Beyond 495

Adios, Mariposa

2006-05-02T01:08:00.000-04:00

Well folks, it's moving day. My blog has moved to http://www.beyond495.com

Hope you like my the digs. Be sure to update your blogrolls. LeftyBlogs doesn't like my Feedburner RSS, so I might drop off the radar for a bit until I get another RSS deal figured out.

I'm leaving this site up for an archive, until I get around to moving all of my old stuff to my new WordPress blog.

Last one out, get the lights, 'kay?

http://www.beyond495.com

Welcome Readers from Tom Reilly's Campaign

2006-04-28T01:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I wrote about my phone call with a Reilly volunteer calling to ask who I'm supporting. Well imagine my surprise when I got another phone call today from the same Reilly volunteer. This time thanking me for blogging about the campaign. She called because she wanted me to know that the folks at the Reilly campaign are working hard. I told her that I know they're working hard just like Deval Patrick supporters are working hard and we should be working hard, because after September we'll all be working hard together.

Reilly supporters and Patrick supporters may not agree on much right now, but S and I both agreed on that.

15% Doesn't Seem Like Much, Unless You Don't Think You Have It?

2006-04-26T22:55:00.000-04:00

Being a delegate (I'm an add-on) to the Democratic State Convention is like being the cutest girl in the school. I get lots of mail of the campaign literature variety and loads of phone calls. Heck, Deval Patrick even called to remind me to send my payment to Mass Dems. Thanks, Deval, I appreciate the reminder.

Today I got a call from Tom Reilly's campaign. The very nice campaign volunteer congratulated me on being selected as an add-on delegate and asked me who I was supporting. I thought I showed a tremendous amount of self-restraint by actually waiting until she finished her question before blurting out... Deval Patrick! She gave me a very polite, "Oh. Okay. Thank You." I was tempted to ask her how the campaign was doing on add-on pick ups... but I didn't. From the tone of her voice, I got a pretty good sense how things are going.

Speaking of phone calls, and honestly in a non-election year, I get maybe 2 phone calls a week. Yesterday, I got a polling call asking me if the convention were held today who would I vote for? I've gotten those calls before, but this day they added a question about which LG candidate I'm supporting. I haven't gotten that one before.

From what I understand, Chris Gabrieli will need to get something on the order of 16 to 17 delegates from each senate district in order to get his 15%. I don't know where he's getting those in my senate district. Everyone seems very locked in to their commitments.

I'm glad I'm going to the convention because I think I'd burst from stress of wanting to know what's going on!

Save the Date - Lowell LG Forum

2006-04-25T02:01:00.000-04:00

cross-posted at Blue Mass. Group

BlogLeft, an unchained association of Massachusetts lefty blogger types and the Lowell Democratic City Committee (LDCC) together with the Greater Lowell Area Democrats (GLAD) are co-sponsoring a Lt. Governors Forum at the Lowell Senior Center on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at 2:00 PM.

This event will be a great opportunity to meet the LG candidates and get to know who they are and where they stand on issues that are important to voters here in Massachusetts.

You can see the LDCC page on the forum here and get directions to Lowell Senior Center here

Since this event is co-sponsored by a group of bloggers, it seems appropriate that this event will have an interactive nature to it. We will be asking for volunteers to live blog the event from the Lowell Senior Center and we will be solicting questions in advance from YOU, our fellow bloggers and readers for the LG candidates.

Action Item: If you would like to volunteer to live blog this event, or if you can just help out at the forum on May 21 or if you have any other questions, please contact me at beyond495-at-gmail-dot-com

Big thanks to LDCC and GLAD for co-sponsoring this event!

Left in Lowell Kicks the Door, Not Just Open...

2006-04-12T08:18:00.000-04:00

But Off the Hinges

My blog sister Lynne over at Left in Lowell has an amazing post on the dangers of the "Good Old Boy" network at work in Lowell. Seems the Lowell City Council is about to ~~fire~~ replace their City Manager John Cox, who, if you are a regular reader of Left in Lowell, gets raked over the blog-coals on a fairly regular basis. Cox's replacement? Seems State Senator Steven C. Panagiotakos is the odds-on favorite. And that's the part Lynne drills down on:

GOB networks supplant and replace democratic and open governments. They discuss important issues in closed offices with their friends. They decide that a bridge realignment is the right choice out of four different proposed plans, though no such debate has been had in the public arena. If democracy is why I am here, writing, then I - and you, the readers - need to fight the GOB every time you see it.

Hell yes, we do.

Listen, I've sat in on meetings in stunned silence, fists balled, but quiet while some so-called "loyal Democrats" bitch that bloggers are not "real Democrats" because we are critial of the sacred cows of the state party. I don't even think it's just bloggers, it's anyone who dares to speak up when they see the kind of blantant cronyism that Lynne is speaking out against in Lowell.

Democrats constantly complain about the cronyism that goes on in the Bush Adminstration. Why are some Democrats so reluctant to turn that spotlight on ourselves? Cronyism kills. It can kill people, like what happened during and after Hurricane Katrina, or it can slowly kill our democracy by allowing those in power to further concentrate that power by excluding participation by citizens who are after a free, fair and open process.

Lynne has a few words for her critics too:

Oh, and before anyone complains about how I wasn’t born here in Lowell, I haven’t lived here long, so I have no right to criticize, you asked me to move here. Isn’t the whole Look At Lowell Now marketing campaign aimed at enticing young educated professionals looking for a fun place to live that isn’t overpriced-Boston? Now that we’re here, you can’t complain that we want to speak, to get involved, to evoke change. You either want our money and our contribution and our artistic sensibilities or you don’t. And you can’t live without us. We’re the new lifeblood of the city, and we’re here to make a difference. Now, let’s get to work!

Yes, let's all get to work.

David Howard leaves Mass Dems.

2006-04-06T20:28:00.000-04:00

Massachusetts Democratic Party Deputy Director David Howard has left the organization to work for the Gabrieli for Governor campaign. He's listed on the Gabrieli website as the regional contact for Middlesex and Essex counties.

I don't know when it went into effect, but they've already scrubbed him off the Mass Dems. website.

Interestingly, Mass Dems. has never updated my town committee information. Townsend isn't even listed on their DTC list.

I guess David won't be returning my e-mail...

Time For a Quickie

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

It's been pretty busy here in Beyond 495 land. We LeftyBlogger types have something exciting in the works. I'm not at liberty to give details just yet, so you'll just have to be satisfied with that tidbit for now.

So what else is happening? Well, for those of you keeping track -- I ran for Chair of my Democratic Town Committee here in Townsend, and I'm pleased to say that I was duly elected. Our town committee has a very dedicated group of folks. We have a lot of work to do here in 1st Middlesex and I think we'll be able to accomplish a lot here in town, and also within our district.

I have more opinions than time recently, so I haven't been able to properly blog some of the more interesting events. I'm going to do a quick lightning round:

Adios, Tom Delay. If you have the stomach for it, watch Chris Matthews of Hardball polish Delay's shoes. Hat-tip to AMERICAblog and Huffington Post

John McCain, former conductor of the Straight Talk Express has gone off the rails. I was talking to a fellow Democrat recently about McCain, and I continue to be surprised by the goodwill that some Dems have for him. I used to respect him, until he was willing to put up with Bush slandering his family, during the 2000 election, and THEN turn around and kiss up to ole Bushie. Since then he's voted for the Torture Memo Guy. I should warn you that the link goes to Rude Pundit - who gives McCain no quarter. It's sad to see what some candidates will do to win.

Jarrett Barrios drops out of Middlesex DA race. Blue Mass. Group has a good thread about this topic. Jarrett ran a good race, and brought up some very important issues with the emphasis on prevention, treatment and diversion for certain offenders and also stopping gang violence. We need to keep talking about these issues and I hope to see Gerry Leone continue this conversation.

I ~~should be~~ am working on my final project for school, so my posts may be a bit spotty for the next little bit. Thanks for your patience.

Hillman Shucks, Hargraves Jives

2006-03-28T17:13:00.000-05:00

Hat tip to Adam Reilly at Talking Politics

Todays Lowell Sun Online details Republican LG candidate Reed Hillman's awkward start on the campaign trail in Groton.

You know Reed, the thing about campaigning is when you're trying to convince folks that you have the knowledge and expertise to handle a job, you should actually be prepared to let them know how you expect to accomplish that.

But Hillman is a good Republican which means he just does what he's told and nods his head when The Man speaks.

Uhh..uhh...

Hillman, the Republican running-mate of gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, appeared to stumble on several questions asked by a group of local Republicans, who attended the meet-the-candidate event.

Hillman deferred procedural and legislative questions about gay marriage and sex education to state Rep. Robert Hargraves, R-Groton, who also attended the event.

Hillman deferred questions about Same Sex Marriage to Robert HARGRAVES?!? You mean the homo-bigot Hargraves who signed onto a lawsuit filed by the wingnut owned and operated Liberty Counsel to overturn the decision by the SJC to legalize equal marriage? That Robert Hargraves?

Oh, to be a fly on that wall.

And this was a friendly group of Groton Republicans - I can't wait to see Hillman debate Andrea Silbert. She'll hand him something and it won't be his hat.

UPDATE: David at Blue Mass. Group chimes in too.

Romney: Could you just GO already.

2006-03-23T16:52:00.000-05:00

Adam Reilly at Talking Politics hightlights Deval Patrick's op-ed piece in today's Providence Journal (subscription required, but Adam's got the full text)

It seems Republican "Field Marshall" Grover Norquist, yes that Grover Norquist of the "shrinking government down and drowning it in a bathtub" fame, is advising gubernatorial hobbyist, Mitt Romney (R-Fantasy Land) on health care policy.

Great.

Is there no end to the backs of Republican trousers that Mitt Romney is willing to apply his lips? Look, Mitt we all get it. You're done being Governor of Massachusetts and believe me, we are all more than done with you, but could you please just spend the rest of your lackluster term out of state humping the legs of Republican donors and their groupies and just leave the policy stuff to the folks who plan to still be living here after November 7. Thanks.

Deval Patrick breaks it down to the essentials:

Our system is broken; we must fix it. We all have a stake in that. And when we all have a stake in something, government leadership has a role to play. But that is not how Norquist sees it. The sad fact is that Norquist's vision of government is precisely what was on display in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina: thousands of vulnerable people, abandoned on rooftops, who had in fact been abandoned before that storm.

Health is a public good. Start from that simple truth, Governor Romney, and you will see why it is so important for Massachusetts that you show my old classmate Grover Norquist the door.

And Mitt, when you show Norquist that door, don't let it smack you on the rear on YOUR way out.

1st Middlesex District - No free ride for Hargraves.

2006-03-22T23:57:00.000-05:00

Carol Bousquet, longtime community activist from Groton has announced that she will run against St. Rep. Robert Hargraves (R-Groton) in the 1st Middlesex District. Hargraves ran unopposed in 2004.

Bousquet is currently involved in the effort to save the Ayer train station.

1st Middlesex District includes the towns of Ayer, Dunstable, Groton, Pepperell and Townsend.

Correction: Ms. Bousquet currently lives in Ayer.

The Eyes of a Prizefighter and the Look of a Champion

2006-03-14T11:39:00.000-05:00

Better Late Than Never Rally Blogging.

Okay, I'm putting the audioblog thing behind me and I will soldier on. *sniff*

I am SO glad that my group got to ~~Faneil~~ Faneuil Hall early! When we got to the line there was maybe 20 or so folks waiting. While we were waiting to go in, I got a chance to visit with friends and folks from other DTCs and the Acton-Area DFA. Lynne (Left in Lowell) and her crew were there as well. I kept my eyes out for Andy (Mass Revolution Now!) and sco (.08 Acres), but I didn't see them. I didn't know that massmarrier (Marry in Massachusetts) was going, or I'd have been looking for him too!

I had two very special guests with me; my husband Chris and my son Anthony. Chris is one of those folks that Deval Patrick talks about who have checked out of the political process because they just don't see the point of being involved. These are the types of folks that Deval wants to bring back into the process.

My husband is a voter, but until recently he was an unenrolled voter, although he's always voted democratic (at least, that's what he's told me!). He switched his affiliation to Dem so he could vote for our town's Deval Patrick slate in February. Other than that, I didn't think he had much interest in the race yet. So when I told my guys I was going to the rally, I was pleasantly surprised when they asked if they could tag along.

My son is a Deval event veteran, having joined me in Fitchburg, but my husband had never attended any political event before. I think it was a lot for him to drink in. He said he throughly enjoyed the rally and was very impressed with Deval's speech. He really liked the message. No pie in the sky, just plain common sense together with the idea of what is possible -- and a commitment to just damn hard work.

Afterward, we waded out into the crowd. I stopped to say goodbye to some folks and my guys got carried off into the crowd. When Deval finished up addressing the crowd and speaking with the press he walked through the crowd saying hello and greeting his supporters. My guys caught up with me and we headed into the reception.

My husband told me that he had a chance to say hello to Deval and shake his hand. My husband, who is not the type to be overly impressed with politicians said to me that Deval Patrick had the eyes of a prizefighter and the look of a champion.

I think that description of Deval Patrick suits him perfectly.

Check out the campaign's coverage of the rally here. You can read and hear his speech, and watch video clips.

sco at .08 has a great wrap-up of the rally -- even though he didn't get in. :-(

massmarrier also didn't get in, but has a great wrap up too.

Michael Forbes Wilcox took some great photos of the rally. I especially like the picture of Diane Patrick

My pictures are here at flickr

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Dude, where's my audioblogs?

2006-03-11T20:18:00.000-05:00

From the "you get what you pay for" department; Blogger has screwed me over once again. I made three audioblogs during the Deval Patrick rally this afternoon and none of them showed up on my blog.

None.of.them.

Including the audioblog I recorded of Deval Patrick. :-(

Blogger is dead to me. I'm switching to WordPress.

Audioblogging Deval Patrick Rally

2006-03-10T23:32:00.000-05:00

Join Deval Patrick Saturday, March 11, for the Together We Can celebration at Faneuil Hall. Doors open at 11:00 AM. It's a free event, but if you haven't already RSVP'd for a ticket, you won't be turned away, so if you're in town, be sure to stop by.

I'll be there along with my fellow bloggeristas Lynne of Left in Lowell, Andy of Mass Revolution Now! and sco of .08. If this rally is anything like the DCI, I'm sure there will be more than a few laughs. Bloggers are good people, so be sure to stop by and say hey. :-)

I'm going to try to do a few audioblogs while I'm there so be sure to check back here for updates.

I Heart Molly Ivins

2006-03-10T20:25:00.000-05:00

Molly's been on a tear lately about Dems of the DLC variety.

"Mah fellow progressives, now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of the party. I don’t know about you, but I have had it with the D.C. Democrats, had it with the DLC Democrats, had it with every calculating, equivocating, triangulating, straddling, hair-splitting son of a bitch up there, and that includes Hillary Rodham Clinton."

Tell it, sistah!

Five Freedoms vs. The Simpsons

2006-03-09T22:52:00.000-05:00

Simpson's win.

CHICAGO, March 1, 2006 – Civics teachers nationwide are letting out a collective, “Doh!”

A new McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum survey finds that only about one in four Americans (28 percent) are able to name more than one of the five fundamental freedoms granted to them by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Yet when it comes to knowledge of popular culture, Americans are considerably more tuned in. For example, almost twice as many Americans (52 percent) can name at least two members of the "The Simpsons" cartoon family.

Wow. That explains it, I guess. If people don't know what their freedoms are, they sure as hell don't know when they're being taken away.

More on the DCI

2006-03-06T08:49:00.000-05:00

I'm at school right now trying to catch up on the stuff that I ignored while I was at the DCI this weekend so for now, I'm just going to point to the excellent post by sco about what was covered at the DCI. I'll have more later.

Mass Dems Fundraising Scandal?

2006-03-03T10:19:00.000-05:00

Blogger FrankSkeffington at Blue Mass. Group breaks the story.

