God's Highway

This is just too rich.

According to Pat Robertson, God is using superhighway I-35 that runs from Canada to Mexico through the midwest to purify America from sin. He says "I-35 is the highway spoken of in Isaiah 35:8 - "And a highway will be there; it will be called the way of holiness."

Talk about taking the bible literally! Follow that link for a clearly crazy youtube video of Robertson talking about all these things. Robertson and his gang of millions plan to "siege" the highway and target its gay bars, porn shops and abortion clinics. I guess we should all be thankful that they aren't doing anything more useful with their time, like watching grass grow in December.

Little d Democracy and Casinos

I've heard that some people in progressive circles are afraid of vocally going against casinos because they'd be going against Deval Patrick, who we all worked so hard to elect. Note that in the democracy progressives - such as myself - claim to believe in, the powers are beholden to the people, not the other way around. Deval Patrick is wrong on casinos and no one should be afraid to tell him that.

A Home Out of a Horror Movie?

I'm not sure I could be friends with someone who lives here.

Isn't it at all possible that Greater Boston could develop affordable homes, preferably no where near malls (never mind connected to them)? Can't we learn anything? If we want to attract all the young talent we develop here, we need affordable places for them to live. We don't need - at all - places like "Nouvelle at Natick." How was that article front page news anyway?

This blog deserves a new tag: Things that make me go 'ugh.'

Funny Coincidence? Civic Engagement

Just yesterday, I was driving in my car thinking about how I wish Governor Patrick would get back to his civic engagement roots. It was the bedrock of his campaign - and there were few moments as fun as his civic engagement committees going around the state, after he was finally elected, having their say.

Well, what do you know? Today I get this email from the Patrick administration:

Governor Deval Patrick today signed into legislation a bill creating the Commonwealth Corps, a program that will allow residents across Massachusetts to improve and rebuild their communities through service. “Massachusetts has a strong history of community service, volunteerism, and civic action and I am proud that the Commonwealth Corps will become a new chapter in that history,” said Governor Patrick. “Through volunteerism, citizens have the ability to alter lives and communities while also experiencing the pride that comes with such service. I am excited about this new opportunity and look forward to the work ahead.”

The legislation signed today was the first bill filed by the Governor after taking office in January. By establishing a new model for large-scale, locally-managed service projects, Massachusetts will lead the nation in civic engagement.

The Commonwealth Corps will include 250 individuals in its first year, with a goal of expanding to 1,000 members over the next five years. Members will dedicate at least one year of service to a nonprofit organization, civic initiative, or public entity, providing direct service to people or communities in need.

It's definitely a step in the right direction. Patrick needs to get back to the gritty, grassroots type of politics that gave him his landslide victory last November - instead of throwing proposal after proposal on a Beacon Hill wall and seeing what sticks. I can't think of a better long-term goal than getting people more involved in government and Massachusetts society to start the even longer process of changing our state for the better. We need to build the coalitions and elect the new wave of progressive leaders to get the job done - and maybe some of these new people will be the very first who join Commonwealth Corps? Because I'm sure they'll be among the people who really care about what happens to all of Massachusetts.

Shut it Down

Not only has the Salem Power Plant killed three of its workers recently, but the cancer rates in the area are through the roof. I've long had my doubts that it's a coincidence. Furthermore, the plant is old, inefficient and highly polluting - all things that could be improved by shutting the sucker down. Of course, America needs energy and this region of the country is no different, but hopefully this will open up a chance to create more renewable energy - green-lighting projects like Cape Wind and others. Salem, of course, ought to get in the game and find out just where they can build several large wind turbines.

Finally, the mayor worries about losing tax dollars by shutting down the power plant. Here's both a good opportunity for the state to get involved, while also sitting back and taking a breather. The power plant is a huge waterfront property - whatever replaces it will also rake in high amounts of taxes. There's endless possibilities for high end, 1 bedroom condos and a second, even larger, Pickering-Wharf type establishment. Salem has quickly become a top tourist destination all year round, not just during the Halloween season, so why not push to maximize on that potential?

