect the safety and security of the people, without unnecessarily sacrificing constitutional values. It is liberals who have demanded and continue to demand legal protections to avoid the conviction of innocent people in the criminal justice system, reasonable restraints on government surveillance of American citizens, and fair procedures to ensure that alleged enemy combatants are in fact enemy combatants. Liberals adhere to the view expressed by Brandeis some 80 years ago: "Those who won our independence ... did not exalt order at the cost of liberty."

Consider this an invitation. Are these propositions meaningful? Are they helpful? Are they simply wrong? As a liberal, how would you change them or modify the list? As a conservative, how would you draft a similar list for conservatives?

Remind Me Not To Make Charles Pierce Angry

2006-10-05T21:16:00.000-04:00

Charles P. Pierce often takes a ton of guff over at TAPPED, though I think he's usually right on. Here, he's not pushing much in the way of information, but man does he turn the invectometer up to 11.

Those of us who despaired of Weepin' Joe Lieberman (I-Green Room) years ago have not been surprised by anything he's done over the past six months. He's always been a puling, mewling opportunist who'd sell his grandmother to the Malay pirates for a pat on the head from a jackleg preacher, or 15 minutes of banter on Don Imus's Wrinkle Farm, where he recently made giddy fun of the demolition of the Geneva Conventions. He's never breathed a political moment in which he was not John Breaux in a hairshirt.

It gets better.

Patrick up a Larry Bird on Healey

2006-10-05T09:25:00.000-04:00

Sorry, training camp just started and I'm a little giddy about the Celtics this year. More importantly, though, is the new Rasmussen poll that just came out, putting Deval Patrick at 57%, Healey at 24% and Mihos at 9%. Also, Healey's unfavorability gap has widened from a -2% to a -11%; the article doesn't list Patrick's unfavorables, but pegs his favorables at 71%, 34% of which is "very favorable", so he's got that going for him. This is good news, but this was a September poll, so the events of the last few days aren't reflected there.

As Charley at BMG jokingly mentioned, Patrick supporters shouldn't know about this but should keep working to increase this lead and ensure his election. Well, I'll happily give out the morale boost, so long as it's known that races almost always tighten the closer one gets to election day. At this point I doubt it will be a nail-biter, but it will be much closer than the last few polls have indicated. Of course, I've been wrong before, so I suggest we all try to make these polls right come election day.

Boston: Great American City (May-August) or The Fall 2006 Invasion

2006-10-03T11:49:00.000-04:00

They are now back and in full swing. As a graduate student with familial roots in the area, I don’t consider myself one of them, while I’m sure others would. After a great summer, we once again have to deal with the crews of 19-year-old tramps from New Jersey (who are all wearing basically the same out fit) screaming into her cell phones on the Green line, Northeastern/BU frat boys (who are also all wearing their required uniform of un-tucked dress shirts and jeans with flat toed shoes) being loud EVERYWHERE, crowds at the movies, at bars I actually like, and double the traffic on the roads at on the T.

The following article from last week's Onion sums up my feelings about Boston pretty well. I have always said that Boston is one of the greatest American cities to live in…From May through September. However, the invasion of thousands of trust-fund babies, driving their mom's Grand Cherokee, having no idea how to get where they are going and not caring, leaves a bit to be desired:

BOSTON—The now month-long invasion carried out by more than 200,000 college students who bombarded this normally quiet, historic city has forced native Bostonians to relinquish their rights as citizens and settle into a new life under occupation.
Members of the first wave of intruders, who took control of Government Center earlier this month.
"This was clearly a highly coordinated operation that had been in the planning stages for months, and in some cases, years," said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who has urged calm among the city’s residents. "I regret not reading the warning signs when thousands of them showed up last spring, scouting our highest-profile sites. But Bostonians are a resilient bunch, and we will do what we can to carry on with our lives as normal."
With a convoy of U-Hauls containing supplies that will likely sustain them at least until the start of the holiday season, the students first took over the streets of nearby Cambridge. After gaining control of residential areas in Harvard and Kenmore Squares, they crossed the Charles River into the city’s administrative and financial-aid centers, seizing control of the waterways and Boston’s Green and Red subway lines. Student infiltration of technical laboratories and research facilities in the downtown area all but ensured that they would be able to subvert and eventually dominate the communication and engineering capabilities of this city of 600,000.
"These are highly motivated young people, some of them from foreign countries, with the resources and the desire to take over entire industries," Menino said. "And there’s no doubt they were working with someone on the inside to get this kind of access."
With their concentration in liberal-arts colleges spreading from a centralized location to the outlying suburban areas, the students have made certain that they will maintain a constant presence in all parts of the city.
"There are just too many of them," said 59-year-old Somerville native Jonathan Walsh, who admitted that his tiny militia’s tactics of eye-rolling, scoffing, and yelling from their cars at the occupiers has been a useless attempt to stifle the blitz. "They’ve completely taken over the restaurants, the parks, the concert halls, everything. It doesn’t feel like this is our city anymore."
"I can’t even walk around at night," said 34-year-old Jamaica Plain–born Meagan Gallagher, who added that she must now show her ID before gaining entry to "any little bar in the city," since the students arrived. "And with them getting discounts on movies, food, and books, it’s like I’m a second-class citizen."
The invaders have also managed to effectively take control of the airwaves, subjecting the natives to an eclectic mix of experimental, discordant music, and long, drawn-out political manifestos.
"Over and over again, it’s the same strange songs and public-service announcements," said East Boston resident Joe Kirkpatrick, 57. "It’s torture, in a way, is what it is."
Other residents are complaining that the invading forces, far from merely being a nuisance, are standing in the way of their basic constitutional rights to life and liberty.
Matthew Soisson, 39-year-old husband and father of four, said he was forced out of his three-bedroom home by the vastly better-funded students. "I don’t know where it’s coming from, but some outside source is funneling money to these groups," Soisson said. "Who can compete with that kind of spending?"
Added Soisson: "Things were just so much more peaceful before they showed up."
Reports indicate that Soisson may not see a decline in student numbers in the near future: While many are scheduled to return home in May, a fresh group of newly enlisted students will likely be deployed to relieve them in the fall.

Weekend Poll

2006-10-02T09:54:00.000-04:00

Well that wasn't very fair of The Boston Globeand CBS4, putting a poll out on the one day of the week I'm guaranteed to be away from my computer. Of course, it shows roughly the same picture that SurveyUSA and Rasmussen gave: A large, though not insurmountable lead by Deval Patrick (55%) over his opponents, principally, Kerry Healey (30%). As David at BMG pointed out, the real big news from this poll comes in finding that Healey has a -2 favorability rating (40% favor, 42% unfavor). That's 42% of the electorate that is writing her off completely at this moment and, in a three way race, that spells doom.

Christy Mihos is still plugging along at 7%, though he splits with Patrick the 24% of Republicans not supporting Healey. This, to me, is also big news. Healey was the hand-picked successor to Mitt Romney and yet she barely musters 3/4 of her party's vote. Patrick, on the other hand, slugged it out in a three-way primary in which he didn't win a majority and now enjoys the support of over 80% of Democrats. I can't say whether or not this is due to the candidates themselves, the cohesion of the respective parties or is an accidental result of the poll, but it must be worrying for Healey and the Massachusetts Republican party establishment (both of them, not including Healey) to know that their chosen one isn't exactly pulling the party together. Whatever coattails Healey was going to have, given the few Republicans running downticket, are disappearing quickly.

Hard choices for the next Massachusetts Governor, Other Stuff and Torture

2006-09-29T13:34:00.000-04:00

Todays links of interest:

To help foster informed discussion about the issues during and after the campaign, ten scholars associated with the Rappaport Institute have prepared short pieces describing some of important choices they believe the next governor will have to make. Their essays are collected in the policy brief: Hard Choices For The Next Massachusetts Governor

Also:

This Is What Waterboarding Looks Like - Pictures from the Khymer Rouge Torture Museum

Torture Worldwide - A list of countries that brutalize detainees

Habeas Corpus, R.I.P. (1215 - 2006)

Video - Barack Obama: So essentially the weaker the government’s case is against you, the fewer rights you have.

Borat's latest press conference

And if you have yet to, be sure to catch the trailer for this movie

New Poll! Yay!

2006-09-26T17:20:00.000-04:00

I see via Pollster.com that a new (to me) poll came out on today (or the 24th), that shows Patrick leading Healey 57% to 24%. It's a seven point drop for Patrick, and a one point drop for Healey from last week's SurveyUSA poll taken during and right after the Deomcratic primary. There's no data that I can find about either Mihos or Ross, as it's a Rasmussen poll and you need to subscribe for all that statistical goodness that I pretend to understand. As expected the 40 point lead has shrunk somewhat as the glow of Patrick's primary win has faded. Still, 33 points is a fairly hefty lead and this one might be the start of real numbers for Patrick. If so, it's his --- actually, our --- office to take, and let's help make that happen.

