Blog for Boston

Fight the Foley Five

2006-10-02T01:18:00.000-05:00

As we all know by now, Mark Foley (FL-16) was known by the GOP to be a sexual predator since at least 2001.

At least four other Republicans have been involved in covering up his predation: Denny Hastert, John Boehner, Tom Reynolds, and John Shimkus.

Wondering what you can do about it? Let's replace the whole lot.

http://www.actblue.com/page/foleyfive/

House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children Chair Mark Foley, Republican, (FL-16) was known by the GOP to be a sexual predator since at least 2001.

Tim Mahoney, Democrat, is a rancher, family man, entrepeneur, and former Republican with ending Abramoff-style corruption as his number one issue.

Fight the Foley Five and support Tim Mahoney.

NRCC Chair Tom Reynolds, Republican, (NY-26) told Speaker of the House Denny Hastert about Foley's behavior--and then accepted $100,000 in hush money from Foley. Reynolds' current chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, had been Foley's campaign manager and chief of staff--and has been advising Foley since the scandal broke.

Jack Davis, Democrat, is an engineer and small-business owner and was in both the Marine Reserves and Coast Guard. He wants to restore American jobs and correct the horrible mistake of the Iraq war.

Fight the Foley Five and support Jack Davis.

House Majority Leader John Boehner, Republican, (OH-8) admitted to learning earlier this year of Foley's predatory behavior, and admitted telling Denny Hastert but nothing else--but then retracted his story, claiming now he "doesn't remember" whether he told Hastert or not.

Mort Meier, Democrat, is a Korean War veteran and former Republican disgusted with the corruption of John Boehner who wants to restore economic growth and environmental protection to Ohio.

Fight the Foley Five and support Mort Meier.

Speaker of the House Denny Hastert, Republican, (IL-14) knew about Foley's predatory behavior for at least a year and did nothing--and is even now stonewalling any investigation.

Fight the Foley Five and support John Laesch.

Chairman of the House Page Board John Shimkus, Republican, (IL-19) met with Foley in 2005, knew about Foley's predatory behavior, and never told the sole Democratic member of the Page Board about Foley. Shimkus spoke approvingly in public about Foley's interest in the pages and let him take one of them alone to dinner.

Danny Stover, Democrat, is a professor and city councilman who has fought for fiscal discipline and progressive values--the exact opposite of his opponent.

Fight the Foley Five and support Danny Stover.

http://www.actblue.com/page/foleyfive/

DFA Boston Volunteer Days

2006-09-08T12:54:00.000-05:00

On Sept 5th, the DFA Boston Group announced they were designating this weekend (Sept 9th & 10) as DFA Boston Volunteer Days. We have asked all of our members to volunteer a few hours either Sat, Sun, or both to helping one of our endorsed candidates.

Here is the contact info for each campaign:

Phil Dunkelbarger
125 Sunrise Rd
Westwood MA 02090

Ph: 857-891-Dunk
Email: dunkelbargerdemocrat@comcast.net

Sonia Chang-Diaz

37 Roxbury St.
Roxbury MA 02119

Ph. (617) 848-0875
Email: soniachangdiaz@gmail.com

John Bonifaz

7 Harris Ave
Jamaica Plain MA 02130

Ph. (617) 524-5151
Email: info@johnbonifaz.com

Andrea Silbert

67 Coddington St
Quincy MA 02169

Ph. (617) 479-2006
Email: info@AndreaSilbert.com

Claire Naughton

8 Pleasant St
Mansfield MA 02048

Ph. (508) 399-9800
Email: campaign@clairenaughton.com

Deval Patrick

56 Roland St Ste 100D
Boston MA 02196
Ph. (617) 367-2006

632 Warren St
Dorchester MA 02121
PH. (617) 427-9800

Email: info@devalpatrick.com

DFA Boston Endorsements

2006-09-08T12:31:00.000-05:00

On Sept 5th, The DFA Boston Group announced the following endorsements:

