Category Archives: Massachusetts

In Honor of Senator Elect Warren’s Victory…

Posted on November 7, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

…let’s remember the example of one of her predecessors (it picks up around the 4:00 mark):

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Helping Down-Ticket Candidates: Warren Gets It

Posted on November 5, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

One more reason why I like Massachusetts senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren (boldface mine): Here—as across the state—the Warren campaign has coordinated its efforts with the state party and local officeholders so that doorknockers are talking not just about Warren but … Continue reading →

Posted in Democrats, Massachusetts | 1 Comment

The Mad Biologist’s Endorsements

Posted on November 5, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Which will carry even less weight than newspaper endorsements, which is to say, none at all. Regular readers probably won’t be surprised, but here they are anyway (I’m not going through the whole Massachusetts ballot, because life’s too short): President: … Continue reading →

Posted in Democrats, Drugs, Massachusetts, Voting | Comments Off on The Mad Biologist’s Endorsements

When It Comes to the Cost of Public Universities, We Can Bring Back the Old Days

Posted on October 26, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

At least in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (God save it!) anyway. Given the one trillion dollars of student debt in the U.S., we often read that universities will need to reinvent themselves so as to remain financially sustainable (here’s one … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Massachusetts | 1 Comment

An Observation on ‘Undecided’ Voters and a Recent Primary

Posted on September 27, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Last week, we had a primary in my corner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (God save it!). Many of the choices were just affirmations: on the Democratic side, both Rep. Mike Capuano and Elizabeth Warren (and you should support her … Continue reading →

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Core Curriculum Standards: Raising Many States Up, But Dragging Massachusetts Down?

Posted on July 25, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

More than once, I’ve argued that states with low educational performance could do far worse than stealing Massachusetts’ education policies and curriculum. In City Journal, Sol Stern has a good piece about the adoption of the Core Curriculum Standards by … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Massachusetts | 4 Comments

Disaster Capitalism Meets the Boston Public Library

Posted on June 28, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

By way of Universal Hub, we discover that the greatest crisis the City of Boston (God save it!) faces is some excess space in the Johnson Building (aka the ‘New Wing’*) of the Boston Public Library (boldface mine): The first … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Funding, Libraries, Massachusetts, Taxes | 2 Comments

So How Many People Can You Cram Into an MBTA Train?

Posted on June 20, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Recently, Northeastern University’s Dukakis Center released a report, Hub and Spoke: Core Transit Congestion And The Future Of Transit And Development In Greater Boston, describing the problems the MBTA, and the T (the subway), face. I’ll be writing about that … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Massachusetts, Transportation | 1 Comment

How Big Banks Are Raising Your MBTA Fare: The Interest Rate Swap Edition

Posted on June 14, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

As readers might know, Massachusetts’ public transit, the MBTA, has massive budget problems. The primary reason is that the Big Dig debt was piled onto the MBTA, with the false assumption that a portion of the sales tax and fares … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Boston, Massachusetts, Transportation | 2 Comments

How Charter Schools Kill Superman: The Boston Edition

Posted on June 5, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

For those who don’t recall, there was a movie Waiting for Superman that was nothing more than an educational ‘reform’ screed. Former Boston charter school teacher Nancy Bloom writes: To you Michelle Rhee and all you anti-union fanatics, you are … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Education, Fucking Morons, Massachusetts | 5 Comments