Now - here's where the state should jump in. No municipalities should be held hostage by the whims of large corporations operating up within them. Why not create a law that would cover at least a portion of a city or town's losses in property taxes if a fairly big company either shut down or moved, at least long enough to redevelop the area? Not only will it keep cities and towns fiscally sound, but it could blunt the ability for large businesses to hold communities hostage, essentially buying their own influence by squeezing a municipalities jugular. Anyone else think that a good idea?

Oh, Those Liberal Judicial Activists!

This made me laugh.

I hope everyone had a great Turkey day - and reunions for those who had them. (I just got back from my fifth right now - am I officially old or what?)

Don't Know How I Missed This: Biotech Fued

Lisa Wangsness doesn't disappoint today with a great article detailing why the biotech bill isn't going to pass this legislative session; Speaker DiMasi isn't willing to give up the purse strings.

In an interview yesterday afternoon, as Patrick was listening to DiMasi's pitch, Patrick's economic secretary said the governor did not want to use the political process to hand out economic development money for biotech companies. Instead, he said, a special panel of scientists and other specialists should award incentives, as Patrick's biotech bill proposes.

DiMasi said he asked the governor and Senate President Therese Murray during their weekly meeting yesterday to consider offering as much as $40 million in tax breaks and infrastructure investments to a half-dozen life science companies that are now deciding whether to expand in the state.

So, let's get this straight. Governor Patrick and Senate President Therese Murray want to create a program that rewards good science, providing a means to make sure that the most innovative and ultimately best companies grow and expand in the state. Speaker DiMasi wants to bribe his friends dish out 40 million to his hand-picked companies. Ignoring the ethical problems with that - as well as the fact that it's a policy that holds our state hostage to any company that threatens to leave - shouldn't we be spending our money wisely and efficiently? Shouldn't we be making sure we not only get the most bang for our buck, but that we also support research that will, you know, cure people?

Sadly, the only way we're going to change Beacon Hill is through electoral change. If you're progressive, care about the direction this state is heading in and can work hard to win office, think about running. Call me up and I'll help out. Primaries seem to be the only thing Beacon Hill's House cares about.

UMASS Shakeup Shakedown

Governor Patrick's shaking up the UMASS Board of Trustees, ousting current chair and Romney appointee, Steve Tocco, replacing him with what surely must be a compromise to get the whole thing done, current vice-chair and also Romney appointee, Robert Manning. However, while Manning was originally appointed by Romney, he doesn't come with the same baggage conficts of interest, such as Tocco's higher-ed lobbyist background.

Furthermore, Patrick's must be happy to have someone appointed to chair the board that he helped get there - and who would help defend any serious university reform coming out of Patrick's office. It's not inspiring that Manning voted against the proposed UMASS Dartmouth law school acquisition in the past, but I'd be at least hopeful Manning will switch votes if it comes up again. It's only a matter of time before there becomes a UMASS law school at Dartmouth (it just makes too much sense), no matter how much Suffolk, BU and Northeastern kick, scream and cry.

Finally, readers will note that this is actually an important development. The UMASS Board of Trustees is far more influential to the system than most similar boards across the country.

Serious Campaign Training

As I pointed out to readers on my last blog, the fine folks at MassAlliance - comprising well over a dozen progressive organizations all over the state, from MassEquality to the Coalition of Social Justice - put together (one helluva) Campaign Manager training seminar over this weekend. It was a serious crash course that's just trained over 20 people to know everything they need to run a successful state campaign for a progressive candidate. In case anyone didn't pass their math MCAS, that amounts to a crap load of potential new progressive pickups if candidates take advantage of it. (Please, future candidates, do!)

If anyone can think of a better way to create the change we all so desperately seek than developing new talent to help at the electoral end, let me know. It looks to me that only an electoral change will result in a new government that actually believes in fixing what's broken in Massachusetts. All the lobbying and all the fundraising in the world may do some good, but the only way to move the most stubborn Beacon Hill mountains is to have an old fashioned, bottom-up Earth Quake. Sound fun?

I'll See You There?

Anyone in the mood for some progressive training? I am. It should come in handy for one local campaign I'm definately getting involved in.