Lt. Governor - Andrea Silbert
Congress (9th District) - Phil Dunkelbarger
State Sentate (2nd Suffolk) - Sonia Chang-Diaz
State Rep (1st Bristol) - Claire Naughton

Here is the breakdown of the results:

Lt. Gov:

Andrea Silbert - 77.8%
Tim Murray - 22-2%
Deb Goldberg - 0%
None - 0%

Congress:

Phil Dunkelbarger - 100%
Steve Lynch - 0%
None - 0%

State Senate:

Sonia Chang-Diaz - 90%
Dianne Wilkerson - 0%
None - 10%

State Rep:

Claire Naughton - 100%
None - 0%

To earn DFA Boston's endorsement, a candidate must receive at least 75% of the vote.

Earlier this year, DFA Boston endorsed Deval Patrick for Governor and John Bonifaz for Secretary of State.

DFA Boston Hosting Free Movie Screening

2006-09-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

The DFA Boston Group will be hosting a free screening of The Big Buy: Tom Delay’s Stolen Congress on Wed, Sept 6th at 6:30 pm at The United South End Settlements: Harriet Tubman House on 566 Columbus Ave. Refreshments will be provided. For more info contact Jennifer McGoldrick at (617) 327-0275.

To join DFA Boston, go to http://www.dfalink.com/boston.

BlueMassGroup endorses Deval

2006-08-15T19:31:00.000-05:00

Following DFA's lead, the leading liberal blog of Massachusetts, BlueMassGroup, endorses Deval Patrick for governor:

Was it just a bunch of platitudes, however inspiring; or could he jump into policy, take some bold stands, and get into the nitty gritty? Patrick answered that starting last fall (months before any other candidate), by making a slew of specific, well-researched and well-argued policy positions:
He endorsed Cape Wind, going against the most powerful politicians in the state: Ted Kennedy, Mitt Romney, and Tom Reilly. It was and is the right decision.
He came out in support of the health care ballot initiative that became the basis of the more ambitious House proposal, which eventually became the core of the new health care law -- the grandstanding of Governor Romney notwithstanding.
He expressed unequivocal support for marriage -- including same-sex unions -- drawing on his exerience enforcing civil rights.
He made a constructive proposal on merit pay in schools and skillfully navigated tricky political waters to do it.
He proposed $735 million of possible savings in the state budget. He drew on his Fortune 50 corporate experience to suggest better enforcement of rules, leveraging the state's buying power, and controlling earmarks, among other improvements.
He has endorsed an independent investigation for the Big Dig.

In addition to being long on substance, Patrick is an electrifying speaker....

Money or People?

2006-08-15T19:27:00.000-05:00

From the Boston Globe:

Patrick has held the lead in most public polls since winning the Democratic Convention endorsement in early June. His two primary election opponents -- Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly and Christopher Gabrieli, a wealthy businessman -- have spent almost $4 million over the past four weeks in hope of improving their standings. Strategists familiar with polls in all the campaigns say the inroads by Reilly and Gabrieli have been slight.

...

The Democratic campaigns have not aired negative ads , though there are signs the campaign could get nasty. Over the weekend, the Globe published an internal Reilly campaign e-mail exchange that outlined how the attorney general's political aides were planning to promote the effort by a New York-based labor organizer, Ray Rogers, to discredit Patrick for his role as Coca-Cola's general counsel.
Patrick faces a tough battle to compete with Reilly and Gabrieli. Reilly, having spent close to $2 million since late July, has about $3 million left in his advertising budget, aides say. Gabrieli, a multimillionaire who has already used $5.4 million of his own money over the last four months to promote his candidacy, is spending close to $600,000 a week.

At this point, Gabrieli's ability to tap his personal fortune to pay for his campaign is considered the most important variable in the Democratic race, strategists said privately.
The Patrick campaign's antidote to the financial gap lies with its grass-roots effort. Taking a page from Howard Dean, Patrick spent money on a grass-roots organization, using the internet to link up supporters. The campaign says it has raised $1 million online since last fall, a quarter of its total fund-raising. It has just hired 12 new field coordinators for the last five weeks of the campaign.

