Politics

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Numbers game

Dead heat over Maine's same-sex marriage referendum
If you take a close look at the latest polls, you will find that supporters and opponents of November's same-sex marriage referendum question are locked in a neck-and-neck battle.
By JEFF INGLIS | October 21, 2009

For city council

Boston At-Large: Connolly, Murphy, Pressley, Arroyo
When Boston City Councilors Michael Flaherty and Sam Yoon declared their candidacies for mayor many months ago, the duo opened up what is normally a very narrow field for at-large Council candidates.
By EDITORIAL | October 21, 2009

Free speech again quashed at Harvard

RSVPeeved Dept.
It should come as no surprise to readers of “Freedom Watch” that yet another instance of political, intellectual, and academic censorship has sprung up at Harvard, the self-touted pinnacle of higher education.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | October 21, 2009

Knight of night life

Taking on Boston’s biggest bully
The most feared man in Boston isn’t a crazy-eyed killer or a brutal street thug — he’s an elected official. Evidence? When was the last time you heard a disgruntled Boston businessperson publicly criticize Mayor Tom Menino?
By CHRIS FARAONE | October 26, 2009

The waiting game

Congress is making progress. We think.
We know, we know: Last week, Olympia Snowe made history by being the only Republican in 2009 to vote for any sort of healthcare reform, even in committee-level draft language far from its final form.
By JEFF INGLIS | October 21, 2009

Holding his punches

The pundits think a desperate Michael Flaherty needs to throw haymakers at the mayor, but he insists steady pressure will win the fight
All year, Boston’s political observers have been watching for signs of an anti-Menino tipping point in the mayoral race.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 21, 2009

Review: Astro Boy

Partisan politics rain down like meatballs
Five-year-olds who attend MoveOn.org rallies in between tee-ball and bath time are sure to love the new David Bowers–directed interpretation of Osamu Tezuka’s flagship character.
By CHRIS FARAONE | October 21, 2009

Road hog

Bulldozing the Maine Better Transportation Association
You probably live on a lousy road.
By AL DIAMON | October 21, 2009

The politics of baseball in Boston

It's the Red Sox, stupid
You don’t need a fancy political-science degree to predict voter turnout in Boston city elections. All you need is a Red Sox postseason schedule (when applicable).
By CHRIS FARAONE | October 14, 2009

A veteran TV reporter tries something new

On the Air
Months after leaving ABC6, investigative reporter Jim Hummel was chatting about his future over lunch with public relations guru Dante Bellini. Plans to take up with WJAR's news team, long the ratings leader in the Providence market, had evaporated with the downturn in the economy.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 14, 2009

State should protect inmates’ rights

Letters to the Portland Editor, October 16, 2009
As Lance Tapley points out, denying prisoners access to human-rights protections is a mistake (see "Less Than Equal," October 2).
By PORTLAND PHOENIX LETTERS | October 14, 2009

Afghanistan: Just say no!

Plus, Obama and the Nobel
The idea that the war in Afghanistan has reached a critical junction, a “now-or-never” moment that requires an additional 40,000 troops to win, is rubbish.
By EDITORIAL | October 14, 2009

Interview: Bill Maher

Bill Maher's new rules to live by
"If liberals act like pussies, then they are pussies."
By CHRIS FARAONE | October 15, 2009

Orthodox caveman

Maine’s GOP is suffering from a muddle in the middle
Wanted: a right-wing wacko to run for governor of Maine.
By AL DIAMON | October 14, 2009

Khazei, Like a Fox?

