gadflyonthewall

This past Saturday evening, I volunteered to help sell concessions at a boys’ tournament basketball game at Newton North High School. Concession sales are part of the fundraising efforts of the newly formed Tiger Booster Club and proceeds go to support all sports at Newton North, not just boys' basketball. Tip off for the game was 7:00. By 6:30, a huge line had formed in the hallway between Hull Street and the gym entrance. By about 6:40, the spectator area in the gym was completely filled up... Read Full Story

There are frequently occasions when I feel somewhat embarrassed by my home city of Newton, Massachusetts. Generally, those occur when some member or members of the Board of Alderman presumptuously undertake to have my city make policy pronouncements on national or international issues instead of sticking to the local matters they were elected to address. Recent examples include proposed or actual resolutions inviting released Gitmo terrorist suspects to come live in Newton, condemning the U.S... Read Full Story

Newton Massachusetts inaugurated a new mayor last month, Setti Warren. In contrast to his dawdling predecessor, Mayor Warren has thus far begun to establish an assertive and confident leadership style. During the transition between his election and inauguration, Warren took to the time to closely examine all city departments and their leaders. This resulted in a selective "cleaning house" pursuant to which several long-tenured department heads were let go, saving the City thousands of dollars... Read Full Story

Last night was arguably Governor Deval Patrick's finest moment as a Massachusetts political leader as he delivered his annual state-of-the state address. In that speech Patrick began to build a strong case for his re-election in a way that was methodical yet compassionate. I couldn't help but notice the contrast between Patrick and his predecessors like Weld, Celluci and Romney. All of those former governors by this point in their terms had seemed bored and disinterested in the Commonwealth... Read Full Story

You’ve heard about why Scott Brown’s election to the U.S. Senate yesterday was so shocking. Yes, he’s a Republican in Massachusetts and it’s been almost 40 years since Massachusetts last elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate. Yes, Democrats outnumber Republicans in the Bay State by more than a 3-1 margin. Yes, here in Massachusetts our delegation to the U.S. House and Senate has consisted exclusively of Democrats for over a decade. Yes, Scott Brown had never before run for state-wide office... Read Full Story

Regrettably, for various personal, familial and professional reasons, I neglected this blog for the last year and a half. During that time span: (1) in an historic election, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States; (2) I led a group of high school students from my school on a trip to Washington DC where we “witnessed” Obama’s inauguration (from the far end of the Mall near the Washington Monument along with a throng of over a million others); (3) I left my teaching gig at the... Read Full Story

He had much in common with me - a middle aged man who wanted to do as much as he could for his children; a social man who enjoyed chatting with all types of people; a former high school football player who missed that excitement and camaraderie; a man blessed with a supportive family but who nonetheless had bouts of feeling unworthy. He even shared a first name - Timothy (or "Tim" to his friends and "Timmy" to his older family members). The man in question was the late Tim Finch who died in... Read Full Story

Should President Bush attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, as planned? Or by doing so, is that seen as some kind of implicit endorsement of China's reprehensible policies toward Tibet, Darfur and Burma? I say, keep the diplomatic channels open. Not only the Chinese government, but more importantly the vast majority of Chinese people are taking great pride in their role as host of the 2008 Summer Olympics. If President Bush were to renege on his commitment to attend the... Read Full Story

Former Massachusetts Governor and Democratic Presidential Candidate Michael Dukakis is now lobbying to do away with the Electoral College system of electing the U.S. President and switching it with a straight tally of the popular vote. Will the Electoral College system soon give way to a simple counting of popular votes? Should the Electoral College system be replaced? Sorry Mr. Dukakis , I don't see that happening. Indeed, I'm having a difficult time understanding your argument about how " a... Read Full Story

Are the sanctions to be imposed by the G-8 nations on Robert Mugabe and his inner circle a sufficient response by the U.S. to the situation in Zimbabwe? Should the U.S. and it's allies do more to attempt to oust Mugabe and end the suffering of his opponents? Clearly, the recent "election" in Zimbabwe was a sham, the continued rule of Mugabe is illegitimate and the country's economy is on the brink of total collapse. The U.S. and Britain were correct to make Zimbabwe a major issue at the G-8... Read Full Story