What can we do to bring young people into politics?

2006-08-07T16:25:00.000-05:00

What kinds of strategies and technologies will help us recruit new grassroots leaders?

Join Boston Drinking Liberally and activists from local Democracy for America chapters as we chat with Scott Goldstein, author of the exciting new book, "The Tea is in the Harbor". Scott will discuss his experiences working with Generation DFA, and his strategy for reaching out to young liberals and bringing them in to the political process. This will be a great chance to meet liberal dinkers and DFA activists from around the Boston area!Copies of the book will be available at Middlesex if you'd like to buy one.

See www.scottforamerica.com... for more information.

WHERE: Middlesex Lounge, 315 Mass Ave, Cambridge, Massachusetts

WHEN: Aug. 8, 7:00 - 8:30 pm

RSVP: upcoming.org/event/95348...

Take Action for Boston's Kids Tomorrow

2006-06-27T09:13:00.000-05:00

An Important Message From City Councilor Sam Yoon

This Wednesday, June 28, I will be casting the most important vote during my tenure so far on the Boston City Council. I will be voting NO on the city's operating budget.

The reason is that it does not provide nearly enough funds to reverse the epidemic of violence and hopelessness that is plaguing certain neighborhoods in our city, and especially its young people.

Since my election late last year, beginning with a quadruple murder in my own neighborhood in Dorchester, until just last week, when a prominent minister-activist and friend of mine decided to move out of Roxbury to protect his children, I have heard and seen everything I need to hear and see.

I have followed the media reports, walked in marches, participated in rallies; I have done the research, read the studies, talked with the police, worked with youth workers, and met with the families of murder victims. I have appraised the problem from the macro to the micro level, and I am convinced that we need to take real action, and we need to do it now.

We need a bold response that focuses like a laser beam on young people. This is both sound public policy and common sense, because so much of the violence in our city begins and ends with troubled youth.

Furthermore, we need to buffer their friends, families, and social networks from what the Boston Globe has called “toxic stress.” From their June 19 editorial: “In metaphorical terms, entire neighborhoods are starting to suffer from toxic stress. And if the authorities can't check the violence and restore peace to the neighborhoods, then the likely response to the stress will be harmful to Boston. Fight or flight.”

I have outlined a fiscally responsible plan for increasing the city's funding for summer jobs and for youth violence prevention. It is eminently affordable, and yet it will greatly multiply our current under funded efforts in these areas.

If the City Council has any power at all, it has the power to steer the budget toward the city's most pressing priorities. If the City Council chooses not to exercise this power during this time of unprecedented risk to young people and to hard-hit communities, then shame on us.

Please join me in calling upon the Boston City Council to block approval of the Mayor's budget until it reflects a response that is commensurate with the problem at hand.

Specifically, I invite you to attend the City Council meeting on Wednesday (June 28, 11:30, 5th floor of City Hall). Your presence in the gallery will provide a measure of accountability that will help to sway some of my colleagues.

If you are so moved, I would also invite you to call all of our city councilors beforehand and express your views to their staff. This is not just a Roxbury-Dorchester-Mattapan problem. It is a City of Boston problem.

Since taking office, I made a promise that every public action I take would be fully transparent. Nothing of any importance that I do on your behalf should be done privately or behind closed doors. I am a public servant, and I serve you, so I felt it was my responsibility to communicate my thoughts on this matter, and to explain my actions fully.

Don't ever hesitate to tell me how I'm doing, whether you agree or disagree. It makes me better at what I do. But as always, I thank you for your continued support and for listening.

1. What does a NO vote mean?
It simply means that the City Council is requesting additional time to negotiate with the Mayor’s administration around funding for youth. The City Council will meet again on July 12. As of July 1, the city’s operating budget will temporarily use FY06 funding levels until the FY07 budget is approved by the council.

