Friday, January 27, 2006

Friday News Dump

Continuing my new Friday tradition, here are some of the things that I noticed this week, but never got around to posting. If you have anything to add, or if you'd just like to say hello, please drop a comment.

  • When a Friend Succeeds, I Die a Little: Our good friends over at Blue Mass. Group have been nominated for a Koufax Award for best local blog. Congratulations to them! Voting hasn't started yet, but I'll be sure to let you all know when it does -- we need to support our Bay Staters.

  • Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows: I'd never thought I'd see the day when Republican apologist Ginny Buckingham and Senator John Kerry would be on the same side, but they both wrote last week defending Congressman Mike Capuano's trip to Brazil. They're both right, though. We want our Representatives to travel, but taxpayers don't want to pay for it, and I don't think it's in our interest to force them to pay out-of-pocket, since Congress is too much of a rich man's game as it is.

  • Speaking of John Kerry: He, along with Senator Kennedy, is trying to filibuster Judge Alito's nomination. It is very likely that cloture will be invoked, and the nomination will come to a vote, but you can't win if you don't try. He's also asking people to sign his petition.

  • Weld Update: The New York Times had an article this week that claimed that former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld was the candidate the Eliot Spitzer campaign feared the most. Personally, I'd be surprised if Weld wins the Republican nomination, but stranger things have happened. (via PoliticalWire)

  • Reilly's Courting Gabrieli: The Globe today also reports that Attorney General Tom Reilly is in talks to get Chris Gabrieli to run as his Lieutenant. This has been rumored for months, but I'm not sure exactly what this changes, other than giving Reilly a boost of cash should Gabrieli accept. That didn't seem to help Shannon O'Brien, though, and since Reilly made his pick at such a late date, he's managed to irk the other candidates and whatever constituencies they might have put together by now.

  • More from MBPC: The Mass. Budget and Policy Center has released their report on the income gap in Massachusetts. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but if it's anything like their previous work on the FY07 Budget or on the impact of reducing the income tax it will be a great resource. (all links PDF)
What's on your mind?