I am personally very proud to announce my support for the Equal Rights Amendment sponsored in the 116th Congress by Representatives Jackie Spier (D-CA), Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), and Tom Reed (R-NY), as well as in the Senate by main co-sponsors Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). It has been 47 years since … Continue reading
Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so … Continue reading
On April 14th, 2016, I had the opportunity to meeting Ambassador Dennis Ross, who has a very long and distinguished career working in diplomatic relations, particularly with the Middle East, and dealing directly with the parties in negotiations. These include: During President Jimmy Carter’s administration, Ross worked under Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz in the Pentagon, co-authoring a … Continue reading
It was a pleasure to meet Dylan Kelly, Chapter Leader of the Massachusetts Log Cabin Republicans at the Boston Pride Political Forum on June 7th, 2016, during Pride Week. Certainly, there is no issue to me whether someone in the LGBT community is a Democrat, Republican, Independent, etc. only so long as they take a … Continue reading
Although not remembered as a great President, I happen to think President George H. W. Bush was very much a thoughtful person who has shown himself to lead with heart, rather than strict political ideology. Growing up, my family did state distaste for him, but that was merely one of instances in which we disagreed, … Continue reading
The first piece of legislation I ever worked on was the Transgender Equal Rights Bill. I put a great deal of work into it, volunteering to get it passed, because I knew that Transgender individuals were not really that different from me. It was just that simple. Gov Patrick speaks at the ceremonial signing of … Continue reading
On December 1st, 2015, it was a pleasure to attend the “Make it a Massachusetts Holiday” Open House and Tree Lighting at the State House. Prior to becoming the Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs for the entire state, Francisco Urena was the Lawrence, Massachusetts Director of Veteran’s Services from 2007-2011, and the Boston Commissioner of Veteran’s Services … Continue reading
The first time I was in the vicinity of Eric Cantor was on Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 in Washington, D.C. where I was in front of the Lincoln Restaurant, located near Thomas Circle Park, with a large group of Occupy protesters. I was not as close with those in Occupy Boston, as many may have … Continue reading
With the recent videos being released about Planned Parenthood, there is serious moral questions to be asked of those who ‘fraudulently represented themselves,’ as described in the Texas Tribune article: The anti-abortion group behind two undercover videos of Planned Parenthood executives discussing fetal tissue donation visited one of the organization’s clinics in Houston, Planned Parenthood … Continue reading
In Massachusetts, we know about hard work. Massachusetts was essentially founded on hark work. The hard work of the Puritans who came here from England to escape religious persecution. Some of their ideas, like their work ethic, has translated deeply into American culture. If you have read anything about American politics, you would have seen … Continue reading
During the election of 1970, my grandfather Rev. Albert Bates, ran for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, as part of the old Massachusetts Prohibitionist Party. The Secretary of the Commonwealth, Milford Democrat John “Jack” F. X. Davoren, was charged with overseeing the Elections Division. My grandfather doesn’t just share one page with former Governor Michael S. Dukakis, former Governor … Continue reading
This post originally was suppose to encapsulate several prominent political Boston dynasties… except so many had to be covered that it never really got off the ground. Families included would have included Timilty, Iannella, Winthrop (Kerry), O’Neill, White, and Galvin. ______________________________________________________________________ It’s well known that in throughout America of political dynasties that have captured the … Continue reading
Ever since Barack Obama won his first election in 2008, there has been a certain amount of media and social push that we in fact have “transcended race.” Rather than say we are beyond race, this MSNBC article suggests that all issues are “racialized” since Obama took office in 2008: Since the presidential election of … Continue reading
Behind the recently passed Welfare Reform Bill is someone you might not have heard of. Most people have not heard of her. If you work at the State House though, you might have heard of her. Her name is Shaunna O’Connell. Shaunna came into office in 2011, after defeating her Democratic incumbent, James. H. Fagan, … Continue reading
The Audit As addressed in a previous blog post, on May 28th State Auditor Suzanne Bump released the official audit of the Department of Transitional Assistance, beginning July 1st, 2010 until December 21st, 2012. Some of the results are as follows: We found that, from July 1, 2010 through April 24, 2012, 1,164 recipients receiving … Continue reading
In between completing campaigning on Obama For American’s campaign and beginning campaigning on Linda Dorcena Forry’s campaign, I had decided to do research on my family history. I had known several members of my family to be conservative and unsupportive of my homosexual ‘lifestyle,’ but I still wanted to know what lay deep in my … Continue reading
The Progressive Democrat 