It's easy to think of ourselves as thoughtful deliberative voters with no single litmus issue for judging a candidate, but that theoretical criterion came up short last night in the final moments of the Senate debate between Gabriel Gomez and Ed Markey. The defining (litmus, if you will) issue for many became preserving or overturning Roe …
Author: aronsbarron
Kirby Perkins A+ scholarships distinguish WCVB-TV5
Shootings, muggings, fires, crashes, sports and weather-- all the stuff of local television. Then there are the Kirby Perkins A+ scholarship segments. Kirby was a Channel 5 reporter who especially loved politics and sports. The station's "High Five" series had for years celebrated high school athletes. But he thought that academic performance should also be honored. …
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Welfare audit feeds anti-government hostility
Former State Senate President Billy Bulger used to joke that, when he died, he wanted to be buried at St. Augustine's because he could still remain politically active. Now, thanks to State Auditor Suzanne Bump and Tuesday's report on fraud and abuse in the state's welfare system, we know that there are other forms of life after …
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Media need to do heavy lifting in Boston mayoral race
When the Boston marathon was bombed, we all shared the grief and noted that "We are Boston." So, too, when the capital city selects a new mayor, the people of Greater Boston, not just its voting residents, have a stake in who succeeds 20-year incumbent Tom Menino. As John Nucci observed in the Boston Herald, what the …
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Tim Murray makes cool career move
Lieutenant Tim Murray is one lucky dude. You might say he has escaped with his life. The affable former three-term mayor of Worcester has never been able to elude the bad karma surrounding his mysterious early morning car accident in 2011 and his unsavory connection with felon Chelsea Housing Authority Michael McLaughlin, who also did (possibly …
Markey needs to step it up
Senator John McCain is in Boston today to support Republican Gabriel Gomez' bid for the U.S. Senate race. Gomez, a former Navy SEAL, is expected to step up his attacks on Democratic Congressman Ed Markey for being soft on homeland security. The "soft" votes can be explained, but to so-called independents parachuting late into this …
At the heart of the Red Sox – a real estate play?
Today's Globe story that a deal is near for developer John Rosenthal's Fenway Center is good news for all concerned. The idea that this project would have a 99-year lease on air rights over the Turnpike between Beacon Street and Brookline Avenue near Kenmore must have Red Sox owners lusting even more to lock in the current low …
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Corner office may be way out of D.C. for Capuano
The House has passed a budget. The Senate has passed a budget. But we're not likely to get a budget, Congressman Michael Capuano told Monday's New England Council breakfast meeting, because Congress is still kicking the can down the road, drifting toward the next crisis, probably this fall. The only difference between the majority party …
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IRS v.Tea Party: a cause for concern
A civic or social welfare organization is not allowed to support political candidates of any stripe. Partisan activities are a no-no if a non-profit wants to preserve its federal tax exemption. But the law has to be applied evenly. The Internal Revenue Service has apparently targeted the Tea Party and other right-wing groups to make sure that they …
Muslim community needs to be part of early warning system
It wasn't enough to decimate the core of what was Al Qaeda in 2001. The landscape in certain hospitable countries like Yemen and Syria is now dotted with Al Qaeda offshoots and affiliates. And, for the last eight years, the home-grown variety has been particularly vexing. The Sunday morning talk shows were full of attempts to …
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Marjorie Arons-Barron 