Debate Notes

2006-09-26T16:30:00.000-04:00

I know everyone already has their wrap-ups out and this is pretty stale by now, but I figured I'd put it out there. I actually had it ready at ten this morning, but blogger wasn't working and then I was at meetings. Enjoy.

My initial reaction to last night's debate --- other than hoping that it's the only one that will use that atrocious 60/30 format --- is that Kerry Healey can't ignore Christy Mihos during future debates as she tried to last night. It's clear that Mihos has targeted her supporters and not Deval Patrick's, and if Healey is to gain any traction over the next month, she's going to have to respond to Mihos. Patrick, on the other hand doesn't really need to acknowledge Grace Ross or Mihos, unless they've made a good point in attacking one of Healey's position. Or, as he did last night, he can sit back and watch as Healey gets battered, or at least mocked --- like when Mihos repeatedly mentioned that Jane Swift was Healey's hero.

Patrick looked uncomfortable as Healey took that beating on the Big Dig and the Romney administration's handling of it before and after the I-90 ceiling collapse. He did start it off by commenting on the administration's inaction in the year's prior to the collapse and the "shocking shame" of waiting until a tragedy to step in, yet as the debate descended into furious crosstalk, Patrick became silent. He looked more concerned about the deterioration of the discussion than his inability to get another word in edgewise. I think he actually felt bad for Healey for a second.

Also, and Jon Keller pointed this out in his reaction last night, Patrick needs to stop commending and agreeing with Healey in the first sentence.

Just stop telling me I have a good point despite our profound disagreement on a matter of principle, that you can see my point of view on this, and in many ways, I’m right, that we can come together and find common ground and work together and engage in meaningful dialogue and check back in together and find our shared, common, collective connections and sing Kumbaya, my Lord, Kumbaya, oh Lord, Kumbaya!!! Please, I’m begging you, stop. You win.

It mostly sounds forced and he then disagrees with Healey on some foundational level anyway, even if it is a polite segue.

When asked the final question about being able to take criticism and negative ads, Patrick did an excellent job in tying this race and Healey in with the "agressive Congress" that he worked against under the Clinton administration. Not only did he get to remind voters that Healey is a Republican and that the Republicans control Congress, but he also re-established his own closeness with President Clinton. While Healey will be running away from Romney and Bush for the next six weeks, Patrick has the luxury of reminding everyone he stood for civil rights during the much-more-popular-everyday Clinton years.

Grace Ross, if I understood her correctly --- and I'm not sure I did --- suggested that we shouldn't poll just likely voters because those who don't vote have a right to democracy as well. I agree with the latter half of that statement, and also that right is best exercised by voting. I don't want to make too much of it, because most of what she said was fairly well-reasoned and clearly articulated, but that really threw me for a loop.

Lastly, Patrick's move in his close, mentioning that he's "not a theorist" but "a prosecutor" was fairly genius. Healey should be running on record, but she has no record. In fact, in Patrick's first go at elective office, he's already got more substance to run on than Healey, even though she's been LG for four years and head of the Republican Party in Mass --- two things Patrick and Mihos were already reminding her (and voters) of. So now, after the first debate, Healey worships Jane Swift, waits until tragedy forces her to action, is close with two disliked entities (Congress and Romney) and she's just a theorist.

I know I didn't really talk about the candidates' positions on anything, but where they stand on taxes, health care, patronage and immigration has been well covered already (though not here, so maybe I'll work on that). All in all, I think Mihos will be the most remembered voice and face from last evening, but I don't know if he was the winner. Healey, taking the beating she did from everyone, was probably the loser. If you saw it, put your reactions in the comments.

Argh. Just Argh.

2006-09-25T18:43:00.000-04:00

Watching the gubernatorial debate (Channel 25) and things seem to be going swimmingly: Mihos attacking Healey, Grace Ross making Deval look like a centrist, Healey being healey. Chris "Bill Clinton Made Me Cry" Wallace is moderating and asking some of the questions, but he then turns it over to a "voter." Who's the voter? Some anonymous mechanic from Framingham, a single mother from Lawrence, a retiree from Greenfield? Nope, it's long-time Massachusetts resident and absolutely apolitical Shonda Schilling, asking an incredibly scripted question about ~~mandatory sunscreen application~~ merit pay in schools. Great, I'm glad they couldn't have had someone else ask that. Here's praying they at least get Bridget Moynihan to ask a question about health care or Cape Wind.

Hopefully, I'll have a substantive wrap-up tomorrow afternoon, but I needed to post that. Also, Chris Wallace: I can't get the Clinton interview out of my head, so I'm having a hard time paying attention to this.

A Silly Question For A Saturday; Or, Could We Do That?

2006-09-23T11:51:00.000-04:00

I'm watching the English Premeir League on Fox Soccer Channel this morning, before the Michigan game starts. Arsenal is hosting Sheffield United, against whom they just scored, in their new stadium that opened this season. As you may or may not know, the name of the stadium is Emirates Stadium, after the Dubai-based Airline. For the first hour of the match, I didn't give much thought to this choice, since for the past few seasons, Emirates has been one of Arsenal's major sponsors and naming-rights are big business in the UK just as they are here.

Yet, now --- As Arsenal score again --- I can't get the thought out of my mind that were an Arab-owned company to publicly claim the naming-rights to a major American stadium, the uproar would be vitriolic and never-ending. I can't think of a city or team in the country that would assent to such a thing. The protests would be enormous, or at least so tumultuous and potential dangerous it's likely that said stadium would never sell out. And I dare say that no Arab company would even bother because it's so obviously a losing proposition.

I suppose the question, if there really is one, is whether or not you think I'm correct on this. Could it happen?

Well, That Was Fast

2006-09-22T15:09:00.000-04:00

The first post-primary poll is out, and it looks good for Deval Patrick. Obviously, Patrick gets a bump from winning Tuesday's primary and as such commanding the news cycle while the poll was being taken. Patrick had 59% on Tuesday, ostensibly before he'd won the nomination, 68% on Wednesday and 64% on Thursday. Still, it's very encouraging to see Patrick with a thirty-nine point advantage. It's an excellent start to the general campaign and it's spectacular to see that Patrick has a majority across all income levels, educational levels, region, race and gender. Perhaps most importantly, Patrick holds a 54%-30% edge among Independent voters.

Take all these numbers with a grain of salt, as one should with any single poll. Nonetheless, the numbers are quite encouraging and a little enthusiasm for your candidate never hurt anyone.

Sen. Kerry, You've Got Some 'Splainin' To Do

2006-09-21T12:49:00.000-04:00

Massachusetts' junior Senator is apparently clinging to the slim hope that he has a chance at the 2008 Democratic nomination for President. How else to explain his presence at the Iowa-Iowa State football game last weekend? Also, he's apparently changed his advisors for this run, as he's no longer leading with nuance and centrism in order to court the more politically-engaged, but rather choosing the unorthodox tactic of beer and funnels to corner the frat vote. Senator Kerry, you didn't need to go to Iowa, many of our lovely colleges (Northeastern and UMass, I'm looking at you) would have been more than happy to stage this photo-op with you. Why outsource?

For shame Sen. Kerry. BC had a home game last week, and you could have used their overtime victory against Brigham Young to boast that your local Catholic university had bested potential 2008 opponent Mitt Romney's Mormon school. If you were going to campaign at a football game, I dare say you'd have been better off at Chesnut Hill.

This Picture Means That We Are For Real This Time

2006-09-21T09:41:00.000-04:00

This map, courtesy of the Boston Globe, speaks volumes about this campaign. And once again, allows me the chance to say, "Bring it on Kerry Healey!" Can you imagine what her map would have looked like in a contested primary against a real candidate? Say Bill Weld? Keep up the energy, keep up the momentum, we need to carry this feeling all the way into November.

"One of my favorite quotations comes from a Mississippi civil rights activist who said, "Don't tell me what you believe. Show me what you do, and I'll tell you what you believe." One way to show people what you believe is how you spend your money. Consider what your family budget says about you. If your family falls on hard times, do you spend money on vacations and fancy dinners or do you pay for health care and education? A government is no different. Budgets are moral documents that measure our beliefs and commitment to our fellow citizens. When you see a budget that gives big tax breaks for the rich, but cuts programs for the poor and middle class, it tells us something about the moral values of the people who wrote that budget. That is why it is so troubling for me to see Republicans proclaim themselves as the party of "family values." -Sherrod Brown

Cosmetics

2006-09-20T14:32:00.000-04:00

Though I should be catching up on work, I decided I'd rather go about updating the site instead. If you're reading this, you're probably seeing the results. It seems that some weren't "down with the brown" anymore, so I have changed "the hue to blue." I personally liked the earthy goodness of the former layout (which is now lost forever since I don't know how to save templates, or at least forgot) , but as I am a man of the people, I heard your cry and relented.

