MASSterList: Snowzilla to the rescue? | NRA donations linked as #thoughtsandprayers goes viral | In defense of The Donald |

Thursday, December 3, 2015

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By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Keith Regan

Today: Gaming Commission hearing; Mass. Women's Political Caucus celebrates - Gov. Baker gives the keynote speech at the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association's annual meeting, Bastille Kitchen, 49 Melcher St., Boston, 12:30pm. - The Mass. Gaming Commission holds a public hearing in Springfield on the proposed changes to the MGM Springfield casino. It will be at the MassMutual Center, 1277 Main St., Rooms 4 and 5, Springfield, 2:30pm. - Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil host Boston's 74th Annual Official Tree Lighting on Boston Common, 6:00pm. - Also tonight: The Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus holds the ELKEYs, an awards ceremony celebrating excellence in Massachusetts politics. Chris Matthews of "Hardball" will host and legacy awards will be given to former AG Frank Bellotti and Jan Cellucci, in honor of former Gov. Paul Cellucci. It's at the Omni Parker House, Boston, 6:00pm.   Pushing back at the platitudes from NRA-supported politicians   San Bernardino reaction: There have been more mass shooting than days in 2015, the Globe reports, based on information from the Mass Shooting Tracker. It has a graphic of where the shootings or four or more people occurred: http://bit.ly/1NrlGij   One activist has taken to Twitter to highlight the "thoughts and prayers" sentiments of politicians who have taken money from the NRA. He is Igor Volsky, the director of video and contributing editor at ThinkProgress -- his #thoughtsandprayers hashtag has gone viral. "Praying isn't enough," he tweeted at one congressman. "Support actual gun reform." Below is of one of his tweets, directed at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. A trail of his tweets can be found on the Daily Kos here http://bit.ly/1LPTrUV and Buzzfeed herehttp://bzfd.it/1IFl7vI