*snip* By contributing to Brown on the last day of 2005, the Hawaii, Maine and Massachusetts Democratic parties seem to have unwittingly waded into the hotly contested Rhode Island Senate primary between Brown and former state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse (D). Federal Election Commission records show that two of the three state parties donated $10,000 each — $5,000 for the primary and $5,000 for the general — to Brown on Dec. 31, 2005....

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Democratic Party explained that the party had intended to send $5,000 to each of the Rhode Island candidates, but that the separate general election and primary checks ended up only going to Brown.

The party has since asked Brown to refund $5,000 and the Massachusetts Democrats plan to, in turn, donate that amount to Whitehouse’s campaign. Brown’s campaign has mailed the refund and party spokeswoman Cyndi Roy said that the Bay State Party "should be receiving it any day."

Roy also said that she was not aware that the party had donated to any other Senate candidates this cycle and that the state party had been approached specifically about this race by a Brown campaign staffer who the party had worked with before. "We realize that this is a huge race," Roy said. "It’s one of the best shots that we have at reclaiming a Senate seat. It was intended for both campaigns." ... *snip*

I can't tell you how many times I've heard at meetings I go to that we Dems here in Mass. "feed the candidates and starve the Party" and that is the reason given why Mass Dems is such a shoe-string organization.

Mass Dems is so strapped for funds they couldn't afford to mail out the Call to Convention, at least we didn't get one here in Townsend. We downloaded the pdf off the Mass Dems website.

And yet... they are giving $10K to an out-of-state candidate(s). So where'd they get the money?

I'm sure that fundraiser they held last May called:
"The 2005 Massachusetts Democratic Platform Convention" was very helpful.

Sheesh.

Me thinks Chairman Johnston has some 'splainin' to do.

I Liked It Better the First Time I Heard It.

2006-03-01T00:32:00.000-05:00

In a blog post titled, "Moving Massachusetts Forward", JumboDem over at the very good Idealism Without Illusions called our attention to the press release sent out today by the Reilly campaign detailing his "vision for the Commonwealth."

Except there is not much there -- there. Just a press release.
It starts out pretty good though:

"Speaking first to business leaders at the North Shore Chamber of Commerce in Danvers and then to students at the Brookmeadow Elementary School in Needham, Reilly outlined his S.M.A.R.T. (Science + Math Achieve the Rewards of Tomorrow) initiative. The initiative offers specific, comprehensive proposals to recruit and train highly skilled math and science teachers, engage the business community, better motivate students and close the "interest" gaps among women and minorities, and produce more college graduates with degrees in math, science, engineering and technology."

Specific, comprehensive proposals sounds good, let's hear 'em. Oh...wait:

"It is the first proposal of Reilly's "Massachusetts Action Plan," details of which will be rolled out in the coming weeks."

You've got to be kidding.

As I mentioned to JumboDem in comments at Illusions, Deval Patrick has had detailed policy papers, titled, wait for it... Moving Massachusetts Forward up on his website -- for months.

Those policy papers outline Deval's tangible vision of his plans to truly move Massachusetts forward and isn't just a press release with gimmicky acronyms and vague promises to rolled out in coming weeks.

So if this is Reilly v.2 regrouped and rebounded, I honestly don't see the difference.

Deval Patrick Rally
March 11 - Faneuil Hall
I'll be there!

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Food fight, or why does St. Rep. Hargraves hate Democrats?

2006-02-28T00:46:00.000-05:00

On January 26 Republicans in Townsend held their caucus at Town Hall in The Great Hall. Which, as you can imagine by the name is a very large room that can easily hold at least 100 people. There are more than 900 registered Republicans here in Townsend, so I'm sure they expected quite a crowd. The actual headcount of folks who showed up though was 10 (yeah, ten) people, including St. Rep. Robert Hargraves (R-Groton).

According to the Community Journal, there was some discussion at that caucus about how effective the Democrats in Townsend have been in holding and publicizing events. Sound good, right? It does until you get to this quote in the article from Hargraves:

"State Rep. Robert Hargraves tells fellow Republicans,'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.'"
(jerky comment, his, emphasis mine)

Nice to know that your St. Rep. considers you to be the "enemy." So, I decided to write a Letter to the Editor of the Townsend Times It's sorta longish, but this is the point:

"Might I remind you, Sir that you represent ALL the people of the First Middlesex District, not just the Republicans. Your constituents have a right to expect that as our representative you will not only work hard to represent our interests, but also that you will treat all of your constituents with respect, regardless of their party affiliation."

I'm not saying Hargraves has to love us Democrats out here in First Middlesex, but if he's going to make those kind of divisive comments AND do it in public, then he's got some 'splainin' to do. Which so far he hasn't done. I sent a copy of my letter to his office, but so far, no response. (this is me, not holding my breath)

Later (probably tomorrow), a Hargraves supporter (tries - badly to) lets me have it - and then I give it right back. I need to type it up because it's print only.

Oh, yeah - not to brag (okay, it's bragging a little) but we held the Townsend Democratic Caucus on February 4 in Town Hall, Meeting Room 2 and we had to bring chairs in from Memorial Hall to accomodate the 30+ folks in attendance. Not a huge crowd, but hey it's 3 times as many folks as the Republicans had. :-)

And we're back.

2006-02-28T00:25:00.000-05:00

School vacation is over and it's back to school (for the kid - and me) and back to blogging (me, not the kid) I started to write up this post, but didn't get a chance to post so I'll just sum up:

Deval Patrick in Fitchburg

Deval paid a visit to North Central Mass. last Tuesday, making a stop at Brownie's Tea and Talk in Fitchburg. There was easily 50 people crammed into a tea shop that seats maybe 15 people during regular business hours. The crowd stood literally shoulder to shoulder to listen to Deval speak. Folk got an opportunity to ask questions about education, health care and business.

There were some Fitchburg politicos in attendance. A few city counselors, an aide to St. Rep. Goguen and former Fitchburg Mayor Mary Whitney sporting a Deval Patrick sticker on her lapel.

Speaking of Deval, there will be a HUGE rally in Boston on March 11 at Faneuil Hall. This is going to be a great time. Folks will be coming from all over the state. The event is free, but tickets will be issued to ensure that that the event isn't overbooked. Grab a buddy and head over the RSVP form

Should be quite the shindig!

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Leone on Death Penalty: Update

2006-02-22T02:03:00.000-05:00

To follow up on my earlier post about Gerry Leone and the death penalty, I have received an e-mail from former Middlesex DA candidate Mike Festa detailing his initial misunderstanding on where he thought Gerry Leone's position was on the death penalty.

From Mike Festa:

"Just read your blog on Gerry Leone...I was wrong about Leone's position on the death penalty, but my information came early on in the campaign from a reliable source. I'm sorry that I put you in a position of having to apologize; would you please post that I accept full responsiblity for the misunderstanding."

First, I'd just like to thank Mike for the e-mail. He is a true gentleman. I think this is an honest misunderstanding and since there is not much in the way of issues on Gerry Leone's website it's not surprising to me that a misunderstanding like this could occur without a clear record.

As I mentioned before, Mr. Leone will be updating his website and I hope that he will specifically address the issue of the death penalty.

Mike also mentioned in his e-mail that in the next week or so he will be sitting down to talk with both Gerry Leone and Jarrett Barrios to talk about their candidacies in depth. Mike is not sure if he will endorse either candidate, but he will look into the matter seriously before making a decision whether or not to endorse.

Apology to Gerry Leone

2006-02-21T16:14:00.000-05:00

Busy, busy, busy....

It's school vacation, so I will be somewhat scarce this week, but I'll be popping in to do some drive-by posts.

First, I owe Gerry Leone an apology.

During Mike Festa's campaign for Middlesex DA, Festa mentioned to me that Leone was the "conservative" in the race and that he supported the death penalty. My intention was to support Festa's campaign, so I wasn't interested enough in Leone to double-check his stand on the death penalty and I should have, so I apologize for that.

Well... I e-mailed the Leone campaign with a request for a statement from Mr. Leone about his stand on the death penalty. I didn't hear anything from the campaign for some time, so I decided to give the campaign a call. I spoke to a very nice campaign staffer who told me that:

"Gerry Leone is against the implementation of the death penalty in Massachusetts."

That's a good start. I'm not a lawyer (nor do I play one on TV), but to me there is a bit of wiggle room in that comment for someone that may personally support the death penalty, but would not be an active player in seeing it reinstated in Massachusetts. I hope that Mr. Leone will address this issue as he continues to campaign across the state.

Mr. Leone's staffer also told me that the campaign intends to update his website to include information about a variety of issues very soon. The site is done in-house and is not farmed out, so in the words of the kind young man who answered the phone, it may be a while, but they plan to do it soon.

I hope so because I'm sure I'm not the only person left with the wrong impression of Gerry Leone.

I Have a Lot of Thoughts.

2006-02-16T12:30:00.000-05:00

Adam Reilly of Talking Politics has an interesting take on my recent post about Chris Gabrieli. I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on some issues here.

Adam says:

"I'm not sure if Gabrieli is the Democrats' best hope to reclaim the Corner Office. But let's suppose he is. In that case...Who cares how grassroots party activists feel about his prospective candidacy?"

Who cares what the grassroots think? I think every candidate running in every statewide, town or city race better damn well care about what the grassroots think. We make the phone calls, walk the precincts, carry the signs and get out the vote. An organized grassroots campaign is the best hope Democrats have to succeed. Don't take it from me, listen to Mike Dukakis. Not to go all Alex Forrest on the subject, but you just can't ignore us grassroots types now and then expect us to do the work later.

The February 4 caucus is proof positive that Tom Reilly doesn't understand that the grassroots matter, but Deval Patrick does and that's why he ended up with so many delegates.

Adam again:

"The top priority for Massachusetts Democrats should be electing a governor for the first time in two decades, not bolstering the collective self-esteem of the grassroots."

Hold up. First, the self-esteem comment is just silly. The second part is the meaty issue. I think we can all agree that the goal is getting a Democrat elected, but which candidate, and who gets to decide? The voters should, but we all know that stuff goes on behind the scenes. Agreements get made, understandings are reached --but not always honored, right Mister Mayor?

Indulge me a moment. Imagine if the caucus totals were flipped, and Tom Reilly had won the more than 2/3 of the delegates elected that Deval Patrick did. Would we still be having this conversation? I doubt it. Would Chris Gabrieli, even after the botched LG vetting, still be considering a run for Governor? Again, I doubt it. No one would want to be seen as rocking the party establishment boat.

For reasons unknown to me, Reilly's poor showing at the caucus seems to have triggered some sort of Plan B. Apparently to some in the party establishment the idea of someone not connected to the party machine getting the nomination is unsettling, so now we're seeing the recruitment process for a new standard bearer at work here. We're reality based, right? Let's be realistic. Pleasant personalities aside, and bearing in mind that Gabrieli is well thought of by a certain group of democratic activists, would he really make that good of a candidate?

Adam seems to think so:

"But Gabrieli isn't just a legitimate prosepct because he's rich--he's a smart, thoughtful guy who knows his shit and has paid his dues. (Remember 2002?)"

The dues thing means nothing to me and uh, yeah I sure do remember 2002. I don't think Adam is doing Mr. Gabrieli any favors by bringing that failure up. The O'Brien/Gabrieli ticket is the best argument there is against the idea of nominating people based on so-called "electability."

I don't mean to pile on here, but Chris Gabrieli has had two unsuccessful shots at elective office. If he hasn't been able to get elected to anything up to now, what are the real chances of him being successfully elected Governor? From a standing start, I'd say not too good--no matter how much money he throws around.

I agree with Adam on this score: the top priority is to elect a Democratic Governor. But I reject the idea (not Adam's) that since the party's anointed pick got stiffed at the caucuses that there is a need to keep looking for a "more electable" candidate.

We have an electable candidate, and his name is Deval Patrick.

As much as some folks like to talk a good game about party unity, they don't seem to understand that Gabrieli getting into this race would do nothing but cause conflict. We split the democratic vote three ways and we end up with Governor Kerry Healey.

Awesome.

Chris Gabrieli: Don't go away mad, just go away.

2006-02-15T00:29:00.000-05:00

As has been reported by many bloggeristas, there seems to be a draft Gabrieli campaign underway. The Boston Globe reports that there is a committee formed and they are trying to obtain the 500 signatures from elected delegates needed in order to place Gabrieli's name before the delegates at the Convention.

I don't know Gabrieli, but I've heard him speak at last year's statewide DFA conference. At that time there was a rumor going around that he was going to get into the Governor's race, but for whatever reason decided not to. That should have been case closed, but as we saw from the LG debacle, it ain't over, 'til it's over.

I can only speculate why this is happening. Are the so-called "party insiders" so disappointed with Reilly that they are looking for a better candidate -- better than Reilly, anyway? I get the feeling that Deval Patrick's delegate totals from the caucuses are weighing heavily on the Mass Dems folks that like to think that they have things under control.

What I don't like a whole hell of a lot of is the idea that if Gabrieli goes through with this, he will attempt to poach committed delegates from both Reilly and Patrick and that is just bullshit.

If Gabrieli wanted to be in the Governor's race, then he damn well should have gotten involved before the caucus and actually done the work. Having this "committee" do the work for him with his blessing, but not his involvement (yeah, right) is damn passive-aggressive and is also an insult to grassroots democratic activists who have been busting their asses to work for the two announced candidates.

What's worse though is the idea that all a person has to do to get into the race this late, is not so much based on support, but the ability to say, "Right. Who do I make the check out to?"

Bullocks.

Leone: Does he or doesn't he?

2006-02-12T20:15:00.000-05:00

I've been busy with hockey this weekend (not me, silly - my son!) spending most of my Saturday up in Hanover, NH (Cavaliers 9/Hanover - 1) The guys played great so win or lose, that makes the two hour drive each way worth it (okay, winning is better!). Before I dashed out though, I did hear that Mike Festa has decided to drop out of the DA race. Shai at the DFA Blog for Cambridge has a nice wrap up.

It's really our loss out here in Middlesex County. I really like Mike Festa. He's a nice guy and great candidate. He has a lot of passion for the job, and I always enjoyed talking to him, as I saw him around on the campaign trail. I felt that Mike had the experience and the ideas that I thought made him well suited to be the next Middlesex DA. I'm sure he will bring that experience and passion to bear in his new project to put together a national resource center for state criminal justice policymakers. I wish him the best of luck.

So here's what I need to know. Does Gerry Leone support the death penalty or not? Mike Festa told me that Leone supports the death penalty, but I can't find anything on his website about it. I've contacted Leone's campaign and I hope to hear something soon.

This issue is very important to many people either for or against. I think all the candidates running should be upfront about where they are on this issue.

Hello, Deval? Sorry I missed your call.

2006-02-10T10:02:00.000-05:00

Not much time for blogging recently. I pushed off so much stuff to do caucus work, that I have been scrambling to catch up. I'm running for DTC chair in my town and that has kept me busy too. There's a whole other story to that, but I'll save that for another time.

So as I do everyday, I left my house in the afternoon to pick up my son from school. We had errands to run so we didn't get back until late afternoon. When I walked through my door, I noticed I had a message, so I pushed the button and listened.

"Hello, Susan? This is Deval Patrick."

Uh....WHAT?

My first thought was that it was a robo-call, but he mentioned my name twice, so unless they've seriously improved the ability to personalize robo-calls, this was no robo-call.

He very kindly went on to thank me for my work in helping to organize our caucus here in Townsend and to let me know that due to late caucuses and more reports coming in, he had actually done better than the 2/3 originally reported by the Globe. He left his number and asked me to call him back, if I had a moment.

Sure, I have a moment. I called him back, but he had already left for the day, so I left him a message to congratulate him on his success at the caucuses and to thank him for his call and to let him know that we're working hard out here in Townsend for his campaign, and we will continue to do that.