I didn't choose blue-ish hues with an ulterior motive in mind, but now that I see it, I like it both aesthetically and politically. We've turned the site blue, just as we'd like to turn the governor's office --- and eventually, the White House --- blue. Boring indeed, but it was an incidental outcome. I originally opted for it simply because I like the color and it seemed fairly easy on the eyes.

We've added some local and national blogs, and I hope you'll check them out if you don't already, as none of them are exactly obscure. In addition, we've also acquired our own e-mail address that you should feel free to use if you've got any questions or comments you don't want to put out for public consumption. Feel free to send us tips, ideas or even potential posts that you've written yourself. Just remember to remove the NOSPAM from the address.

Please let me know in the comments what you think of the re-coloring. I'm going to get to work now.

So it's Kerry Healy vs. Deval Patick and Reed Hillman vs. Tim Murray... Bring it on.

2006-09-20T12:51:00.000-04:00

Needless to say, last night was a pleasant surprise. Disappointed as I may be about the results for Sec. of State (however not surprising) and the State Senate race in the Berkshire, Hampshire & Franklin district (the guy who won is younger than me with no political experience, and more importantly, a good friend's mother was running against him), I am excited moving forward, particularly in the Lt. Gov slot. Tim Murray is going to be an asset to this ticket in a number of ways; from bringing out the vote in the state’s #2 urban area, to most importantly winning some towns in the Republican dead zone between Worchester and Springfield.

We really need this one, not because the Republicans have been in the front office for the last 16 years, but because Kerry Healey is a garbage candidate and Reed Hillman is even worse. I tried to watch her speech last night but stopped when she stopped making sense and just starting trying to scare people. She is bad for Massachusetts and especially bad for the working/lower middle-class voters she is trying to court.

Deval’s victory speech actually inspired me and made me feel like I was watching the end of Hoosiers. It reminded me why I love politics and why I still believe that it can be an amazing vehicle for change. Deval Patrick is exactly what we need as a state, he will be a unifying politician, he will bring back Massachusetts to a state that others admire and not insult, he will bring out state colleges out of the trash, and he will make the necessary changes that we need to take down the Big Dig/Old Boy’s Club on Beacon Hill.

The next and the last...

Tuesday Night's All Right For Winning

2006-09-19T22:25:00.000-04:00

I am an unenrolled voter --- always have been and probably always will be. I come from a long line of unenrolled voters. Needless to say, I did not participate in today's election. I had little to fear this year, as all the Democratic candidates would have acquitted themselves well and I congratulate them on (for the most part) well-run, clean campaigns.

Still ... You know what goes really well with Deval Patrick and Tim Murray winning? A celebratory glass of Baker's bourbon. It also helps soothe the pain of Bonifaz's loss.
And (merely two minutes after writing that first sentence) I'm pretty sure this is the last election in which I'll be unenrolled.

And congratulations again not only to the Patrick, Murray, Galvin and other winning campaigns, but to all the candidates who sought office. I hope that each of them continues to seek out ways in which they can help Massachusetts become a better place for all of its residents.
Now, let's get to work, there's a corner office to get back.

UPDATE: Included links and changed formatting. We'll have more on this tomorrow.

Last Night's Daily Show

2006-09-19T13:28:00.000-04:00

I've been an avid watcher of The Daily Show since the early days of Craig Kilborn. Over the years, there have been episodes that were memorable for their hilarity, or their poignancy, or their articulate grasp of that day's particular tragi-comedy of politics. Rarely, if ever, however, has a single episode managed to put together all three as perfectly as last night's episode. Beginning with Jon Stewart's "apology" to Robert Novak for Stewart's "airs of grandeur," continuing through Jason "Mr. Samantha Bee" Jones' report on Bleu Copas (the Arabic translator who was discharged for being gay) and concluding with Stewart's interview of President Bill Clinton, it was as if I were watching the platonic form of "The Daily Show." If you missed it, try and catch this evening's re-airing or find it somewhere on the internet. I would say more, but you'd be better served by seeking it out and watching it yourself.

Vote! and Another Thing.

2006-09-19T12:09:00.000-04:00

1)Vote!.

2) I came across this picture of Sen. Lieberman's car parked at Fairfield University - what's wrong with this picture?

A Personal Moment

2006-09-18T17:22:00.000-04:00

I didn't get a chance to update the blogroll or make any of the other planned cosmetic changes to the site this weekend due to a death in the family. Normally, I wouldn't consider posting something this personal, this intimate, on a public forum. In this case, however, the loss I suffered is one that many will feel, whether they know it or not. Her life and accomplishments deserve to be celebrated and, after some deliberation, I chose to use this forum to do so.

From The Boston Sunday Globe:

At Suffolk University Law School, where she taught generations of students the fine points of contract law, Catherine T. Judge was known lovingly by colleagues as ``the grande dame of Suffolk Law" -- and by her students as a force to be reckoned with.
``Catherine was a role model for so many of our students, particularly for our women," said Suffolk Law School dean Robert H. Smith, noting that Dr. Judge was the first woman to become a full-time law professor at Suffolk in 1967 and the first woman to become a tenured professor of law there in 1970.
The only woman to graduate in Suffolk Law's class of 1957 -- and first in her class, Smith said -- Dr. Judge died of cancer Thursday at Boston Center for Rehabilitation & Subacute Care in Roslindale.

It's difficult for someone at my tender age to understand just how much fortitude and dedication it took for Catherine to accomplish what she did, when she did it. She worked during the day and attended classes in the evening. She had to exercise superior devotion, not simply to graduate but to prove that she --- and all women --- could survive and excel in the legal profession. As the lone woman and valedictorian of her graduating class, she demonstrated a combination of ability and passion surpassing all her classmates. That, among her many other virtues, will stand out as her legacy not only to me, but to the students she taught over the course of her 40 years teaching at Suffolk.

I know that this has been awkward to read, and seemingly out of place. But this site is dedicated to progressive political and social change. Personally, my devotion to this topic is in part a response to Catherine's steadfast belief that men and women ought to be given equal opportunity to succeed in whatever endeavor they chose. She counseled all of her students, but she seemed to both push and advise her female and minority students with fervor --- acknowledging that they had a tougher road but that it was neither impossible nor a waste of time. And not only did she believe that, she lived it each day of her life.

New Blogs We Read

2006-09-15T00:22:00.000-04:00

Though the site went dark for six months, we didn't stop reading blogs. Quite the opposite, in fact; we found more. So, over the next few days, the BlogRoll on the sidebar will be amended. If you read this site and have your own blog, we'll throw yours up there as well. Just leave a comment with a link to your site and we'll put it up here by Monday.

One site I'd like to point you to before we do the full-scale update, which has been indispensible to me in the last few months, is The Democratic Strategist. Scott Winship's writing and data have been a boon to the left-leaning blogosphere over the past few months. If you're not reading it, you're missing out. If you're not Scott Winship (who none of us know, really), drop a line in the comments and we'll be happy to add you, so long as you're political (HDT reserves the right to veto, because he's like that).

Don't Do This

2006-09-14T10:27:00.000-04:00

Two things this morning.

If you're going to court, leave the crack at home. Do not bring crack to court. Do not, when said crack is discovered, attempt to retrieve it and flee the courthouse. You will be caught. It's that simple.
If you rent a car, check about you for your belongings and personal items before you return it. Do not leave cocaine in the minivan you've rented. Especially, do not leave over $1 million dollars worth in your minivan.

Seriously, don't do these things.

9/11 Fear Campaign

2006-09-13T16:52:00.000-04:00

By Steve Sack, 2006.

New CBS4Boston Poll Puts Patrick Up 16

2006-09-12T14:30:00.000-04:00

Via Adam Reilly's Talking Politics comes word of the latest poll on the Massachusetts gubernatorial race. According to CBS4, the SurveyUSA poll shows 45% of likely primary voters backing Deval Patrick, with Chris Gabrieli garnering 29%. Tom Reilly, seemingly completing his free-fall from front-runner to also-ran, checks in with 21%.

A week ago I spoke with a friend who does polling in D.C. and told me that the race was essentially over and that Patrick had it sewn up. I was hesitant to believe him after watching the race tighten over the summer. While I still don't think the result is a foregone conclusion, with only one week to go Gabrieli and Reilly seem to have their work cut out for them. Of course, they'll have that opportunity tomorrow night at 7, as the candidates square off for the final time before next Tuesday's primary.

Deval Patrick Endorsed by the Boston Globe

2006-09-10T09:39:00.000-04:00

The Globe endorsement of Deval Patrick does a fantastic job of summing up the candidate as well as the man. I have re-posted the complete editorial here:

IN CHOOSING A governor to run the state, voters look for executive experience, wise issue positions, and the intangible quality of leadership. It is a rare thing when a candidate has all three. We believe Massachusetts Democrats and independent voters have such a person in Deval Patrick. The Globe strongly endorses his candidacy in the gubernatorial primary Sept. 19.