Also: A brother of a woman who was killed in the Brookline Planned Parenthood shooting in 1994 writes in the Globe: "Our time to seek a new day is long overdue. Those of us who have experienced gun violence have an opportunity to tell our story and ask our leaders one question: 'What have you done today to keep guns out of the hands of those who will commit violence?'" http://bit.ly/1IFHHEp   Is the T ready? Just check out this equipment... Here's the arsenal the T has assembled after investing $85 million to prepare for winter and thinking long and hard about what went wrong:   * 10 miles of new third rail * Rail-mounted snow throwers * Jet-engine powered snow melters * Specially designed ice melting systems attached to trains * Plow cars that were not available last year (so the traction motors don't end up plowing the snow and seizing) * A new "snow desk" the T has established to inform riders during snow emergencies.   Gov. Baker at the T show and tell: "I believe people have done a tremendous amount of work to position us to be in a position to serve the public adequately when the snow starts to fall."   The operative word here is "adequately." Baker can't stick out his neck too far. The T meltdown and the subsequent reengineering of a broken system will take years before "adequately" can be replaced with "well." The new equipment is heartening, but the reality is Baker inherited a decrepit system and needs far more than $85 million to be ready for harsh conditions.   You want a video tour of the new equipment? Antonio Caban of the State House News Service videos T Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Gonneville displaying some of the fancy new machinery. http://bit.ly/1O5jUj3 (paywall)   It's fair to say the public's confidence is not that high, a hunch that was underscored by some legwork of Emmanuel students recently. Ernie Corrigan teaches a public relations course at Emmanuel, and he had his students survey 300 T riders in November to assess confidence levels. Here's the lede from the students' research: "The MBTA's public assurances that it will not suffer the operational breakdown of last winter are apparently not convincing T customers, according to a survey of nearly 300 riders which found that fewer than 25 percent believed that the MBTA would function normally if faced with another tough winter."   The good news for Baker: Expectations are low. Adequate service would be a home run.   Heather Campion is out at the JFK Library After months of personnel controversy, and on the heels of a consultant's report, Heather Campion has resigned from the JFK Library Foundation. Jim O'Sullivan of the Globe has the story. http://bit.ly/1XHMyfc   Ballot-mania: 'Fair Care' measure delivers; Galvin does not Secretary of State William Galvin has dropped his quest to put a public records referendum on the ballot, telling the State House News Service he has confidence the Legislature will deliver reform to the law. One initiative that has received relatively little attention is the Campaign for Fair Care, which is proposing to rein in higher costs at what the group terms "expensive medical centers." They handed in some 130,000 signatures yesterday, setting the stage for a battle with Boston's hospital industry, especially Partners HealthCare. For a roundup of other ballot question efforts, see Shira Schoenberg's story on the MassLive website: http://bit.ly/1YJv58r   To the defense of Donald Trump Is Donald Trump really as out of bounds as he appears to be? Eric Fehrnstrom, while making it clear he is not a Trump fan, argues in the Globe the candidate is being held to a double standard by the media. "Trump's invective is tame compared to the poison darts used by John Adams to describe Thomas Jefferson: 'a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father.' " http://bit.ly/1IFIbdG   But if you're looking for a new way to understand Trump, perhaps Globe columnist Dante Ramos has found one: See him through the lens of a book popular in the 1980s, "Truly Tasteless Jokes." Ramos talks with the book's author, who seems very funny, but doesn't find Trump funny at all. http://bit.ly/1YK7Qer   This just in: Drug sentencing opponents say poll is on their side This morning on the State House New Service site by Andy Metzger: "A majority of Massachusetts voters want to repeal mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses and an even larger percentage supports shifting resources from jails to drug addiction treatment programs, according to a poll commissioned by an advocacy group."http://bit.ly/1Ns51uJ (paywall) Please share with us: It's the MASSterList gift guide Most of us could use some shopping assistance during the holidays, and who better to help than the astute and discerning readership of MASSterList? We're looking for your gift-giving suggestions for those shopping for fellow grownups. You know, unusual gifts, smart gifts, memorable gifts, your favorite gift. Things you would want or things other people would be pleased to receive. Send a brief description of the gift, its price range, and if we receive enough suggestions, we'll have MASSterList's first gift-giving guide, either this Friday or Monday, or both. Send your ideas to gdonnelly@massterlist.com. Lawmaker calls for insurance do-over  A day after Attorney General Maura Healey issued