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Debating biotech on NECN

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Some improvements in the House version of the biotech bill resulted from the good work of Pioneer and other groups like the Associated Industries of Massachusetts. For Pioneer’s testimony click here, for a Pioneer op-ed in the Globe click here. That said, apart from the research components and some of the infrastructure funding, the bill still stinks, as I think came out in the back and forth on NECN’s NewsNight with Jim Braude. In retrospect there is a better answer to Jim’s query “If the bill is so bad, why is it getting the support of the Governor, the Senate President and the Speaker?” I should have said something like the following: It’s borrowed money (a kind of funny money), […]

Slate on Guv Patrick and education

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Picking up on Fred Siegel’s piece on the politics of hope and the reality of Governor Patrick’s moves to undo education reform (= giving in to special interests), Mickey Kaus from Slate asks Isn’t it incumbent on those prominent NEA-bashing neoliberal Obama supporters to explain just why his term as president won’t quickly descend into a Patrick-like interest-group quagmire? Jon Alter, this means you! And Charles Peters as well. … P.S.: Patrick could function as Obama’s wrang-wrang, Vonnegut’s term for a pioneer who by his bad example steers others away from a false course. Before neolibs go into a permanent campaign swoon, shouldn’t Obama send them at least a subtle signal that he understands this? Kaus then needles “Hope= casino […]

Yes, We Can’t

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Tough article on Barack Obama and the politics of hope from Fred Siegel in the February City Journal. The reason for Fred’s less-than-hopeful take on Barack? The record thus far of Governor Deval Patrick. Fred calls the politics of hope a bust in Massachusetts, and here is why: Bay State journalist Rick Holmes describes Obama and Patrick, fellow Harvard Law School graduates, as “peas in a pod.” Patrick is the Obama campaign’s national cochair. Obama’s presidential campaign has modeled itself on Patrick’s gubernatorial campaign. Patrick’s 2006 campaign slogan was “Together we can,” while Obama’s is “Yes we can.” The brilliant Chicago political operative David Axelrod has managed both men’s campaigns. Both candidates have made persistent appeals to “the politics of […]

Just sayin

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The old grey lady warns today: New Jersey’s problems are magnified by a long history of irresponsible borrowing and spending. In a self-destructive gimmick, the state seriously underfunded its pension plan and used the money to pay for current spending programs. As a result, Mr. Corzine said, the state’s annual debt service now exceeds what it invests in higher education. Fiscal Year 2008 operating budget spending on these items for Massachusetts? $1.77 billion on debt service versus $950 million on the UMASS system and the state and community colleges. Update: The wiseguys over at Beyond Red & Blue laud my strong support for public higher education in the above post. I was hoping to focus more on our relative debt […]

A first for the Board of Education

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Yes, it is truly an — ahem — independent Board of Education. Yes, we will continue to hope that it will continue to be objective. Cough, cough. The SABIS proposal for a regional school to be located in Brockton was recommended by the Commissioner of Education and Department of Education staff.  Unlike many other states, Massachusetts has a strong application process that weeds out weak applications. This protects public dollars and has given the Commonwealth the best charters in the country. The proposed SABIS school was to serve 500 students to start and grow by a grade a year until it served 1300 students.  SABIS is a known entity in Massachusetts. It runs a successful charter school in Springfield.  Just […]