Patrick, 50, has not held elective office, but he has served in significant appointed office, as chief of the civil rights division in the US Justice Department under President Clinton. There, he managed an office of several hundred lawyers fighting complex issues across diverse constituencies from bankers to police officers to community organizers. After that he was a lawyer for Coca-Cola and Texaco and a member of several corporate boards. He has experience in the plushest office suites and the meanest urban streets. He has the range, the maturity, and the skill to lead Massachusetts through precarious times.

Often, the character of a political campaign provides a lens into how a candidate would govern. One may call on longtime political alliances. One may spend a lot of money on television ads. Patrick has chosen to build a broad citizen organization, fueled by his inspiring presence, perhaps, but also benefiting from the advice and participation of thousands who are joining the political process in earnest for the first time. The organization may help propel him to victory in the election. More important, because of the base it provides to speak directly to the voters and mobilize support for change, it can help him govern.

Patrick's policy views, rather nebulous at the beginning of the campaign, have come into sharper focus. His economic prescription is simple but powerful: Hold the line on income taxes; focus on support for beleaguered communities to ease property taxes; and expand the economy by making Massachusetts a more inviting place for all kinds of businesses. Despite the easy stereotype, he is no big-spending, antibusiness liberal. His ideas for economic development are as serious and sensible as any candidate's, Republican or Democrat.

Patrick sees the comprehensive picture. He showed vision and independence in being first to support the Cape Wind project, but he also understands global markets, and the opportunity in steering the state's economy toward alternative energy technologies. ``If we get that right, the whole world is our customer," he says.

He has a measured, focused approach to implementing the state's complicated new healthcare law, already fraying at the seams. Just holding together the fragile coalition that passed the universal access law and steadily making it work is challenge enough for now. ``It's important for us to get past this politics that says we have to agree on everything before we can work on anything," he says. Similarly, he wants to fix the relationship between the state and the cities and towns, which he correctly says is in ``total breakdown."

Patrick's experience with brokering such collaboration among competing interests is a major asset of his candidacy. A good example was on display in Thursday night's debate. When both his opponents were sniping at each other over whether Harvard or the UMass system should benefit from publicly funded stem cell research, Patrick spoke eloquently about the power of partnerships.

Patrick says he wants to effect a change in the culture on Beacon Hill; his successes doing that in the corporate sector -- where both Coke and Texaco were facing difficult mandates to diversify from top to bottom -- help us believe it is more than just rhetoric. Judging from the ``brain trust" of policy advisers he already has attracted to the campaign, we are confident he will build an administration full of the talent and energy that have been shut out of government -- both in the executive and the Legislature -- for too long.

We hope Patrick will become a more vigorous advocate for education reform and the need to hold students and teachers to higher standards. Crucial to the state's ability to compete is that 13 years of momentum not be slowed by institutional resistance or inertia. But we also recognize that Patrick is a man whose life was saved by the opportunities of a rigorous education that took him from a broken home in Chicago to Milton Academy and Harvard and beyond. The transforming power of education is not theoretical to him.

Patrick doesn't often explicitly address his race in the campaign. But his positive reception -- he won the Democratic Party's endorsement at its convention in June -- has been a good sign that this state can move beyond its reputation as old, cold, and closed. At a crowded town forum in Framingham last month, Patrick addressed the perception that Massachusetts is a difficult place to break into, whether for business or socially. ``It will be a signal of welcome when I take the oath," he said. Patrick's very presence in this campaign has been positive and inviting, with its theme of the common stake each citizen has in the success of the other. Wouldn't more of that be a refreshing ``culture change" for Massachusetts?

American Foreign Policy as Political Failure

2006-09-07T12:43:00.000-04:00

In this video, Robert Kuttner, Founding Editor of The American Prospect, discusses the failures of American foreign policy and ways to improve it. I found this while digging through Google Video recently. Bob's analysis is dead-on, timely and profound. Be sure to note that he is not reading from a script and that most of this speech is off of the top of his head. His fourthcoming book should be out of this world.

Khatami, Clowns, Romney and His Troopers.

2006-09-06T12:21:00.000-04:00

Today, Boston.com posted a question to its readers:

"Governor Mitt Romney declared yesterday he would not allow any state resources to be used to protect a former Iranian president during his visit to the Boston area this weekend, and he sharply criticized Harvard University for inviting Mohammed Khatami to speak on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Do you think the governor is doing the right thing?"

Needless to say, some of the responses were outrageous:

From 2004Sox: “how can you not agree with Romney? Unless you love tyrants who despise democracy and are anti-semitic and would like to see America lose the war on terror. Harvard is giving camp to a wolf in sheeps clothing. they are immoral and degenerates. basically, harvard is saying that tyrants and dictators without regard for other cultures and POVs have a legitimate voice at the table of civilization. Unbelievable.”

From Titmouse: “I agree with Farty - Romney should instruct the State police to arrest his @ss and charge him with terrorism charge you'd like, but only after we've allowed every 9/11 victim's family to kick him in the nuts (if he has any nuts, which I doubt). Shame on Harvard but what would you expect from an anti-Israel, racist institution? This is right in line with their publicly expressed beliefs.”

The number one reason why I love the 1st ammedment is the humor that it brings to my life on a daily basis. I wish these were fringe view points, but they are not. I can’t say that I am shocked by these responses, but I am shocked that these people read, well…anything, and there are many more where this came from.

No, I do not agree with Mitt and I am not surprised by the move, politically. It is a no lose for him. The BPD (who don’t have jurisdiction in Cambridge) will provide security, as well as some from the State Department and personal guards. However, the last thing in the world that Boston/Massachusetts needs is an international incident, and offering troopers as protection would help to prevent that. Thanks Mitt, we’re counting the seconds until January. Also, I can’t wait until the spring of 2007 when you get destroyed in the primary, once the South catches wind of your special underwear and that whole Jesus and the Native Americans thing, best of luck.

In regards to Mohammed Khatami’s trip to Harvard; I know this may be a shock to some of the uninformed clowns who replied to this post, but Mohammed Khatami is not the same person as current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And dear god, neither of them had anything to do with 9/11. Where did that idea come from? Oh right, they’re all the same. Khatami’s time in office was marked by a dramatic shift in Iranian foreign policy from confrontation to conciliation. He is a moderate (very moderate by Iranian standards); he seeks a dialogue with the West, much unlike the jabs being thrown between Ahmadinejad and Bush. Khatami is a man with political and philosophical credibility in the Middle East, who has some new ideas to stabilize region, thank god. How can the Kennedy School not offer him a forum? How can the some of the uniformed, ignorant, blowhards of this city criticize them for it? What about the free speech and diplomacy? Oh right, Fox News/Drudge, etc. now I remember.

An Incredible Discussion

2006-09-05T15:01:00.000-04:00

The folks over at Blue Mass Group have outdone themselves this afternoon with a lengthy and informative (and informed) discussion of charter schools, pilot schools and public schools in Massachusetts. As I've never studied education policy and have only taught at the pre-kindergarten level (and not in Massachusetts, at that), I've got nothing to add but feel obligated to mention it and pass it along. Perhaps once I've digested the information, I'll have an opinion on the matter but at the moment, I'm simply glad to have learned more about an important issue facing Massachusetts generally and Boston in particular.

I'll write my own opinion soon.

2006-09-05T11:00:00.000-04:00

I do have my own intesting things to say, I swear. I'm brewing up a hum dinger of a combo post, for the 1 year anniversary of Katrina and 5 year of 9/11. Specifically, why America needs "Katrina: Never Forget" bumper stickers, because it looks like these colors do in fact run.
In lue of a real posting, I want to share the latest from the unfortunatly titled blog, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Canniabis:

Top 10 Pot Studies The Government Wished It Had Never Funded

10) MARIJUANA USE HAS NO EFFECT ON MORTALITY: A massive study of California HMO members funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found marijuana use caused no significant increase in mortality. Tobacco use was associated with increased risk of death. Sidney, S et al. Marijuana Use and Mortality. American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 87 No. 4, April 1997. p. 585-590. Sept. 2002.

9) HEAVY MARIJUANA USE AS A YOUNG ADULT WON’T RUIN YOUR LIFE: Veterans Affairs scientists looked at whether heavy marijuana use as a young adult caused long-term problems later, studying identical twins in which one twin had been a heavy marijuana user for a year or longer but had stopped at least one month before the study, while the second twin had used marijuana no more than five times ever. Marijuana use had no significant impact on physical or mental health care utilization, health-related quality of life, or current socio-demographic characteristics. Eisen SE et al. Does Marijuana Use Have Residual Adverse Effects on Self-Reported Health Measures, Socio-Demographics or Quality of Life? A Monozygotic Co-Twin Control Study in Men. Addiction. Vol. 97 No. 9. p.1083-1086. Sept. 1997

8) THE "GATEWAY EFFECT" MAY BE A MIRAGE: Marijuana is often called a "gateway drug" by supporters of prohibition, who point to statistical "associations" indicating that persons who use marijuana are more likely to eventually try hard drugs than those who never use marijuana — implying that marijuana use somehow causes hard drug use. But a model developed by RAND Corp. researcher Andrew Morral demonstrates that these associations can be explained "without requiring a gateway effect." More likely, this federally funded study suggests, some people simply have an underlying propensity to try drugs, and start with what’s most readily available. Morral AR, McCaffrey D and Paddock S. Reassessing the Marijuana Gateway Effect. Addiction. December 2002. p. 1493-1504.