If anyone needs more proof of the difference between the campaigns, I think this pretty much says it all. It's not even the phone call. For all I know, the campaign just took a random sampling of town organizers to call -- I doubt that, but it's possible. The point is that Deval Patrick understands and appreciates who is doing a lot of the work in this campaign.

Tom Reilly on the other hand, is working hard to avoid getting too close to us unwashed masses of dedicated activists. Blue Mass Group has a great post about that and how it can come back to bite a candidate in the ass later. Just who does Reilly think is going to do this work should the unthinkable happen and he gets the nomination?

All I know is that if you want a candidate with no message, but has a large bank account and has only a passing interest in being governor, then Tom Reilly's your guy. I'm sure it's easy to work on this campaign, because they aren't doing anything.

I am tired of a system that puts up candidates, not based on their vision, or their committment, or their passion, but by their bank account and their number in the potential statewide candidate's queue. I want a candidate who wants THIS job.

Deval Patrick is that candidate. He needs us, and we need him and I will work my tail off to see that he's elected.

2nd Worcester - Kerry Healey Shakes Her Money Maker

2006-02-05T21:34:00.000-05:00

Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey made an appearance in Gardner this Saturday to stump for Ashburnham Selectman, and Republican St. Rep. candidate Jonathan Dennehy.

Healey made with the usual Republican mantra: blah, blah, blah, democrats suck, taxes bad, services good.

"That's the direction we need to be going, lower taxes, not higher taxes," said Healey, pumping her fist in the air amidst cheering Dennehy supporters.

Healey also said in a brief interview before the 65-person rally that she supported improvements to the speed and schedule of the Fitchburg commuter rail line.

"From a preliminary investigation, we're looking at more service in the Fitchburg area," Healey said.

Hey, that sounds good! Let's get right on it. Oh, wait...

Healey said it was too early to get into many specifics about when those improvements might be made as the state is still in the midst of a public consultation period.

Looking... Yeah, that pretty much sums up the Romney/Healey adminstration. Just looking. To support upgrading the rail system in Central Mass. isn't exactly a courageous stance. What would really show some courage is if this administration would get off their asses and actually do something about it. (this is me, not holding my breath)

The special election is this Tuesday.

Caucus Day

2006-02-04T08:32:00.000-05:00

sco at .08 has an excellent run down of how the caucus works (or should work anyway!) with some excellent followup commentary by Patrick A, himself a distinguished blogger in his own right, before he got too busy to blog.

Don't I know it. :-)

Anyway, I wish everyone a great caucus. We have a lot of work here to do in Townsend. This town went in a big way for Romney in 2002 and the word is that the Reilly folks have been organizing here in town, although I cannot confirm that because nobody is sayin' nuthin'.

No worries. We have a very dedicated core group of Deval Patrick supporters here in town and we've spending our time making phone calls and doing what we can go get out our votes. No matter how it ends up, it's been a very good experience and we'll be able to build on that as the campaign season goes forward.

Happy Caucus Day, Democrats!

3rd Worcester - Goguen's Seat Up For Grabs?

2006-02-02T01:14:00.000-05:00

State representative Emile Goguen ("D"-Fitchburg) said in December that he was leaning toward retirement and now folks are lining up to toss their hats in the ring.

Former Fitchburg Mayor, Mary Whitney is considering a run. She was mayor of Fitchburg until 2002 when Whitney, a Democrat was unseated by Dan H. Mylott, a Republican who... is also considering a run for Goguen's seat.

City Counselor Stephen DiNatale is running with Goguen's endorsement, and has already formed a committee.

In the same article they also mention that Susan Koeck might also run again. She ran against Goguen unsuccessfully in 2004.

I don't have a lot of knowledge of the inside of the Fitchburg political scene, but I do know that Whitney and DiNatale are fairly conservative. Seems lots of Democrats out this way tend to be conservative. Go figure.

The hell...?

2006-02-02T00:21:00.000-05:00

What in the world is going on in the Lt. Gov. race? I turned my computer off just long enough to go to tonight's DFA meeting in Littleton and when I got there I found out that St. Fleur had dropped out of the race.

I thought someone was playing a joke on me.

If I had not been so busy today, I would have blogged about the Reilly/St. Fleur appearance on last night's Chet Curtis Report on NECN. It was actually pretty interesting. Reilly didn't say much and spent most of the interview looking rather gratefully at St. Fleur. St. Fleur had plenty to say about her background and what she added to the ticket and her desire to help people. She also spoke about opportunity, hope, community, and responsibility for each other. It sounded great, but it also sounded familar -- probably because Deval Patrick has been saying something similar ever since he started his campaign.

This whole running mate thing has been a train wreck from the git-go. Bottom line: Mr. AG, you're not the boss of me, and I don't need anyone to tell me who to vote for, so knock it off.

And if I hear the word "unity" one more time from so-called activists/party loyalists who think that we should all "go along to get along" I'm gonna start pinching heads off.

Andrea Silbert is right. The voters will decide who the Lt. Gov. will be, not the AG.

2nd Worcester - Campaign Financial Reports

2006-01-31T22:38:00.000-05:00

I've been so busy with my own caucus and election stuff, that I haven't been keeping up with the 2nd Worcester special election race.

The final campaign financial reports before the special elections were filed January 30.

Republican candidate Jonathan Dennehy raised more than $17,010 between Dec. 26 and Jan. 20 and spent $22,379.81 during that period, according to records filed with the OCPF.

As expected, Dennehy is getting quite a lot of help from Republicans from around the state:

Seventy-two percent of the money raised during the period, some $12,300, came from outside donors.

"We've had fundraisers inside and outside the district," Dennehy said. "There has been a lot of interest in the race, and the Republicans have gathered together to try to make a difference in this race. I think Republicans stick together better than people think."

Democrat Robert Rice did not do quite as well having only raised $2,520.00 between January 3 to January 10.

The special election will be held February 7, 2006.

Reilly and Bush on TV Tonight.

2006-01-31T10:22:00.000-05:00

Newly minted Democratic pairing Tom Reilly and Marie St. Fleur will appear on The Chet Curtis Report tonight at 8:00 PM.

The State of the Union Address will be on most major networks tonight at 9:00 PM (EST) I'm a C-SPAN gal, myself. The scrolling ticker thing is just too distracting

Coretta Scott King

2006-01-31T09:47:00.000-05:00

Coretta Scott King has passed away. She had been ill for some time, having had a major stroke last August.

Coretta Scott King was a devoted wife and mother of four children. Mrs King was also a tireless advocate for human rights and for racial and economic justice. She devoted her life to preserving the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through the development of The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

Hate is too great a burden to bear.
It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.
Coretta Scott King (1927-2006)

Road to Ruin

2006-01-29T23:51:00.000-05:00

BBC is reporting that the Pentagon is looking to, among other things, influence public opinion through "new media" as detailed in a recently declassified document entitled "Information Operations Roadmap." (pdf)

Any news article that opens with the words, "bloggers beware.", has my full attention. Having read the article all I can say is:

Whisky
Tango
Foxtrot

Reilly/Gabrieli - No deal.

2006-01-29T23:40:00.000-05:00

Boston Globe is reporting that Chris Gabrieli will not run for Lt. Governor.

Blue Mass Group has more.

This whole thing was just dumb.

I'm Callin' Bullshit on the Reilly/Gabrieli deal.

2006-01-27T09:13:00.000-05:00

I'm running out to door here, but to add my .02 (no, not .08 silly!) on the Reilly/Gabrieli Wonder Twins move, if the Reilly campaign is stupid enough to do this (for whatever reason) and cuts the voters out of the process by pushing aside the 4 announced candidates (I'm supporting Silbert) then Reilly will rightfully become the punching bag for every progressive democrat in Massachusetts who is sick and damn tired of this kind of back room, insider, political bullsh*t.

I have more thoughts than time for this today. I'm sure I'll have something else to say later.

Happy Friday!

Didja Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?

2006-01-25T00:48:00.000-05:00

Massachusetts Independent voters are getting quite a bit of media coverage lately. There's the Boston Globe article State of Independents (read it quick before it self-destructs)
and Blue Mass. Group covers the Christy Mihos--will he, or won't he run as an Independent question and the potential fallout for Kerry Healey. sco over at .08 has some great analysis with nifty graphs.

Here in my town we have the same basic demographic breakdown of parties that have been reported elsewhere. We have slightly more Democrats here in Townsend, than Republicans, but the unenrolled, or Independent voters have both parties beat by at least twice as many more voters.

So what's the deal with these voters? I have come into contact with quite a few of these folks as I, along with my town committee get ready for the caucus on February 4. I'll start with my husband, who until recently was unenrolled. As long as I've known him, he has always voted Democratic, but he chose to remain unenrolled because he doesn't like politics and liked the idea that he didn't belong to either party.

I know someone who is running as a delegate in the February caucus who could not find a SINGLE friend who would be willing to change their affiliation so they could vote in the February caucus.

I'll admit it right now, these so-called Independent voters make my teeth itch. They remind me of the child's story where everyone wants to eat the bread, but nobody wants to help make it. Look, I get it -- I don't love everything about the Democratic Party either, but the solution is MORE involvement, not less, especially at the local, grassroots level.

Today in my e-mail I got this great message from Governor Michael Dukakis entitled What a Democratic Governor Can Mean for the Commonwealth. (hat tip to the Gloucester Dems website)

I like this part:

.it won't happen unless we Democrats begin to do what so many of you did for me back in the l980's—organize every single precinct in the state with a precinct captain and block captains and begin now to knock on doors, enlist our fellow citizens in the cause, turn them into precinct workers and contributors, and convince them that the Commonwealth can do a lot better than it has been doing for the past 15 years.

Indpendents -- get off the fence and get into the game.

Your Action Item for the Day

2006-01-23T15:56:00.000-05:00

Blue Mass. Group has done a great job covering the ongoing struggle for Massachusetts to come up with a health care bill. Right now the health care conference committee is still working out the details. BMG asks that we contact our St. Reps and Senators and let them know that we support the original House bill.

You know, if you do -- it's the best one going, so that's what I'm supporting.

David even provides a handy sample letter to inspire you.

As your constituent, I am writing to express my concern over news reports that negotiators on the health care bill are considering (1) dropping the employer "pay or play" provision; (2) increasing the surcharges on the employers who already provide health care; and (3) imposing an individual mandate on all Massachusetts residents.

As someone who strongly supported the original House bill, this strikes me as very bad news - close to the worst of all possible worlds. I think an individual mandate is a very bad (and possibly unconstitutional) idea, though I could grudingly accept it as part of a package that included employer "pay or play." But I cannot support it on its own, nor can I fathom why we would further penalize employers who are already trying to do the right thing by covering their employees.

This is starting to look distressingly like "RomneyCare," which would force individuals to buy health insurance without really helping them do it, and which would continue to let Wal-Mart and others who don't cover their employees off the hook. The least desirable outcome would be to make the current situation worse, and then claim victory, making any actual reform of the system next to impossible.

I urge you in the strongest possible terms to advocate for the original House bill, and to resist efforts by AIM and the Chamber of Commerce (who, as you know, do not speak for all businesses) to foist the entire burden of reforming the health care system onto those who can least afford it.

Thank you for your consideration.

If you don't know who your representitives are, hit up Project Vote Smart

The special interests groups like the National Federation of Independent Business are out in force trying to convince people to accept the status quo. They've even dropped off their flaming bag of dog poo at my local townie paper. You can see the same thing here and at this local paper. Slow news day, I guess.

I wrote a rebuttal letter to the editor of the Townsend Times. We'll see if they print it.

Pop Quiz Time!

2006-01-20T10:07:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, folks. I'm up to my neck in caucus stuff and I'm also running my campaign for DTC Chair, so I hope you'll bear with me for the next few weeks. In the meantime, enjoy a fun quiz.

On The Issues is a website that tracks both national and state candidates on their positions on various issues.

They have a Massachusetts page with a list of candidates past and present complete with nifty graphs and analysis.

Just for a goof, I took their Vote Match Quiz
On that quiz you can select how your votes are going to be compared so I chose Political Philosophy. My results were not terribly surprising.

Your Score

You scored the following on the PoliticsMatch questions:

Personal Score 95%
Economic Score 4%

Where You Fit In

Where your Personal score meets your Economic score on the grid below is your political philosophy. Based on the above score, you are a Hard-Core Liberal.

I'm nearly off the chart!

I know some folks would take that as an insult, but I wear it proudly.

So much for the opinion that I am a SOCIALIST/COMMUNIST.

Romney Kicks the Can

2006-01-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

From the Sentinel & Enterprise

At a recent Statehouse hearing on a proposed education reform bill, Mitt Romney (R-Fantasy Land) faced off with Sen. Robert Antonioni (D-Leominster) about the bill's particulars. Namely, the bill would propose a shorter timeline for the state to intervene in struggling schools, and greater power for school administrators to hire and fire teachers.

Sen. Antonioni is having none of that:

"So much of the tone of the bill seems to be making it easier to get rid of personnel, and (incorporate) performance pay," said Antonioni, a Leominster Democrat, whose sister is a teacher at Leominster High School. "I'm concerned about that. There's a feeling it's more about blaming the individuals who are there than improving resources."

Romney also wants to create a program that would offer bonuses to teachers who instruct advanced placement courses in math and science, as well as more pay for teachers whose instruction leads to higher test scores.

Look, I know that test scores are important, but they don't tell the whole story. I'm not an education expert, but from a grassroots level, based on my experience with my son what I hear from other parents with kids in public schools, we are not impressed with the current standards and only giving us more of the same isn't going to cut it either.

We need standards that are about more than just fitting a kid into a one-sized fits all box. We need to teach our kids to THINK not just memorize facts for standardized tests.

Deval Patrick is really on to something when it comes to education. In his plan the focus in on innovation, not just tossing money to teachers. I also appreciate his support of charter schools. I support public non-profit charter schools too, and not just because my son happens to attend one in Fitchburg.

Leominster High School has recently adopted some principles of the charter school movement: Student as worker. Small class sizes. School as community.

Leominster High School has partnered with Parker Charter Essential School, one of the first charter schools in Massachusetts. Together they are changing the dynamics of public education. The focus is on innovation, not just kicking the can down the line.

Uh... this is a joke, right?

2006-01-12T23:58:00.000-05:00

Google is not always your friend. I was poking around Google looking for some information, and I came across a link to Worcester Magazine. I did a total double-take at this headline:

Murray picks up endorsements

In a dramatic statement at a fundraiser in Pride’s Crossing, Mayor Timothy Murray announced that his campaign for lieutenant governor has received endorsements from every public union in the state, the full Massachusetts Congressional delegation, the Shrewsbury Street Neighborhood Association, the graveyard shift at the Rte. 20 UPS facility, and six major characters from the Star Wars universe. “Don’t jump to conclusions,” said campaign spokesman Michael Cohen. “The mayor is merely testing the waters.”

Further down the page is this head-turner

In other developments, Worcester Mayor Timothy Murray was officially anointed as the party’s candidate for lieutenant governor, and will run with overwhelming favorite gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick on a joint ticket.

“Just because they say so, doesn’t mean the mayor has made a final decision,” said Murray campaign spokesman Michael Cohen. “We should know more in a few weeks.”

Okay, okay, here comes the punch-line:

Murray wins big

It was a landslide for Timothy Murray in the race for Massachusetts lieutenant governor, as Worcester’s mayor took the state in a runaway victory. “I’m gratified,” said Murray. “Just don’t tell them that this town doesn’t have real mayors.”

Campaign spokesman Michael Cohen said the swearing-in ceremony will be held the first week of January, adding, “He’s still up in the air about this thing, as far as you know.”

Ha-ha-ha, okay, you got me. Very funny, but when did Worcester Magazine turn into The Onion?

Freep This Poll!

2006-01-11T07:49:00.000-05:00

The Lowell Sun's Question of the Day is:

If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?

Right now Kerry Healey is in the lead with 48%

Deval Patrick has 24%

Tom Reilly has 27%

Deval Patrick supporters, get on over to the Lowell Sun and vote!

Update: Deval Patrick wins with 48% of the vote. Not that it's scientific or anything, but still. Yay!

Good Health to My Friend in Lowell.

2006-01-10T13:55:00.000-05:00

Get well soon, wishes to my favorite Lowell blogger Lynne of Left in Lowell. She's been down for a week with a kidney ailment.

She's back today with a great post about the confusion over the new "Part D" of the Medicare prescription drug benefit. She makes the point that her grandmother was paying $12/month for eye drops that now, thanks to Republicans of the "let's drown government in the bathtub" variety, and their evil scheme to undermine ANY social program, grandma is now paying $50/month for the same eyedrops.

Hey Repugs, yeah government programs suck if you don't set it up right to begin with.

There is a great reply to Lynne's post at her blog from "Tim Little" It's all good, but this part is particularly on point:

I think that DP [Deval Patrick] made a good point the other evening: that government still has relevance, and that the stereotype of Big Government is neither workable nor applicable. Government can be effective and efficient and compassionate, and it can complement the private sector; we just need elected officials who have the vision and wherewithal to make it so, and the support of voters to put them in office in the first place.

- Tim

A lot can be said about a society by how they care for their children and the elderly. We are morally responsible for both. Can anyone really say that we don't need universal health care? Now.

Special Election Primary Today - Go Vote!

2006-01-10T08:36:00.000-05:00

Today there will be primary elections in Somerville and the towns that make up the 2nd Worcester district. (Ashby, Ashburnham, Gardner, Royalston and Winchendon)

Blue Mass Group breaks it all down.

Get out there and vote!

Deval Patrick on Tour

2006-01-09T23:19:00.000-05:00

This weekend the Deval Patrick campaign made stops in Lawrence, Lowell and Groton.

The Lowell Sun covered the Deval Patrick meet & greet at the Brew'd Awakening in Lowell.

Sounds like there was a good turn-out. . There's more coverage at the Lowell Democratic City Committee blog.

I was at the Groton DTC annual dinner which, as mentioned in the Sun article, took place later that same evening. I haven't seen any newspaper coverage, so I'll just briefly sum up here:

The Groton Democratic Town Committee held its annual dinner Sunday, January 8th at the Bull Run Restraurant in Shirley. The dinner was co-sponsored this year by the Middlesex and Worcester Dems together with the town committees of Ayer, Pepperell, Shirley and Townsend. Deval Patrick was the featured keynote speaker, but we also had brief comments from various candidates for statewide office including:

LG candidates Sam Kelley, Tim Murray and Andrea Silbert.

Middlesex DA candidates Jarrett Barrios, Mike Festa and Gerry Leone.

Secretary of State candidate John Bonifaz.

The turnout of 110 people was incredible. Every candidate that I spoke to was amazed that so many people turned out on a cold, leftover snow on the ground, Sunday night. I'm glad that the candidates got to see how many dedicated activists there are out here in North Central Mass. This area has a very large percentage of unenrolled voters and they went overwhelmingly for Romney in the last election. I think now after the last four years of empty Republican promises, that we could swing the unenrolled voters by reaching out to them. The Mass Dems Victory 2006 campaign is a great way to start that outreach process.

But first... lemme get through the February 4th caucus!

Blue Mass Group is All Over the Reilly Kerfuffle

2006-01-06T18:10:00.000-05:00

David makes the point that it's not so much illegal what Reilly did in placing a call to the Worcester District Attorney to ask that they not release the autopsy report (which would be illegal anyway) of the teenaged sisters Shauna and Meghan Murphy who were killed in an alcohol-related car accident last October, it's just inappropriate.

My heart goes out to the Murphy family. I know that I wouldn't want private information about my family members like autopsy results released to the media and I don't fault them at all for asking for help. But for me, here's the rub: The Worcester DA knows the law. Reilly knows the law. Why would Reilly feel that he needed to intervene?

In an opinion piece in the Globe Brian McGrory quotes Reilly:

"Protecting that family and their private medical records -- no, I don't regret making that call and keeping those records confidential," he replied. ''I would do that for any family to protect their rights and their deceased children's rights."

But the fact of the matter is, this is not just any family. This particular family knows Reilly and has contributed money to his campaign. In his press conference yesterday, Reilly indicated that he has made simlilar calls in the past, but would not reveal the details involved. That information is useless without details. Were these calls also made on behalf of Reilly supporters?

If Reilly has a habit of making these types of calls for supporters, it's not just inappropriate, it's an abuse of his power as AG and he should be called to account on it.

2nd Worcester Special Election - Campaign Finance

2006-01-05T00:16:00.000-05:00

From the Sentinel & Enterprise

Tuesday, January 3rd was the deadline to file campaign financial disclosure forms with the state. In the lead in the democratic money race is Robert Rice of Gardner who has raised more than $9,275 and spent $3,930 in the reporting period between November 1 and December 23.

Michael Ellis, also of Gardner has raised $6,825 and has spent $2,400.

Mike McCallum of Ashby has raised $2,575 and spent $4,259, but he has also contributed $17,050 of his own money to his campaign.

According to the article, McCallum doesn't attribute his donation level to his Ashby residency:

"I started my campaign later then the other guys, so I would expect that my fundraising would be behind them," he said. "As I raise it, it will make the books balance. I also don't think there is anything wrong with a candidate spending there [sic] own money on a campaign."

That's a whole lot of money to be sure, but it will all come down to how effectively, not to mention successfully, that money is spent.

2nd Worcester Special Election - Meet Candidate Dennis Venuto

2006-01-03T21:43:00.000-05:00

I have been trying as much as possible to publish information as I get it about the candidates for the 2nd Worcester special election as there is not a lot of newspaper coverage about the election. I understand that there are candidate profiles in the recent Gardner News (subscription required).

Joining democratic candidates Rice, Ellis and McCallum is the Independent candidate Dennis Venuto. Mr. Venuto was unable to collect enough signatures to have his name placed on the ballot, so he will be running as a write-in candidate.

Mr Venuto is originally from New Jersey. He has lived in Gardner for the last 10 years, having moved to Massachusetts from Texas. He is married with six children and he is a self-employed contractor.

I recently had an opportunity to exchange e-mail with Mr. Venuto and he was kind enough to answer a few questions:

Susan M: What is your background in public service?

Dennis Venuto: The only public service I have done has been as a firefighter and when I have donated time to help the community that I live in. I have 20 years service as a firefighter in 4 states. Also back in 2004 when Gardner was struck by 2 major house fires, putting about 8 families out of their homes, I started collecting donations of clothes, housewares and other items they might need to re-establish their way of life.

SM: What motivated you to enter this race?

DV: I ran for mayor of Gardner this year and during that campaign I found out that the majority of the problems facing the city were caused due to the lack of funding from the state. Also over the past few years I have been involved with a local issue where a builder wanted to put 100 homes into the neighborhood I reside. There were many concerns with this including open space. After everything was said and done this builder went ahead and cleared some land that was to remain untouched. The way the current laws and ordinances are written there was nothing that could be done and now that part of the open space is gone forever.

SM: What issues are important to your campaign?

DV: The issues that I feel are important are:

Returning monies that were cut to the communities.

Strengthing the Open Space laws to give the communities more power to control what happens in their areas.

Supporting the fire and police departments.

Support of programs that benefit the elderly and children of the communities.

SM: What do you want people in the 2nd Worcester district to know about you and your campaign?

DV: I moved to the Gardner area in 1994 and stayed because, like many others that have moved to this area, this area has a certain type of appeal to raise a family and it needs to be perserved at all cost.

My campaign is a sticker/write in campaign so I will be going around to all communities knocking on doors and trying to meet as many people as possible.

The first debate will be held on Thursday, January 5, 2006 at 5:30 PM at Mt. Wachusett Community College.

2nd Worcester Special Election Debates

2005-12-29T22:03:00.000-05:00

From MWCC Weekly Newsletter

There will be two debates held for the 2nd Worcester district special election. Both debates will be held at Mount Wachusett Community College. The first debate will be held on Thursday, January 5, 2006 at 5:30 PM. A second debate is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 2, also at 5:30 p.m. (The special election on Feb. 7.) Both debates will take place in the commons area of MWCC’s main campus.

The first debate will feature opening and closing statements, questions posed by the moderator and a segment where each candidate can ask his opponents a question. The second debate also will include opening and closing statements, questions from a panel of Garner News journalists, Assistant Editor Andres Caamano and reporter Daniel Axelrod, and MWCC representatives, political science and history Professor Dr. Oliver Hooper and Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs Lea Ann Erickson, and a segment where each candidate can ask his opponents a question.

MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino will moderate both debates.

The public is encouraged to attend. Admission is free.

The 2nd Worcester District includes Ashby, Ashburnham, Gardner, Royalston and Winchendon.

Competing for the Democratic ticket are Michael Ellis, president of the Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce, Mike McCallum, a member of Ashby’s Board of Selectmen, and Robert Rice, Gardner’s assistant city solicitor and partner in the law firm Ward, Walsh & Rice. Jonathan Dennehy, a member of the Ashburnham Board of Selectmen, is running on the Republican ticket. Independent Dennis Venuto, a self-employed contractor who fell several signatures shy of placement on the ballot, plans to run as a write-in candidate.

Should be an interesting evening. I don't live in this district, so I don't have a dog in this fight. To my knowledge McCallum is the most progressive of the bunch running. He has a very solid environmental background and has been able to coordinate state and local groups to renovate the Ashby library and preserve the Mt. Watatic recreation area without tax increases.

Ellis has former St. Rep. Brian Knuuttila (who previously held this seat before he retired in October) as his campaign manager which gives him an edge in the organizational department.

Rice has plenty of fancy campaign posters up, including one in Fitchburg(?!) and has received the endorsement of the increasing influential SEIU1199 so in my mind, that makes Rice the front runner in the upcoming primary.

At this time I don't have any information at all about Dennis Venuto, but with such a short election schedule it will be very difficult to get an effective campaign off the ground in time for the primary.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2005-12-27T16:59:00.000-05:00

It's been quite a year. I have been blessed with the gifts of good health and the love and support of my friends and family. It is, as the kids say, all good.

I'm off to my son's hockey tournament. I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon with my guys.

Before I sign off here, I recommend that you surf over to Marry in Massachusetts. As usual, Mass Marrier does a better job of blogging about what I blogged about, and so I thought I'd blog about that some more.

Among other great points about the importance of local blogging that Mass Marrier makes, he notes how linking blog to blog is an important part of our mission of continuing our conversations across towns and cities.

I can't tell you how important this has been to my blogging. I am not a policy wonk, or a political insider, but by reading blogs like Marry in Massachusetts and Left in Lowell and Blue Mass Group, I have learned so much about policy and candidates here in MA. I think that as blogging get more coverage in news, and by other blogs, more folks will read and add their voices to the blogsphere and that is a pretty damn good thing.

Blogger Karma

2005-12-26T23:04:00.000-05:00

Okay, now this is weird. Part of my (hopefully!) daily routine is to read the local papers to catch up with what's going on here in my town, and in the area. I've been pretty busy the last few days with the holidays (a belated happy holidays to one and all!) So today I was catching up on my reading and noticed that the Sentinel & Enterprise has an interesting article on blogging. They link to some new blogs that I had not heard of and then as I continue reading I get to this part:

After reading in the Sentinel & Enterprise on Tuesday that Goguen was thinking of retiring from his longtime job as a state lawmaker, a person with the online name "Mariposa" posted the news to their blog.

Uh, hey... that's me, and they even plugged my blog by name, but not by URL. Bummer. Oh well, it's just nice to be noticed, eh? There's also a shout-out to Marry in Massachusetts too - Go, Massmarrier, go!

The whole article is pretty interesting and makes the point that bloggers are talking about news and issues that aren't always covered with much depth in newspapers. I didn't start blogging because I'm such a great writer. It had more to do with the fact that there wasn't much news coverage, or blogs in central MA for that matter, that talked about issues that are important to me.

So if you landed here because of what you've read in the Sentinel & Enterprise, welcome.

Check out the excellent blogs on my kickass blogroll, and if you want to learn more about blogging check out Blogger or WordPress or just google "blog" and you'll get plenty info.

Dear Santa, All I Want For Xmas Is one Less Hater.

2005-12-20T21:57:00.000-05:00

From the Sentinel & Enterprise

State Rep. Emile Goguen ("D"- Fitchburg) has announced that he is "leaning toward" retiring when his term ends next year.

The 72-year old cites health concerns as a possible reason for retiring. I hope that is not the case, as I would not wish poor health on anyone.

Having said that, my analysis can best be summed up in one word: YAY!

Susan Koeck, who ran unsuccessfully against Goguen in 2004 is looking to run for this 3rd Worcester seat again in 2006 whether Goguen retires or not.

2nd Worcester Special Election - Meet Candidate Mike McCallum

2005-12-14T12:39:00.000-05:00

Ashby Selectman Mike McCallum is one of three announced democratic candidates for the open 2nd Worcester Rep. seat vacated last October. He has recently unveiled his campaign website at www.electmikemccallum.com It's a very good website with lots of information about him and his campaign, which I'm sure will be very helpful to introduce him to voters. I have been in contact with Mr. McCallum and I hope to get an interview with him soon.

Mike McCallum lists his top priorities as education, public safety, universal health care, affordable housing and preservation of open space. As I mentioned previously, the two other democratic candidates are running on their positions of being "very conservative" and being concerned with "the plight of the small business owner."

During his tenure as Selectman in Ashby Mike McCallum has build a solid reputation as a fiscal conservative, but not at the expense of limiting services. Ashby has been able to expand their library and preserve Mount Watatic though a partnership with nearby Ashburnham. Both of these projects were accomplished without the need for a Proposition 2 1/2 override. The voters in 2nd Worcester do tend to be conservative, but I think that if they take the time to get to know Mike McCallum they will like what they see.

The 2nd Worcester seat has traditionally been held by whichever candidate was running from Gardner. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that it is the largest community in the district with the largest democratic organization. However, as this is a very short election schedule, in the middle of the holidays, during a near record breaking cold snap, I think it's all going to come down to how effectively the candidates can get out the vote.

Just being from Gardner is not going to be enough.

2nd Worcester Special Election Debate Set

2005-12-13T11:51:00.000-05:00

From the Worcester Telegram and Gazette (subscription only) A candidates debate for the open 2nd Worcester State Representitive seat has been set for January 5, 2006 at Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner. The Gardner News is sponsoring the event.

The news abstract on the front of the Gardner News (also subscription only) indicates that there are two debates to be held in Gardner. However, unless you subscribe, you can't get this information online. Arrgh!

Note to Gardner News and Worcester T&G: Just put some damn advertising on your site to cover costs already!

I'll try to run this information down.

BlogLeft Wrap-up Part II - Electric Boogaloo

2005-12-13T10:49:00.000-05:00

After a yummy buffet lunch of salmon and chicken with assorted side dishes, our group split off into three breakout groups. The topics were:

Getting involved in the Democratic Party - Led by Kate Donaghue, DSC Wonder Woman and Co-Chair of Field Services

HR 4194 and Other Boondoggles of Online Free Speech - Led by Stirling Newberry

Beyond Blogging: Where Will the Technology Take Us? - Led by Jon Garfunkel of Civilities.net

There were note takers assigned to each group and those notes will become part of the final report of the conference. I participated in Kate Donaghue's breakout session on getting involved in the state Democratic party. Rep. Mike Festa (D-Melrose), candidate for Middlesex DA dropped by to say hello at the break and he and his campaign staffer got to Tatnuck early so they sat in with our breakout group.

We started off by going around the table and talking about how we got involved in politics. The group ran the gamut from some growing up in families that were always involved, to some volunteering in local communities and working their way up the political ladder to some of us just being disappointed with past election outcomes.

Kate described the importance of getting involved with our local democratic town/ward/city committees. Even if you're not quite sure what's going on, if you keep attending meetings and ask questions eventually you'll learn about how things run.

