bestnom1000x50
  • June 29, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein

    Seth Gitell demonstrates that he's more insightful while channel-surfing than most of us are at full concentration, asking how Rudy Giuliani's appearance in a History Channel documentary doesn't trigger the Fairness Doctrine of equal time for candidates.

    It's a great question. And I'm sure cable-land is full of documentaries in which John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson, Tommy Thompson, and others appear as talking heads.

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  • June 29, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein

    Update: I have just learned from the FEC that yesterday Romney requested and was granted another 45-day extension to file his personal finance disclosure, giving him until August 13th (two days after the Iowa Straw poll!). He is only allowed two extensions, so this time should be for real.

    _________________________

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  • June 28, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein

    A new ARG New Hampshire poll shows Jeanne Shaheen (who has said she'll decide in September whether to run) trouncing John Sununu in a theoretical rematch for US Senator, 57% to 29%. Given how well-known they both are, opinions are unlikely to change as dramatically as Sununu would need, if those numbers are even close to accurate.

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  • June 28, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein

    A Supreme Court decision just handed down severely limits the use of race as a factor in how children get assigned to schools. The exact line on what's allowed and what's not will probably need to be challenged on a case-by-case basis, and you can be sure that the Boston-area METCO program will get one of those challenges.

    This is likely to be a very heated and uncomfortable battle, and a tough political landmine for many of our area politicians.

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  • June 27, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    From Episode 1 on Sunday:
    On the paddle tennis court in front of the cottage, [Mitt's father] George would compete with his children in matches played to the death.

  • June 27, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    I agree with Dan Kennedy that the Globe let Romney off easy by blindly accepting the story of Mom's abortion position, but I'll go further.

    It seems to me that a major question about Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is what he actually believes, when he believes it, and why. And more specifically, whether he makes up stories out of whole cloth to explain or re-write his beliefs and actions after the fact.

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  • June 27, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    With Emerson College forced to fire a dean last week in the ever-broadening student-loan scandal, it's getting harder to believe that colleges can police themselves. I take a look in this week's issue, online now.

    School for Scandal
    An Emerson College dean becomes the first Boston casualty of the national student-loan fiasco

  • June 26, 2007
    By Carly Carioli
    Perhaps you noticed in the Boston Globe's coverage of the Liquarry Jefferson shooting that city councilor Michael Flaherty referred to "two Bostons." As in John Edwards's two Americas, divided by socioeconomics.

    The same phrase appears in a press release sent out by Flaherty today about the need to pass his gun-control bill.

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  • June 26, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    Attorney General Martha Coakley just sent a press release extending by two weeks her earlier promise to decide by late June on criminal charges relating to the death of Milena DelValle in the Big Dig tunnel collapse. "We anticipate that we will reach a final determination regarding criminal charges" by the new self-imposed deadline, the release says.

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  • June 26, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    Maureen Feeney and Sal LaMattina endorsed Hillary Clinton today. Michael Flaherty previously endorsed Barack Obama. Steve Murphy has endorsed John Edwards.

    Murph has a better track record with endorsements (see: Patrick, Deval), so keep your eye on Johnny Edwards!

  • June 26, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    Part three of the Globe's Romney saga was fine, doing a pretty good job of explaining what his management/investment career was all about. I would have prefered if they had spent more time digging for details on that, and less on his missionary work, but that's OK.

    Of more interest is the news from Scott Helman, which he broke yesterday on the web, that Romney has given more of his personal money to his campaign.

    Read More



  • June 25, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    The Supreme Court has ruled against the Alaskan high school kid who held up a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner during a field trip as a prank. In a 5-4 decision -- the usual conservatives in the majority -- the court said the school principal was OK ripping down the sign because it could be read as advocating drug use. Me, I think it was more advocating religion, but what do I know.

  • June 25, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    So far, I'm pretty underwhelmed by the Boston Globe's epic mini-series on Mitt Romney, which so far has not only lost the forest for the trees, but for a lengthy stretch seemed to wander into somebody else's forest. The bulk of today's episode -- "The Missionary" -- laid out the interesting but irrelevant historical tale of Mormonism and Romney's ancestors.

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  • June 21, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein

    The local ProgBloggers might not like it, but Frank Phillips has a perfectly valid point in today's Globe. Deval Patrick's fundraising activities absolutely should be watched and monitored closely, and it's up to the Governor to demonstrate, by his actions, that the money doesn't affect the governing.

    That's the case, in my opinion, with any powerful public figure, but especially with Patrick.

    Read More

  • June 20, 2007
    By David S. Bernstein
    Why does Dan Conley take none of the blame for Boston's crime crisis? I take a look in tomorrow's issue, online now. "Letting the DA Skate:Violence rises, prosecutions plummet, and nobody points a finger at Boston’s top law-enforcement officer."

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