American Athens

Todays links of interest:
To help foster informed discussion about the issues during and after the campaign, ten scholars associated with the Rappaport Institute have prepared short pieces describing some of important choices they believe the next governor will have to make. Their essays are collected in the policy brief: Hard Choices For The Next Massachusetts […]

I see via Pollster.com that a new (to me) poll came out on today (or the 24th), that shows Patrick leading Healey 57% to 24%. It’s a seven point drop for Patrick, and a one point drop for Healey from last week’s SurveyUSA poll taken during and right after the Deomcratic primary. There’s no data […]

I know everyone already has their wrap-ups out and this is pretty stale by now, but I figured I’d put it out there. I actually had it ready at ten this morning, but blogger wasn’t working and then I was at meetings. Enjoy.
My initial reaction to last night’s debate — other than hoping that it’s […]

Watching the gubernatorial debate (Channel 25) and things seem to be going swimmingly: Mihos attacking Healey, Grace Ross making Deval look like a centrist, Healey being healey. Chris “Bill Clinton Made Me Cry” Wallace is moderating and asking some of the questions, but he then turns it over to a “voter.” Who’s the voter? Some […]

I’m watching the English Premeir League on Fox Soccer Channel this morning, before the Michigan game starts. Arsenal is hosting Sheffield United, against whom they just scored, in their new stadium that opened this season. As you may or may not know, the name of the stadium is Emirates Stadium, after the Dubai-based Airline. For […]

The first post-primary poll is out, and it looks good for Deval Patrick. Obviously, Patrick gets a bump from winning Tuesday’s primary and as such commanding the news cycle while the poll was being taken. Patrick had 59% on Tuesday, ostensibly before he’d won the nomination, 68% on Wednesday and 64% on Thursday. Still, it’s […]

Thos. Hobbes was rather smart, but for some reason when we read him in IR, we go to great lengths to avoid his chief insight.
Leviathan, masterwork that it is, is for some reason read precisely opposite it’s plain meaning. Setting aside for a moment the simple fact that Hobbes was writing a political-theoretical work aimed […]

Massachusetts’ junior Senator is apparently clinging to the slim hope that he has a chance at the 2008 Democratic nomination for President. How else to explain his presence at the Iowa-Iowa State football game last weekend? Also, he’s apparently changed his advisors for this run, as he’s no longer leading with nuance and centrism in […]

This map, courtesy of the Boston Globe, speaks volumes about this campaign. And once again, allows me the chance to say, “Bring it on Kerry Healey!” Can you imagine what her map would have looked like in a contested primary against a real candidate? Say Bill Weld? Keep up the energy, keep up the momentum, […]

Though I should be catching up on work, I decided I’d rather go about updating the site instead. If you’re reading this, you’re probably seeing the results. It seems that some weren’t “down with the brown” anymore, so I have changed “the hue to blue.” I personally liked the earthy goodness of the former layout […]

Needless to say, last night was a pleasant surprise. Disappointed as I may be about the results for Sec. of State (however not surprising) and the State Senate race in the Berkshire, Hampshire & Franklin district (the guy who won is younger than me with no political experience, and more importantly, a good friend’s mother […]

I am an unenrolled voter — always have been and probably always will be. I come from a long line of unenrolled voters. Needless to say, I did not participate in today’s election. I had little to fear this year, as all the Democratic candidates would have acquitted themselves well and I congratulate them on […]

I’ve been an avid watcher of The Daily Show since the early days of Craig Kilborn. Over the years, there have been episodes that were memorable for their hilarity, or their poignancy, or their articulate grasp of that day’s particular tragi-comedy of politics. Rarely, if ever, however, has a single episode managed to put together […]

1)Vote!.
2) I came across this picture of Sen. Lieberman’s car parked at Fairfield University - what’s wrong with this picture?

I didn’t get a chance to update the blogroll or make any of the other planned cosmetic changes to the site this weekend due to a death in the family. Normally, I wouldn’t consider posting something this personal, this intimate, on a public forum. In this case, however, the loss I suffered is one that […]

Though the site went dark for six months, we didn’t stop reading blogs. Quite the opposite, in fact; we found more. So, over the next few days, the BlogRoll on the sidebar will be amended. If you read this site and have your own blog, we’ll throw yours up there as well. Just leave […]

Two things this morning.

If you’re going to court, leave the crack at home. Do not bring crack to court. Do not, when said crack is discovered, attempt to retrieve it and flee the courthouse. You will be caught. It’s that simple. 
If you rent a car, check about you for your belongings and personal items before […]

By Steve Sack, 2006.

Via Adam Reilly’s Talking Politics comes word of the latest poll on the Massachusetts gubernatorial race. According to CBS4, the SurveyUSA poll shows 45% of likely primary voters backing Deval Patrick, with Chris Gabrieli garnering 29%. Tom Reilly, seemingly completing his free-fall from front-runner to also-ran, checks in with 21%.
A week ago I spoke with […]

The Globe endorsement of Deval Patrick does a fantastic job of summing up the candidate as well as the man. I have re-posted the complete editorial here:
IN CHOOSING A governor to run the state, voters look for executive experience, wise issue positions, and the intangible quality of leadership. It is a rare thing […]