Results tagged “Politics”

The MIT Communication Forum presents a discussion about "Race, Politics and American Media" from 5 to 7 tonight at the Bartos Theatre (20 Ames Street, Cambridge). The talk will focus on media coverage of race and politics, touching on Gatesgate, the decline of traditional media, and other locally relevant events. Participants include Juan Williams (NPR, Fox News), Phillip Thompson (associate professor of urban politics in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning), and David Thorburn (professor of literature and director of the Communications Forum at MIT). The forum is free and open to the public.

What's a guy gotta do to get in the State House these days? Apparently have about as many friends as you have Twitter followers. The official results of today's election to replace DiMasi show that 2190 of Aaron Michlewitz's pals elected him to the third district seat. Just 2747 people out of 28,646 registered voters cast ballots in the special election. If that kind of turnout keeps up, we kind of feel like we might have enough friends to give this politics stuff a go.

The Suffolk County–specific holidays of Evacuation Day and Bunker Hill Day were upheld yesterday, but people are up in arms about state senator Michael Knapik's mockery of senator Jack Hart's Irishness and commitment to Evacuation Day. Knapik supported eliminating the holidays, questioning the need for Suffolk-only days and positing that the days off cost the state $5 million each—a hefty sum. Hart countered that the holidays honor Suffolk County's uniquely Irish heritage, and that eliminating them sets up a path for docking other holidays, such as Thanksgiving and even Christmas. Notably, Hart is from here; Knapik is not—so may just be suffering from sour grapes. Check the video for the debate.

Congressman Barney Frank made a lot of news this week. He has been a human talking point on all things economy, bailout and healthcare.

Though cruelly/constitutionally barred from voting, young citizens can still make their political voices heard. On January 15, the NY Times published letters from students of 826 National, the network of non-profit writing and education centers that was co-founded by Dave Eggers of the McSweeney's empire.

Perhaps motivated by Dianne Wilkerson's weak defense of her money accumulation, House Speaker Sal DiMasi has announced that he will resign from the Legislature effective Tuesday (or tomorrow, according to the Herald). DiMasi had denied rumors about his resignation last Friday, and maintains that he now steps down with his head "held high." Right, because there's always good reason to resign if you've done nothing wrong. The Globe names possible successors Robert A. DeLeo and John Rogers, who's had a scandal of his own already. Wouldn't want to give power to anyone too pure. Update: DiMasi's resignation letter.

Sal DiMasi failed to provide records requested by the State Ethics Committee, which has since filed a motion to force DiMasi's compliance. The requested documents likely relate to payments to DiMasi and cohorts from parties seeking to influence government contracts and legislation. The high-ranked House member apparently has not yet been caught on tape taking money from Cognos and other sources. DiMasi's accountant, Richard Vitale, must have other ways to hide the loot.

There's a new video of JFK, and it's a doozy: a twenty-minute, post-dinner conversation primarily between JFK and Ben Bradlee. The date: January 5, 1960, three days after JFK announced his candidacy for President. The place: N Street in Georgetown.

10:36: Conclusion.

Let's face it: No one really expected presidential candidate John McCain and aspiring presidential candidate/former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney to kiss and make up. But McCain surprised everyone by choosing Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate.

The instant analysis of Senator Barack Obama's vice-presidential pick is that it's at least partially a defense against the perception that Obama is weak on foreign policy. Does newly newsworthy Senator Biden agree?

The House of Representatives has voted 118-35 to strike down the state's 1913 law that prevents people from getting married here if they couldn't legally get married in their home state. Originally passed as a way of preventing uppity interracial couples from coming here for a quickie wedding, it looked like one of those quaint and ridiculous "no putting squirrels down your pants for the purpose of gambling" laws. Until it became relevant again, when Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex marriage. Now, gay couples from Alaska to Arkansas can come here, get legally married, and then go home and try to get their own states to recognize it. Critics like former Governor Mitt Romney say this will turn Massachusetts into the "Las Vegas of gay marriage"; proponents, seeing how much moolah flows in and out of Vegas (mostly in) on a daily basis, wonder why exactly that's a bad thing. The repeal now needs to be signed by Gov. Patrick, but he seems enthusiastic about doing so.

Jesse Helms, the much-maligned conservative senator from North Carolina, died today of natural causes. He's been called racist, divisive, and anti-democratic in the past, but today, another former GOP rep from NC deemed him "a patriot in the mold of those great men" (Thomas Jefferson and John Adams), while White House spokesman Scott Stanzel called Helms "a great public servant and true patriot."

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Now that the major political parties have (pretty much) settled on their presidential nominees, Bostonist has decided to take a look at a vital aspect of election strategy: t-shirts.

While Young Hillary Clinton fights on with tenacity, the real Hillary Clinton waffles (mmm... waffles). Several reports this morning indicated that she would concede the Democratic presidential nomination to presumed winner Barack Obama tonight. The AP started the dropout rumors, and the Herald picked it up. Now Clinton's campaign says it ain't so, and the Globe reports on the limbo-like situation. The campaign is now clearly saying it "absolutely" won't concede anything until Obama reaches the magic number of 2118 delegates. He currently has 2076.5. Just 41.5 to go! Will everything (or anything) depend on Nebraska come Junely 12? (Answer: no.)

Update:Ted's got good doctors. Word is the surgery was successful.

At the moment, it isn't clear that the fatal trolley accident that killed Green Line driver Terrese Edmonds had anything to do with MBTA manager Dan Grabauskas. But the spotlight is on him after so many ugly Green Line incidents, producing an article from the Herald's Dave Wedge indicating that, if Governor Deval Patrick decided he wanted to replace Grabauskas--and he might--it wouldn't be easy:

--Mayor Menino has suspended one of his own employees, the head of the Department of Public Works, for letting an employee work from her parent's house in Venezuela, which probably wouldn't have been a big deal if the arrangement hadn't lasted for five months. [Boston Globe]

After a scare that involved a helicopter trip to Mass General, doctors say Senator Ted Kennedy will be all right after having a seizure yesterday morning. Reports indicate that Kennedy is just fine and was watching some of the Red Sox game.

Update: The Herald's sources say Kennedy showed "stroke-like symptoms."

As the reign of Sal DiMasi as house speaker appears to be in peril, Governor Deval Patrick isn't laughing at his nemesis. He's going out there and reviving the issue of bringing casinos to Massachusetts, which DiMasi squashed so recently. This morning, he brought up the issue again in front of the Brookline Chamber of Commerce.

Yesterday, City Council President Maureen Feeney's civic summit brought about 400 people together to get people more involved in city government. Mayor Menino even showed up, although Michael Pahre noted, "Mayor Thomas Menino breezed in -- and out -- of the convention center probably feeling a little bit unwelcome" since it wasn't his idea. Adam Gaffin at Universal Hub live-blogged the event and summed up the takeaways, with education and crime high on the list of concerns.

If House speaker Sal DiMasi really wants to prove he is up to the task of managing this state and fend off those who want his crown, then he better crack down on the shenanigans at the State House. All ethical shadiness aside, yesterday a state rep said that another rep threatened her during the budget debate. Rep. Jennifer Callahan was behind a nurse staffing amendment, which apparently didn't please the other lawmaker:

Remember how we said yesterday that House speaker Sal DiMasi's free ride might be ending? Well, it came to a screeching halt, just as he was named the 2nd most powerful person in Boston. The Herald came out with a summary of potentially shady dealings in which those with ties to DiMasi benefitted.

Boston Magazine released its annual power issue, which is an annual must-have for any lifestyle magazine. This power list leads to the inevitable question, what does "power" mean, anyway?

A survey revealed that 72 percent of Bostonians are largely happy with the way mayor Tom Menino has been running things. In fact, the Globe headline declared the city was "smitten," which is not a word Bostonist would use to describe how the city's residents view the mayor. Then again, he appears to be quite a hit with the ladies.

This Bostonist always pictured solar panels being best-suited to dot the rooftops of sun-baked, equatorial locales. But according to the Associated Press (via the Herald), the Commonwealth is quickly becoming a leader in solar energy.

Despite evidence to the contrary, we know that the State House is bigger than two men, more than just a turf battle between Governor Deval Patrick and Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi. For example: it also includes Speaker Pro Tempore Thomas Petrolati.