2. How much additional funding is being requested?
An additional $1.2 million for youth summer jobs (which will restore recent drastic cuts to this program), and an additional $3.9 million for violence prevention, in the form of increased city personnel (both Streetworkers and youth workers), as well as contract employees or the creation of grant programs to fulfill short-term needs for youth services and violence prevention. This funding program would be designed with community-based organizations.

This $4.1 million represents a 0.19% increase over the Mayor’s proposed operating budget.

3. How do I contact my city councilor?

Councilor Sal Lamattina
617-635-3200
salvatore.lamattina@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Jimmy Kelly
617-635-3203
james.kelly@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Maureen Feeney
617-635-3455
maureen.feeney@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Charles Yancey
617-635-3131
charles.yancey@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Rob Consalvo
617-635-4210
rob.consalvo@cityofboston.gov

Councilor John Tobin
617-635-4220
john.tobin@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Chuck Turner
617-635-3510
chuck.turner@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Michael Ross
617-635-4225
michael.ross@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Jerry McDermott
617-635-3113
jerry.mcdermott@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Felix Arroyo
617-635-3115
felix.arroyo@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Michael Flaherty
617-635-4205
michael.f.flaherty@cityofboston.gov

Councilor Stephen Murphy
617-635-4376
stephen.murphy@cityofboston.gov

Sam Yoon Needs Your Help

2006-06-23T12:53:00.000-05:00

Next Wednesday, at 11:30 am, The Boston City Council will be in session to vote on the budget. Councilor Sam Yoon, as well as, Councilors Arroyo, Turner, Yancey are prepared to vote against the budget unless it includes significant increases in appropriations for violence prevention and youth job opportunities.

They would really like to fill the chamber with activists to hold the Council accountable. The 4 councilors hope to be able to force a 6-6 vote, which would bring the issue to the Mayor, who is not necessarily in favor of this happening. Councilor Yoon and the others, feel the increased funding is fiscally responsible but provides much needed support to the city's youth, who are suffering from the increased violence.

At our January Meeting, Andrew McLeod on behalf of the DFA Boston Group, asked Sam to let us know when he needed our support. Well Sam remembered and is asking for our help. Here is a good opportunity to get involved and make a difference in city affairs.

Sam will be sending out some talking points on the issue soon, we will post them as soon as we receive them.

One Candidate Standing

2006-06-22T10:15:00.000-05:00

From the State House News Service:

"Breakfast with the Candidates" for governor became breakfast with a single candidate as Deval Patrick, the Democratic nominee, turned out to be the only one who showed up. Venture capitalist Chris Gabrieli, a Democrat, and independent candidate Christy Mihos cancelled, said Mark Mason, president-elect of the Massachusetts Bar Association, which sponsored the morning debate with Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly at Suffolk University Law School. Attorney General Thomas Reilly, also a Democratic candidate, and Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, the Republican nominee, chose not to attend, he said.

"One candidate standing is exactly, if we play our cards right, what we want this to look like after the election," Patrick, a former Clinton Justice Department official, quipped.

Again, Patrick is the only person to show up. And he'll keep doing that.

Blogoliterary Riches!

2006-06-20T12:51:00.000-05:00

At 6 PM, Glenn Greenwald of Unclaimed Territory will be discussing his amazing new book, "How Would a Patriot Act?"
at the Middlesex, 315 Massachusetts Ave., sponsored by Cambridge Drinking Liberally. RSVP now.

Greenwald's book is a fascinating description of the way George Bush and his conservative cronies are abusing the Constitution, and what we can do about it. With 50,000 sales on the first day, "How Would a Patriot Act?" became a bestseller instantly. It's a welcome antidote to the steady diet of right-wing propaganda that conservative media has been peddling for years.