Some Celtics Pride

I was watching the Celtics last night - destroying another opponent - when, after the game, there was a brief interview with Paul Pierce. In it, he said one reason why he'd like to win the Championship was so he could meet President Bush. I almost threw up a little in my mouth, until Paul laughed and said he'd like to meet the POTUS to tell him he sucks at it. Pretty fracking hilarious! Go Paul and go Celts!

Bad Ideas

This is surely one of them.

Senator Michael W. Morrissey of Quincy and Representative Brian P. Wallace of South Boston, both Democrats, will seek to amend a bill scheduled for debate in the state Senate today and in the House next week that would change the state's presidential primary from March 4 to Feb. 5.

The amendment calls for a nonbinding referendum that would ask primary voters: "Do you support the establishment of up to three resort casinos in Massachusetts?"

They may as well ask the electorate "do you think radiation is the best cancer treatment?" There are very few knowledgeable voters on casino issues. This is why we elect leaders to make these kinds of decisions, they're the ones who are supposed to research the issues and then engage with local constituents who have an expertise in the area or strong opinions.

However, if Beacon Hill reps are too cowardly to do that, they at least owe the populace the time to allow them to learn about the issue. They owe the populace a full-scale commissioned report on all the pros and cons, through the lens of statistical and other forms of analysis. There are dozens of questions with no answers yet - and still, greedy pro-casino people are ready to ignore all of them. Seriously, any person who would sign onto that amendment deserves a primary challenge.

Another Reason Why Casinos Aren't Inevitable

Just look at the giant coalition against it, at the bottom of the link. Can anyone imagine an instance where I'd address a crowd on an issue with Evelyn T. Reilly of the Mass Family Institute in attendance - and she'd cheer in support at the end? Well, it happened last night. If people like me and people like her are both against casinos, the pro-casino lobby has its work cut out for them. As I've said all along, the aura of inevitability surrounding casinos is a myth. We're going to win this.

Casinos: Beacon Hill's Easy Bake Oven

I was invited to speak to over a hundred people last night in New Bedford, explaining just why I think casinos are a terrible idea for Massachusetts. There were a number of other great speakers and the audience was terrific. I wrote in detail about the event here, along with what people can do to stop casinos from becoming a reality. However, during the last speaker of the night's presentation, given by CasinoFreeMassachusetts's spokeswoman Laura Everett, I was struck by the simple brilliance of one her chief points.

"We need to have an adult conversation here," she said.

It put together the last few remaining pieces to the casino puzzle for me. Casinos are nothing but a gimmick. They won't fix any of our revenue problems. They're a distraction from the real, far more difficult issues out there. It's a flashy, new toy for the state's politicians to keep them busy from doing their real work, like finding a way to control health care costs in this state (you know, the thing that's driving cities and towns bankrupt). For evidence, Massachusetts has lower taxes than New Jersey, Connecticut and many other states with casinos. So much for the panacea some claim them to be.

In fact, not only are casinos a gimmicky toy, they're the political version of an easy-bake oven.

"Hey, Mommy Constituents, look at me help you cook dinner for us," said the honorable Therese Murray, "all I have to do is put the casino issue in the little box, make sure it passes through the shiny lights inside, wait just a few minutes and it's done!"

Except, just like with Easy Bake Ovens, they're only toys. The food they make can't feed a family and the little they can provide is empty calories that tastes bland. Plus, what do you do when you run out of the boxed ingredients (aka once-a-decade licensing fees)? The Political Easy Bake Oven is fun and flashy for the first few minutes, but they grow old and tiresome later on. Sadly, they're also dangerous: they can cause fires and have been known to burn children in the past. Worse yet, because of the components, they can't just be thrown away after you're done with them. When you own an easy bake oven, you own it for good - even after it breaks and just ends up being a waste of space.

So there you all have it, folks. Casinos are like an easy-bake oven for politicians. Beacon Hill may love them, but they end up being an expensive waste of time for all the grown ups other citizens of Massachusetts in the long run, not to mention an ugly, pink eye sore.