7) PROHIBITION DOESN’T WORK (PART I): The White House had the National Research Council examine the data being gathered about drug use and the effects of U.S. drug policies. NRC concluded, "the nation possesses little information about the effectiveness of current drug policy, especially of drug law enforcement." And what data exist show "little apparent relationship between severity of sanctions prescribed for drug use and prevalence or frequency of use." In other words, there is no proof that prohibition — the cornerstone of U.S. drug policy for a century — reduces drug use. National Research Council. Informing America’s Policy on Illegal Drugs: What We Don’t Know Keeps Hurting Us. National Academy Press, 2001. p. 193.

6) PROHIBITION DOESN’T WORK (PART II: DOES PROHIBITION CAUSE THE "GATEWAY EFFECT"?): U.S. and Dutch researchers, supported in part by NIDA, compared marijuana users in San Francisco, where non-medical use remains illegal, to Amsterdam, where adults may possess and purchase small amounts of marijuana from regulated businesses. Looking at such parameters as frequency and quantity of use and age at onset of use, they found no differences except one: Lifetime use of hard drugs was significantly lower in Amsterdam, with its "tolerant" marijuana policies. For example, lifetime crack cocaine use was 4.5 times higher in San Francisco than Amsterdam. Reinarman, C, Cohen, PDA, and Kaal, HL. The Limited Relevance of Drug Policy: Cannabis in Amsterdam and San Francisco. American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 94, No. 5. May 2004. p. 836-842.

5) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART I): Federal researchers implanted several types of cancer, including leukemia and lung cancers, in mice, then treated them with cannabinoids (unique, active components found in marijuana). THC and other cannabinoids shrank tumors and increased the mice’s lifespans. Munson, AE et al. Antineoplastic Activity of Cannabinoids. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Sept. 1975. p. 597-602.

4) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER, (PART II): In a 1994 study the government tried to suppress, federal researchers gave mice and rats massive doses of THC, looking for cancers or other signs of toxicity. The rodents given THC lived longer and had fewer cancers, "in a dose-dependent manner" (i.e. the more THC they got, the fewer tumors). NTP Technical Report On The Toxicology And Carcinogenesis Studies Of 1-Trans- Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, CAS No. 1972-08-3, In F344/N Rats And B6C3F(1) Mice, Gavage Studies. See also, "Medical Marijuana: Unpublished Federal Study Found THC-Treated Rats Lived Longer, Had Less Cancer," AIDS Treatment News no. 263, Jan. 17, 1997.

3) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART III): Researchers at the Kaiser-Permanente HMO, funded by NIDA, followed 65,000 patients for nearly a decade, comparing cancer rates among non-smokers, tobacco smokers, and marijuana smokers. Tobacco smokers had massively higher rates of lung cancer and other cancers. Marijuana smokers who didn’t also use tobacco had no increase in risk of tobacco-related cancers or of cancer risk overall. In fact their rates of lung and most other cancers were slightly lower than non-smokers, though the difference did not reach statistical significance. Sidney, S. et al. Marijuana Use and Cancer Incidence (California, United States). Cancer Causes and Control. Vol. 8. Sept. 1997, p. 722-728.

2) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART IV): Donald Tashkin, a UCLA researcher whose work is funded by NIDA, did a case-control study comparing 1,200 patients with lung, head and neck cancers to a matched group with no cancer. Even the heaviest marijuana smokers had no increased risk of cancer, and had somewhat lower cancer risk than non-smokers (tobacco smokers had a 20-fold increased lung cancer risk). Tashkin D. Marijuana Use and Lung Cancer: Results of a Case-Control Study. American Thoracic Society International Conference. May 23, 2006.

1) MARIJUANA DOES HAVE MEDICAL VALUE: In response to passage of California’s medical marijuana law, the White House had the Institute of Medicine (IOM) review the data on marijuana’s medical benefits and risks. The IOM concluded, "Nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana." While noting potential risks of smoking, the report added, "we acknowledge that there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting." The government’s refusal to acknowledge this finding caused co-author John A. Benson to tell the New York Times that the government "loves to ignore our report … they would rather it never happened." Joy, JE, Watson, SJ, and Benson, JA. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press. 1999. p. 159. See also, Harris, G. FDA Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana. New York Times. Apr. 21, 2006

This Post Good For Republicans

2006-08-10T15:19:00.000-04:00

You might think that after a year in which seemingly nothing has gone well for the Republicans --- not the war, not Medicare, not Social Security, not the economy, not, well, you get the point --- that someone, somewhere (non-traditional media excluded) might point out the the Republicans are back on their heels. Rather --- with more than fifty percent of Americans favoring a Democratic takeover of Congress in the fall; sixty percent opposing the War in Iraq; Republicans Tom Delay, Bob Ney, Duke Cunningham, Jerry Lewis and Katherine Harris all either indicted or facing indictment; President Bush's approval hovering at 40% --- the Republicans are in great shape.

And why are Karl's Kids so obviously in the driver's seat? Two words: Ned Lamont. Personally, I think the GOP will have a hard time branding a WASPy, Greenwich cable executive as a radical liberal. Lamont, though a progressive in some senses, doesn't have the foot-in-mouth issues that some great progressive *cough* Dr. Dean *cough* hopes have had, therefore allowing fewer opportunities for national media to display just how wacky and out of touch Lamont is. (note: Dean and Lamont are actually both moderates but that's for another day.)

There is, of course, also the national security matter, on which Republicans feel they have the upper hand. I don't know enough about international relations, foreign policy, or anything of that ilk to make bold pronouncements concerning that situation (it's not going to stop me anyway). I don't think, however, that, approaching the five-year anniversary of 9-11 without the capture of bin Laden, Zawahiri and the descent into madness that is the Middle East, the Republicans can really run on a record of success. Of course, they couldn't run on a record of success in 2004 either and it didn't seem to matter.

It seems that the Democrats might want to steal --- and promptly paraphrase --- an oft-stolen line in preparation for the fall: "Are you safer now than you were five years ago?" In light of this morning's events, it shouldn't be hard to make a compelling case that America is not, and that failed Republican foreign policy is as much a culprit as Islamic Fundamentalism.

Remiss and Delinquent

2006-07-28T17:16:00.000-04:00

We're coming back online in the next week. I'm in the process of moving into a new apartment in a couple days and once the "series of tubes" are connected there, American Athens will be content-laden again, as it was for that glorious month early this year. If you're still checking this (and, really, that's impressive), please keep coming back. We're going to try to pretend the last few months of radio silence never happened.

Now, let's never speak of this again.

Dead Presidents Abound

2006-02-20T11:22:00.000-05:00

From George Washington's Farewell Address, on this, his birthday (or at least the celebration thereof):

The unity of Government, which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty, which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee, that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the Palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion, that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.

For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of american, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the Independence and Liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.

Priorities? We Got 'Em

2006-02-17T20:50:00.000-05:00

Reading Darren Rovell's Sports Business Blog at ESPN.com this evening I stumbled across something that sums up the priorities of the current wielders of federal power. Darren writes (sub. req., although if you ask I'll give you my password for it):

According to USA Today, the federal government levied a larger fine on CBS ($550,000) for broadcasting the exposing of Janet Jackson's breast during the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004 than the government fined the owners of an unsafe coal mine that saw 13 of their miners die in 2001. That fine was $435,000, but a judge later cut it to $3,000.

Everyone's always pulling out statistics that show how callous and misguided are the policies of our current federal government (Republican Congress included) --- when the govenment is actually guided by policy, which seems to be infrequently. I can't recall coming across a comparison that so starkly and simply achieves that end as does the above. Gross corporate negligence, perhaps willful malfeasence from some of what I've read, is met with a penalty so insignificant that I --- literally --- could pay it myself. The families of those miners --- not to mention the thousands of other miners across the country who watched the tragedy unfold while sighing "There but for the grace of God go I" before going to work in those same conditions--- deserved one week of hearings, hardly covered by the national press corps, that culminated in slap on the wrist and an admonishment unheard and likely unheeded. The story, which many of us found ourselves watching or paying attention to in spite of ourselves, gripped the nation from its breaking to to its heart-rending, confusing, mishandled conclusion. Then, after the sensation details were released and the bodies were counted, all was silent. No re-allocation of federal funds, no stepped-up inspections on suspect mines, no stricter standards. Three grand, thank you. Carry on.