At 7 PM, Move On is hosting David Sirota, "Hostile Takeover: How Big Money & Corruption Conquered Our Government - And How We Take It Back" and a featured commentator on the Al Franken show, at Porter Square Books.

RSVP: now.

Sirota's book is the first and only book in the aftermath of recent major scandals that aggressively tackles corruption -- and both parties' complicity in it. As former Vice President Al Gore said of "Hostile Takeover": "Every politically engaged citizen should read this book."

Both of these guys are great people and amazingly knowledgable and inspiring. I heartily recommend coming on out to see either of them.

Where I'm Going to be Tomorrow

2006-06-14T17:23:00.001-05:00

Jimmy Tingle's, for the Laughing Liberally tour.

These are some funny, funny people.

Funny looking? You decide:

Katie Halper

Baratunde

A week in politics II: The Yearly Kos Convention

2006-06-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday I went down to Logan to go to Yearly Kos, a convention organized for the first time by participants at Daily Kos, the 800-pound gorilla of the progressive blogosphere (the "progosphere")? I could give you my thoughts, but instead, here are my pictures and a few recommended thoughts of others:

Overall thoughts:
Kid Oakland
Mary (Left Coaster)
Steve Soto
sobermom
Gina Cooper
Shasta Dad
Stephen DarkSyde
Ari Melber
Jeffrey Feldman (Frameshop)

Panels:
The Plame panel
Energize America
Michael Schiavo

Traditional Journalism:
Media roundup at Pacific Views

A week in politics I: The Democratic State Convention

2006-06-14T15:17:00.000-05:00

The first weekend of June featured the Democratic State Convention, in which our man Deval Patrick gave not one but two remarkable and inspiring speeches to rousing support and firmly sealed the party's nomination on the first ballot. Through Sal DiMasi's careful backroom work, Chris Gabrieli got his name on the ballot by 17 votes, and Tom Reilly kept running his stealth campaign.

The Second Suffolk, my district, was graced by our senator, Dianne Wilkerson, and her Democratic opponent, Sonia Chang-Diaz, who stepped in when Wilkerson failed to get on the ballot. The scene was well-described by the Boston Globe:

If delegates from the Second Suffolk Senate district felt a little squeezed last weekend at the Democratic State Convention, it wasn't just because the chairs were packed so tightly on the floor of the DCU Center in Worcester. It was also because the delegation included both the district's reigning state senator and a hard-charging young challenger looking to unseat her.

Dianne Wilkerson arrived in office 14 years ago pegged as a rising star with limitless potential. But the Roxbury lawmaker has made headlines just as often for her legal lapses and self-inflicted wounds that have foreclosed bids for higher office.

....

Talk to others across the district, and it's clear there is a degree of Wilkerson fatigue in the land that may only be growing. Brad Johnson , a South End convention delegate and organizer of the local chapter of Democracy for America, a grass-roots group formed out of the Howard Dean presidential campaign, expressed amazement at the string of miscues that have dogged the 53-year-old lawmaker. ``Any one thing isn't that much," said Johnson. ``But at some point all the little things add up, and Senator Wilkerson fits that mold."

That tally includes a 1997 sentence of six months' house arrest and a $2,000 fine that Wilkerson paid after pleading guilty to federal income tax charges. In 1998, Wilkerson paid $11,500 in civil penalties to settle a case involving allegations of irregularities in her campaign finance account. In 2000, she faced foreclosure proceedings for failing to pay her mortgage, but was able to halt the move without losing her condo.

And she is currently facing a civil lawsuit filed last fall by Attorney General Thomas Reilly involving new allegations of improprieties in her handling of campaign contributions and expenses.

Tim Murray and Andrea Silbert impressed in the lieutenant governors' race, while John Bonifaz made a very strong showing of 30% despite running a bare-bones campaign.

Of course, now the real work of campaign begins as we head toward the September primary.

Obamarama leads to Patrick Party!