Inviting Amy Contrada to Dinner

In my recent post about the unfortunate turn of events surrounding Amy Contrada's daughter, Claudia, I got a fairly humorous reply in the thread. Apparently, we aren't doing enough to make friends with MassResistance. Well, I'm going to do something to change that!

For readers unaware, Contrada's daughter came out as lesbian right before she helped her school open the play "the Laramie Project," which deals with the aftermath of Matthew Shepard's murder in the local community. Unfortunately, it caused a brouhaha that made Amy Contrada's Crazy Person button go off, so she pulled her daughter from the school, posted private pictures and conversations of her daughter's, invaded her daughter's Facebook and unfortunately tried to play her off as a special needs child who was incapable, at the age of 17, to make rational decisions regarding her sexuality. (I knew I was gay since I was around 10-12, so it isn't exactly a stretch to take Claudia's word for it at the age of 17.)

While I'm not buying Amy Contrada's rational - and think it's rather humorous that Mr. Anonymous thinks we should all just try to get along (and would trust Amy Contrada with anything she said) - I decided to bite. I'll go for it.

So, Amy Contrada, come on down! You're more than welcome to take a visit to the beautiful Swampscott; I'll make you a home-cooked meal. I make a great stuffed chicken, filled with prosciutto, basil and cheese, or we could bake a spiral, glazed ham. In gentle conversation, we can figure out just why you believe I belong in hell and why I can't understand how you could be so cruel to your own daughter. Maybe that'll appease the Anonymous posters out there? So, Ms. Contrada, send me an email. Bring a bottle of wine or a dessert and we'll have a fun night out on me!

Love This: Pats Use Renewable Energy

The Patriots signed a 4 year deal to buy renewable energy credits from wind farms in the Midwest to use during game days. Each home game, the Pats were using enough energy to power 2,269 homes for an entire game. That's no slim pickings. Hopefully, other teams - like the Sox and Celtics - will follow suit, making a huge environmental impact, as well as boosting the teams' reputation. It's sort of hard for the "bad guys" rep to stick when they're probably one of the few - if only - teams in the NFL making sure that they're not contributing to the destruction of the planet.

Somehow, I doubt the so-called force for good in the world, the Indianapolis Colts, would ever follow suit. But, then again, they just lost their second game in a row (with a missed 29 yard Adam Vinatieri Field Goal) so maybe no one cares. In any event, kudos to Robert Kraft for again showing why he's the NFL's best owner and a very decent man. We need more business owners willing to show the way toward environmental friendliness before we'll ever be able to combat Global Warming.

The T is Insanely Stupid

Warning: personal rant.

With these new Charley Tickets that people have to buy, there are several default options for purchasing prepaid ticketed amounts: $5, $10, I think $20 and a "choose other," which I'm not going to pick when I'm in a rush, with 15 other people standing in line. A month or two ago, I picked the $5 amount because I almost never use the T. So, a few fortnights later, I'm in Brookline at my friend's house and we decide to go to the movies, at the Commons. We hop on the Green Line, I put my months-old pass in and now have a dollar left. I get out of the movie, buy another pass to get back to Brookline, but first put the old ticket into the machine to wipe off that dollar, only to find out you can't do that. That dollar is now completely useless, yet the $5 dollar prepaid amount exists (as opposed to one that makes sense for two rides, like $4). Talk about putting a sour taste in my mouth!

I'm not one to squabble over a dollar. I've never been the extremely-frugal type. However, if the T says something cost two dollars, then it shouldn't secretly make sure people spend more than that for the same, crappy service, especially people who aren't regular riders and don't like to be hoodwinked (that's not a good way to recruit more riders, after all). There's absolutely no wonder why I choose not to take the T into town when I visit my friends: if I'm not being cheated out of more money for the same service, then I'm waiting forever for my train to get there. Or I'm waiting for the train to start moving again. Or standing in those crappy, new Green Line trams that make absolutely, positively no sense at all - with fewer seats and less real-time room, because people always congregate toward the doors in the T, so all that extra space that they supposedly have is completely useless.