a report poking holes in the arguments made by two insurers to secure sizable rate increases after last winter, Sen. Michael J. Barrett called on the Division of Insurance to reconsider its decision, the Globe reports. In a letter to regulators, Barrett, a Lexington Democrat who chairs the Senate's post audit and oversight committee, called for rarely held public hearings on the rates. http://bit.ly/1RpbYyn  Quincy race makes history  Quincy's recent election officially goes down in the books as the city's most expensive, the Patriot Ledger reports, with candidates spending just under $1 million in pursuit of the first four-year term as mayor. The finalists, incumbent and eventual winner Thomas Koch and former Mayor William Phelan combined to spend more than $850,000, while several other candidates did their part prior to the preliminary election in September. Koch was the bigger spender by far, investing $680,692 in the campaign, compared to $172,320 for Phelan. http://bit.ly/1lZdxHu  State police barracks closing slammed  The decision by Massachusetts State Police to shutter its barracks in Brookfield is a slap in the face to Central Massachusetts, a lawmaker argued Wednesday as legislators pushed for a delay in the planned closing, the Telegram reports. Sen. Anne Gobi co-sponsored a bill calling for a staffing analysis before the barracks is shut down, which is scheduled to happen later this week. Gobi said she and other lawmakers in the area were caught off guard by the move, citing a lack of communication "which has been severely lacking from this administration." http://bit.ly/1OI9d8N  Coastal towns tilt at windmills, each other   Selectmen in Bourne have authorized legal action aimed at stopping construction of four 500-foot-tall wind turbines under construction just over the town's border with Plymouth, according to the Cape Cod Times. The Plymouth Board of Health will now seek an injunction against Future Generation Wind, despite warnings about what is likely to be a drawn-out and costly legal slog. http://bit.ly/1IFHFfP  BHI's Tuerck: Suffolk squelched Obamacare study  Beacon Hill Institute Director David Tuerck told the Herald that Suffolk University put the kibosh on a number studies the institute planned to conduct during its now-ended partnership with the school, the Herald reports. Among the projects shelved was a study of how the Affordable Care Act impacts employment, Tuerck said, adding that he had been chastised for his comments to the tabloid in the past as well. "There were past attempts at censorship of us, which I fought off," he said. http://bit.ly/1HHKNNs  Noted with pleasure From the story by Globe's Nicole Dungca on official preparation for winter: "Over and over again throughout the fall, officials have rattled off the names of all the machines that will battle snow: the front-end loaders, the swingmaster with a viper jet, the ballast regulator with an augur (also known as a plow), the Snowzilla, the Vamasses, and the John Deere tractors that will work to clear off tracks, yards, roads, and runways throughout the winter." TODAY'S TOP STORIES National headlines  New Hampshire Union Leader and New Jersey paper continue trashing each other over Chris Christie Republicans appear headed for another 'long slog' to presidential nomination - The Boston Globe State headlines  Analysis: Why The GOP Presidential Candidates Shouldn't Ignore Mass. Gambling question among 6 that appear to have cleared hurdle Why aren't Mass. cities enacting a $15 minimum wage? - The Boston Globe MBTA officials ramp up press conferences to assure commuters that they're ready for winter - The Boston Globe Women and minorities still have few seats at the table in Massachusetts corporate boardrooms - The Boston Globe Controversial JFK Library Foundation CEO Departs for Harvard Wineries tapping new license for direct shipments to Massachusetts - News - MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA - Framingham, MA Ballot dispute brewing over cage-free eggs and ban on calf confinement Activists submit signatures for 11 Massachusetts ballot questions, including charter schools and marijuana Gov: We are better prepared for winter David Tuerck: Suffolk nixed BHI projects Marijuana, charter school ballot initiatives likely to advance - The Boston Globe The marijuana legalization push in Mass. just got a little more clear Local headlines  New Bedford Whaling Museum logbooks to be used to uncover climate patterns City Councilor Ayanna Pressley among Bostonians named to Ebony's Power 100 list An 'emergency snow desk' will keep Bostonians informed about transit delays Lowell opiate-crisis task force named Interactive: Cape and Islands donors to the presidential campaigns Search board for new county administrator under fire Bourne selectmen OK legal action on Plymouth turbines Taunton businesses making way for Mashpee Wampanoag casino - News - The Enterprise, Brockton, MA - Brockton, MA State designates Scituate Harbor as cultural district Nearly $1 million spent in historic Quincy mayoral race Braintree approves $10 million capital plan AG probes missing evidence money at Framingham Police station Sen. Gobi says closing state police barracks in Brookfield 'sticks it' to Central Mass. Town cannot close down Hyannis needle distribution effort, judge rules - The Boston Globe

