Having come of age in the era of busing in Boston (yet another dumb idea hatched by liberals), this article by Washington Times reporter Justin A. Rice is particularly salient. Liberals make promises they can’t keep.  They cited the objective of “integration” to justify the busing program. Today (2009), Boston schools are overwhelmingly non-white. Bear this in mind when they extol the virtues of single payer/gubimint run/public option/delay trigger health systems. Here’s an excerpt:

Boston schools still let parents pick schools, but only within three enormous and controversial geographical zones. Buses carting only one student often crisscross the city – contributing to next year’s nearly $80 million transportation budget at a time when the district faces a projected $100 million budget shortfall.

“Buses carting only ONE student….” Stupid, stupid, stupid AND expensive AND wasteful. And it only comes with a 27% dropout rate.

John Steele Gordon does an excellent job of reaching into the heart of the liberal to ascertain why he/she thinks,does and says the things he/she does:

We all use paradigms to make sense of what we see around us and couldn’t get along without them. Unfortunately, the basic liberal paradigm hasn’t shifted in a hundred years, while the world we live in has changed utterly since the late 19th century, when modern liberalism was born.

Charles Kesler’s interview with Peter Robinson does an excellent job of explaining the waves of modern liberalis, the implication of each wave, and the inherent dangers posed by liberalism.

These folks have an intriguing perspective on the city of Boston’s affairs, particularly as they pertain to City Hall. Please check out Change for Boston here.

According to the Dorchester Reporter’s Gintautas Dumcius, a Sam Yoon sponsored forum erupted into a faceoff with lieutenants of Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Yoon, a Boston City Councilor running to replace Menino as Boston’s mayor, sponsored the forum at Foley Senior Residence. According to Dumcius’ reporting, Yoon, speaking of the city’s Elderly Commission, stated:

“It almost exists to serve the mayor,” Yoon said in front of a small crowd of 60 people, many of them seniors. “Elders deserve better than that.”

Yoon is one of three candidates in the running to replace incumbent Menino, the other two being Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty and political activist Kevin McCrae.

For a big piece of the 20th century, the Monitor was a regular and respected presence in Boston politics – first at city hall and then at the statehouse. That presence was George B. Merry, who passed away last Tuesday. George was hired on at the Monitor in 1948, and eventually became the dean of the Beacon Hill press corps. He was a knowing guide and mentor to young reporters both on the Monitor staff and off. (excerpted from Connecting the Dots).

George Merry joined the Christian Science Monitor in 1948. He was a fixture in Boston news circles, first at City Hall and ultimately under the statehouse’s Golden Dome. His grasp of events earned him the title “dean of the Beacon Hill press corps.” As the Monitor’s focus began to shift away from local coverage, he adroitly adapted to the change by becoming “… a one-man national statehouse research department.”  I knew George personally and had the privilege of calling him a friend.  I was a guest in his home, we worshipped at the same church, and, regardless of the setting we would almost invariably exchange quips about politics and his beloved Red Sox. Thanks for setting such a great example George.

(Hat tip to Connecting the Dots, The Globe’s take)

Tip of the hat to Fwix/Bostonist. I came upon this piece on my Twitter account. I spent part of my growing up years in this section of Boston. Lovely architecture, lovely people. I’m a fan of most things Boston. Thanks for doing this.

No surprises here; Menino is a petty, thin-skinned autocrat intolerant of ANY dissent whatsoever. Just ask former Boston Public Library Big Bernard Margolis. He (Menino) has been in office TOO long; it’s time for a genuine change. Sorry to say this: ANYONE but Menino; City Hall needs a breath of fresh thinking.

Kudos to Kevin McCrea for securing a place on this fall’s mayoral ballot. Mr. McCrea is an advocate for transparency in government. Such an initiative would be a welcome breath of air in Menino’s musty City Hall chambers.

I may be the only conservative who doesn’t want the Boston Globe to go out of business.

Despite its well-known liberal bias, the Globe was, legitimately, one of America’s best newspapers–and the place where my writing career began. On February 6, 1994, the Boston Globe Magazine ran a special edition entitled “In Our Own Words,” a series of essays by students in Massachusetts public high schools dealing with their lives and their world. I had the privilege of having one of my essays appear in this edition: the piece, entitled “White Man’s Knowledge,” dealt with the harassment and ostracism I faced growing up as a black teenager for focusing on education as opposed to more trivial pursuits.

Despite my ideological disagreements with the Globe over the years, I’ve always had a soft spot for the paper because of the role it played in kickstarting my writing career. That’s why I was horrified by the news  that the New York Times Co., which owns the Globe, has threatened to shut the paper down if the paper’s unions refuse to make critical concessions.

I can’t imagine Massachusetts without the Globe. Yes, the paper’s treatment of former Governor Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran and former Presidents Bush and Reagan was horrible. Yes, the paper seemed to overdo it with its coverage of the gay-marriage debate in 2003-2004. Yes, some of their op-ed columnists–most notably Ellen “Let’s just say that global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers” Goodman–were off-the-charts ridiculous.

Yet the Globe has recently done tremendous work in exposing the folly and foolishness of Governor Deval Patrick. Its coverage of Boston’s education problems has improved in recent years. In addition, Jeff Jacoby has maintained a consistent standard of excellence during his tenure on the op-ed pages.

Who benefits if Massachusetts only has one major newspaper? The Herald, obviously–but without competition, there will be no force to encourage excellence. Both papers keep each other honest. Without the incentive to beat the Globe, what will happen to the Herald?

It appears that many of the Herald’s readers are thrilled with the prospect of the Globe’s demise. Sorry, but I can’t join the celebration. For all the Globe’s sins, it is a part of the state’s history–and if the paper goes out of business, even those who oppose the paper’s left-wing slant will miss what the paper had to contribute to the public conversation. As a conservative, I give the Globe credit: they were bold enough to give writers such as Jacoby and the late David Wilson a forum for their views, which often came in conflict with the views expressed by the paper’s editorial board. Jacoby and Wilson gave life and spice to the paper’s op-ed page, and they helped to make the Globe a better publication.

Yes, I was thrilled when the Globe endured the embarrassment of the Mike Barnicle-Patricia Smith scandal in 1998. However, I’ll be saddened if the Globe goes out of business. A lot of folks will be hurt if the Globe goes under–and despite the Globe’s errors, this is the kind of hurt I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

In yet another round of “I am my brother’s keeper” hypocrisy, an aunt of Senator Government has been found living in a Boston Housing Project. Of course, Senator Government himself lives in a Chicago mansion, but oh well….Your thoughts? Am I wrong?

Tip of the hat and full story to Glenn Reynolds/Instapundit.

Tonight’s show was outstanding if you ask me. First and foremost, the chatizens were engaged and inspired. I would not want to do my program without them. In fact, I couldn’t do the show without them. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you. Second, my guest, George Mitrovich was engaging and well-informed. We spent a considerable amount of time discussing the Negro League’s and the late, great Buck O’Neil. The author of this post intends to treat herself to the July 28 Fenway Park Writers session (it’s her birthday).

Programming note: The name of the show is now Patriot Games Radio (formerly known as Bottom Line Radio). Your comments and suggestions are appreciated. Don’t forget to mark the show as a favorite and rate each segment as well.

Upcoming program: Terry Michael makes a reappearance on Tuesday, July 29th.