Furthermore, when it costs $4 to ride round trip, more for parking (since I'd have to drive to Wonderland) and takes way longer, driving unfortunately makes too much sense. It's cheaper, quicker and more convenient, especially when I'm driving to places with plenty of parking. Believe me, I'd rather save the environment and skip the drive into the city when there should be adequate public transportation, but it's a sad fact that the state legislature and Team Charley are just complete idiots when it comes to public transportation, doing everything they possibly can to make sure as few people use it as possible.

We need cheap, reliable and comfortable public transportation. To get people to abandon their cars, public transportation has to be a better option than driving. That means the state is going to have to chip more in to make it happen - even if it requires demanding a little bit more out of the businesses that reap all the benefits of public trans, yet pay almost none of its costs. I'm also leaning toward 'fire the lot' in charge of the T and hire people that actually give a crap about public transportation to oversee the MBTA, would anyone disagree? Screw Charley.

It's Kind of Hard to Have a Safe Community When...

Your police force are the ones selling the drugs.

Hours after Boston police officer Roberto Pulido abruptly pleaded guilty to federal cocaine-trafficking charges yesterday, Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis vowed to investigate other allegations of corruption that emerged during two days of testimony.

"There certainly was information that came out during the course of the trial that we have to review," Davis told reporters after giving a pep talk at the evening roll call of the motorcycle unit to which Pulido had belonged. "There will be a thorough investigation."

That is definately not what the people of Boston want to hear. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are far more decent cops in Boston than crooked ones, but this problem does seem to be pervasive and it's not going to go away. Clearly, the BPD has to get its house in order, because they're not going to clean up gangs, stop the violence and end the worst-offending drug trades in the city if a good number of cops in the force is in on the action. That's when we say Boston has "systemic" crime problems. Ouch.

MassResistance Hits New Low

Who knew the story of Ms. Massresistance's daughter, who came out as lesbian, could get any more interesting. Sadly, it did. Soon after her school's production of "the Laramie Project," Claudia Contrada finds herself the target of her homophobic mother. I hate to provide the link, but here's the newest example of MassResistance homophobia - essentially calling one of their very own family members a student who has such special needs that she couldn't be responsible for her own decision to come out. She very well could have some learning disabilities, but none that have precluded her from memorizing line after line and performing in a very difficult and important play, such as the Laramie Project. I somehow doubt Claudia Contrada isn't perfectly capable of doing a simple thing like an interview. Laughably, Massresistance was saying they couldn't even make Claudia sit out of the play, because she needed it somehow in a capacity related to special education. Huh?

Yet, it gets worse. While the Contradas couldn't see fit to demand her daughter sit out from a play they didn't want her in - because they say it somehow helped with her special needs - they've now seen fit to remove her from the school, the very place she was in to help her with her whatever her needs happen to be. The Contradas have pulled their daughter from her school, her friends, her drama club and clearly a lot of the things Claudia finds important. They've pulled her from the few hours of escape she had. According to Queer Today, they've even "hacked" into Claudia's Facebook account. They've made their very own daughter a target in their unending homophobic spree. I can't imagine the damage they're doing to someone who's obviously a bright, courageous, young girl. Though I doubt it'll stop Claudia. Thankfully, the next generation is going to be better than the one it replaces. If anything, the Contradas are a clear example of that.

H/T to Mark from Queer Today.

Update: For whatever crazy reason, I read more from that Massresistance link. It only gets crazier and crazier, as so many of their posts do. I don't know how the GLBT community can help Claudia other than by giving her all the moral support in the world, but it's clear that Claudia should almost be viewed as a heroine for all the courage it took to come out despite having Amy Contrada as a mother. Seriously, it's one of the bravest things I've ever seen anyone do. However we can help Claudia, we should.

