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Towards a just & healthy democracy in the Commonwealth... and beyond!
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Corruption 
Mon May 16, 2011 at 14:43:33 PM EDT
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(An independent voice in the legislature would certainly help change the game, and the game is rigged. Luckily there are strategic entry points -- like the low ballot access threshold for State Rep. seats. If only there were an organized force to take advantage... - promoted by eli_beckerman)
If you ever had any illusions that you live in a democracy, the testimony at the DiMasi trial should lay them to rest. The trial is trying to decide if DiMasi goes to prison. But as State House News reporter Kyle Cheney noted "It was the rare moments of agreement between prosecutors and defense attorneys that were often the most jarring: If you want to win the speaker's ear, no matter how worthy the cause, hiring a well-connected lobbyist is a must. If the speaker wants something in the budget, it will appear in the budget - or in a bond bill, or in a supplemental spending bill - Ways and Means Committee be damned."
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Thu Mar 24, 2011 at 10:31:28 AM EDT
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Sun Feb 27, 2011 at 20:37:10 PM EST
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The other day I called Governor Walker's appearance on a prank phone call -- showing the world the corrupted state of affairs inside the halls of power here in the U.S. -- his "Mubarak Moment."
I think today he's done it again. Walker's Mubarak Moment #2 was today's attempt to close down the Capitol Building, giving protestors a 4pm deadline to leave.
Check out Ben Brandzel's live feed of what's happening in the Capitol Building. I think it's possible that Walker's curfew might have sparked the defining battle, like that over who controlled Tahrir Square. Whose House?! OUR HOUSE!
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Wed Dec 01, 2010 at 11:28:52 AM EST
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From the Fenway News
Reporters keep asking me why I won't resign since I have been convicted of the crime of extortion of $1000 and three crimes of lying to FBI officials. I appreciate the Fenway News giving me the space to explain in detail why I think it would be absurd for me to resign from the City Council.
The first reason is that my constituents elected me last year, after I was indicted, with a larger plurality in my district than the Mayor received in the City and despite my conviction they have continued to support me. While the Boston Globe and Mayor Menino have tried to coax people in my community to stand up and speak out against me, they find themselves virtually standing alone.
The second reason that I would never resign is that I was found guilty of a crime that was planned by US Attorney Sullivan and executed by his paid agent, Ron Wilburn. Even though Sullivan tried to convince the public that there was a conspiracy between the Senator and me. At the trial, it became clear that the conspiracy was between Sullivan and Wilburn as they conspired to take me down.
Some may ask "Why". That is, what was Sullivan's purpose in using Wilburn to create the picture that I was a corrupt elected official? He knew there has never been even the hint of me being corrupt during my 33 years of activism and 11 years on the Council. Obviously, he did it because he and others wanted to silence me in my advocacy for the working class and poor of Boston.
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Tue Feb 16, 2010 at 20:21:38 PM EST
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(We badly need to break out of this dangerous box, which has kept most of the American people muzzled and voiceless, and has relegated good ideas and good problem-solvers to the nosebleed seats. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
This piece was written as part of GreenChange Blog Action Day. Learn more here.
I'm not going to pull any punches here. I detest the two party system. I believe that it undermines representative government. It makes our government more responsive to corporations than to citizens. It decreases the chances of progress and it results in many good ideas being shut out of the national political debate.
The limits imposed on this nation by the two party system are slowly leading to its demise. Partisan gridlock in Washington, outright corruption, the absurd difficulty of kicking out incumbents, corporate control of Washington, and the infamous backwardness of many local governments (among many things) are all symptoms of this same disease. And I do not use that language lightly.
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Tue Feb 16, 2010 at 14:41:23 PM EST
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The criminal, anti-democratic racket described in this NYT article is just the latest blatant display of greedy Wall Street manipulation of the global economy.
Dean Baker has a great summary of Goldman Sachs' "savvy" track record in this Guardian/UK article. And don't forget Matt Taibbi's mind-boggling portrait in Rolling Stone of Goldman Sachs profiting from one self-created economic bubble after the other. And it was the finance industry who gave Scott Brown a big last-minute send-off to Washington, signaling their equal opportunity approach to looting.
I'm starting to think that a focus on unearthing the dirt behind Goldman Sachs and its political influence might shine some daylight on the criminal convergence of politics and economics at the start of the 21st century.
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Green Mass Group is an online forum for Green thought and collective action in Massachusetts. It is a community forum for justice, sustainability, democracy and health in the Commonwealth and beyond.
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"Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No. I believe that we could have made the tough choices required - on entitlement reform and tax reform - right now, rather than through a special congressional committee process. But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year. Most importantly, it will allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest of America."
--President Barack Obama on the debt ceiling "deal"
"Despite Democratic control over the White House, despite Democratic control over the Senate, despite overwhelming opposition from the American people, a small minority of the members of the Republican-controlled House have successfully pushed an extreme right-wing agenda onto the American political landscape. It is an ideology which believes that despite the fact that the rich are getting richer, the middle class is shrinking, and poverty is increasing, all - all of the burden for deficit reduction should rest on working people."
--Independent Senator Bernie Sanders on the debt ceiling "deal"
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Then and Now
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Then...
"Last year Evergreen, a Massachusetts company, agreed to establish their first-ever United States based manufacturing facility here in Massachusetts. They did so, or are doing so, at Devens. They have now agreed and chosen to triple their size at Devens. Their next phase of expansion, right here in Massachusetts, a signature company in a signature sector, and we congratulate all of the folks at Evergreen and look forward to continuing to work with you...
We made a personal commitment to Evergreen for the sake of Evergreen, but also because we wanted to show that there are ways in which state government, in working together with private industry and with the utility companies, could begin to create a different kind of environment, a different kind of business climate here, to grow that sector, and it is happening. It's happening. Evergreen is one of the most prominent examples, but there are a whole host of examples."
--Governor Deval Patrick, April 7, 2008, boasting about state investment in Evergreen.
and Now...
"Evergreen Solar Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, completing a stunning reversal of fortune for a high-flying alternative-energy company that once seemed to herald a new era for the Massachusetts economy... At its peak, Evergreen employed roughly 900 people locally and attracted more than $50 million in state support, as its stock price soared above $100 a share.
Yesterday, Evergreen's stock closed at 18 cents. The company shuttered its manufacturing plant in Devens earlier this year and now has only 85 employees left. Massachusetts is one of its top creditors, owed $1.5 million in rent."
--Erin Ailworth, Boston Globe, August 16, 2011
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