By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan

08/15/2017

Fizzling out | Warm and cuddly fascists | Foxboro furor

Education commissioner search, PRIM meeting, affordable housing announcement

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meets, with plans to discuss the search for a new state education commissioner and the status of Southbridge Public Schools, 75 Pleasant Street, Malden 9 a.m. ... The Pension Reserves Investment Management Board plans to vote on fiscal 2018 goals and objectives, talk about investments, and review fiscal 2017 performance, with Treasurer Deborah Goldberg chairing, 84 State St, 2nd Floor, Board Room, Boston, 9:30 a.m. ... Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito joins Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, Sen. Joan Lovely and Rep. Paul Tucker to celebrate the completion of the Commercial Marina at Blaney Street Wharf in Salem, 10 Blaney St., Salem, 9 a.m. ... Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and others gather for a statewide affordable housing announcement, 591 Morton St., Mattapan, 10 a.m. ... Immigrants, labor groups and others gather on the fifth anniversary of implementation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for an "enough is enough" rally, State House Steps, 12 p.m. ... Treasurer Deborah Goldberg presents a $470,901.84 check from the Unclaimed Property Division for cancer research and care at the annual WEEI/NECN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, Fenway Park, 4 Yawkey Way, Boston, 1:50 p.m. ... Bob Massie, a Somerville Democrat running for governor, speaks at a Mansfield Democratic Town Committee meeting, Mansfield Municipal Airport, Building H, 265 Fruit St., Mansfield, 7:30 p.m. ... Boston Globe reporter Emily Sweeney, who pens the Globe's ‘Blotter Tales column, is interviewed on ‘NightSide,’ WBZ NewsRadio 1030, 9 p.m.

Today's News

Right-wing rally fizzling out?

Let’s hope this leads to a non-event event on Saturday. Both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald are reporting how speakers and organizers of the planned right-wing rally in Boston this weekend are backing out of the event. Naturally, the wingnuts are blaming others – the threat of violence allegedly aimed at them, the oppressive City Hall and state government tactics, hate and more hate, etc. etc. Boston Police Commissioner Bill Evans is hoping they all just go away, reports MassLive.

Mayor Walsh and Gov. Charlie Baker most definitely don’t want the protest to proceed, saying hate and violence won’t be tolerated in Boston, reports WGBH. Local civil rights groups are also urging city and state leaders to do everything possible to prevent Saturday’s planned rally.

Speaking of Gov. Baker, he’s not exactly impressed with President Trump’s initial reaction to the right-wing violence exhibited over the weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, reports the Globe. Baker had another message yesterday: ‘E Pluribus Unum,’ reports MassLive.

Mr. President: When the Daily Stormer finds your words acceptable, find other words

You can almost see the Globe’s Jeff Jacoby, a conservative and no admirer of the president, shaking his head in wonder at the president’s initial reaction to the violence in Charlottesville. As he points out, when the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer finds your words acceptable, you know you have a PR disaster on your hands. Or as Michael Graham, another conservative, puts it at the Herald: “A tip to every person considering a run for public office: If you get a chance to denounce Nazis — take it.”

Btw: The Globe’s Kevin Cullen and Joan Vennochi, and the Herald’s Kimberly Atkins, also have good columns on hate speech, free speech, dumb speech, and tardy presidential speech.

How white supremacists try to portray themselves as warm and cuddly constitutionalists

The Globe’s Astead Herndon has a good piece on all the rhetorical tactics that far right-wing groups use to come across as just concerned, freedom-loving citizens wanting to exercise, and protect, their constitutional rights. It involves dog whistles too.

Boston Globe

‘Antifa,’ the new ‘Benghazi’

Speaking of dog whistles: Antifa, a very loose confederation of anarchists and far left “antifascist” fanatics, is a nasty group of ideological troublemakers who most likely were the ones duking it out with right-wing thugs during this past weekend’s protest battles in Charlottesville. But as the Washington Post reports, Antifa has become a sort of all-purpose villain for many on the right, a buzzword used to rev up the troops, sort of the new ‘Benghazi’ rallying cry of the right, so to speak. Unfortunately, if Saturday’s conservative rally goes through in Boston, Antifa morons will probably be there too, ready to rumble, clad in their face-mask costumes, and the alt-right media will be there using them as newscast backdrops.

Washington Post

Holocaust Memorial vandalized -- again

It went more than 20 years without any vandalism, but times have changed. From CBS Boston (with video): “For the second time this summer, the Holocaust Memorial in Boston has been vandalized. Boston Police say a 17-year-old boy from Malden allegedly used a rock to smash a glass panel at the memorial on Union Street Monday night. The suspect was detained by two bystanders until police arrived at the scene.”

CBS Boston (video)

Hung jury in ‘Top Chef’ case?

We could end up with a hung jury in the high-profile ‘Top Chef’ case. From the Herald’s Laurel Sweet on breaking news last night: “The federal judge in the ‘Top Chef’ extortion case warned the trial teams last night to prepare for the possibility jurors are deadlocked based on the only word they have heard from them in three days of deliberations.”