One half-second of nipple at America's Greatest Excuse to Beat Your Wife (Because You Made A Stupid Bet Edition), however, will resonate in the halls of power for years. Deliberate or not, and based on the look on Janet's face I'm guessing she wasn't informed about her impending "wardrobe malfunction" before she got on stage. While no one died (though my mother had some palpitations), it was indecent and demonstrated so perfectly our precipitous slide into immorality and iniquity. And indecency will not be tolerated on our airwaves; it goes against everything America stands for and meets with a half-million dollar fine, new restrictions on programming and a crackdown on previously unenforced regulations.

But that's re-hashing the irrelevant. Of course, that's precisely for what our government has become renowned of late. The truly relevant issues are swept under the proverbial rug, empowered by acquiescent media. Just today, after so much sound and fury from across the political and journalistic landscape, both the NSA's domestic spying program and USA PATRIOT ACT inched perilously close to full government approval. Sure, there was outrage for a time. Some incredulous Representatives and Senators, including Republicans, voiced opposition to the NSA program and vowed that Congress would investigate and get to the bottom of the issue. Some did so on the Sunday morning talk shows this past weekend. Today, Sen. Pat Roberts had this to say: "An investigation at this point basically would be detrimental to this highly classified program and our efforts to reach some accommodation with the administration."

Just remember, that's Congress' duty, to make every possible effort to accommodate the administration. In case you'd forgotten Congress' true function with the past few weeks full of feints toward dissent, independent thought and, perhaps, progress. But you were wrong. Corporations still run roughshod over workers and municipalities with the complicity of our federal government garnering nary a wag of the finger; The Executive Branch assumes and brazenly asserts powers that would have made Marshal Tito blush and Congress gives so many ineffectual stern glances. Nope, you blinked and all's as it was. Just one more lump under the rug while you look at the end table wondering where your lamp went.

UPDATE: So, that was sloppy. As the excerpted quote itself notes, it was an accident in 2001 that killed 13 miners, rather than the more recent, slightly less tragic mine accident that warranted the $3000 fine. I still believe the rest of the rant holds water though. Still, I apologize for being incorrect. At least there were links this time.

Fat Tire and Jameson For Everyone This Weekend!

2006-02-17T18:20:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm sure everyone's home from work, so it's not exactly a weekend-prep thing now, but here you go nonetheless (Video w/sound, from TalkLeft). And, no, it has nothing to do with Vice President Dick Cheney going Aaron Burr on a brother. I have refused comment on the subject and will continue to do so. While the secrecy and obfuscation of the administration are inexcusable and abhorrent, the rampant, baseless speculation in some quarters is not particularly a ray of sunshine either. Okay. I guess that's kind of a comment. But that's it, I swear. Unless there are further developments.

Okay, A Mormon and A Catholic Walk Into A Room ...

2006-02-17T16:14:00.000-05:00

... and tell the Catholic bishops of Massachusetts that they can't have everything they want. Just over a week after the House and Senate caved to the demands of --- mostly --- the Catholic Church concerning the release of financial records for religious institutions with more than $500,000 in revenue, Gov. Mitt Romney and Mass. Rep. Eugene O' Flaherty told the bishops that their plan to deny gay couples the right to adopt through Catholic Charities would not fly in the Commonwealth, though the Vatican posits that such adoptions are "gravely immoral."

The board of Catholic Charities was rightly angered, not only over the bishops' plan to seek a legal exemption but also that the Church is taking their legal fees --- having hired prestigious, thorough and expensive Ropes & Gray --- out of Catholic Charities pocket. That certainly accords with the spirit in which the money was given to them, I'm sure.

Anyway, Romney states that since such an exemption would require legislation, he can't do anything about it. Well, I suppose that's not so much a rousing dismissal of the idea as much as a buck-passing, but he's certainly not enthusiastic. O' Flaherty also side-steps his personal feelings and simply says that the Legislature wouldn't have "an appetite to entertain that. ... We have enough on our plate already." The Leg., after all, passed a law over a decade ago in which adoption agencies are forbidden to discriminate against gay couples. The Catholic Church insists it can get around this law due to the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.

I know there's some precedent for legal discrimination similar to this, a private organization not allowing gays to join their ranks (The Boy Scouts of America being one example, but I believe that the children being adopted are --- even if under the supervision of Catholic Charities --- wards of the state. Therefore, their case is moot. Anyone know for sure? Either of you readers?

MA Gov. Poll: Reilly, Patrick Even Among Dems

2006-02-16T11:21:00.000-05:00

When Deval Patrick captured two-thirds of the delegates at state-wide caucuses two weeks ago, I wasn't too surprised. Progressives and activists are the usual contingent at those events, and Patrick is the closest thing to a progressive candidate for Governor in this election. Soon after, Suffolk released a poll that had Patrick close within 8 points of Reilly with 31% Undecided, I thought to think that momentum had shifted. In the two weeks prior, Reilly had fumbled over several choices for his running-mate, the end result of which was the catastrophic withdrawal of his second-choice candidate over her tax issues. Here's what he had to say in the aftermath:

Reilly blamed the gaffe on his own weak grasp of politics.

"I have to work and improve on the politics of this campaign," he said. "This is a whole different level of politics and it's never been my strong suit, and I have to improve upon that."

Well, it seems Massachusetts Democrats heard that loud and clear. According to a UMass-Lowell (the alma-mater of both of my parents, by the way) survey, Patrick has pulled even with Reilly, with both candidates pulling in 40% of the vote. The margin of error for the poll is 5%, which is a bit high, and there are still plenty of undecideds who could fall to Reilly simply because of higher name recognition, but, by little work of his own, it appears that Patrick has made the coronation of Reilly --- assumed by many just a month ago --- into an honest-to-goodness summer-long campaign. For someone without a dog in this fight, at the moment, I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Sadly, the UMass poll also shows that neither Democratic candidate is a shoo-in against the likely Republican nominee Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey. Both Reilly and Patrick lead Healey, but by percentages which fall within the margin. Reilly had been a 25% favorite only six-months ago.

The Accessability of the NBA and MLB As Indicative of Stages in American Social History

2006-02-14T19:53:00.000-05:00

Because I love sports, specifically baseball and basketball (I can take or leave the rest), I tend to roll through fifteen or twenty sports blogs a day (sad). Most of these are devoted to Major League Baseball generally, and the Red Sox specifically. There are a couple NBA-centric places I make it a point to read as well. Among these, FreeDarko is by far the cream of the crop. Dwelling as much on popular culture and race relations as crossovers and winning percentage, FreeDarko transcends --- with acuity --- the facile appelation "NBA blog." To wit:

The truth is, baseball just plain lends itself to that simpler, more optimistically charged time than any other pastime. I neither have the time nor the qualifications to rhapsodize about the elegance of the game's aesthetics, but it certainly evokes the contours of pre-Vietnam America-and accommodates the era's near-epic assertions of race, identity, and justice-better than the dizzying action of basketball or the feudal likeness of football's minions. And before you either jump on me for romanticizing the American past or call MLK an adulterer, read up on Jackie Robinson's abundance of antagonistic style and militant politics; beneath the storybook version of things are contradictions that succeed only in bolstering his broad-stroke cred. As in, risk-taking, dissent, and even folly were part of being man enough to ultimately pull off the obvious. Somehow it's gotten lost to history that Rosa Parks was making moves for the Birmingham NAACP before she refused to move to the back, as if that somehow lessens her accomplishment. A streamlined Civil Rights movement might be a borderline racist one, but there's no reason that complexity or process need undermine those emblematic moments. In fact, it's what delivered them.

I would love to write a lengthy post on this topic, but no explication I've attempted has been able to match the eloquence and vigor of the above. Read it in its entirety.

Sometimes, It Causes Me To Tremble

2006-02-14T18:09:00.000-05:00

I remember Boston in the early 90s. I remember both of my parents didn't like to go downtown, though they made trips to the Aquarium and Science Museum for my benefit. Numerous initiatives and programs enacted by City Hall are often credited with making a difference in the pervasive violence of that era, as well they should be. City Hall, however, was not alone in that fight. Community leaders, often church leaders, also took a stand in stemming that tide, sometimes at far greater personal risk than elected officials.

In fact, the success of that religious/community movement was one of the reasons that I decided to enroll in divinity school this fall. I had hoped to participate in a faith-based, community-building program, perhaps even create or lead one. Though I question whether or not I am personally prepared to pursue such an endeavor --- or posses the necessary fortitude for it --- I am certain that religious communities and their leaders must continue, indeed strengthen, their community involvement or outreach, if those communities are to remain vibrant --- in some cases to exist at all.

Thus I found myself inconsolable when I read in this morning's Globe about the the rift between several of those religious leaders.