Then we had a discussion about how the state party works and how to get elected to the state committee. Kate does a great job of breaking down how the MDP works. We had discussions about the upcoming caucuses and convention in 2006. Specifically the rule changes and how to run for delegate to the convention. Kate let us know that the Preliminary Call to Convention 2006 was now online at the MDP website.

After the breakout sessions, we came back together and had a brief summary of all the breakout groups and we also had a group discussion about what we'd all like to see come out of this conference. These are some of the ideas that had the most discussion.

Blogger Candidate Forum - A town hall style candidate forum moderated by bloggers.
Blogger Recruitment - Encourage folks who are reading blogs, or someone who is active in political groups or volunteer groups to start blogging and give those new bloggers help on how to start and maintain a blog.
Technical Blogging Help - Help established solitary bloggers update their blog format to community blogs so that more people can participate.
Massachusetts Activism Wiki - a Wiki that would list activist groups by town/city. That way, when projects come up, or other activists need help they could go to the map and find contact information.
BlogLeft MA Meta Blog - a blog that will be used to coordinate the activities listed above.

The first, of what will hopefully be, many BlogLeft conferences was an unqualified success. I am so happy for Lynne because she has put so much time and energy into making this happen. She has, in her usual generous fashion, spread the gratitude around, but honestly she is the one who had the energy and passion to get these cats herded, and to pull off an exciting and interesting conference.

Some final thoughts:

I thought the conference went very well. I hope in the future to see more women bloggers and bloggers of color attend these conferences.

Oh, the Bloggers and the Massachusetts Democratic Party should be friends... I am very encouraged to see these two groups get together and gain a better understanding of each other. Bloggers sometimes get the reputation as being hostile toward the state party. Speaking only for this blogger, I have a great deal of respect for the majority of people involved in the state party. These are volunteers who work hard on getting more people involved in the process.

My beef is with the small minority of folks running things in towns/wards/cities where they are hostile to people who are trying to get involved and want to protect their power positions by limiting access to the process. Or when the state party doesn't follow it's own rules.

Other than that, I'm good. :-) Going forward I hope bloggers and the MDP can see each other as allies (in some things) and not combatants.

I learned a lot at this conference, but I think the best part of all was to meet people who I have enjoyed reading all this time. Having met and talked with these fine folks, I find myself enjoying their blogging more because now not only can I read the blogs, but now I can really "hear' them as well.

Can't wait 'til next year!

BlogLeft Conference Wrap-up (Part 1)

2005-12-11T23:27:00.000-05:00

What a great day. There were so many great moments at the BlogLeft Conference. Check out the liveblogging at Political Cortex - and speaking of Political Cortex, you fine folks at PC all rock harder than a rockin' thing to allow BlogLeft folks a spot on your front page. Your help and hospitality is very much appreciated.

Our day kicked off great with a greeting by Worcester Mayor (and candidate for Lt. Governor) Tim Murray who spoke about how he got involved in politics on a grassroots level.

Our morning keynote speaker Stirling Newberry had a great speech about drilling down on the essentials of blogging. Keep things simple. Take information and break it down. Write about local candidates and issues that local newspapers often miss. Another important point Stirling made was how important it is for bloggers to support one another and link to each others blog posts. This piling on has the effect of concentrating attention on a particular subject and giving it more weight. I have to say that I have been reluctant to do this in the past because I thought it made me a lazy blogger to just link to other blogs. Also, as a blogger, I try to put my own opinion out there and not just write "me too" posts. The solution is to link, but also write what I think as well. Stirling also said that we should make sure that our comments are turned on. I am SO busted. Lynne pulled a face at me when Stirling said this, and I nearly busted out laughing.

Our afternoon keynote speaker Fred Clarkson talked about his writing and how he became involved in progressive politics through the 2002 Robert Reich campaign. Out of that experience grew Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts. Fred's passion for activism really comes through as he speaks. He spoke eloquently about our responsibility to engage and activate voters and bring more people into the process. (tagged from the liveblogging) "How is it that people talk about polls instead of getting people to the polls." Right, on Fred. We must go from just talking and get down to doing.

Fred also talked about how blogging fills a vacuum left by the media. He gave an example on how the Berkshire Eagle newspaper was reluctant to interview Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick because they had no intention of covering the 2006 races until November 2005. The Berkshire Eagle was eventually shamed into covering Deval Patrick, but only after bloggers raised a sufficient ruckus over it. If the media wont do their job, bloggers will be more than happy to fill that vacuum. The Deval Patrick blog interviews this past summer are proof of that.

Fred wrapped up his speech with the ominous warning that Massachusetts was about to become Ground Zero in the fight for equal rights for gays and lesbians. The religious right will bring whatever money, man-power and other resources to bear on making sure that marriage equality does not stand here in Massachusetts.

This is a frightening thought and is in no way hyperbole. I see how far DINO Rep. Emile Goguen (D-Fitchburg) is willing to go to spread this message of intolerance. My own Rep. Robert Hargraves (R- Groton) joined in a lawsuit filed by Liberty Counsel (you can follow that wingnut trail all the way to Jerry Falwell) The idea that Massachusetts legislators (including some democrats!) would bring that sort of bigoted influence into our state is frightening indeed. Fred is right. We need to be aware, and we need to be prepared to counter these tactics.

Lunch and breakouts are next, but it's been a long weekend of bloggerific fun and long-haul hockey trips, so I'm going to have to put a ellipse on this until tomorrow.

BlogLeft Conference Today!

2005-12-10T06:11:00.000-05:00

Be sure to head over to Political Cortex to see the live blogging updates. Our posts will be in the Code Blue (activism) section.

I will try to audioblog a few segments when I get a chance.

Acton Area DFA Endorses Deval Patrick for Governor

2005-12-08T01:39:00.000-05:00

Tonight was the monthly meeting of the Acton Area DFA at Ken's Cafe in Littleton. There was a good turnout even though some of our regulars were off at the Deval Patrick fundraiser. At tonight's meeting we had a fundraiser of our own to raise money to donate to an organization that helps low income families buy heating oil at a discount. We considered two organizations and decided to go with Citizens Energy. Our group collected $220.00 in donations.

An important mission of DFA is to support progressive candidates. An endorsement from DFA gives a candidate visibility and financial support. For progressive candidates the first step in gaining that endorsement is to get support from local area DFA groups. Tonight by unanimous vote Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick received the endorsement of our DFA group.

Related to this was a motion put forward that our DFA membership would try to as much as possible to help each other out by supporting candidate forums in nearby towns. The ability to get candidates to come out and attend voter forums in suburban areas is directly related to how many people we can get to attend. This is a great idea and encourages towns to work together for a common goal. It's surprising to me how difficult it is to get upwards of 100 people to come to an event. The best way to decide who to vote for is to talk to the candidates directly. The candidates want to talk to voters, but voters, especially in the outlying suburban areas need to meet them halfway.

Lucy and Ethel's Great Political Adventure

2005-12-05T13:52:00.000-05:00

Sunday afternoon myself and Lynne from Left in Lowell went to the Westborough DTC/MW and Alliance Dems annual holiday party. What a shindig! I'm not a fixture on the party circuit by any means, but I have been to enough functions to know the basics:

1. Sign-in so the hosts have an idea of who attended. There is usually a gauntlet of campaign staffers trying to add you to their mailing/announcements lists too.

2. Grab a name tag. Fill it out l-e-g-i-b-l-y. Very important.

3. Find the drinks. I tend to stick to water and lots of it. Hold it in your left hand so you can shake hands with your right.

And... you're ready to mingle.

First stop, naturally was to say hello to the hostess with the mostess, Kate Donaghue. She's awesome to host this gigantic party in her home. Kate will be facilitating a break-out session at the BlogLeft conference next weekend, so I wanted to be sure to introduce her to Lynne.

There were so many people there, I honestly lost track. I'll just run them off here in no particular order.

Tom Reilly stopped by for a quick visit. And when I say quick, I mean seriously quick. Lynne and I happened to be close to the door when he arrived, so he shook our hands as he went by (did I mention quickly?) and off he went. He did a quick lap around the house and was g-o-n-e... like *poof* I think I saw maybe four people wearing Reilly buttons. There were a lot of folks there with Deval Patrick stickers or buttons on, so maybe that was a factor. (maybe?) :-)

While Lynne and I were standing in the kitchen thinking, "Hey, was that Tom Reilly?" we noticed fellow blogero and all around good guy Michael Forbes Wilcox I'll have more to say about him further down this post.

We had a great conversation with Deval Patrick Campaign Manager, John Walsh. John talked about how he likes the blogs, particularly Blue Mass Group (and really, who doesn't like BMG?), but doesn't have a lot of time to read them. By this point, Michael Forbes came over to join us and we had a very lively discussion about blogs, the upcoming BlogLeft conference and how blogs have been covering issues, candidates and the special elections with more depth than our local newspapers.

After that it was candidates, candidates, candidates.

We spoke to Lt. Governor candidate Sam Kelle y about blogs. He does read them, so he is aware that some bloggers and commenters are not exactly confident of his chances of getting on the primary ballot. He is a very nice guy to talk to. His campaign blog is one of the best out there of the LG candidates. Very nicely done with lots of mulitmedia stuff and a blog. Good job.

Next up was Lt. Governor candidate Andrea Silbert. I am supporting Andrea so I was glad to talk a bit about why I am supporting her and to introduce her to Lynne. Lynne asked some very good pointed questions of Andrea that I'm sure she'll cover on her blog Left in Lowell.

I saw Lt. Governor candidate Deborah Goldberg, but we didn't get a chance to speak with her. She wasn't at the party very long.

To round out the Lt. Governor candidates, we spoke with Worcester Mayor Tim Murray. The Honorable Mayor will be stopping by the BlogLeft conference next Saturday, so we took the opportunity to talk to him about the conference. He is looking forward to stopping by and meeting more bloggers.

We said hello to Middlesex DA candidate Jarrett Barrios. Lynne told Jarrett that she had written about his campaign on his blog and told him that the only knock she had on him (and it's not really a knock) is that he is the only person she knows who talks more and faster than she does. We had a good laugh about that.

Next up was Middlesex DA candidate Mike Festa. Lynne told Mike that she was interested in interviewing him for her blog and Mike said, "Hey, why not now?" So they proceded to have at it. Mike Festa is a very interesting politician. He comes across as a very regular guy. He's not shy about his accomplishments, but he doesn't speak in that bullet-point language that some politicians do. He also is known to say mild curses when he really gets going, and that just adds to his regular guy-ness. I think Lynne was surprised. I'm interested to see what she has to say about this encounter on her blog.

While we were talking to Mike Festa, there was a buzz brewing in the background. The energy in the room was noticibly heightened. I knew who it was even before I saw him walk through the door, it was Deval Patrick. There was already a lot of folks in the room, but when Deval Patrick walked in that number easily doubled. Deval made his way over to say hello to Mike Festa. Manly hugs ensued. Deval stopped for a moment and I was able to say hello and introduce him to Lynne. In my introduction I mentioned that Lynne blogged at Left in Lowell.com and Deval said that he "loved that blog." ( I was so psyched for Lynne!) Deval was swooped off into a crowd of supporters and Lynne and I continued our conversation with Mike Festa. We tried to track Deval down a bit later, but we caught up with him just as he was headed off to yet another fundraiser.

We had been standing and talking for hours and by now we were both spent. Time to head home. It was a fantastic party and I had a great time. We didn't spill our drinks on anyone, so it's all good. I'm glad that Lynne was able to come along. I'm looking forward to reading her thoughts on the whole thing on her blog.

Note: Yeah, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, I am futzing around with my margins. I have a lot of thoughts and it's hard sometimes for them to fit neatly in the usual space given by Blogger. I'm going to see if this helps before I attempt the expandable post summaries hack. Thanks for your patience.

Holiday Party - Any Bloggeristas Going?

2005-12-01T18:13:00.000-05:00

The MW Dems/Alliance Dems Holiday Party in Westborough this Sunday, December 4th is turning into quite the shindig. I am planning to attend this event so if any other bloggeristas plan to be in attendance be sure to come by and say hey to the salt & pepper medusa-haired, zaftig gal in red. That would be me. :-) I'm bringing homemade fudge.

Check out the guest list from the DDemDispatch

This year there are several candidates/office holders who are confirmed or hoping to join us. Attorney General Tom Reilly, candidate for Governor will be joining us, as is John Walsh, campaign manager for Deval Patrick. For Lieutenant Governor, Worcester Mayor Tim Murray. Andrea Silbert and Sam Kelly have confirmed; Deborah Goldberg has also expressed an interest in attending. Worcester DA John Conte, and Rep. Mike Festa and Senator Jarrett Barrios, candidates for Middlesex DA, are all planning on attending. Gerry Leone, candidate for Middlesex DA hopes to attend. Special guests include my own State Senator Pam Resor, vice-chair of the MW Dems, Representative James Eldridge and Rep. Steve LeDuc of Marlborough. Claire Naughton, candidate for representative on the Foxboro/Norton/Mansfield area special election and Ellen Parker, candidate for DSC are also confirmed.

Details and directions are in the DDemDispatch

If I don't see you at this event, I hope to see you at the BlogLeft Conference on December 10th in Worcester. Don't forget, the conference is not just for bloggers, it's also for readers and other quirky people. Good times!

UPDATE: Deval Patrick has confirmed that he will also be attending the MW Dems/Alliance Dems Holiday Party.

2nd Worcester Special Election - More Candidates

2005-12-01T10:17:00.000-05:00

From the Sentinel & Enterprise:

Ashby Selectman Michael McCallum is the latest candidate to file papers and enter the race for the vacant 2nd Worcester District House seat. McCallum, a democrat from Ashby joins Robert Rice and Michael Ellis, both from Gardner, in the race for the Democratic nomination. The sole Republican candidate is Jonathan Dennehy of Ashburnham. The deadline to file nomination papers was yesterday, November 30th.

Taking a tip from the all-knowing sco at .08, I moseyed over the Office of Campaign and Political Finance to check out the newly organized campaign committees. I didn't see McCallum on the list but there is someone named Dennis J. Venuto who has formed a committee for the 2nd Worcester seat. It is not indicated on the website if Venuto is a Democrat or a Republican. Unenrolled, perhaps? Do they just leave the field blank if you're running as an independent or unenrolled candidate?

Of the three democratic candidates running in this primary race McCallum will face the biggest challenge. Being a selectman from Ashby is not exactly a high-profile office. In fact, Ashby does not even have an active Democratic Town Committee, although they do have a Chair listed on the MDP Chairs page, I know they aren't active because my DTC has been trying to involve Ashby with our DTC events and we've been told that they are not active at this time. Even with the support of an active DTC McCallum will have a hard time competing with the candidates from Gardner.

Tim Murray Makes it Official

2005-11-30T12:21:00.000-05:00

From the DDemDispatch and now to the Boston Globe comes the news that yes, Tim Murray really is running for Lt. Governor.

From the announcement:

"For too long, there has been a disconnect and lack of understanding (at the Statehouse) of the issues and problems facing our municipalities," Murray told the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester Tuesday following a city council meeting.

There's a great discussion at BlueMassGroup about the Lt. Gov race. Go on now, git.

Lt. Governor Race - Tim Murray is in

2005-11-27T20:23:00.000-05:00

I've heard talk for months that Worcester Mayor, Tim Murray was going to toss his hat into the Lt. Governor race, but I haven't see any official announcement anywhere and there's no notice on his website.

There's more speculation in this month's Worcester Magazine, but this speculation has more to do with Chris Gabrieli than Tim Murray.