Boston Herald

Critics rail against T’s approval of daily Foxboro station stops

From Bruce Mohl at CommonWealth: “The MBTA’s oversight board on Monday approved two, year-long pilot projects expanding the transit authority’s operations – one that adds limited, early morning buses to help workers start into work in Boston as early as 4 a.m. and the other extending daily commuter rail service between South Station and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.”

As the Herald's Matt Stout reporters, critics aren't happy about the daily service to Foxboro, saying that it could hurt ridership elsewhere and that it's a sweetheart deal for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

CommonWealth

Bernie and Phyl’s comes back with new ‘Banned in Boston’ ads on the T

After an earlier ad campaign was deemed as too sexually suggestive for the MBTA, Bernie and Phyl’s is back with a new T ad campaign: “Banned in Boston.” Patrick Ronan at the Brockton Enterprise has the details on the old and the new advertisements.

Enterprise

Could Jay Leno, Paula Poundstone or Steve Carrell win Tsongas’ Congressional seat next year?

WGBH’s David Bernstein thinks it may be the Year of the Outsider when it comes to who might emerge the winner of U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas’ House seat next year. He makes a good argument the electorate, left and right, is in no mood for more of the same. Just for the fun of it, he browsed through social media and came up with a list of celebrities with ties to the district. Hey, if Kidd Rock can run for Congress, why not Jay Leno, Tom Bergeron, Paula Poundstone, Steve Carrell, Peter Gammons or Chris Evans here? Start spreading the rumors.

WGBH

Ayn Rand groupie who’s destroying Sears is back in Boston with his Fountainhead superyacht

Hedge-fund moneyman and Sears chief executive Edward S. Lampert must be taking a break from his slow sell-off of Sears’ assets, for his 288-foot Fountainhead yacht was spotted again in Boston Harbor yesterday, reports Universal Hub’s Adam Gaffin, who refers to Lampert as an “Ayn Rand fanboi.” He may be a Rand fan, but he’s actually the antithesis of a Rand superhero. Read this recent devastating article by the NYT about what Lampert is doing at Sears. Not exactly a Howard Roark creator.

Universal Hub

Eldridge: ‘Our worst fears about casinos are coming to fruition’

It may be a small thing. But state Sen. Jamie Eldridge says the 4 a.m. liquor license provision that was snuck into the state budget for casinos is just a small example of how the industry will keep growing and growing in political clout in Massachusetts, thanks largely to campaign donations. You know what? He’s right! It’s happened in every other state where gambling has recently been introduced.

CommonWealth

Uber and Lyft expand their market share at Logan

CommonWealth’s Bruce Mohl has a piece on how ride-sharing companies, including Uber and Lyft, are increasing their market share among carriers transporting people to and from Logan Airport, but the taxi industry and mass transit seem to be holding their own. We could be wrong, but it sure looks like Uber and Lyft are merely limbering up before dinner. Or as the Globe’s Adam Vaccaro puts it: “Taxis are still king at Logan International Airport, but maybe not for much longer.”

Why the cab industry is dying: Waiting 20 years to get a taxi license on Nantucket

Speaking of the taxi industry, two decades after first applying for a coveted taxi license on Nantucket, Neville Richen, now 73, is still waiting to get a license from town officials, reports the Cape Cod Times. It’s a classic micro-example of an overregulated industry that’s resisted change for decades – and now the industry is unraveling.

Cape Cod Times

Berklee neighbors up in arms over armed campus police

The Globe’s Laura Krantz reports that some residents in the Fenway area are furious that the Berklee College of Music has proceeded with arming campus police without prior community consultation.

Boston Globe

GE’s Immelt is sticking it out on Trump’s manufacturing council

The CEOs of Merck, Intel and Under Armour may have quit President Trump’s advisory council for manufacturers, saying they could no longer stay on after the president’s initial refusal to condemn right-wing violence in Charlottesville, as the NYT reports. But Jeff Immelt, chairman of Boston-based General Electric, said he’s staying on the commission, even though his company has condemned the “violent extremism” in Charlottesville, reports the BBJ’s Greg Ryan. Dell Inc.'s Michael Dell, whose company recently took over Hopkinton-based EMC Corp., also plans to stay on the council.

BBJ

Markey repeats again: Donald Trump has his finger on the nuclear button

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey yesterday was pushing once again for restrictions on President Donald Trump’s authority to launch nuclear missiles, reports Shira Schoenberg at MassLIve. No one seems to be listening to him in Washington.

MassLive

Today's Headlines

Metro

'Proud Boys' founder cancels plans to attend Boston Free Speech rally - Boston Herald

Holocaust Memorial vandalized again - CBS Boston

Uber, Lyft gain market share at Logan - CommonWealth

Massachusetts

T approves two pilot service expansions - CommonWealth

After Charlottesville violence, Gov. Charlie Baker says hatred, bigotry have no place in Massachusetts - MassLive

Bernie & Phyl’s follows racy ads with ‘banned in Boston’ campaign - Enterprise

Sen. Ed Markey seeks to limit president's ability to launch nuclear strike - MassLive

Nation