2006-06-02T09:36:00.000-05:00

Last night I went to the Barack Obama rally for Deval Patrick. It was great seeing so many active political folk I knew from the Kerry campaign, the Democratic National Convention, Mass for Dean, CPPAX, my ward committee, DFA Boston, PDA-MA, the city council campaigns, and more--as well as being with thousands of people I'd never met before, inspired by the shared political vision and message of hope and change that Obama and Patrick share.

Sen. Obama compellingly told the story of how Deval helped provide crucial backing when he himself was just beginning his Senate campaign -- support that came both in the form of the three things every campaign is built upon: confidence in the candidate, time, and money. And now Obama, with his truly dazzling rhetorical prowess, was here to do the same.

Patrick delivered a compelling speech that stridently challenged Massachusetts insider politics and set the goal of reclaiming the mantle for Massachusetts as the leader in education, health care, and biotechnology. He decried the poor funding of our public educational system from elementary through higher education, noting that it is the students of the public universities who stay in Massachusetts. He touched upon CORI reform, enforcement of labor and wage laws, property tax reform, and a host of other policy issues that are related by his insistence on long-term responsibility as opposed to political expediency. He concluded with the message that it is our hope that his campaign needs and his governorship will need -- trust that we can defend our ideals and solve our problems. We have created the problems that we face, and we can create the solutions.

On my way out I saw Steve Grossman and Cam Kerry coming in for the Victory 06 fundraiser. Hosting a big-dollar fundraiser for the Democratic State Committee's coordinated campaign is one of the most brilliant moves the Deval Patrick campaign made in organizing this rally; good politics for all the right reasons.

Here's the Boston Globe's take.

Watch Sen. Obama's speech here.

And now it's off to Worcester this afternoon....

Upcoming Events

2006-05-22T12:28:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let people know about some upcoming events.

1. "Democrats of the 2nd Suffolk" Lt. Gov Forum
Mon, May 22nd, 6-8pm
Suffolk Univ Law School
150 Tremont St, Boston

Please join the 4 candidates for Lt. Gov at a forum sponsored by the Democrats of the 2nd Suffolk. The event will begin with a Meet & Greet from 6-6:30. Followed by a moderated discussion focusing on 3 topics chosen by area ward committees. For more info, contact Howard Leibowitz at (617) 263-3355 or at howardfordsc@aol.com.

2. Book Discussion on "Crashing the Gate"
Tues, May 23rd, 7pm
Middlesex Lounge,
315 Mass Ave, Cambridge

kos (from DailyKos) and Jerome Armstrong (from MyDD) have spent the last six years in the trenches, fighting the Bush Regime tooth and nail since they stole the election in 2000. Now kos and Jerome have written a book, "Crashing the Gate", about what the liberal movement needs to do to beat these clowns and start restoring some common sense in our government.

Join us for a great conversation with these two amazing bloggers!

Co-sponsored bt DFA Cambridge, DFA Boston, Boston Drinking Liberally, and Blue Mass Group. For more info visit www.crashingthegate.com....

3. Barak Obama Rally with Deval Patrick
Thurs, June 1st, 6pm
Hynes Convention Center, Boston

Sen Obama is coming to host at rally/fundraiser for Deval, one day before the state convention. Tickets are $50 for the Rally and $500 for the VIP reception. For more info, contact Lonsdale Koester at (617) 367-2006 x41 or at lkoester@devalpatrick.com.

4. Massachusetts Democratic State Convention
June 2nd & 3rd
DCU Center, Worcester

Endorsements for US Senate, Governor, Lt Gov, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Auditor, and Treasurer will be voted on.

There will be a table at the convention, co-sponsored by DFA Boston, DFA Cambridge, CPPAX, Progressive Democrats of Cambridge, Progressive Democrats of America-Eastern Mass Chapter, and the Committee to Elect Jesse Gordon.

If you would like to volunteer to help man the table during the convention, please contact me at jmcgoldrick@mfs.com.