GABRIELI PLAYS THE WAITING GAME: Most of the declared candidates for lieutenant governor are obscure long shots. But one possible entrant to the race has the Tim Murray camp awfully worried. Chris Gabrieli got the nomination four years ago; he’s wealthy, and he’s well-respected among both party insiders and the Beacon Hill wonk world. Last week a Springfield paper ran an item saying Gabrieli hadn’t ruled out a run. Via e-mail, spokesman Joe Ganley says the reporter “called me to ask me if Chris was running for governor. I told him that Chris had considered running for governor, but had decided not to. He then asked me if he was planning on running for lieutenant governor. I told him that he was not planning on running for lieutenant governor, but he then asked me if he would rule it out, and I said no he would not rule it out. He doesn’t rule anything out.” Sounds like a mayor we know.

Well, that sounds sufficiently coy, but in today's DDemDispatch there it is all in black and white: (I'm summarizing here) Confirmed or hoping to appear at the Westborough DTC Holiday party, none other than Tim Murray, candidate for Lt. Governor.

The DDemDispatch don't lie folks. Murray's in.

Tim Murray is a well liked, well known mayor and is very well connected in the state party. He will be a very formidible candidate. The Lt. Governor race just got more interesting.

2nd Worcester Special Election

2005-11-26T13:28:00.000-05:00

Cos at Blue Mass. Group has a great round up of the special elections coming up in February and the candidates running for those seats. I've written about the 2nd Worcester race before. There are 2 democrats running, which is great news, and I am happy to see that Michael Ellis is more receptive to equal rights than Knuuttila ever was which is also great news.

Having said that, I do think that progressives out here in No. Central Massachusetts have a lot of work to do in terms of organizing a farm team of candidates from local towns that make up the various senate and state rep districts so that when these openings occur we have a list of potential candidates ready to go. Right now all we can hope for in 2nd Worcester is for a democrat to hold the seat and that is a good thing, but the idea that we have democrats running on the positions of being "very conservative" and concerned with "the plight of the small business owner." without any mention of health care, education and affordable housing is disappointing.

It sounds more to me like "Republican-lite."

Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning to a winter wonderland! It is snowing here in No. Central Mass - hooray! My 13 year old snowboarding son is in his glory. Keep your fingers crossed that Wachusett Mountain opens tomorrow, or I'll be hauling him and his buddies off to NH.

One thing I'm thankful for this year is no hockey tournament! We get to feast and loaf and watch movies all day. Good times.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday. I'll leave you with a list of 20 things to be thankful for from American Progress.

American Progress has a good gratitude list that doubles as a quick look back at some recent developments:

This Thanksgiving, progressives have a lot to be thankful for. Here’s our list:
We’re thankful for our country’s troops.

We’re thankful for Rep. Jack Murtha for showing us it’s patriotic to speak your mind.
We’re thankful for 90 Senators who stood up to Vice President Cheney to say that torture is not an American value.

We’re thankful for 79 Senators who demanded the Bush administration detail a plan for Iraq.

We’re thankful that Sen. Bill Frist is not our physician.

We’re thankful for the generosity of Americans, who raised some $2.3 billion to help victims on the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina.

We’re thankful all Americans can still rely on Social Security.

We’re thankful for American Airlines, Verizon, and Nissan, who all agreed to Drop the Hammer.

We’re thankful for Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald for conducting a “very serious” and “very dignified” investigation.

We’re thankful for good friends.

We’re thankful for the success of progressive talk radio.

We’re thankful to the voters of Colorado for putting priorities like education, health care, and fiscal sanity over right-wing ideology.

We’re thankful for autumn. Out West, where some PR readers vacation, the aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them.

We’re thankful Judy Miller won’t be reporting on Iran’s WMD program for the New York Times.

We’re thankful we don’t live in Samuel Alito’s America…yet.

We’re thankful for HorsesAss.org, for exposing (in such ironic fashion) ex-FEMA chief Michael Brown’s checkered past at the International Arabian Horse Association.

We’re thankful for Tai Shan, the National Zoo’s newest celebrity.

We’re thankful we’re not Scott McClellan.

We’re thankful for the residents of Dover, Pennsylvania for doing the right thing for their kids’ education. (Don’t listen to Pat, we’ve got your back.)

And last but not least: We’re thankful to the Progress Report readers for their tips, energy and support.

Happy Thanksgiving! – The Progress Report Team.

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Brew and Stew III

2005-11-23T01:46:00.000-05:00

Saturday, November 19th was the third annual Brew & Stew in Framingham. This yearly event began as an "Inaugural Bawl" in 2002 as a chance for disappointed democrats to get together and scream into the wind after the disappointing election. There is always good company, and candidates present, so it's always a great time. I got to the Tin Alley Grill a bit later than I would have liked because, as usual, I was out all afternoon doing that hockey mom thing (which I love too!) So I ran home, scrubbed up, and got to the event about 1 hour into the festivities. The place was packed! I managed to elbow my way up to the bar and got my drink (O'Douls - hey, I'm drivin'!) , and commenced mingling.

Jarrett Barrios, candidate for Middlesex DA and his supporters had set up a campaign headquarters in the corner. His supporters were handing out stickers. Jarrett was the only candidate that night that actually dressed for the event. There were plenty of ties and shirtsleeves, but Jarrett was very nicely turned out in business casual, with leather jacket. I like Jarrett. He's a very effective speaker and he has some good campaign ideas.

I ran into some folks I know from the Rt.495/MetroWest Meetup so I chatted with them for a bit before the bar went into Karaoke mode. It was so L-O-U-D!!! I felt like I was screaming at people.

Next up was Tim Murray, Mayor of Worcester. (and candidate for Lt. Gov?) I had a chance to speak to him about the BlogLeft Conference that will be held in Worcester December 10th. He was proud that we selected the Tatnuck Booksellers in Worcester to hold the conference at and is pleased to hear that the blogsphere in Massachusetts is so organized.

I had a chance to speak to Lt. Governor candidate Sam Kelley. By now the karaoke was very loud, so basically I just screamed at him and congratulated him on his new website and blog. I also talked to him about the BlogLeft Conference and he asked some very good questions about what type of program we were planning.

Getting up at the crack-of-too-damn-early for hockey was starting to catch up with me, and I had a 45 minute drive home ahead, so I made my final lap around the room and bumped into Mike Festa, candidate for Middlesex DA and his wife Sandy. I've never talked to Rep. Festa before, so we talked a bit about his background as a prosecutor. I planned to see him speak in Harvard the following night, so I didn't ask too many questions. He and his wife are very nice folks and they are supporting Deval Patrick, so that makes them even nicer.

Before I left, I spoke with someone (I know, I hate blind quotes too) who is working on Bill Galvin's unannounced campaign. I'm not exactly an expert on political matters, so I always try to get an insider's view on what is happening. What I'd like to know is, what is the advantage in waiting so long to toss your hat in? Is Galvin waiting to see if Romney will run or not, and really what difference does that make if the state GOP runs Romney or Healey? I got no answers, other than if Galvin decides to run, he has such a good organization and plenty of money that it doesn't matter how late he announces. That may be so, but does he expect folks that are already committed to certain candidates to shift their support to him if he decides to run? This makes no sense to me at all.

Overall, it was a very nice evening, but very L-O-U-D!

The scene in Harvard the next night was much more subdued. But you'll have to go to the next post to read that.

Candidates Night in Harvard, MA

2005-11-23T01:44:00.000-05:00

The Middlesex & Worcester Dems sponsored a candidates night Sunday, November 20th at the Harvard Public Library with Mike Festa and Cam Kerry (Yeah, as in John Kerry's brother)

First up was Middlesex DA candidate Mike Festa.

Mike Festa is a four-term state representative from Melrose. He is running on his state rep experience as well as his experience as a prosecutor and private attorney. He spoke about the importance of crime prevention, which was to be expected, but what impressed me was his focus on rehabilitation, not just incarceration. He spoke about how the drug treatment budget in Massachusetts has been savaged, and how the state is good at locking people up, but not as good a making sure that those people get treatment to ensure that they don't re-offend. He supports the idea that prosecutors should be able look at treatment and sentence alternatives. That is a very welcome change I think from the old "lock 'em up and throw away the key" attitude that some prosecutors have. Very progressive. I was impressed.

Next up was Cam Kerry, candidate for Secretary of State. Yeah, I know, but he says he's running, so there ya go.

Cam Kerry is currently a lawyer, and litigation partner with Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo. He has worked on political campaigns since he was a teenager. The cornerstone of his campaign is to ensure fair, honest, open elections, which having worked on his brother's many campaigns, including John Kerry's failed presidential bid, I'm sure he knows a thing or two about that. Cam Kerry helped develop the Citizen's Information Service He supports same day registration as a tool to get more people to vote and would like to create a "Citizen Participation Service" to encourage more people to get involved in the voting and elections process.

Cam Kerry is a very thoughtful speaker. He really seemed to take a moment and consider what he is saying, rather than just spit the words out.

I would urge all voters to get to a speaker meeting and see the candidates in person and talk to them, and ask them their positions on things. Folks in my town committee are always impressed that I've spoken to this candidate, or that candidate, but honestly the candidates are more than happy to talk to voters and they want to, but voters need to meet them halfway and go to candidates meetings or other events. That can help you make an informed decision before you vote.

That's another good reason to subscribe to the DDemDispatch

Monday Night Lazy Blogging

2005-11-20T22:54:00.000-05:00

I am working on a wrap-up of Stew & Brew and Mike Festa and Cam Kerry in Harvard last weekend, but I need to head out to my monthly DTC meeting, so that's not getting done until tomorrow.

Meanwhile, check this blog out, it's a trip.

DriveTime

From the faq:

Q: What's the deal with DriveTime?

A: Same as all my deals: "Volume, volume, volume!" (tip of the hat to 80's Letterman). The deal is I'm doing a show from my car as I commute to and from work.

2nd Worcester - Now We're Down to 3 Candidates

2005-11-19T13:52:00.000-05:00

Hawke drops out.

Mark Hawke, grant administrator in Gardner and one of two Republican candidates for the state rep seat vacated in October by Brian Knuuttila dropped out of the race on Thursday citing restrictive election laws for city employees as his reason for the withdrawl.

"(State law) doesn't allow me to run as strong as a campaign that I want," Hawke said.

He said that state law would limit the amount of campaign literature that could be produced in his name and prohibit him from talking about the campaign during the hours City Hall was open.

Hawke intends to endorse the other Republican candidate Jonathan Dennehy.

Must See TV

2005-11-19T13:28:00.000-05:00

So didja see the House of Representitives explode last night on C-SPAN? Yes, it's true this hockey mom has no life, to the extent that yes, you can find me some Friday nights sitting home watching C-SPAN. The watch and post over at dKos was pretty interesting too. It's not everyday that a Congresscritter, in this case GOP harpy Jean Schmidt - and btw thanks, Ohio for electing this happy lady, openly call a fellow representitive a coward. It has to be see to be believed.

slow loading wmv format

delicious QT format courtesy of Think Progress

Rob in Baltimore at AMERICAblog sums it up nicely:

My take-away from tonight was also how the Democrats worked together as a party. Unlike the Republicans whose little egos all needed to be fed, parceled out in 30 second and two minute speaking opportunities, Democrats let one man speak for them. They came together and can go home to their districts proud that they finally spoke up and gave voice to the 60% of this country that sees that the Iraq policy is a failure and who have longed to hear our government recognize that mistakes have been made and they need to be remedied.

Yes! More of this, please! It was moving to see Murtha take on all comers, but it was even more moving to hear so much passion in the House especially the democrats, who seem to have located their ovaries and removed the shrink-wrap. I was proud to see 2 of our MA Congresscritters singled out in the coverage.

"This is a personal attack on one of the best members, one of the most respected members of this House and it is outrageous," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

And Marty Meehan, who has been on my nerves this last week with this whole H.R. 4194 thing, gained back some points with me with this comment after Schmidt had her meltdown:

"You guys are pathetic. Pathetic," yelled Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass.

Yeah, what Marty said.

Hey, what's going on this weekend?

2005-11-18T11:29:00.000-05:00

Did you know that this Saturday you can hear Deval Patrick discuss education at the Newton Public Library?

Did you know that you could meet and greet other democratic activists at Brew & Stew III in Framingham?

Did you know that? You knew if you subscribe to the DDemDispatch. What's the DDemDispatch? It's a weekly listing of all the democratic events that are happening all across Massachusetts.

Plus... funny political jokes. What's not to love?

What are you waiting for? Subscribe already!

Now This is a Race!

2005-11-15T22:52:00.000-05:00

The open Rep. seat in the 2nd Worcester district is turning into quite a contest.

Gardner City Assistant Solicitor Robert L. Rice makes it an even 2 Democratic candidates, along with Michael F. Ellis, also of Gardner and 2 Republican candidates, Mark Hawke of Gardner and Jonathan Dennehy of Ashburnham in the running for the state representitive seat vacated by Brian Knuuttila in October.

Rice is not sharing any information on his views just yet:

Rice did not want to go into further details about his views on public safety, education, or other possible campaign issues until the debates. Debates have not yet been scheduled for the race.

"I think those are issues that require a full airing at a debate," he said. "I'm sure there will be differences."

Even with such a short campaign schedule, I hope there will be a debate. It will be interesting to see where the democratic candidates stand on issues. This area is not known for it's progresssive candidates, but I hope 2nd Worcester ends up with a state rep that is more in line with mainstream Massachusetts voters than Knuuttila was.

We have a candidate!

2005-11-14T12:47:00.000-05:00

sco at .08 has the scoop (as usual, you have to get up p-r-e-t-t-y darn early to scoop sco!) on candidates for Rep. in the 2nd Worcester district. In the comments on sco's blog, PatrickA gives us the results of his research into dems who are running and he names Michael F. Ellis of Gardner, who is the President and CEO of the Gardner Chamber of Commerce.

I'm just glad to hear that someone is running. I would have hated to see that seat given up without a challenge.

What's that suckin' sound?

2005-11-11T13:48:00.000-05:00

It's the sound of the vacuum created by a democratic state rep resigning, and no dem running in his place.

As reported by BlueMassGroup, Rep. Brian Knuuttila (D-Gardner) resigned October 23 to become general counsel for the Worcester County Jail. Since that time, I have been making discreet, and not so discreet inquiries to find out who was going to run for that seat and I came up with exactly NOBODY.

What's it to me? I don't even live in that district, but lemme tell you as someone who lives in a district represented by a republican, every democrat who lives in North Central Massachusetts, particularly progressive democrats should care because this is how the "Republican Creep-In" continues.

Sure enough... guess who's running for Rep.

A nearly two-year veteran of the Board of Selectmen is ready to seek a higher office -- the empty state representative's seat.

Board Chairman Jonathan Dennehy, 36, pulled nomination papers late Wednesday and needs 150 signatures by Nov. 29 to officially enter the race for the seat vacated in October by Brian Knuuttila of Gardner.

"I want to be a legislator, not a politician," Dennehy said in an interview Wednesday night. "It may seem like a cliché, but to me it is a very important statement. I judge myself on what I do and what I say."

Sounds pretty good until you get to this part

Dennehy, a Republican, said that as a state representative, he would want to help towns take on large public works projects.

Awesome.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean talks about our party having a 50 state strategy, the Mass state party would do well to heed that and see to it that we have a 151 state district strategy (or whatever, insert your math here) Does the MDP not read their own reports?

From page 2

4. Mitt Romney established his victory by beating Shannon solidly in the Boston suburbs and the suburban and rural areas outside of the Boston with only a few areas of strength for Shannon which probably were due to strong local organizations. (emphasis mine)

Areas of strength. Strong local organizations.
Areas of strength. Strong local organizations.
Areas of strength. Strong local organizations. Learn it. Live it!

The state committee members who represent this area of Central Massachusetts better get their shit together and soon. I know for a FACT that there are people in the town committees in this area who have been trying to organize this area and they have received NO RESPONSE from those state committee members. None. Zip. ZERO.

Areas of strength. Strong local organizations.
Areas of strength. Strong local organizations.
Areas of strength. Strong local organizations.

Election calendar
The deadline to file papers is December 5, 2005. A Primary, if needed will be January 10, 2006. Special Election will be held February 7, 2006.

