Blue Mass. Group has MOVED!!

Arch-conservative Manchester Union-Leader doesn't like the $@%@ guitar, either.

Link:

A better leader would have flown straight to the disaster zone and announced the immediate mobilization of every available resource to rescue the stranded, find and bury the dead, and keep the survivors fed, clothed, sheltered and free of disease.

Amen to that. (Hat tip to diarist quaoar @ Kos.)

Patrick cuts back

This is a little strange...

BOSTON -- Deval Patrick is spending more money than he's raising in his campaign for next year's Democratic gubernatorial nomination and has stopped paying or cut the salaries of some of his top staffers.

Now, Patrick told us that the summer was going to be the time to muscle up on policy prescriptions -- maybe that was at the expense of running the 24/7 money machine. Still, it's odd that they're scraping for cash.

Everything that we've heard and seen of him tells us that he's a real and credible candidate. But realistically, he's going to need a truckload of cash to compete against the financially-cruisin' Reilly and the Healy Money-Printing Machine. I suspect that as long as he keeps his head above water through the fall, he'll be in the fight.

It's time to ACT

I'm just gonna steal this post wholesale from Health Care for All:
---

Bookmark this Site: The MassACT Ballot Initiative    

The Massachusetts Affordable Care Today campaign to put real health reform on the 2006 state ballot has a new website that will be the central organizing site for the effort to collect 100,000 signatures over 12 days starting on September 23rd. The address is: www.massact.org

The Coalition includes HCFA, Families USA, Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, Neighbor to Neighbor, Coalition for Social Justice, Service Employees International Union, Mass. Building Trades Council, and the United Food and Commercial Workers.

Together, we're mobilizing a volunteer army of 2,000 volunteers who will commit to collecting 100 signatures apiece over a 12 day period, something never done in the 85 year history of initiative and referendum in Massachusetts. If you would like to volunteer to be a part of this historic campaign, now's your chance and www.massact.org is your site.

---
I've signed up to get signatures -- if there's anyone out there who just couldn't get enough community-action goodness during the 2nd Middlesex campaign, or who would just like to accomplish something significant for the Commonwealth, let me know. Many hands make light work -- but it won't happen by accident.

Numbers of uninsured grows in MA

Bad news, and what one would have expected:

The federal Census Bureau reported yesterday that the number of uninsured residents in Massachusetts grew to 748,000 last year, up by 66,000 people from 2003. Massachusetts healthcare organizations and the state have estimated a smaller number of uninsured -- between 460,000 and 532,000 residents last year.

It was brought up in WBUR's report today that the growth in the uninsured may make it more expensive, and therefore more politically difficult, to enact major health care reform. Well, let's be clear: It's extremely expensive not to cover people. They incur more expenses down the road, when untreated symptoms turn into major maladies. Doing nothing costs money.

Good report on 'BUR this morning as well.

No one deserves this.

Hat tip to Kos:

 

President Bush plays a guitar presented to him by Country Singer Mark Wills, right, backstage following his visit to Naval Base Coronado, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Bush visited the base to deliver remarks on V-J Commemoration Day. (AP Photo/ABC News, Martha Raddatz)

New Orleans and a good chunk of Mississippi are underwater.

What can one possibly say?

Romney talks up science education - does he mean it?

Romney's speech at Raytheon, which apparently had all the trappings of a presidential campaign event, noted the importance of science education in America if we are to remain competitive.

Well, on that, I agree with him.  But the devil is of course in the details.  So here's a detail I've been thinking about lately: school boards around the country are trying to force the pseudo-theory of "intelligent design" down the throats of science students who should instead be learning about actual science, namely, evolutionary biology.

I wonder what Mitt Romney thinks about that, and whether he would speak out against "intelligent design" as part of his campaign to boost science education.  Let's ask him.

... and Curt Schilling's (and Trot Nixon's, and Tim Wakefield's, and ...)

Turns out the Red Sox have the highest concentration of evangelical Christians of any team in the majors.

Romney's religion

There's a long article, well worth reading, in the Globe about the possible impact Mitt Romney's Mormon faith may have on his bid for the presidency.  That he seems to be casting his lot with the rightmost wing of his party (which is heavily populated with Christian evangelicals) makes the issue particularly acute.

When (oh, all right, "if") he decides to run for President, look for a lot more to be said on this interesting topic.

Help out New Orleans and Mississippi

While we've been having fun with a relatively normal primary up here, New Orleans is essentially underwater. It's getting worse.

Donate to the Red Cross here. I heard a story on NPR about some Massachusetts folks who saved 42 people today ... let's get more of us out there.

Somerville News calls it: Jehlen wins

Link. Mackey gave concession at Orleans restaurant.

I'm looking around for confirmation -- anyone hear anything?

UPDATE: Somerville News also says high voter turnout. Maybe it was the progressive elves working for Jehlen... or just good solid work all around, on a lousy weather day.

Dan Cence, Communications Director for Joseph K. Mackey's campaign, said that as of 2 p.m. there had been 9,440 votes cast in the race for the 2nd Middlesex state Senate seat.

Earlier this week, the estimable sco wrote:

Last year the late Senator Shannon ran unopposed in the primary and 11,840 people in his district turned out. If that many show up on Tuesday, it would be heavier turnout than I'd expect.

Looks like that's what happened. Although I find it strange that a four-way race wouldn't get a lot more than an unopposed primary, even under peculiar circumstances and not-so-great weather.

Will post final numbers when I see them.

So... What Does It All Mean?

UPDATE II: All right, here's my null hypothesis: After Sciortino's victory and Schofield's near-miss, this shows that a nouveau-"progressive" movement, awakened by Howard Dean (who was, after all, awakened by the horror of the Bush era) and matured during the '04 national elections, now has tipping-point electoral-organizational critical-mass in the greater Boston area. In other words, Pat got her "progressive" ducks in a row early, who quacked merrily on to victory. Is that nuts?</McLaughlin>

UPDATE III: esteemed commenter Ron Newman posts thusly:

---
The following are unofficial totals now being displayed on Somerville City Cable channel 16:

District-wide:
Jehlen - 7117
Mackey - 4984
Callahan - 4122
Casey - 2457

Somerville only:
Jehlen - 4190
Mackey - 3109
Callahan - 570
Casey - 278