http://www.leftahead.com Jabbering podcasts from Massachusetts bloggers Wed, 16 May 2012 10:26:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 en © info@75design.com () info@75design.com Jabbering podcasts from Massachusetts bloggers info@75design.com No no http://www.leftahead.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg http://www.leftahead.com 144 144 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=589 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=589#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 20:43:38 +0000 MassMarrier http://www.leftahead.com/?p=589 http://www.leftahead.com/?feed=rss2&p=589 31:48 Not your usual politician, as Alex Buck describes himself, joined us today to pitch his positions and his aims if he becomes Susan Fargo's replacement ... Not your usual politician, as Alex Buck describes himself, joined us today to pitch his positions and his aims if he becomes Susan Fargo's replacement in the MA Senate for 3rd Middlesex. He says he tells voters in his front door speech that's one of his pluses. He warned us that his campaign site is almost fleshed out, but won't get his platform and issues for a few more days. Meanwhile, click below to hear his views and goals on a very wide range, from education to taxes to growing our economy to mass transit to the role of government. Buck layered a masters in public administration from Harvard's Kennedy School on his mechanical engineering bachelors. He talks about his vision for an economy that educates for and enables the likes of life sciences, biotech and clean energy. He is firmly against giving tax breaks to individual companies (comparing that the mere fertilizer when an industry's entire environment should foster all companies who enter it or expand in it). He sees education from all-day kindergarten through public support to keep state colleges affordable to workplace education as pivotal to building and expanding these essential industries. Listen in as he addresses why he thinks we are one of the few places in the country that can pull this off. This was the fourth in the 3rd Middlesex Senate series. Mara Dolan was the first, Mike Barrett the second, and Joe Kearns Goodwin the third. Podcast,,Democrats,,Legislature,,Education,,Elections,,Funding,,Economics,,Deval,Patrick,,Massachusetts,,Taxes,,Political,Organizing,,Energy,,Ethics,,State,Senate,,Technology,,Elections,2012,,Corporations info@75design.com no No http://www.leftahead.com/?p=588 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=588#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 23:46:23 +0000 MassMarrier http://www.leftahead.com/?p=588 http://www.leftahead.com/?feed=rss2&p=588 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=587 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=587#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 22:18:44 +0000 MassMarrier http://www.leftahead.com/?p=587 http://www.leftahead.com/?feed=rss2&p=587 31:52 In the crowded (5 Dems and 2 GOP sorts) for MA Senate 3rd Middlesex to replace Susan Fargo, Joe Kearns Goodwin says he has the ... In the crowded (5 Dems and 2 GOP sorts) for MA Senate 3rd Middlesex to replace Susan Fargo, Joe Kearns Goodwin says he has the consensus-building and problem-identifying/solving background to lead in the job. He joined us today to describe his personality, abilities, and aims. Click below to listen in as he he hits his positions on health care, higher education, job growth, taxes and more. You can also get a rudimentary sense of him at his campaign site. He noted though that it is new and about to be enhanced with a fleshed out platform and more very soon. We touched first on his well known parents as well as his unusual post-Ivy service on two war fronts following 9/11. He also spoke of how much working for U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, who taught him how you can accomplish much in public office while saying what you really think and not compromising on fundamental beliefs. Listen in as he describes his ideas for increasing employment in MA, reducing health-care costs, supporting businesses, seeing that our workers have the skills for jobs here. Podcast,,Democrats,,Legislature,,Health,Care,,Elections,,Economics,,Massachusetts,,Political,Organizing,,State,Senate,,Elections,2012 info@75design.com no No http://www.leftahead.com/?p=586 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=586#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 11:22:24 +0000 MassMarrier http://www.leftahead.com/?p=586 http://www.leftahead.com/?feed=rss2&p=586 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=585 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=585#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 20:38:57 +0000 MassMarrier http://www.leftahead.com/?p=585 http://www.leftahead.com/?feed=rss2&p=585 29:58 Ryan and Mike were at elections 2012 again. We recapped the more inane blunders of the GOP, in Congress as well as Mitt Romney. We ... Ryan and Mike were at elections 2012 again. We recapped the more inane blunders of the GOP, in Congress as well as Mitt Romney. We left the state legislatures and governors alone this week. Ryan believes voters will start to pay attention a few weeks before the general election. He is sanguine enough to think Dems will retain the Senate and maybe pick up a few in the House. He also thinks that Warren will top Brown in a tight race. Mike remains befuddled that so many voters seem willing to be fabulists and fantasists. The GOP has done so much to alienate whole classes of voters — middle class, poor, students, women, Latinos and on and on. Yet, many voters seem to want to accept demonstrably false claims, such as a mythical class of "job creator" companies and rich individuals who will, any day now, actually start helping our economy despite their failure to do so to date. This harks back to the Reagan fantasies of trickle-down economics and guns-and-butter national expenditures based on an endless growth spiral that didn't and couldn't happen. Mike finds dreams nice, but no way to choose Presidents. Podcast,,Democrats,,Republicans,,National,,Education,,Elections,,Funding,,Economics,,Congress,,Massachusetts,,President,,bad,laws,,Political,Organizing,,Families,,Obama,,Elections,2012,,U.S.,Senate,,Elizabeth,Warren info@75design.com no No http://www.leftahead.com/?p=584 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=584#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:23:35 +0000 MassMarrier