Rt.495/MetroWest Dem Wrap-up

2005-11-09T16:12:00.000-05:00

The Rt.495 MetroWest Dem meet-up was held Tuesday night in Boxborough. The agenda included a discussion of ideas to for increasing attendance at local DTC meetings. This subject is of particular interest to me because I am always looking to get more democrats to attend our DTC meetings. I was surprised to learn that in Townsend we get more folks in attendance than Carlisle or Littleton. I was even more surprised to learn that Littleton only holds DTC meetings QUARTERLY (?!) How the hell do they get anything done?

Next on the agenda was a discussion about the caucuses to be held in February and the rule changes that came about as a result of the Dukakis-McGovern Commission (with thanks to BlueMassGroup)

These are some of the rule changes that we discussed:

Reduction in Number of Delegates/Alternates
The number of delegates/alternates is fixed according to the percentage of registered democrats in a city/town/ward. In order to make the convention more manageable, the number of delegates have been reduced by 1 or more delegates and most city/town/wards will seat 2 alternates. Some smaller towns will only seat 1 alternate.

We must be doing okay here in Townsend because we will be seating 4 delegates (including ex-officio) and 2 alternates. I was frankly surprised when I learned this as I expected that Townsend would get 2 delegates and 1 alternate.

Delegate Challenges Must be Received in Advance
Delegate challenges must be received a week in advance (I believe that's the time limit, my notes are a bit spotty here) For example, you can challenge a delegate if you can prove that they supported a candidate of another party (Republican or Green or whatever) in the last 2 election cycles.

Universal Ballot
Up to three races will be included on each ballot to streamline the voting.

No Delegate Switching after 1st Ballot
Delegates must stay for the entire convention for all votes. If a delegate is late and an alternate is switched in, the alternate will vote for the entire convention.

Votes Will be Held in Reverse Order With the Lowest Office First.
The Governor vote will be held last. I guess to make sure that delegates/alternates stick around and vote for the whole thing.

All Statewide Candidates Must Get 15% on First Ballot
Candidates must get 15% of delegate votes on the first first ballot in order to continue on to the primary.

Winner of the Convention
The winner of the convention with the majority of delegate votes will be listed first on the primary ballot with a note of endorsement from the MDP.

There was a very lively discussion about the hows and whys of the decisions from the Dukakis/McGovern commission. I'm not positive of the motives behind the changes. The feeling I get from what I hear from people I see at meetings like this one and at DFA meetings I go to is that there was a lot of backlash after the last nominating convention. Many felt the convention went on too long, and some folks saw some of the deals made between delegate slates for particular candidates as some sort of shananigans. I don't think there is anything wrong with having a convention strategy, as long as the rules are followed.

There was also a very lively discussion about the idea that democrats should come out of the convention unified behind a single candidate without the need for a primary like many think the Republicans do, but I personally don't hold that opinion. I understand the need for party unity, but I don't think that limiting our choices is a good idea, and I certainly don't think that the decision to select a candidate should come down to a few hundred delegates. I don't love the 15% on the first ballot rule, but at least it gives grassroots campaigns like Deval Patrick, and Robert Reich before him the opportunity to get into the process and then let the people decided, not just "party" people.

The Rt.495/MetroWest Dem Meetup group meets on the second Tuesdsay of the month, either for an informal information meeting or speaker meetings. The next speaker meeting will be held Sunday, November 20, 2005 in Harvard MA, at the Harvard Public Library. The featured speakers will be Mike Festa, candidate for Middlesex DA and Cameron Kerry, brother of Senator John Kerry (and possible candidate for Secretary of State?)

Deval Patrick visits FSC and I visit Deval Patrick HQ

2005-11-06T11:32:00.000-05:00

Deval Patrick was in Fitchburg, Friday, November 4th touring Fitchburg State College.

"I'm so convinced that the same old thing isn't going to get us anywhere, because it hasn't gotten us anywhere," he told the Sentinel & Enterprise Friday before touring Fitchburg State College. "Massachusetts is at a very, very important crossroad, where we are having to choose between yesterday's leadership and tomorrow's."

I am DELIGHTED to see Deval Patrick make an appearance out here in Central MA and even more delighted to see the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise cover it. I think folks out here would vote for Deval Patrick, if they only had any clue who he is. Getting into the local newspapers is a start. I would like to see him come out here and talk to voters also and that's being worked on too, but I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Saturday morning, myself and Michelle C., who is the chairperson of the Groton DTC, and Senate District Coordinator for DP drove down to the Deval Patrick Campaign Headquarters in Charlestown to learn more about the upcoming February 2006 caucuses to elect delegates for the 2006 Nominating Convention in Worcester.

It was great to know that there were so many of us, that the campaign had to split us up into three groups that met at different times. Michelle and I took the early shift. The discussion was moderated by my favorite state party member, Kate Donaghue, who has truly, an encyclopedic knowledge of how the caucuses work. Most of the 30+ people in attendance had participated in a platform convention caucus before, but not a nominating caucus (myself, included) so we had a lot to learn. There was so much information, and great discussion that the time just flew by.

We had to head out so the next group could begin, but Michelle wanted to talk to Nancy Stolberg, state field coordinator about getting Deval out to our area to have a chance to meet with local voters. Michelle made her pitch, and I backed her up. This area, beyond I-495 has a lot of votes for Deval, but he needs to come out here and campaign for them. We talked about a few dates, but it looks like in mid-January we'll be having a visit from Deval Patrick. I can't wait! I think that folks out here will really respond to Deval's message about getting and keeping good jobs, educating families and health care.

What Will We Tell the Children?

2005-10-30T22:49:00.000-05:00

Elementary School Halloween Festivities Cancelled

First there was Fox (so-called)News Channel's "Christmas Under Siege" and now we have the Underwood Elementary School of Newton throwing in with their cancellation of Halloween festivities.

"The school's principal said yesterday he acceded to the complaints of a handful of parents who said that because the school's traditional Halloween celebrations offended their religious beliefs, they would not send their children to school if the revelry continued this year."

For the love of The Great Pumpkin, A HANDFUL of people?! You've got to be kidding! Look, when it comes to what parents want to expose their children to, parents gotta do, what parents gotta do, but this is just flat-out ridiculous. If a few parents have such a fragile belief system that they cannot bear for their children to be exposed to the black, naughty evil that is the average elementary school Halloween celebration, then they should keep their kids home.

On the upside, there will be more candy corn (hmmm...candy corn) for the other kids. Jeez.

Ethics? Great. Let's talk ethics.

2005-10-27T18:09:00.000-04:00

MyDD blogger quits Does that effect us here in MA?

Jerome Armstrong of MyDD has decided pack it in for the foreseeable future. Basically it has to do with a possible conflict between Armstrong's blogging and his role as a paid political consultant.

Some background on the folks involved.

dKos take on things.

I don't follow the Meta Blogger Beefs too closely because they usually turn into a food fight, but this particular area of blogging ethics interests me so I been observing from afar, and I have these questions:

Do bloggers have a responsibility beyond the usual disclaimer that they work for a particular candidate?

Does it make a difference if the blogger is paid, or volunteers for a candidate?

Is it ethical for a blogger who volunteers or is paid by a candidate to blog bash the opposing candidate, even with the disclaimer, or should a blogger disqualify themselves from blogging about an opposing candidate at all?

Granted, to my knowledge none of these questions are an issue yet for us here in the Massachusetts bloggy-sphere, but as blogging becomes more accepted by the public and by campaigns, it is clear to me that this is a discussion we should be having at some point. The line between advocacy and shilling can be blurry if we bloggers don't pay attention to where that line is.

Here's my story:
Some time ago, I was approached by a campaign about some blogging that I had done. They thanked me for my comments. It's always nice to get feedback, so I didn't think anything of it. Later, I was asked to come to a fundraiser. I didn't think anything of it at the time because as a member of my DTC, and former delegate I get LOTS of invitations to fundraisers, but this one was a bit steep for my budget, so I declined. I'm going to paraphrase what happened next, but the gist of it is that the campaign wasn't really interested in my money. Because of my blogging, they wanted me to attend the fundraiser and mingle with the invited guests and talk up the candidate.

Y-I-K-E-S...

That is SO NOT the reason why I got into blogging. Yes, I am a democrat. Yes, I am a partisan, and I am supportive of certain candidates, but my point is that I do that on MY terms, not theirs. I would imagine that my fellow bloggers' spidey-sense would go off in a similar situation, but my bigger question is: are we obligated to avoid situations like that? Will we eventually see a situation down the road, where bloggers are planted, just to support candidates and causes?

I have too many thoughts.

I hope that we can have a discussion about these issues at the blogging gathering that is in the works for sometime later in the year.

1st Middlesex District Rep. Race and Dem Meetup News

2005-10-26T12:32:00.000-04:00

Last night I had the opportunity to talk to a potential candidate for state representitive. She hasn't officially announced yet, so I'm not going to mention her name just yet, but I am very encouraged to hear that someone is going to run against Rep. Robert Hargraves (R-Groton). In 2004 Rep. Hargraves ran unopposed, and that's just not right. I remember thinking back then, that I would like to get more involved in local politics with the hope that between the towns that make up Rep. Hargraves district (Ayer, Dunstable, Groton, Pepperell and Townsend) we could come up with someone to run against him.

In other candidate news, I also had a chance to stop by the Rt.495/MetroWest Dem Meetup at the Littleton Town Hall. Last night the group hosted a candidate's night with Gerry Leone, candidate for Middlesex DA and Deborah Goldberg, candidate for Lt. Governor. I missed the first part of the meeting so I didn't get to hear Gary Leone, but I made it there in time to see Deb Goldburg. I have only seen her make brief comments before at the DSC meeting in Ayer and at the convention in Lowell, so it was nice to hear her give a longer speech with more details.

I only have a few details to share because as I said before, I got there late, so I had to sit right up front. I always feel funny taking notes so conspiciously, so I just listened, plus Deb kept looking at me, and not in that, "I'm good at public speaking and I know that it's important to make eye-contact" sort of way. She looked at me in a way that made me think I had something on my shirt. So anyway, she made her stump speech. She talked about her family history, and how her family's company, Stop and Shop employed so many people. She talked a bit about healthcare. She wants to put "people first" in her campaign. She talked about her experience as a Selectman in Brookline. She also mentioned several times that we need to elect a business person to the Lt. Governor office. A business person? Really? I know Deb has a degree from Harvard Business School, but I think of her more as a Selectman, so when she said that we need to elect a business person, the first person I thought of was Andrea Silbert. I wonder if that is what other people think?

So after she finished her speech, Deb came right up to me and pointed to my nametag. My last name is difficult to pronounce because there is a silent "g" in the middle that throws people off. So Deb and I had a conversation about how to pronounce Italian surnames that have a "g" in them. At least I didn't have a spot on my shirt.

I think Deb Goldberg is a nice lady, and has a nice manner about her, but I just don't see her as Lt. Governor.

UPDATE: Big ole thanks to Marge at MargeBLOG for pointing out that I mistakenly referred to Rep. Hargraves as a democrat. LOL I guess I really want that seat for the democrats, but wishing doesn't make it so. Not yet, anyway. We have a big job ahead of us here in 1st Middlesex to make that a reality.

Rosa Parks (1913-2005)

2005-10-25T13:44:00.000-04:00

"To this day I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom." --Mrs. Rosa Parks--

Train In Vain?

2005-10-21T23:01:00.000-04:00

Possibly some good news (eventually...) for Central Mass. commuters

From the Sentinel & Enterprise:

A proposal to spend $300 million on upgrades to the Fitchburg-South Acton commuter rail may bode well for local commuters in the future, but plans are still preliminary, MBTA officials said Thursday.

"These are just ideas, but nothing will be implemented without a public process," said Dennis DiZoglio, deputy general manager for planning and development at the MBTA."

This would be great, if they actually pull it off. My hubbin rode the train from Ayer to North Station for a few months, but he gave it up, because the schedule just wasn't convenient and the ride was too long and if he missed the train, which was often because something always comes up at the end of the day, he'd have to wait two hours sometimes for a train. When you're already an hour away from home, tacking an extra two hours to your day just doesn't work.

I still don't care what Shannon O'Brien thinks

2005-10-20T20:45:00.000-04:00

Without even a hint of irony, failed 2002 gubernatorial candidate, Shannon O'Brien addressed the "Successful Women" business conference in Leominster.

Former establishment candidate for gov. supports current establishment candidate for gov. No big surprise there.

The Answer My Friend, is Blowin' in the Wind?

2005-10-19T23:02:00.000-04:00

Deval Patrick was a guest on the Chet Curtis Report last night on NECN. It was a shorter interview than I would have liked but Deval had an opportunity to talk about some important issues.

Deval talked about how underfunding infrustructure in local towns may have contributed to the deterioration of the dam in Taunton. He made a great point about how we need to get through this crisis first, and then take a look at what improvements are needed and what type of maintenance schedule for all dams, public and private is needed. I think he made this point well and didn't come across too bitchy toward Romney.

Deval talked about his support of the wind farm down on the cape. He made this comment on that subject to the Boston Globe:

"We need to get serious about the energy supply and cost issues that are facing us in this country and in this Commonwealth," Patrick said in an interview. ''And I want Massachusetts to show that kind of leadership." ''We can't keep saying we understand the problem of energy cost and supply and the problem of global warming and then refuse to act when we have an opportunity to do so."

I honestly don't know where I stand on this issue. I wholeheartedly support alternative energy sources, but if I spent a ton of money buying property on the cape, I don't think I'd like an endless view of whirlybirds either. The point about having to do something to find energy alternatives is well made - and then actually doing something about it. Cambridge is full of Priuses, but that alone is not going to cut it. Our whole state needs to get behind this.

Here's a couple of great quotes taken from the show:

"We have to give people a reason to vote for a Democrat, not just against Republicans."

"I also think, that, like me, an awful lot of people in Massachusetts are tired of the same old thing and the same old people giving us the same old thing and they're appreciating as I do that if we are really going to seize our future then we need someone who is going to help imagine what that future is like and be a part of that future and that's what I bring."

Deval Patrick
Chet Curtis Report
October 18, 2005

Lemme 'splain

2005-10-19T00:06:00.000-04:00

No, there is too much. Lemme sum up:

So, I'm back from "vacation" that was more of a tour of Home Depot and Lowes home stores. (My MiL's trailer needed new sinks) No offense to Floridians, of which my hubbin is one, but for cryin' out loud, could Florida be more humid?! Ugh. I'm convinced the whole place is on top of a hellmouth.

I have been busy trying to get caught up with my schoolwork, so my postings have been spotty recently. I've been reading recently more than writing. Well, unless you count posting at BMG, heh-heh... but seriously... Speaking of Blue Mass Group

Congratulations to Blue Mass Group for reaching their 100,000th unique visitor! We're so lucky here in Mass to have so many great blogs, but BMG is shaping up as the hub of the Massachusetts Bloggy-sphere. Great work, David, Bob and Charley on the MBTA. Check out the other cool Mass blogs at LeftyBlogs.

In other news... Had a great DTC meeting last night. We had a special guest speaker, Faye Morrison, who among many other things is the Regional Coordinator of the Deval Patrick campaign. She came out to talk about Deval and to discuss the upcoming caucuses in February 2006. I am happy to see that some of the folks in my DTC are open to the idea of supporting Deval Patrick. I did not get that feeling leading up to the convention. I look forward to standing corrected. (or something...)

Gone Fishin'

2005-10-09T18:01:00.000-04:00

I'll be in Florida until late next week. So head on over to the kickass blogs I mention in my blogroll. Have a great week.

Acton-DFA Wrap-up and Victory '06

2005-10-06T18:06:00.000-04:00

DFA Meeting wrap-up

DFA had a good turn out of twelve folks last night at Ken's in Littleton. I wasn't able to attend the last two meetings, so it was nice to be back and visit with everyone.