For those volunteers that are not delegates or alternates, you will need to contact the State Commmittee to find out about the creditionals needed to get into the DCU Center.

The Menendez Gas Tax Amendment: Bad Idea

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

The DSCC is idiotically pushing the Menendez gas tax amendment to suspend the federal gas tax for 60 days at a cost of $6 billion, which I believe outstrips our entire alternative energy and climate change research budget by billions of dollars. (On the plus side, it would be paid for by eliminating $6 billion in tax breaks for oil companies).

Considering that supplies of gasoline are limited by supply, not demand, basic economics tells us that any cut in prices due to a gas tax reduction will be balanced by an increase in the base price, thus saving consumers considerably less, and offering oil companies even more ungodly massive profits. Also, since the tax cut would be paid for by taxes on oil companies, they would raise gas prices to preserve profit margins (shareholders first!).

The DSCC is selling this as "tax relief". Where have we heard that before? That's right: George W. Bush.

As George Lakoff said:

The phrase "Tax relief" began coming out of the White House starting on the very day of Bush's inauguration. It got picked up by the newspapers as if it were a neutral term, which it is not. First, you have the frame for "relief." For there to be relief, there has to be an affliction, an afflicted party, somebody who administers the relief, and an act in which you are relieved of the affliction. The reliever is the hero, and anybody who tries to stop them is the bad guy intent on keeping the affliction going. So, add "tax" to "relief" and you get a metaphor that taxation is an affliction, and anybody against relieving this affliction is a villain.

"Tax relief" has even been picked up by the Democrats. I was asked by the Democratic Caucus in their tax meetings to talk to them, and I told them about the problems of using tax relief. The candidates were on the road. Soon after, Joe Lieberman still used the phrase tax relief in a press conference. You see the Democrats shooting themselves in the foot.

What could that $6 billion be spent on instead?

The Weatherization Assistance Program, which enables low and limited income residents to weatherize their homes, pays for itself by reducing winter heating bills by an average of 31 percent, or $274 per year. Its present funding is $322 million -- Bush's 2007 budget slashes it to $235 million, which would push 28,650 families out of the program.

Less than $250 million is now being spent on solar power, wind and biomass research combined.

The Federal Energy Management Program is funded at about $17 million a year and saves about a $1 billion a year! The 2007 Bush budget cuts the FEMP by $2 million.

The Climate Change Science Program gets about $1.9 billion in funding; the Bush budget for 2007 cuts $200 million.

(Care of the Union of Concerned Scientists.)

If you want to see what a serious, responsible, and helpful energy policy would look like -- check out Energize America or go to Yearly Kos's energy panel.

Adulatory WaPo article on BPS

2006-05-09T12:15:00.000-05:00

Payzant is given a glowing review for his ten years of service in the Washington Post article "Boston's Success Could Be Lesson for D.C. Schools.

A good article, but it does fail to touch on any of the serious problems in BPS, like its truly troubling return to heavy segregation.

Wilkerson's Follies

2006-05-09T12:07:00.000-05:00

It appears that Sen. Diane Wilkerson failed to submit enough valid signatures to get on the ballot for re-election, forcing her to rely on a sticker campaign.

At last week's Ward 4 Democratic Committee meeting, a number of members indicated their frustration with the senator, whose office is notoriously bad at returning calls and responding to constituent or legislative queries.

The most interesting part of the Globe's story:

Opposing Wilkerson is Republican newcomer Samiyah Diaz, a 28-year-old law student from Roxbury who filed enough signatures to have her name appear on the September GOP primary ballot. But now she may run as both a Republican and a write-in Democratic candidate.

''This means the Democratic primary is blown wide open: Anyone can run as a Democrat," said Daniel Winslow, a former judge and onetime governor's legal counsel who is advising Diaz.

DFA for Deval Patrick!

2006-04-06T23:22:00.000-05:00

Democracy for America has just added Deval Patrick to the DFA-List! Read Jim Dean's endorsement and contribute today to let the Patrick campaign know what it means to get the DFA stamp of approval.