Boston finds itself in a predicament (to understate the situation) that could return the city to the climate of fear that many residents seemed reconciled to fifteen years ago. Bostonians, especially those in the areas most affected by the violence, need these leaders to put aside their differences and once more work together to achieve the goals they worked so fervently toward in the past. "Clergy wars" are the last thing that we need right now. There are gang wars, class wars, and, yes, race wars being waged on our streets. While the leaders in question may have profound differences between them, those differences are, in the final analysis, petty in comparison to the violence, intimidation and oppression to be found on the streets of Boston --- streets on which the people they profess to lead walk in fear daily.

I do not intend this to be some blanket admonishment of these men. They have performed a great service to their communities and to the city of Boston as a whole. They continue to do great work on their own. This summer, Rev. Wall, at great risk, brought attention to the war zone that was/is Lyndhurst St. Rev. Hammond continues to generate funds for non-profit institutions for the youth, who are presented with stark choices --- or seemingly no choice at all. Rev. Rivers keeps promoting the ten-step program that he initiated thirteen years ago, with the assistance of the previous two pastors. For their actions and dedication, these men, and several dozen other religious leaders of several faiths, ought to be applauded.

But it is past time that they understand that they cannot solve the problems in our communities by themselves. In 1992, Rev.'s Wall, Hammond and Rivers introduced Ten Point Program. Here is how the Globe describes it:

It began, Wall said, when he, Rivers, and Hammond met in the basement of his Hyde Park home in 1992, after gang violence disrupted the funeral of a Boston youth at Morning Star Baptist Church, and gave birth to the Ten Point program.

Rivers had been talking for days about 10 steps black churches could take to improve the situation, steps Rivers had worked out with a young Dorchester drug dealer who subsequently overdosed. But Rivers was not being specific.

''Eugene, you keep talking about these 10 points," the calm, deliberate Hammond finally said. ''Tell them to us, one at a time."

Hammond entered the points on Wall's computer, and the three pastors polished the language, which became an agenda for the Ten Point Coalition.

The centerpiece was collaboration with law enforcement and social services that offered help to troubled and violent youth and promised harsh punishment if they did not change their ways.

That became the central idea of Operation Ceasefire, which was credited locally and nationally with producing a dramatic reduction in youth violence. A principal goal of current efforts to reinvigorate the Boston Ten Point Coalition is to restore that carrot-and-stick approach.

When the approach began to bear fruit in the 1990s, Wall said in his office at Dorchester Temple Baptist Church, in Codman Square, ''all of a sudden people [outside the coalition] were saying, 'Something worked!' and a lot of attention, a lot of money came in. . . . When the money started to come in, when the media began choosing who to highlight, those relationships began to break."

We must return to these days of shared conviction and coalition. Violence --- and the resultant fear of violence in the rest of the community --- is an affliction that cannot be healed by the work of an individual. It takes a coalition of sincere, dedicated and devoted parties to affect change.

Our leaders, elected and called, must recognize the immensity of their challenge and work with one another and the communities they lead and serve. And we, as members of the community must also take up service in the hopes that each of us may be, perhaps in some obscure way, a servant of progress and an obstacle to violence. To do otherwise would be to deny perhaps our faith and surely our humanity.

UPDATE: As usual, I have more. Here are the Ten Points that got the program started.

Welcome News

2006-02-13T11:40:00.000-05:00

While we all dig out our from 18 inches of snow, there is a hint of warmth over the horizon, an omen of spring in the offing. As anyone who knows me is well aware, I loathe winter. This weekend's blizzard, then, was not a welcome visitor, and I am ecstatic that it has left us and the sun has returned. It's much easier to deal with in the city, where there are fewer feet to shovel and fewer miles to cover to retrieve necessities (cigarettes, beer, beef jerky, salmon filets and pad thai). In fact, I rather enjoyed being a shut-in on Sunday, watching the Boston skyline appear and disappear at the whim of the falling snow. This, however, is not about snow or winter, and my reluctant respect for its beauty. It is about the moment every year that transforms me from an ashen-faced, dour misanthrope into a ruddy, boisterous, gadfly.

Noah, after 40 days and 40 nights of casting about the ocean, was elated to spy the dove returning to the ark with an olive branch. The travails were ended, the fear that the situation continue in perpetuity were over. Life as he knew it could begin again. Today is that day for me, and for many, though few are likely to give this simple event such importance in altering their countenance. While it may betray some of my issues, I must admit that I find no greater joy during the depths of winter than this day:

Sometime between 1:30 and 2 p.m. today, the Sox’ equipment truck departs Fenway Park for Fort Myers, for the start of spring training. The 18-wheeler is expected to arrive at City Of Palms Park at midweek, a couple of days before pitchers and catchers report on Saturday.
Position players are due Feb. 22, with the first full-squad workout on Feb. 23. All workouts prior to the start of the Grapefruit League schedule on March 2 will be at the team’s minor-league complex.

Spring. I really needed that.

UPDATE:: This is what happens when you don't post for a while. I forgot to put in the link. It's there now.

Resolution 1

2006-02-10T11:02:00.000-05:00

whereas we're all smart, well-read individuals;
whereas we all love recommending our favorite books to others;
whereas we each have at least fifteen minutes a day to devote to helping others;

therefore be it resolved that we will visit this new website and lend a helping hand...

http://www.debbiesidea.com/

register, add your favorite author, comment on his or her best works, make recommendations to new readers. you'll feel smart... and good about yourself.

It's Friday, again.

2006-02-10T09:08:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is Friday again and since everyone in the American Athens community is too busy (lazy), to post anything real, here's a link to the smallest video game in the world, enjoy.

It's Friday.

2006-02-03T12:54:00.000-05:00

I was going to post the G.W. Bush Superbowl ad that was rejected by ABC, but the site that posted it was told to remove it for legal reasons. So, here's a little weekend entertainment of poorly drawn cartoons inspired by actual spam subject lines entitled: spamusement.

Pre-1776 Mentality

2006-02-02T23:14:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the layoff, if anyone's out there, but I have yet to get reacquainted with doing things other than staring at my computer. Hopefully, I'll have adjusted by Monday. I'll figure it out. Meanwhile, here's a sitting US Senator posting on DailyKos:

I've seen some strange things in my life, but I cannot describe the feeling I had, sitting on the House floor during Tuesday's State of the Union speech, listening to the President assert that his executive power is, basically, absolute, and watching several members of Congress stand up and cheer him on. It was surreal and disrespectful to our system of government and to the oath that as elected officials we have all sworn to uphold. Cheering? Clapping? Applause? All for violating the law?

Russ Feingold ladies and gentlemen, Senator Russ Feingold.

Uniter or Divider

2006-01-31T17:19:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note: CNN just showed the results of a poll that asked the question, "Is President Bush a uniter or a divider?"

Uniter: 41%
Divider: 54%

That is all.

Oscars 2006

2006-01-31T15:20:00.000-05:00

The 2006 Oscar Nominations are out today, and in what has been a yearly event since 1994 when, "Forrest Gump" beat out both "Shawshank Redemption" and "Pulp Fiction;" I have made a list of who will win and who should win the Academy's Oscar in each of the major catagories (because, no one really cares who wins for sound design or documentary short, unless they are in the catagory themselves). So here goes:

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Nominees:
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Munich

Should win: Brokeback Mountain. Believe the hype. It is that good. And no, people won't question your sexuality if you go and see it.
Will win: Brokeback or Munich (You can never count out Speilberg.) I was going to insert a joke here about whether there are more Jewish people or homosexuals in Hollywood, but I will leave that one alone.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees:
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote
Terrence Howard for Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line
David Strathairn for Good Night, and Good Luck.

Should win: Any of the five are well deserving and each gave a wonderful performance in their respective film. The one who's work carried the film on his back however, was Hoffman in "Capote." Unlike the other four films, when we look back on "Capote" in 10 years, the only thing we will remember about it that Philip Seymore Hoffman blew the doors off of it.
Will win: Ledger is too young, Phoenix wasn't good enough, Howard played a rapper/pimp, Stratharin is a dark horse, but in end, I believe it will be Hoffman with the well deserved trophy in his hands, after being snubbed for a nomination as Brandt in "The Big Lebowski."

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Nominees:
Judi Dench for Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman for Transamerica
Keira Knightley for Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron for North Country
Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line

Should Win: Anyone who saw Reese Witherspoon in "Walk The Line" knows that she nailed June Carter better then we could have ever imagined and stole the film from Joaquin Phoenix. She may not be the most seasoned, but her performance was the most dynamic and the singing should put her over the top.
Will Win: I think Witherspoon has this one too. However, we can't cut out a lifetime acheivement award best actress Oscar for Dench, nor the power of a "Desperate Housewife" playing an unattractive woman in Huffman.

Supporting Actor and Actress, Director, Documentary, and Screenplays soon to follow...