Insiders don’t think Alan Khazei has a chance in the US Senate race. But progressive activists could make him an underdog with bite.
If there is to be a candidate in the Massachusetts US Senate race who inspires the sort of grassroots, progressive following that propelled Governor Deval Patrick into office three years ago — an insurgent candidacy, if you will — it figures to be idealistic public-service advocate Alan Khazei, co-founder of City Year and founder of Be the Change, Inc.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 16, 2009

Latter day taint

How Glenn Beck is driven by Mormonism — and why his fellow faithful (including Mitt Romney) should be worried
Fifteen years ago, Glenn Beck was a small-market DJ with a drinking problem, no friends, and bleak professional prospects. Today, he’s a Fox News superstar averaging 2.4 million viewers, an inexorably successful author, and the leader of a popular movement that condemns government in general and President Barack Obama in particular.
By ADAM REILLY | October 10, 2009

Art dodgers

Letters to the Boston editor, October 9, 2009
David S. Bernstein points out some key facts about who voted for Michael Flaherty in “Can Flaherty Woo Yoon?”, but he neglects to mention that, if Sam Yoon had won, he would need the base that voted for Flaherty, and he would also need to woo Flaherty’s support to win the mayor’s seat.
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | October 07, 2009

Burn, baby, burn

The Olympics, zipper-gate, stimulus money, and why Coakley must investigate City Hall
The Phoenix opposed President Barack Obama's efforts to help Chicago win the 2016 Summer Olympics on the grounds that doing business with the International Olympic Committee is always bad news for the host community.
By EDITORIAL | October 07, 2009

Lie of the land

Lying liars, and the end of accountability
In his new film, The Invention of Lying , Ricky Gervais plays Mark Bellison, a pudgy everyman who lives in Anytown in a utopian world where lies don't exist — until he tells one.
By MIKE MILIARD | October 07, 2009

Comic writers go nuclear — they think Amazon's the bomb

Gone Fission Dept.
It was reported last week that "Iran has agreed 'in principle' to an international proposal that could significantly reduce its stocks of uranium."
By MIKE MILIARD | October 07, 2009

The winner and other losers

The governor's race, brought to you by “Internet Riches Made Easy”
By my count, there are approximately 14,308 people running for governor of Maine.
By AL DIAMON | October 07, 2009

Final four?

The City Council preliminary is seldom a preview of the finish. But this time, it just might be.
Some of Boston's savviest political insiders were confident of one thing going into last week's preliminary election: the top four finishers in the at-large City Council race would not be the same quartet to actually win those four seats in November.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 30, 2009

Review: Capitalism: A Love Story

Moore of the same: Capitalism fails to make a prophet
In his new film about the Wall Street meltdown, Michael Moore — surprise! — denounces capitalism and its exploitation of the working class. Not that he's above doing a little exploiting himself.
By PETER KEOUGH | September 29, 2009

Hot controversy over sexuality center in Pawtucket

Pleasure Dept.
Too hot for Pawtucket?
By ALEXIS HAUK | September 30, 2009

Disclosure: not a dirty word

Menino's shame and Kerry's blunder. Plus, Olympic follies.
The City Hall e-mail scandal that has scored headlines in recent weeks exemplifies Mayor Thomas Menino's antagonistic — almost contemptuous — attitude toward public accountability.
By EDITORIAL | September 30, 2009

Has Obama learned from Clinton’s mistakes on health-care?

Action Speaks!
Action Speaks!, the always-enlightening panel discussion series at the Providence art space AS220, is back at it with weekly chats through the end of October.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | September 30, 2009

Anarchists claim victory in G-20 marches

Protestors vs. Police
Safely home after protesting for two full days, and being among the first American civilians ever attacked with a sonic cannon, two Portlanders are calling their efforts a success.
By JEFF INGLIS | September 30, 2009

Camelot: The Next Generation

Patrick Kennedy is a square peg in his family's historic round table
Senator Ted Kennedy's months-long battle with brain cancer inspired endless commentary about the demise of Camelot.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | October 01, 2009

Less than equal

State officials, including prejudiced human-rights commissioners, block inmate complaints
This story has a bias. It’s in favor of human rights for all people.
By LANCE TAPLEY | October 02, 2009

Protestors head to the G-20 summit

Global Outrage
As President Obama prepares to ask representatives of the world's largest economic powers for more money to help reverse the global recession, thousands of activists will take to the streets to protest the policies of the G-20 and its members, who are meeting in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday.
By JEFF INGLIS | September 23, 2009

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