Well, Mike Was Right: Boston Voter Turnout Pathetic

Mike and I were chatting it up about the Boston City Council race yesterday, on LeftAhead, when he said that he was literally the only person voting when he came into his district's voting booths. There were, in fact, more election workers (2) than voters (1) at the time. Yikes. Today comes news that Boston had its lowest voter turnout in, oh, 22 years, at 13.6%. Yikes again. The Globe quickly brushes through a few of the reasons why that may be - here's their list -

Community leaders and voting advocacy groups blamed the low turnout on a number of factors. A cold, gray drizzle blanketed much of Eastern Massachusetts for most of the day. And for the first time, there was no preliminary election this year to take the temperature of the electorate and inspire voters to rally behind vulnerable candidates. More broadly, it marks a further decline in Boston's storied culture of local political involvement, in which ward-level politics has been a crucial part of the community fabric.

But I have to wonder. Shouldn't "lack of media attention" be thrown on that list? Am I being a bit cynical here if I think a certain reporter or two neglected to mention that in the article for some particular reason? If the Globe really cares about voter turnout, it has a very large power to be a huge source of information for the hundreds of thousands of people who live in Boston to learn why the race is important and about the actual issues within the race. A lot of people don't vote because they don't know anything about the candidates who are running - I'm guessing a certain, widely printed newspaper could have done something about that. The Globe could have been running stories about the City Council every day in their City Section, but failed to do so. Later on in the article, the Globe unearths an ancient city councilor who talked about how there was so much concern about the race that he used to run against upwards of 40 people at the same time. I bet the Globe ran a lot more news about city council race back then.

No Fun League at it Again

While football commentary generally doesn't belong on this website, there are some very real aspects to the whole Pats-Colts game that shouldn't go unnoticed by any audience. Apparently, there may have been cheating again, but this time not from those dastardly Patriots, a team caught doing something the entire NFL has been doing for years now. This time it's the team representing the side of "good," the Colts (yes, I did read a sports column about how the Pats-Colts game was all about good vs. evil, but I'll spare everyone the link). But it's not like we're going to hear anything about it, because the "good" team can't possibly cheat - right? The Powers that Be only want to push the meme that the Patriots are cheating bastards, not just a team that's worked harder and longer at being better than the rest of the NFL. So, shhh, don't let that secret out of the bag.

What's stunned me as a person is how hateful the rest of the country has become toward something as trivial as a sports team, something that isn't altogether different than the political discourse going around for the past few decades. I don't know if we're more or less likely to pick up a column insinuating the Patriots ought to be renamed the Satanists, or hear Ann Coultershock claiming liberals are going to go to hell anyway, so we may as do the dirty deed now and get it over with. Seriously, would either of the two scenarios shock anyone?

It all gets me back to a discussion I had a few months ago with Lynne's husband on how some people - mostly conservatives - think differently. How these people have authoritarian minds. It doesn't matter if it's sports, politics, news or what's the best cookie recipe, a lot of the 'leading voices' on any of these matters all seem to think alike, even if the subjects they're interested in may be different. The Patriots were shown, in public, as a bunch of cheating scoundrels. In the case of the Colts game, NFL officials hushed up the nonsense and essentially said, 'go home everyone, nothing to see here, folks.' And, of course, they're doing many fans - with a certain kind of mind frame - a real service. Everyone else? Not so much. It's important to resist/ignore/deflate talking heads from around the country, because things that are right are often ignored, while the unimportant or trivial matters become the next Lacy Peterson story - all for the benefit of a few who would only be more than happy to be in charge of everything, yet can't be trusted within a hundred feet of a leadership position. Go Patriots!

MassEquality's Decision

I got an email the other day about MassEquality's future plans - and, indeed, they chose to expand beyond marriage equality. Thank goodness.

There's one important qualification, though, in the email:

We will need the help of you, our advocates, and our affiliate organizations around the state to be successful in this undertaking.

It goes without saying, but the people of this state are going to have to take leadership on lgbt issues. We're going to have to be the ones asking for help and urging all facets of the state on where to go with equality - to a place where everyone has it.

As MassEquality expands beyond their basic plans written in their email, as they've promised, I'll continue to write about it. I have high hopes that 1913 is on its last leg and workplace protections for transgender people will quickly make it through Beacon Hill, but it's going to take hard work from dozens of organizations and tens of thousands of people. It's good to know MassEquality is saying they'll be there to help.