http://www.leftahead.com/?p=584 http://www.leftahead.com/?feed=rss2&p=584 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=583 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=583#comments Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:28:22 +0000 MassMarrier http://www.leftahead.com/?p=583 http://www.leftahead.com/?feed=rss2&p=583 35:59 John Tobin says he can't really miss being a Boston City Councilor. In his new role, he deals constantly with the same officials, including Councilors, ... John Tobin says he can't really miss being a Boston City Councilor. In his new role, he deals constantly with the same officials, including Councilors, the Mayor and legislators that he did in City Hall. As Northeastern University's VP for Community and City Affairs, he jokes that his office is still on the fifth floor, but across town. He joined us to say what that entails and to talk about the challenges big and small. Listen in as he discusses PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) that NEU recently increased. He also stresses the many community volunteer projects his students and staff participate. Less visible but at least as important is support of public schools, particularly the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers right on the NEU campus, but also in numerous other Boston public schools. "I think the best payment-in-lieu-of-taxes we can make is to help those kids," he said. Many of the interactions the larger community has with colleges and universities are less pleasant, such as rowdy parties. Click below to hear how his and other universities address those, including ride-arounds every weekend. Tobin also discusses NEU's master plan that it will file with the city by the end of December. That will start a large and long set of community meetings, beginning tomorrow night. Podcast,,Legislature,,Education,,Taxes,,Boston,,Local,government info@75design.com no No http://www.leftahead.com/?p=582 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=582#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:30:22 +0000 MassMarrier http://www.leftahead.com/?p=582 http://www.leftahead.com/?feed=rss2&p=582 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=581 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=581#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:29:21 +0000 MassMarrier http://www.leftahead.com/?p=581 http://www.leftahead.com/?feed=rss2&p=581 34:31 The technology-and-business oriented candidate for 3rd Middlesex MA Senate puts himself out there. Lexington's Mike Barrett has strong ideas and is as plain spoken as ... The technology-and-business oriented candidate for 3rd Middlesex MA Senate puts himself out there. Lexington's Mike Barrett has strong ideas and is as plain spoken as it comes. He is one of the four Dems running for that nomination to go in November against one of the two Republicans who also want Sen. Susan Fargo's seat. He was the candidate who announced even before she decided not to run for reelection. Listen is as Barrett describes his visions for a revitalized Massachusetts, particularly from Worcester East. He had been a state legislator from his Cambridge years (6 in the House and 8 in the Senate). Since, he has run a high-tech related consultancy, with a particular emphasis on health care. He dovetails his sundry experiences into a future that supports our local innovators. He speaks to how he sees our companies replicating a modern form of boom from the mini-computer era. This would turn our focus from business-to-business (B2B) to more business-to-consumers (B2C), with advances in health care related to IT, computers and even robots. He explains what he sees as growth paths and what the role of government should be. Barrett is plain also about money. He says he is the candidate not afraid to say where taxes need to go up, and where fees for public services do. He said that waffling on taxes are not good positions for progressives to take. Listen in as he describes how he thinks he can accomplish is myriad goals. He reminded me several times that he's an optimist and that he accomplished his goals the last time he was in the General Court. Podcast,,Democrats,,Legislature,,Elections,,Deval,Patrick,,Massachusetts,,Boston,,Political,Organizing,,Cambridge,,Environment,,State,Senate,,Technology,,Elections,2012,,MA,House info@75design.com no No http://www.leftahead.com/?p=580 http://www.leftahead.com/?p=580#comments Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:28:49 +0000 MassMarrier http://www.leftahead.com/?p=580 http://www.leftahead.com/?feed=rss2&p=580 31:50 Ah, coincidences amuse and fulfill us all. As we started today's show, Rick Santorum was literally announcing the suspension of his campaign for the GOP ... Ah, coincidences amuse and fulfill us all. As we started today's show, Rick Santorum was literally announcing the suspension of his campaign for the GOP nomination for POTUS. While edgewise Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are still in the now misnamed race, Willard Mitt Romney will run against President Obama in November. Punditry has it that Santorum hopes Romney does not have an outright majority of delegates for the Tampa convention and that he'll somehow magically get the slot. Dream on. Ryan and Mike started reveling in the turns and dips. We mused on whether the candidates had done so much damage to Romney and pushed him soooooooooooo far to the right that he had zero appeal to left, moderate and even ordinary right-wing voters. Then there have been Romney's colossally arrogant and insensitive gaffes, indicating how divorced he is from reality, at least the lives of 90% or more of us. In a pleasant surprise, former Boston City Councilor John Tobin joined us. This self-described political junkie is now VP at Northeastern University charged with community relations. We spoke a bit about the recent increase in PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) to the city from his school, but mostly it was politics. Listen in as he describes how he still believes it will be a tight race, still dependent on the state of the economy come fall. Mike and Ryan are in the camp that the GOP, from POTUS candidate level to state legislatures and governors, has so hosed itself, it has even bigger repairs needed before it has the slightest shot in November. Podcast,,Republicans,,Education,,Elections,,Economics,,Massachusetts,,President,,Boston,,Political,Organizing,,Obama,,McCain,,Elections,2012,,Women info@75design.com no No