Censure, Impeachment, Fun....

2006-04-06T08:52:00.000-05:00

Last night's meeting was great, featuring John Bonifaz. Before he led a remakrable discussion on the president's trampling of the Consistution, we heard from Stephanie Noguera, who had been Howard Dean's organizer in Salem, NH, and is now one of the DNC hires for the Mass Dem Party working on Victory '06, the coordinated campaign effort to elect a Democratic governor after the primary -- now is when they're looking to find precinct captains. It's pretty exciting seeing this kind of crucial pre-planning done now. Sign up now....

Bonifaz was great -- we learned a lot about his remarkable lawsuit against the president's unconstitutional invasion of Iraq and about some of his other work. It was a wonderfully engaging night and I left both informed and motivated to keep fighting. It's always inspirational to see those who are willing to put themselves on the line as candidates for public office.

High Crimes and Misdemeanors

2006-03-31T02:52:00.000-05:00

I'm really looking forward to our April meeting. We've got John Bonifaz coming to lead an open discussion about what Bush has done and what the response of the American people can be: from investigations to censure to impeachment.

I have to admit, I asked Mr. Bonifaz to speak because he's a candidate for Secretary of State and I knew he had opposed the Bush campaign hijinks and treachery in Ohio -- but I didn't know that he was the author of Warrior-King: The Case for Impeaching George Bush and the lawyer leading the constitutional fight against Bush's invasion of Iraq without a war declaration. So this will be pretty exciting.

City Council Smackdown

2006-03-30T08:45:00.000-05:00

In a story that deserved much more coverage, the Boston City Council's practice of closed meetings was found to be in gross violation of the open-meetings law. Kevin McCrea, Shirley Kressel, and Kathleen Devine brought the lawsuit that resulted in the City Council being fined $11,000. A rare victory for common sense. Council President Michael Flaherty, of course, showed no contrition or shame.

As McCrea wrote in his DFA Boston City Council candidate questionnaire last year:

I am a party to a lawsuit alleging that the city council has engaged in a number of meetings that violate the Open Meeting Law. People from around the city have e-mailed, called or talked to me about it. I believe that any meeting which all city councilors are invited to should be open to the public; the District Attorney confirmed that in a letter to Council President Michael Flaherty. Councilors Arroyo, Hennigan, Yancey and Turner currently boycott these meetings which they believe are in violation of the law. This means that 4 of the 13 councilors are being disenfranchised. Certainly, the Open Meeting Law was never meant to keep elected officials from being informed about government business. I would like to see you ask the candidates if they would abide by the Open Meeting Law, and if all councilors are invited to a meeting, that the meeting should be open to the public.

From the Globe:

In a scathing 20-page ruling, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Nancy Staffier Holtz said the City Council had intentionally violated the law, which is designed to let the public view and participate in governmental decision-making. She said the council also had concocted flimsy excuses for the violations.
''Despite clear case law mandating that the public be provided access to all meetings, with limited statutorily defined exceptions not applicable here, the council has responded to the plaintiffs' complaint with little more than a foot-dragging refusal to comply with its legal obligations," the judge wrote.
''The actions of the council were not the result of mistaken reliance on one of the statutory exceptions or inadvertence," she went on. ''Rather, the meetings were conducted in a manner which was calculated to thwart the presumptive rights of the public, and . . . this practice has been and no doubt remains ongoing."

Censure Bush

2006-03-15T00:03:00.000-05:00

"Congress must censure President Bush for breaking the law to wiretap American citizens without a warrant."

News roundup

2006-02-28T22:50:00.000-05:00

Groundbreaking begins for biolab.

Deval on the pulpit.

First gubernatorial debate on Wednesday; also, Healey channels Mitt and pretends to be a moderate.

Don Young (R-AK) tries to kill the Cape wind farm project.

And from a little while ago,

Mass Dems rule that "elected" means "not elected".