May
31
Sullivan Routed
May 31, 2008 | 11 Comments
Todays weigh in at Latitudes produced what most insiders knew was a foregone conclusion from the start, a victory for me, Mayor Bill Manzi against Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan in the biggest loser weight loss competition. For the record Mayor Sullivan weighed in at a robust 215.5, down from 228. I weighed in at a [...]
May
31
Bird and Magic redux
May 31, 2008 | 3 Comments
The matchup that was made for network T.V. has arrived, as the Celtics and Lakers face off in the N.B.A. finals. This rivalry is one of the oldest in sports, and was one of the keys to the revitalization of the league in the Bird-Magic era. Although the Bird Magic era is the one we [...]
May
31
Weigh in Today
May 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Mayor Michael Sullivan of Lawrence and I will weigh in today as we conclude the “biggest loser” weight loss competition. There are rumors everywhere that Mayor Sullivan has agreed to a full body shave if he loses todays competition. The weigh in is at 11:00 a.m. at Latitudes Gym in Methuen, or as I refer [...]
May
29
Pension Pile On
May 29, 2008 | 8 Comments
The State Legislature, in its infinite wisdom, has passed a pension package which gives a seemingly small benefit to state and municipal retirees. That small benefit, which lifts the amount of pension eligible for a COLA (cost of living adjustment) from $12,000 to $16,000, will have a cost that will run into the billions. Additionally [...]
May
28
Scott McClellan:Bush manipulated us to war
May 28, 2008 | 10 Comments
In a new memoir Scott McClellan, the former press secretary to President Bush, writes that Bush sold the war in Iraq with political propaganda and misdirection. From the Washington Post:
Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new memoir that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated “political [...]
May
27
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius For V.P.?
May 27, 2008 | 2 Comments
With discussion of a potential Democratic Vice Presidential candidate somewhat muted with Hillary still in the race Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas is being talked about with some frequency as a potential V.P. for Barack Obama. Sebelius was the subject of a huge hit piece by conservative columnist Robert Novak, and the political blog of [...]
May
25
Police Detail Reform withers on the vine
May 25, 2008 | 13 Comments
The Boston Globe is reporting today that the vaunted “reform” of the paid police detail system in Massachusetts appears to be dying a slow death. This reform, announced to great fanfare by the top legislative leadership only a short time ago, appears to have been undone by the tremendous lobbying done by police unions. Governor [...]
May
23
Gordon Brown on the Ropes
May 23, 2008 | 4 Comments
What is a story about the English Prime Minister doing on this blog? Well, we need a foreign policy in Methuen, you know. As a long time fan of Prime Ministers questions on C-Span I have been fascinated by the British system and a big fan of Tony Blair. Blair’s love-hate relationship with his Chancellor [...]
May
23
Farmers Raid the Treasury
May 23, 2008 | 9 Comments
Congress succesfully overrode the Bush veto of the Farm bill, in spite of a legislative glitch that actually left an entire bill section out of the submission to President Bush. That omitted section will be dealt with separately and likely overridden after the holiday. The Farm Bill united an unlikely group of opponents, with President [...]
May
23
McCain Rejects Hagee Endorsement
May 23, 2008 | 8 Comments
John McCain finally rejected the endorsement of John Hagee, the anti-Catholic crackpot whose endorsement gave McCain nothing but political headaches after some of Hagees anti-Catholic statements had come to light. The new revelations of Hagee saying that the rise of Hitler was God’s way of returning the Jews to the homeland of Israel was apparently [...]