Think of health care reform as a really sick patient in need of intervention. Better yet, think of it as a plane crash. In fact, think of it as 20 Boeing 747s crashing each and every week. That’s what an eclectic mix of actor Dennis Quaid, Hudson River aviation hero Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III and […]
The Download
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Rubio, O Rubio, wherefore art thou, Rubio?
Yes, it was hard to believe that Marco Rubio was not being vetted as a vice presidential possibility by Mitt Romney. Romney revealed that the Florida senator is under consideration and claimed that an ABC News report to the contrary was off-base. But today Rubio still isn’t talking. Rubio has some obvious qualities that would […]
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Tribe and tribulation for Indian gaming
Since Gov. Deval Patrick signed a law authorizing casino gambling last year, a giant contradiction has been hanging over the race for the state’s three casino licenses. The law carves out a license for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe in the state’s southeastern region, provided the Legislature and the state gaming commission are confident in the […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Patrick: a UMass theater major?
Gov. Deval Patrick was a lonely voice calling on UMass trustees not to approve a 4.9 percent fee hike for the coming school year. Though he seemed to be playing the part of champion of debt-burdened college students, an alternate view is that the governor was playing to the crowd in a way that might […]
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Rhode Island rolls the dice
If the tensions in Massachusetts over casino legislation seemed high, it’s really nothing compared to the time Rhode Island is having trying to stem the impending financial calamity that will come with expanded Bay State gambling. As it was becoming clear that Massachusetts would pass gambling legislation last year, Rhode Island lawmakers approved a referendum […]
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Domain bonanza
The World Wide Web is getting crowded, or so they say, so the international nonprofit that governs the way the Internet operates decided to see if there was any interest in creating new domains to conquer. Well, yes, and nearly 2,000 requests were submitted – along with nearly $400 million in application fees – to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Cursing up a storm in Middleborough
If George Carlin could speak from the other side, he’d probably have some choice words for the good citizens of Middleborough, Massachusetts. Middleborough town meeting recently voted to levy a $20 fine against people who use profanity in public. One town resident invoked Carlin’s famous routine about the “seven words you can never say on […]
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As the Globe turns
Rumblings inside the New York Times Co. indicate that the Boston Globe may be heading toward the auction block. But the Times Co.’s exit plan got a lot cloudier yesterday, when the local businessman who had been publicly chasing the Globe announced a deal to buy seven daily newspapers out west. The Orange County Register […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Unhealthy focus on health care jobs
Think of it as the shot heard round the health care world. A perspective piece on health care spending and jobs in last week’s New England Journal of Medicine seemed designed to incite some revolutionary thinking on the ways that a robust health care sector might not be quite the right prescription for the economy […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Public sector union dominoes
Political change sometimes happens quickly, in dramatic fashion, but usually it occurs more gradually, like a game of dominoes in slow motion. The news that the Massachusetts Teachers Association is trying to broker a Beacon Hill legislative deal on seniority rights to avoid a ballot question fight is another in a long line of dominoes […]