Charlie Baker’s decision about whether to seek an unprecedented third consecutive four-year term in the Corner Office is a lot more interesting and consequential than most people realize. If you really want to know whether Baker will run and whether he would win if he does run, pay attention to the words and deeds of…
Category: covid-19
Could “New England’s Civic Mythology” Become Reality in Post-COVID MA?
Today’s Boston Globe editorial was about how the use of creative ways to hold public meetings during the pandemic expanded opportunities for the public to participate in local governance in the Bay State. The Globe editors, who want these methods to become permanent, write: “In New England’s civic mythology, public meetings are allegedly the building…
The Baker-Teachers Union Battle Traces Back to 2016
Could the current conflict between Governor Charlie Baker and the teachers unions over vaccinations be traced back to the charter schools ballot question in 2016? The Boston Globe raises that question in a story today by Adam Vaccaro, Baker, teachers unions trade barbs as educators seek quicker vaccines or delay to full school openings. Here…
Is the Guv in Trouble?
Seems like dissatisfaction with Governor Baker is getting a lot of media attention lately. Of course, my view might be off since my Boston Globe subscription lapsed and I’m resisting renewal because their education rate sucks. Thank God for Commonwealth Magazine. Pardon the digression. Anyway, the vaccine roll out in Massachusetts has had some hiccups…
Right Wing Reopeners Move on Schools. And, Is Charlie Baker More Like a Commie or a Fascist?
A new prong of the Reopen movement has launched in Massachusetts with a splashy website and professional media push debut but preesenting the same old question: who is funding it? And then there is the burning question the Foley Hoag partner David R. Geiger poses in CommonwealthMagazine: is Governor Charlie Baker more like a Chinese…
Systemic Racism, Trumpism, & Dishonest Expertise
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, more forcefully than after the scores of other highly publicized murders of black people by police in the recent past, Average Americans are stepping up and out to say “enough is enough.” Even a pandemic couldn’t stop thousands of able-minded Americans in all 50 states from registering their…
Attorney General Maura Healey Strips the Bark off WalMart. It’s Ugly.
Attorney General Maura Healey has joined the attorneys general of several states in demanding accountability of WalMart over its failure to protect workers from coronavirus. The AGs sent a letter to WalMart CEO Douglas McMillon on June 2 and its allegations are scorching. But first some context. You may be asking, how are the WalMart…
Governor Baker’s Reopening Panel Follies
When Governor Charlie Baker made his appointments to the statewide reopening advisory panel it was laden with CEOs and C-suite types, with no workers. We may be tossing around terms like “heroes” for front line workers like nurses, grocery workers, and housekeeping staff but the governor’s reopening panel was No Place for Heroes. Workers are…
“You ain’t black” should become 2020 speak for “you ain’t bright.”
The effort of those on the right (and the left) to make an issue of Joe Biden’s penchant for awkward comments is a product of political desperation, not discernment. He told a black radio talk show host who was giving him a hard time that if he was having trouble deciding between Trump and himself…
America the Spoiled
Spoiled children stink at birthday parties. Tantrums follow such egregious offenses as having to wait in line (as opposed to waiting one’s turn) or not getting the red popsicle (be happy you got one at all). Spoiled children cannot handle that the world does not bend to their desires. And while they are not the…