Jump Into Some Porn

2006-01-30T18:07:00.000-05:00

This just in from the Associated Press:

RALEIGH, N.C. - Army officials are investigating allegations that members of the celebrated 82nd Airborne Division appear on a gay pornography Web site, a spokeswoman said Friday.
Authorities at Fort Bragg have begun an inquiry into whether the paratroopers' actions violated the military conduct code.
Division spokeswoman Maj. Amy Hannah declined to say how many paratroopers are involved or identify their unit within the division. A defense official speaking on condition of anonymity said up to seven soldiers are involved.
Hannah said soldiers questioned will be allowed to seek legal assistance, but she declined to say if any one had been charged.
"Once the investigation is complete, the chain of command will take appropriate action," Hannah said.
The military-themed Web site does not appear to make any direct reference to the 82nd Airborne or Fort Bragg. The registered owner of the Web site's domain name lists an address in Fayetteville, the city that adjoins Fort Bragg.
E-mails to the registered owner were returned Friday as undeliverable, and the phone number listed on the domain-name registration is no longer in service.
The Web site includes a disclaimer, asking users to agree that they are not agents of the U.S. government, Department of Defense, members of law enforcement or reporters.
Martha Rudd, an Army spokeswoman at the Pentagon, said soldiers accused of homosexual activity might be removed from their units, although she did not have specific information about the investigation of the 82nd. When asked if the soldiers involved had been moved out of barracks, Hannah declined to comment.
"We are concerned about the privacy and rights of each trooper involved and that they are treated with dignity and respect," Hannah said.
Maj. Todd Vician, a Defense Department spokesman in Washington, said the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy states that "homosexual orientation alone is not a bar to service, but homosexual conduct is incompatible with military service."
"We define homosexual conduct as homosexual acts or verbal or nonverbal communication that a member is homosexual," Vician said.
The 82nd Airborne is one of the most celebrated units in the military. Its 15,000 troops are trained to deploy anywhere in the world within 18 hours.
Soldiers from the division have served extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan, and several thousand troops remain overseas.

I don't want to get into the military's don't ask/don't tell policy and its ridiculousness. I just want to imagine for a second, what it would be like if we lived in a world were these same "investigators" were sent into GITMO and Iraq to look into the prisoner abuse scandals, or focused the same attention on hazing at the Citadel and the sexual assault and sexual discrimination claims at the Air Force Academy. Nah...Gay porn is way more of a factor in their ability to make the world safe for "freedom."

Another Monday Morning Speech

2006-01-30T11:29:00.000-05:00

Today marks another famous person's birthday, another giant of American history, a man (again) who altered the history of the nation and the world. Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office as the country was mired in the despair and suffering of the Great Depression, which at the time had no end in sight. He changed the very nature of the federal government during his lengthy stay in office. War was on the horizon, with an unmistakable enemy to all humanity and civilization gathering power. At his death, that war was all but over. This morning's speech was delivered by FDR in September of 1932 to the Commwealth Club, before his election to the Presidency.

I want to speak not of politics but of government. I want to speak not of parties, but of universal principles. They are not political, except in that larger sense in which a great American once expressed a definition of politics, that nothing in all of human life is foreign to the science of politics
...
A glance at the situation today only too clearly indicates that equality of opportunity as we have know it no longer exists. Our industrial plant is built; the problem just now is whether under existing conditions it is not overbuilt. Our last frontier has long since been reached, and there is practically no more free land. More than half of our people do not live on the farms or on lands and cannot derive a living by cultivating their own property. There is no safety valve in the from of a Western prairie to which those thrown out of work by the Eastern economic machines can go for a new start. We are not able to invite the immigration from Europe to share our endless plenty. We are now providing a drab living for our own people.
Our system of constantly rising tariffs has at last reacted against us to the point of closing our Canadian frontier on the north, our European markets on the east, many of our Latin American markets to the south, and a goodly proportion of our Pacific markets on the west, through the retaliatory tariffs of those countries. It has forced many of our great industrial institutions who exported their surplus production to such countries, to establish plants in such countries within the tariff walls. This has resulted in the reduction of the operation of their American plants, and opportunity for employment.
...
Recently a careful study was made of the concentration of business in the United States. It showed that our economic life was dominated by some six hundred odd corporations who controlled two-thirds of American industry. Ten million small business men divided the other third. More striking still, it appeared that if the process of concentration goes on at the same rate, at the end of another century we shall have all American industry controlled by a dozen corporations, and run by perhaps a hundred men. Put plainly, we are steering a steady course toward economic oligarchy, if we are not there already.
Clearly, all this calls for a re-appraisal of values. A mere builder of more industrial plants, a creator of more railroad systems, and organizer of more corporations, is as likely to be a danger as a help. The day of the great promoter or the financial Titan, to whom we granted anything if only he would build, or develop, is over. Our task now is not discovery or exploitation of natural resources, or necessarily producing more goods. It is the soberer, less dramatic business of administering resources and plants already in hand, of seeking to reestablish foreign markets for our surplus production, of meeting the problem of under consumption, of adjusting production to consumption, of distributing wealth and products more equitably, of adapting existing economic organizations to the service of the people. The day of enlightened administration has come.
...
Faith in America, faith in our tradition of personal responsibility, faith in our institutions, faith in ourselves demands that we recognize the new terms of the old social contract. We shall fulfill them, as we fulfilled the obligation of the apparent Utopia which Jefferson imagined for us in 1776, and which Jefferson, Roosevelt and Wilson sought to bring to realization. We must do so, lest a rising tide of misery engendered by our common failure, engulf us all. But failure is not an American habit; and in the strength of great hope we must all shoulder our common load.

Day of Remembrance

2006-01-28T11:22:00.000-05:00

Every five year old harbors some desire to be an astronaut, to travel in space. My desire bordered on obsession. Being buckled into my seatbelt was preparation for blast-off. My bedroom became the shuttle. We pretended to walk on the moon every afternoon during recess. I likely knew more about the Apollo and Gemini missions at five than I do now. Neil Armstrong was my hero.

So it was with rapt attention that I stared at the television that had been wheeled into my classroom twenty years ago this morning. Every child and every teacher knew the names of the astronauts, but we were there to cheer on one above all the others, Christa McAuliffe. She was a teacher, just an ordinary teacher, about to be thrust into space. She was born in Framingham, not far from where we sat. She taught in New Hampshire. A real, regular person, who looked and sounded like our mothers, would be going into space, the first civilian to do so. We sat and watched, wishing that she were our teacher and that we were going with her.

That day turned out not to be the celebration that had been anticipated, but a day of national mourning. 73 seconds after lift-off, the shuttle disintegrated and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. All the crew members died. I don't remember much about the rest of that day. Lunch was rather quiet and there wasn't much playing during recess.

My mother has the Time with a photograph of the disaster on its cover. It's still hard to look at. Most events like this, no matter how tragic, seem less so as time passes. The Challenger disaster, however, hits me in the same way now as it did that morning. I go back to being a five year old, unable to understand for a moment why the shuttle disappeared in that cloud of smoke, before the inevitable realization of what I had just watched.

"We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."

Forgive the sappiness.

Ridiculous

2006-01-27T21:52:00.000-05:00

Just when you thought that the Bush Administration, particularly the activities of its tentacles in the NSA and DoD, could get no worse and counter to democratic principles, this happens:

U.S. forces in Iraq, in two instances described in military documents, took custody of the wives of men believed to be insurgents in an apparent attempt to pressure the suspects into giving themselves up.
Both incidents occurred in 2004. In one, members of a shadowy military task force seized a mother who had three young children, still nursing the youngest, "in order to leverage" her husband's surrender, according to an account by a civilian Defense Intelligence Agency intelligence officer.
[...]
In the other case, a U.S. lieutenant colonel e-mailed, "What are you guys doing to try to get the husband — have you tacked a note on the door and challenged him to come get his wife? … or something more sophisticated, I suspect, from the 'not necessarily the cool guys, but the guys with the cool stuff?"'

I don't know how much more international shame they can heap on our country before we break. (via Andrew Sullivan)

Unlucky

2006-01-27T19:37:00.000-05:00

Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a single game of basketball earlier this week. Only one person had ever scored more in a single game, Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 100 points 44 years ago. Chamberlain's game took place in a small arena in Hershey, PA; Bryant's in Los Angeles. You might think to yourself, what are the odds that someone went to both games? Probably pretty small. But more likely than this story:

Stern, a vice chairman of a Los Angeles asset management firm, was an 18-year-old sophomore at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., in 1962 when he bought two tickets to see the then-Philadelphia Warriors play the New York Knicks in nearby Hershey. But when one of his professors scheduled a test for the next day, Stern gave the tickets away -- and thus failed to see Wilt Chamberlain score 100 points.

Now Stern is a Lakers season ticket-holder, meaning he had tickets to see Sunday's game against the Raptors. But Stern opted to attend a birthday party instead -- and thus failed to see Kobe's 81-point outburst.

"Two historic games, 44 years and 3,000 miles apart with one common thread -- stupid me," Stern told the Los Angeles Times.

I'm buying that guy tickets to Josh Beckett's first start and then telling him not to come. I predict a perfect game and 23 Ks.