This month the DFA agenda focused on developing a solid, consistent campaign message. There were some discussions and exercises about developing a message that DFA describes as 27-9-3

27 words
9 seconds
3 points

This is an effort to construct a clear, and concise message. The sample question was: "So, why are you a Democrat?"

27-9-3 Response:
“I believe in right and wrong. It’s wrong to deprive children of health care, to start immoral wars, and to abuse governmental powers. It’s time for what’s right.”.

Personally, I think it's wrong to deprive anyone of health care, not just children, but that's a different DFA meeting, I guess. This is a great idea that DFA has about putting together a clear democratic message, but personally, I tend to focus on positives. I would rather say what I'm for first, rather than what I'm against, but I see the point that DFA is trying to make. I appreciate the work that DFA is doing to get folks the training they need.

Mike C. talked about his experiences as a Victory '06 Precinct Captain. Quick background: Victory '06 is the campaign by the MDP where they are looking for volunteers to walk the precincts in their towns to idenify democratic support, to see how the unenrolled are leaning, or get the unenrolled to switch over to Dem. Mike is offering to train people that are interested.

I have talked about the V6 campaign at my DTC, but no one seemed interested, so I didn't pursue it. Mike C. said that he did mention the campaign to his DTC chair as a courtesy. He didn't leave it to the DTC to take any sort of leadership role, and he recruited people on his own. Mike said that there was only one unenrolled voter that was sorta hostile to him, but not terribly. That's not what makes me nervous about going door-to-door. I'm terribly scared of dogs and here in town, although we do have a leash law, most people just allow their dogs to run. That's the only thing I could see as a potential barrier for me.

I'm going to put up links for V6 and for the Acton-DFA mailing list, as well as the MRDC mailing list. You can always join a list, just to check it out, and if you don't like it, you can always opt out.

Beginners Mind

2005-10-04T11:48:00.000-04:00

From Townsend Times columnist Chris Mills

This took me by such complete surprise. There's no way I can describe it better than Chris does, so I'll leave it to him:

I approached the Young Republicans Club at Groton Dunstable High School, to ask if they would consent to an interview. I had in mind writing a piece celebrating the commitment of our youth to politics and government. The answer came back that some students in the club were so offended by what they have read in this column that they were declining the interview.

The hell...?! It makes me sad t think that minds this young can be so closed. Before anyone gets pissy with me, let me honestly say, that I would be just as dismayed, if this was the Young Democrats (who I will be writing about here soon)

In Buddhism there is a concept called "Beginners Mind" That is the wide-open, non-judgemental state our mind is in, right before we clog it up with silly things like certainity and closed mindedness. We can be so certain of our opinions and beliefs sometimes that there is little, or no room for discussion.

Our country is so polarized right now. Especially when it comes to politics. One only needs to spend a few minutes watching the various cable news stations to see how ridiculous things have become. There are no discussions anymore of policy and issues, just shouting matches. Each Talking Head clings so tightly to their opinions as if they were clutching a bag of gold.

It's is sad to see that type of polarization trickle down to the point where it's difficult to talk about politics in any situation. For the Groton Dunstable Young Republicans to rebuff Chris Mills only because he has a different view is a shame. Here is an opportunity to have a dialogue, and share views on both sides, and that opportunity is lost because some people are so threatened by the views of others, that they cannot bear to hear them.

Is that where our country is headed? Are we so partisan now that we won't even talk to people who belong to the "opposing party?" I certainly hope not. We have a lot of work to do here in our state, and in our country. That work needs to be done with the cooperation of both parties and to be able to do that, both sides should try as much as possible to have a "beginners mind" and work together for the benefit of us all.

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." - Shunryo Suzuki-Roshi

I'll drink to that.

2005-09-30T00:04:00.000-04:00

From 2politicaljunkies.blogspot.com by way of culturekitchen

Nora Knows, or Why I used to miss Bill Clinton too.

2005-09-29T23:17:00.000-04:00

Nora Ephron reminisces about dreams long gone.

I broke up with Bill a long time ago. It's always hard to remember love - years pass and you say to yourself, was I really in love or was I just kidding myself? Was I really in love or was I just pretending he was the man of my dreams? Was I really in love or was I just desperate? But when it came to Bill, I'm pretty sure it was the real deal. I loved the guy.

So did I. Then there was the gays in the military thing. The NAFTA thing. The Monica thing.... yeah... bummer. And now, he seems more interested in not saying anything that could prevent Hilary from getting elected, when he could be taking a stand against the war. Or really against any of BushCo's policies. But I guess he likes hanging out with Bush 41 in Kennebunkport.

10k Rock Out in Fitchburg - One Arrest Made.

2005-09-25T14:37:00.000-04:00

Large rock festivals freak people out. As reported 8/31/05 by Lynne at the kickass blog Left in Lowell, a promoter who wanted to put on an event called the New England Goth & Metal Festival was given a no-go from the Lowell City Manager John Cox who gave the lame excuse that the proper permits were not filed. Maybe the promoter of the Lowell event should get in touch with the Fitchburg city hall.

Fitchburg hosted this year's Locobazooka event without a hitch.

Support for the large rock event held in Fitchburg comes from a very unlikely source, the Sentinel & Enterprise Editorial/Opinion page:

This year's Locobazooka concert went off without a hitch, save for a few minor injuries, two noise complaints and a single arrest for alcohol intoxication.

Not bad, given that an estimated 10,000 people showed up for the day-long concert at the Fitchburg Muncipal Airport.

The city's deal with concert promoter Dan Hartwell to rent the airport was pretty good, too -- or at least an improvement.

But the show provides other benefits to Fitchburg besides money.

It's a signature event that hard rock and metal fans from throughout New England immediately recognize, and it's right here in town.

Hard rock and metal might not be to everyone's liking, but there's nothing wrong with Fitchburg having a signature annual event that people come from far and wide to attend.

Nothing wrong, indeed. And go figure, if the stuffed shirts at the Sentinel & Enerprise get this, there is no excuse for the City Manager of Lowell to be such an elitist jackass.

Nothing At All Occurring in Our Nation's Capitol Today!

2005-09-25T02:33:00.000-04:00

Now with photos from Brad Blog

Solidarity demonstration in Boston 9/24

2005-09-19T23:58:00.000-04:00

From AFSC:
Saturday, September 24, Boston MA
Can't Get Down To Washington...
For those who can't got to Washington where the big Peace Demonstration will be on 9/24, the regular 6 year old Saturday Vigil for the Iraqi People will be a place for those who want to show their support for the Washington demonstration and their opposition to the war in Iraq. We will make a strong statement of our own, that Boston wants peace in Iraq, even those who didn't make it to Washington.
Park St. T stop, The Boston Common, Downtown
For more information email nosanctions@yahoo.com or call 617/794-0546, 776-6524, 956-8461.

I will not be able to get to Washington for the big-ass anti-war demonstration. I am glad to hear that there is an alternative. I'll post more info when I get the details.

Update: I got an e-mail from the coordinator. The basic information is the same, about the location. The time is 1:00 PM at the Park Street T Stop, Boston Common, Downtown. I am going to try to attend. It's harder to make these things now that youth hockey season has started.

Cindy Sheehan (not) Arrested in NYC

2005-09-19T16:21:00.000-04:00

From DailyKos

"As Cindy was speaking, a large platoon of police massed behind from the interior of the park, then formed a circle behind her, the speakers' area and a few dozen people who were deployed in an arc behind her. Overall, about 200 people were in attendance, with the crowd steadily increasing in size as the rally progressed. As the police formed their arc just behind, the men and women immediately behind Cindy linked arms. A captain made a cutting motion at his throat, signalling he wanted no more free speech. He waited about 30 seconds, then the police moved in. They didn't dare arrest Cindy, but they immediately moved in and grabbed zool, the event's organizer and one of the main organizers of Camp Casey-NYC, pulling him away and arresting him. I do not believe anyone else was arrested; at least I didn't see any other arrests. I was nearby, and there was no hesitation on the part of the police in specifically targetting zool."

Thanks, Mayor Bloomberg. I guess Cindy wasn't willing to use one of those so-called "free speech" veal pens NYC used during the GOP convention.

Unbelievable!

Gee, you don't think that this will keep happening as Camp Casey makes it way to DC, do you? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Update: Cindy was not arrested, but her microphone was taken away. The organizer of the rally was arrested. There's more at AMERICAblog.

Shenanigans

2005-09-16T15:35:00.000-04:00

Today sco at .08 is talking about New Developments in 2nd Middlesex Race with Rep. Pat Jehlen being the favorite. This part was especially troubling:

Personally, I had thought this was a low-stakes race with Jehlen being the heavy favorite, but apparently people are taking it very seriously. Not only did the members of the Board of Aldermen stick their necks out, but there are several incidents of vandals targeting houses with Jehlen lawn signs.

Out here in Townsend we've had problems like that before. During the 04 elections, we had many instances of Kerry/Edwards signs being removed or damaged. Houses out here are not very close together, and many are at least 10 - 20 feet from the road. Someone would have to be pretty motivated to do that kind of vandalism.

At my last Democratic Town Committee meeting, my chairperson told us that someone has been leaving sharp nails and screws in her driveway. One or two screws is one thing. They could have easily blown off the back of some contractor's truck, but our chairperson says it's handfuls of the stuff a few times a week.

It's too bad that some people feel so threatened by differing opinions.

A Tale of Two Cities

2005-09-09T12:06:00.000-04:00

From MetaFilter

A facinating photo essay from an eyewitness to Hurricane Katrina. This photo essay covers New Orleans before, during, and after Katrina hit NOLA and the transformation of the city and it's people. Alvaro, the essayist, has taken some amazing pictures. His observations are moving and very thought provoking.

Mat's Back Out.

2005-09-08T12:09:00.000-04:00

I have spent the past few days working with another town mom coordinating efforts for my tiny town to help gather supplies for evacuees from the gulf states that were supposed to be lodged here in Massachusetts

But those plans were put on hold because many evacuees were reluctant to go so far away from home.

I'm pleased to hear today that the welcome mat is back out and some of the evacuees should be arriving today.

One plane carrying about 105 people left New Orleans before noon and was scheduled to arrive at Otis Air National Guard Base around 2:30 p.m., according to an announcement made over loudspeakers to volunteers assembled in a hangar there.

A hearty welcome to our friends from the gulf states!

Okay, maybe not so cynical afterall.

2005-09-05T13:57:00.000-04:00

Billmon expands with a lot more detail, what I alluded to last week. What would the Bush Administration's response have been to Hurricane Katrina, if it happened before the election?

FEMA has completely bungled this particular event, but look at how organized they were in advance of Hurricane Frances

The advance preparations included:

FEMA’s National Emergency Operations Center, Emergency Support Team in Washington, D.C. and Region Four Regional Operations Center in Atlanta, Ga. are operating around the clock, coordinating the pre-positioning of assets and responding to state requests for assistance.

FEMA has deployed an Advanced Emergency Response Team to the Florida State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee to facilitate state requests for assistance. In addition, three rapid needs assessment teams have been pre-deployed to Florida.

FEMA Emergency Response Teams are positioned in Orlando to coordinate response efforts with the FEMA headquarters and the state Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.

An Advanced Emergency Response Team and a Rapid Needs Assessment team have also been deployed to the Georgia State Emergency Operations Center to provide support as necessary.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, at FEMA's request, is coordinating the staging of 100 truckloads of water and 100 truckloads of ice at operational centers in Florida.

A first shipment of 30,000 tarps is en route to Atlanta, Ga., to be pre-staged for delivery to areas affected by Frances once the storm has cleared.

FEMA is working to provider 10 trailers of generators at the request of Florida that will be used to provide power to critical facilities affected by the hurricane. Generators will be staged at Warner Robbins Air Force Base.

Four Urban Search and Rescue Teams are deployed to Florida — two in Miami and two in Jacksonville. Four teams are on alert.

Two Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) have been deployed to Florida to support medical facilities and hospitals that are not fully operational following the storm. Two additional DMATs are staged in Atlanta, three are enroute to Atlanta, and one Veterinary Medical Assistance Team is on standby. An additional four DMATs have been placed on alert, The DMATs are comprised of doctors, nurses and medical technicians trained to handle trauma, pediatrics, surgery and mental health problems. DMATs bring truckloads of medical equipment and supplies with them.

Five pharmaceutical caches, containing emergency medical supplies, are being pre-positioned, and are currently en route to Atlanta and Tampa.

FEMA's Mobile Emergency Response Services (MERS) communications staff and equipment are available to provide telephone, radio and video links in support of response and recovery efforts. About 100 MERS personnel and about 75 vehicles – including Mobile Emergency Operations Center (MEOCs) equipped vehicles and Mobile Radio Vans (MRVs) to provide radio capability have been assigned to support Hurricane Frances response and recovery operations.

FEMA teleregistration centers are fully staffed, ready and able to register as many as 20,000 disaster assistance applications per day for affected residents in declared counties. The Internal Revenue Service is providing additional operators to support FEMA’s teleregistration operations, which are currently operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

FEMA contract inspectors are ready for activation, with surge capability providing for up to 15,000 inspections per day within 14 days of activation. FEMA is working with the General Services Administration to analyze vacancy rates of various safe housing options (including apartments, homes, RVs, time shares, mobile homes, hotels and motels) as part of pre-planning temporary housing strategies for those whose homes are severely damaged or destroyed.

The American Red Cross has opened more than 250 shelters in Florida that housed approximately 15,500 evacuees last night. Additional shelters have been opened in Georgia and Alabama in case need arises. In North Carolina, the Red Cross is manning state welcome centers to help evacuees with rest stop ministrations.

Unbelievable! You'd think with more experience that FEMA's response would improve, but as we all know now, there was essentially no response

Evacuee Raymond Cooper: Sir, you've got about 3,000 people here in this -- in the Convention Center right now. They're hungry. Don't have any food. We were told two-and-a-half days ago to make our way to the Superdome or the Convention Center by our mayor. And which when we got here, was no one to tell us what to do, no one to direct us, no authority figure.

There are politicians right now who say that this is not the time to place blame, and I agree with that to a point. Right now the priority should be rescuing those in the Gulf States that are still 7 DAYS LATER waiting for help. But, we, as American citizens, regardless of party, should be prepared to hold this administration accountable as soon as possible.

Our national security depends on it. If we cannot rely on our government to help us in a situation where we have advance notice, who knows what will happen to us should we be attacked by terrorists again. The world is watching and I'm sure some folks are taking notes.

All About the Benjamins

2005-09-01T10:50:00.000-04:00

For Deval Patrick, campaign financing rears its ugly head

It is still early in the campaign, and I hope that once people hear more about Deval, they will be moved to support him, and to contribute. The campaign is realistic about the situation, but hopeful as well:

''They have years on us in terms of raising money and we will never catch them," Byrd said. ''But they will never catch us in terms of reaching out to people and running a real campaign." Patrick has enlisted support from 1,700 volunteers, he said.

As a student and stay-at-home mom, I have more time to give campaigns than money. I am a volunteer for Deval Patrick, but I would also urge folks who believe in Deval Patrick's campaign to give what they can.

I'm going to do what I can.

Cynical, much?

2005-09-01T09:48:00.000-04:00

I don't mean to be cynical, but I wonder if Bush's response to this hurricane would have been different, if this happened to occur, say...before the election?

Like Hurricane Frances in Florida, September 2004.

The bungling continues.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2005-08-30T00:27:00.000-04:00

Oh yes, it's back to school time once again. The kid is going off to school again. It's weird for both of us. Last year we homeschooled and that was an excellent experience that I am forever grateful that I was able to do, but... I just couldn't keep up with the math. Damn numbers mocking me with their ability to make no freaking sense whatsoever to me. So yeah, school. Since the kid is going back, I figured I might as well too, so I'm taking a class at the Mount. I'm only taking one class, and an online class at that, because I am a slacker and didn't get registered in time. Naughty Mommy.

I'm also facing a deadline to get some website training documents finished, so I might be a big grey for a day or two.