Back in 2002, the budget for the judicial branch was cut by 20% - and the judiciary was told to make up the money by squeezing the poor.  The euphemism used was "retained revenue."  That is a sanitized way of saying "just squeeze the poor" or "d...

A few days ago the Globe ran a story on Boston City Councilor John Connolly, speculating on whether he had ambitions for higher office. Well, I didn't know about that article this morning, when David and I talked to him; his ambitions never came up, a...

A few days ago the Globe ran a story on Boston City Councilor John Connolly, speculating on whether he had ambitions for higher office. Well, I didn't know about that article this morning, when David and I talked to him; his ambitions never came up, a...

Great day: this is an important law to help combat crimes driven by anti-gay bias. It's also the first of my four must-haves from the Obama administration for the GLBT community: Hate Crimes, DADT repeal, DOMA repeal (the component that denies federal ben...

With the right of same-sex couples to marry seemingly secure here in MA, it's easy to forget that the issue is still raging elsewhere in the country.  Next Tuesday will be a very big day for gay rights in Washington state, Michigan, and our neighbor ...

[Crossposted from ONE Massachusetts by Harmony Blakeway] Governor Patrick, in Wednesday's speech on employment for those with disabilities, announced that: "There are going to be some programs, a limited number, that will be eliminated entirely." Pa...

Niki Tsongas has chosen Martha Coakley over colleague Mike Capuano for US Senate.  I've copied the email I received after the flip. Dear Friends, I'm writing today to let you know that this afternoon, I will be endorsing Martha Coakley for the Unite...

Every person should read Yvonne Abraham'scolumn today. Checks can be sent to The Beatrice Family Fund c/o The Village Bank 226 Auburn St. Auburndale, MA 02466 This would be a nice effort for BMGers to quietly get behind. ...

Tonight, I'll be moderating a city council forum at a Dorchester Fall Social & Candidate's Night. I need your help. First, here's the organizer's press release: The strongest neighborhoods consist of well-informed citizens who unite to know not only ...

BMG'er, all-around blog guy and author Frederick Clarkson is apparently in the hospital:Frederick Clarkson, who has been writing comments and diaries at Daily Kos for the past five years, is in the Cardiac ICU at Bay State Medical Center in Springfiel...

Rasmussen showing similar results as the September 7News-Suffolk poll.  Republican nominee has little impact as Mihos and Baker show similar numbers against Patrick.  Still a significant percentage of unsure voters.  Plus, it's still very e...

In the BMG spirit of respectful debate and dissent, I am pleased to post the following link from the recent "Progressives for Menino" announcement: http://www.mayormenino.com/pro... In the videos on that page, a number of progressive activists from around...

From differently-winged poster JohnD ... (his source) It's always about raising taxes, not reviewing spending...  Doe...

Oh dear. Bloomberg: Salvatore Calvanese, the treasurer of Springfield, Massachusetts, for four years, had a ready defense for why he risked $14 million of taxpayer money on collateralized-debt obligations laden with subprime mortgages in 2007. He didn't k...

First US Senate debate ...

Michael Flaherty is the best candidate for Mayor of Boston and deserves your vote for three essential reasons. First, he has created an effective coalition for change in Boston by allying with running mate Sam Yoon. We applaud the deft political vision th...

To my friends and all others who care about the Commonwealth: I have always considered myself a proud and progressive Democrat.  For the thirty years that I have worked on social justice issues I have been aligned with progressive organizations in th...

A couple of attention-worthy items: US Senate candidate Alan Khazei has come out strongly against casino gambling in Massachusetts.  So far, anyway, he's the only one -- the others are staying away from the issue. In comments following the meeting, U...

UPDATE: That's right, kids.  Senator Tisei -- the Senate minority leader, and a co-sponsor of the flag education bill we've been talking about -- thought that the flag had, maybe, twenty stripes.  Maybe he failed third grade.  Don't believe...

What is up over at One Herald Square?  Here's today's Herald's front page: Wow!  A "Palin-esque slip" -- strong words.  Must've been terrible.  And here's the story: Rivals blasted the strange foreign policy credentials offered by Att...