From the “Isn’t it pathetic” file: The Boston Globe reports that a group of African-American religious figures in Boston endorsed the re-election campaign of scandal-scarred Mayor Thomas M. Menino, arguing that Menino “…was the best choice for a community eager for solutions to chronic problems such as unemployment and lack of opportunity.” You have got to be kidding me.

One dissenting black religious figure accused Menino of playing racial politics, but a Menino flak blew him off, as usual.

A pro-Menino minister actually asserted that Menino was “a friend of the minority community who has joined it in fighting crime.” Say what, brother? Is black Boston doing better in 2009 than it was in 1993, when Menino first became Mayor? If the answer is no, then how can these guys stand with Menino? Can it not be argued that these clergymen are acting stupidly?

The Boston Phoenix reports that last December, the city of Boston paid $3.8 million dollars to a plaintiff who sued the city alleging that misconduct by the Boston Police Department resulted in his wrongful incarceration. This brings to $10 million the amount that Boston has paid to wrongfully convicted plaintiffs. This suggests that Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has failed to address certain problems affecting the Boston Police Department–problems highlighted by the Phoenix over the past few years. Will Menino’s opponents in the 2009 mayoral race make an issue of the problems affecting the Boston Police Department? If the allegedly invulnerable Menino has one weakness, it would be this issue, no?

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Kudos to Federal Judge Douglas Woodlock for ruling in favor of “the little guy.” In this case, the little guy is Medford entrepeneur Erroll Tyler. (We interviewed Mr. Tyler in March of this year). For 7 years, Mr. Tyler has been at war with various Massachusetts bureaucracies simply because he aspires to be his own boss. This now long running story,  in  all of its twists, turns and vagaries,  is a powerful example of bureaucratic tyranny. In particular, this case is indicative of the malicious potential of licensing requirements, wherein they are used to “cartelize” a minority of politically-connected market players to the exclusion of merit-based competition. The end result in too many cases: higher prices, economic stagnation and corruption. Politicians constantly whine about the need for job creation while simultaneously pursuing policies which stymie job creation. Mayor Menino is no exception. In an ideal world (the world the Founders envisioned), government is to the citizen as an island is to the water surrounding it:limited and circumscribed.

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.