RSN: The Undercurrent: How Monsanto Gained Huge Control of the World's Food Supply, 50 Hospitals Charge Uninsured More Than 10 Times Cost of Care, Study Finds, Prosperity Gospel Is War on the Poor

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Prosperity Gospel Is War on the Poor 
 
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, TIME 
Abdul-Jabbar writes: "This column isn't about Creflo Dollar and the other multi-millionaires who have cynically perverted Christ's teachings to fill their silk-lined pockets. It's about how the country shifted from the War on Poverty in the 1960s to the War on the Poor today." 
READ MORE

Angola Three Prisoner Set to Be Released After Four Decades in Solitary Confinement 
Ben Quinn, Guardian UK 
Quinn writes: "A federal court has ordered the release of the longest-standing solitary confinement prisoner in the US, who has been in isolation almost without pause for 43 years." 
READ MORE

The Kids of Gitmo 
Jenifer Fenton, Al Jazeera America 
Fenton writes: "'I have memories, but I don't know if they're mine, if they are accurate or not,' said Omar Khadr recently, recalling the events for which he was convicted by a U.S. military tribunal. Khadr, a Canadian citizen, spent almost nine years at Guantánamo Bay after being captured in Afghanistan at age 15." 
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One Year of Sisi Leaves Trail of Human Rights Abuses 
teleSUR 
Excerpt: "With public protest protests banned, 1,000 protesters dead and an estimated 41,000 political dissidents and journalists behind bars and 2,280 civilians placed in military trials, the figures make for a shocking review." 
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"Unjust and Ineffective": Federal Judge Passes In-Court Criticism on Mandated Sentencing 
Eli Saslow, The Washington Post 
Saslow writes: "For more than two decades as a federal judge, Bennett had often viewed his job as less about presiding than abiding by dozens of mandatory minimum sentences established by Congress in the late 1980s for federal offenses." 
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50 Hospitals Charge Uninsured More Than 10 Times Cost of Care, Study Finds 
Lena H. Sun, The Washington Post 
Sun writes: "Fifty hospitals in the United States are charging uninsured consumers more than 10 times the actual cost of patient care, according to research published Monday." 
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The Undercurrent: How Monsanto Gained Huge Control of the World's Food Supply 
Cole Mellino, EcoWatch 
Mellino writes: "Just how much power does Monsanto wield? Well, they control 80 percent of the U.S. corn market and 93 percent of the U.S. soy market, according to Graetz." 
READ MORE

We jumped on the bandwagon.....

many of us believed mandatory sentences for drug offenses would solve our crime problems and that's not how it worked.

Please consider supporting change by adding your name below:

Tens of thousands of people are in federal prison - sometimes for life - for low-level nonviolent drug offenses.

Weldon Angelos is one of the many victims of these draconian laws. He is serving 55 years for selling small amounts of marijuana while possessing guns that weren't displayed or used. He was 24 years old and it was only his first arrest. Even the judge in his case thought the sentence was "cruel, unjust and irrational."

Let's tell our Senators to support reform of mandatory minimum drug laws now.

Thanks for all you do!

Bob Fertik

	Our criminal justice system is broken. Now you have a chance to fix it. Write your U.S. Senators today: tell them to support legislation that would reform federal drug sentencing policies.

Tens of thousands of people are in federal prison -- sometimes for life -- for low-level nonviolent drug offenses.

But with your help, we can roll back the disastrous mandatory minimum sentencing policies that put so many people behind bars. We’re working with the Senate to change these laws, and that’s why we need you to tell your Senators to support reform of mandatory minimum drug laws now!

Weldon Angelos is one of the many victims of these draconian laws. He is serving 55 years for selling small amounts of marijuana while possessing guns that weren’t displayed or used. He was 24 years old and it was only his first arrest. He’s been in prison for 10 years and will remain there for the next 45 years. That means he’ll be 80 years old before he can go home to his children, sister and father. Even the judge in his case thought it was a “cruel, unjust and irrational” sentence.

The drug war is ruining the lives of tens of thousands of people like Weldon Angelos. It’s especially infuriating when you consider that people convicted of nonviolent drug law violations can receive much longer sentences than people convicted of rape and murder.

These harsh sentences, which mostly apply to drug offenses, have significantly contributed to our country’s appalling mass incarceration problem. It’s laws like these that result in the United States leading the world in incarceration, with less than five percent of the world’s population but almost twenty-five percent of the world’s prisoners.

There is something fundamentally wrong with this equation. But there’s hope. Between several reform bills in Congress and the Obama administration’s directive to scale back mandatory minimums, we have a real chance to roll back these draconian sentencing laws.

That’s why your Senators need to hear from you now. Time is of the essence: pressure your Senators to end the cruel and wasteful practice of mandatory minimum sentencing for drug law violations.

We’re working with a broad coalition of criminal justice reform and civil rights allies to finally get this legislation passed. There’s a promising chance that we can win this. But we can’t do it without your help.

Our mandatory minimum sentencing laws have done much more harm than good. The human, moral and fiscal costs are too great. You can help us fix our broken criminal justice system -- take action today!

Sincerely,

Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance