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In a final call home, Army Sgt. Benjamin Sherman told his sister to tell everyone he loved them, “because I don’t know if I’ll get that chance again.” Sadly, his fears proved true. Sherman was laid to rest yesterday in his hometown of Plymouth in a funeral Mass attended by hundreds. Sherman, 21, was eulogized as a selfless soldier who did what came naturally to him when he jumped into a river in Afghanistan to try to rescue a comrade in distress. “He jumped into that river because he loved deeply, he was pure of heart, and he exhibited the...

Senator John Kerry described international terrorism as “primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation,’’ and urged voters to think of deadly jihadist violence as merely “a nuisance’’ that we need “to reduce’’ - akin, he said, to gambling or prostitution. Kerry lost that election, and the Bush administration’s very different approach - treating terrorist attacks as acts of war, not criminal violations - continued for four more years. Pre-empting terror in advance, not prosecuting it after the fact, remained the overriding priority. Counterterrorism efforts under George W. Bush were aggressive and they drew much criticism. But whatever else might be...

A ceremonial moment: The grand opening of an Attleboro Department of Motor Vehicles office. A chance for a rising political star to mingle -- especially now that State Senator Scott Brown is a Republican candidate for the late Ted Kennedy's U.S. Senate seat. “In less than three and a half weeks we got twenty-four thousand signatures and twenty-thousand of those were certified. That was the first goal. The second goal is to start raising money on our own.”

Why do so many typical Americans hate labor unions, even here in union-dominated Massachusetts?  Because of stories like this: In pursuit of an Eagle Scout badge, Kevin Anderson, 17, has toiled for more than 200 hours hours over several weeks to clear a walking path in an east Allentown park. Little did the do-gooder know that his altruistic act would put him in the cross hairs of the city's largest municipal union. Nick Balzano, president of the local Service Employees International Union, told Allentown City Council Tuesday that the union is considering filing a grievance against the city for allowing...

<p>Contact your Senators and let them know what you think!</p> <p>U.S. veterans or subsidies for United Nations (U.N.) bureaucracy.</p>

Union blocks teacher bonuses By Edward Mason  |   Wednesday, November 18, 2009  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage Photo by Matthew West Grinchlike union bosses are blocking at least 200 of Boston’s best teachers from pocketing bonuses for their classroom heroics in a puzzling move that gets a failing grade from education experts.The Boston Teachers Union staunchly opposes a performance bonus plan for top teachers - launched at the John D. O’Bryant School in 2008 and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates and Exxon Mobil foundations - insisting the dough be divvied up among all of a school’s teachers, good and bad.“It’s insanity,” said Jim...

Shares of digital mammogram system maker Hologic Inc. fell Tuesday after a government task force recommended that women wait longer before having mammograms, and have the breast examinations less often. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said Monday that most women should wait until they turn 50 before having regular mammograms, rather than starting at 40, and suggested women have an examination every two years instead of once a year... The task force also said the benefits of mammograms for women over 75 are unclear. It previously said those women should have a mammogram every year or two. The guidelines...

According to Thomas Bouchard, a US psychologist famous for his research on twins raised apart,[1] even scientists with good reason to believe that the majority are wrong can be silenced. The reason is...

It’s that most wonderful time of the year. The malls are filled with snowflakes, the oldies radio stations are Christmas music 24/7 and in Chelmsford they’re preparing for the annual arrival of everyone’s favorite holiday Aryan: Swasti-Claus! Byam Elementary School in Chelmsford is one of several area schools that raises money by setting up holiday gift shops. Parents donate trinkets and tchotchkes, which are then put on sale for a few days in December so the little kiddies can buy gifts for mom, dad and the sibs. According to organizers in the Byam PTO, it’s one of their biggest fundraisers....

After the New England Patriots disasterous decision Sunday night not to punt on fourth down with the ball on the Indianapolis Colts' 28-yard line, former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney, had every right to be ticked off. Especially considering that the Pats had the lead with little more than 2 minutes left in the game. Is it possible that the team's supposedly brilliant coach, Bill Belichick, got confused and thought the Manning brother waiting patiently on the opposing sidelines was Eli and not Peyton? Whatever the case, the Colts went on to win the game with 13 seconds left in the...

The poisonous ENDA is back. Barney Frank, the champion of gay America, will force a “debate” on the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) on Wednesday. Indications are it has a good chance of being signed into law. Frank has 189 cosponsors for the latest ENDA bill H.R.3017 and six of them are Republicans. According to Congressman George Miller: “The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017), … would prohibit employment discrimination, preferential treatment, and retaliation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by employers with 15 or more employees.” This sounds okay right? Think again. If gays were discriminated against...

Many told to expect double-digit jumps. BY ROBERT WEISMAN Bob Carroll, owner of a Billerica distributor of paint spraying equipment, recently got some really bad news from Blue Cross-Blue Shield: His company’s health insurance rates are going up 47 percent in January. So did Dan Greenbaum, president of a research firm in Boston, who’s been told to expect a 35 percent jump. And Sandy Bouchard, chief financial officer at Coady’s Towing Service in Lawrence, is trying to fathom a 28 percent hike - an extra $58,000 - in 2010. "We’re a small company, and that’s a huge raise," said Bouchard....

Little more than a year after cutting the ribbon at a new factory in Devens built with more than $58 million in state aid, Evergreen Solar said yesterday that it will shift its assembly of solar panels from there to China. About half of the 577 full-time and 230 contract employees at the Devens factory are involved in putting the panels together. Evergreen declined to say how many of those jobs would disappear with the scheduled transfer next year to China, where it is expanding because of lower costs. Evergreen uses the Devens facility to make the silicon wafers and...

thousands of nurses and other front-line healthcare workers are fighting mandatory flu immunization policies being put in place by some U.S. hospitals. The H1N1 pandemic, which has killed about 3,900 Americans so far, has stoked tensions over the best way to safeguard medical caregivers and their patients from flu. Nurses unions have won some early battles against compulsory vaccination. data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that only about 40 percent of U.S. healthcare workers ever get shots for seasonal influenza. mandating that healthcare workers get vaccines is misguided, ineffective and ultimately counterproductive. "There is no...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney delivered a scathing criticism of President Obama's Afghanistan strategy Friday night, accusing the president of delivering rhetoric and not action in the war-torn country. Quoting from a speech Obama delivered in March, Romney agreed with the president "that 'we are in Afghanistan to confront a common enemy that threatens the United States, our friends and allies."' Romney continued on seconding the president: "I believe 'that to succeed, we and our friends and allies must reverse the Taliban's gains, and promote a more capable and accountable Afghan government.'"

Black caucus is postponed due to arrest North Adams Transcript WILLIAMSTOWN -- Just days after a visiting professor at Williams College pleaded guilty to charges of fraud in federal court, the aftermath of his conviction is still being felt on campus and has led to the postponement of Monday’s Congressional Black Caucus symposium. Bernard Moore, the college’s W. Ford Schumann ‘50 visiting assistants professor in Democratic Studies, initiated the symposium last year, which included Gov. Deval L. Patrick and U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-SC, Democratic Leadership Majority Whip, and was one of the primary organizers of the event this year....

More than a million low-income Massachusetts residents covered by Medicaid will be required to pay more for doctor visits and receive prior approval for some medications under a plan announced today by the Patrick administration to begin to close a $307 million shortfall in the state's MassHealth program.

Student refused; was held down for vaccination. It took the strength of two sheriff's deputies to keep a middle schooler still enough to receive a shot of the swine flu, or H1N1, vaccine at a recent clinic. During a regular Wheeling-Ohio County Health Board meeting Tuesday, health department Administrator Howard Gamble told board members about the student's attempt to flee Wheeling Middle School during a vaccination clinic held there last Friday. He noted the boy's mother could not bear to watch the scene and left the gymnasium. "He tried to run. I looked over and saw two sheriff's deputies holding...

[RomneyCare] has consistently run over-budget, has not led to “universal” coverage, has failed to address the systemic causes of increasing costs, and has fallen prey to immeasurable fraud and abuse. ... A major argument used to support universal healthcare plans like RomneyCare and PelosiCare is that they decrease costs. However, they “decrease costs” by subsidizing care instead of actually dealing with the systemic problems that have directly caused the higher costs in health care. That is, consumer costs are artificially decreased while the healthcare provider’s (ie, the producer) costs remain the same – and anyone who has taken a basic...

UN investigator accuses US of shameful neglect of homelessUN special rapporteur says wealthy US ignoring deepening homeless crisis while pumping billions into bank rescues Chris McGreal in Los Angeles guardian.co.uk, Thursday 12 November 2009 15.12 GMT A United Nations special investigator who was blocked from visiting the US by the Bush administration has accused the American government of pouring billions of dollars into rescuing banks and big business while treating as "invisible" a deepening homeless crisis. Raquel Rolnik, the UN special rapporteur for the right to adequate housing, who has just completed a seven-city tour of America, said it was...

Among likely Democratic voters (27% of whom know that the special primary for the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat is next month), Attorney General Martha Coakley holds a commanding lead with 44% of the vote, followed by businessman Steve Pagliuca (17%), Rep. Michael Capuano (16%) and City Year co-founder Alan Khazei (3%), according to a new Suffolk University poll (Nov. 4-8, 600 RV). One-fifth of likely voters remain undecided. On the GOP side, just 6% of voters know that a special GOP primary will be held in less than a month. Still, State Sen. Scott Brown leads former statewide candidate...

Of all the sins of the campus left, the worst is hypocrisy. Academic freedom is a spigot they turn on and off at their convenience. This evening, Ray Luc Levasseur, a convicted terrorist who served 18 years of a 45-year sentence, will participate in a "Colloquium on Social Change" at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, sponsored by a "progressive" faculty group called "Social Thought and Political Economy." Levasseur was the leader of the United Freedom Front, which worked for social change from 1976 to 1984 by bombing government buildings, robbing banks, murdering a New Jersey state trooper, and attempting...

PLYMOUTH, Mass. -- As family and friends mourn a fallen U.S. paratrooper on Veteran's Day, his mother made an emotional plea to President Barack Obama that it's time to either bring home the troops or end the war in Afghanistan. The body of Benjamin Sherman, 21, was recovered in Afghanistan Tuesday. "It's time we do something. This has gone on too long. They either need to come home or we need to end it," a tearful Denise Sherman said.

The forum he was scheduled to be part of, “The Great Western Massachusetts Sedition Trial: Twenty Years Later,” will still take place at 7:15 at the University of Massachusetts Isenberg School of Management, Room 137. The room has seating for 254 people. Participants will include sedition trial defendant Pat Levasseur, Levasseur’s ex-wife, members of the 1989 Springfield sedition trial legal defense team, and a juror from the trial. See also: http://www.meetup.com/The-Western-Mass-912-Project/calendar/11853024/

Note: The following text is a quote: Ware Man Charged with Illegal Possession of Ammunition and Manufacturing Explosive Materials SPRINGFIELD, MA—A Ware man was charged today in federal court with Possession of Ammunition by a Convicted Felon and Manufacturing Explosive Materials without a License. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Glenn N. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Resident Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General, Department of Defense’s...

While Massachusetts recipients of federal stimulus money collectively report 12,374 jobs saved or created, a Globe review shows that number is wildly exaggerated. Organizations that received stimulus money miscounted jobs, filed erroneous figures, or claimed jobs for work that has not yet started. The Globe’s finding is based on the federal government’s just-released accounts of stimulus spending at the end of October. It lists the nearly $4 billion in stimulus awards made to an array of Massachusetts government agencies, universities, hospitals, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations, and notes how many jobs each created or saved. But in interviews with recipients,...

WASHINGTON - Massachusetts officials are closely monitoring an abortion funding ban in the sweeping health care legislation before Congress to make sure that it does not restrict women’s access to abortion coverage in the state. Abortion is a covered service for low-income Massachusetts women enrolled in subsidized insurance plans available since 2006 through the state’s landmark health care law.But the bill that squeaked through the US House late Saturday would prohibit private insurance plans from covering abortion if they accept federal subsidies. It also bans abortion coverage in the new government insurance option. State officials say there are too many...

Mitt Romney is heading to Reagan country. The former Massachusetts governor is scheduled to speak this Friday to the Young America's Foundation at the Ronald Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, California. Romney is expected to be the dinner banquet speaker for the foundation's West Coast Leadership Conference, which consists of young conservatives from 44 colleges and universities across 12 states. "Young people provide much of the energy in the conservative movement, and if we are going to be successful as a party we need to harness that energy and put it work on behalf of the principles we all...

Former Nature editor Philip Ball once commented that ‘there is no assembly plant so delicate, versatile and adaptive as the cell” (1). Emeritus Professor Theodore Brown chose to wax metaphorical by likening the cell to a fully-fledged factory, with its own complex functional relationships and interactions akin to what we observe in our own manufacturing facilities (2). In recent years the seemingly intractable problem of explaining how the first cell came into existence through chance events, otherwise known as the ‘Chance Hypothesis’, has become more acute than ever as scientists have begun to realize that a minimum suite of functional...

Two T “lifesavers” were hailed as heroes today for pulling a drunken woman off the tracks as horrified Celtics [team stats] fans looked on as an Orange Line trolley came down the line. Orange Line operator Charice Lewis, 27, of Mattapan and Jacqueline Osorio, 29, of Dorchester were lauded by transportation secretary Jeffrey B. Mullan for their “swift, decisive action” in helping a drunken 26-year-old woman from Cambridge escape certain death around 10:24 p.m. Friday after Celtics spectators filled North Station in droves. “Had either one of these ladies hesitated for one second in carrying out their duties, this incident...

John Rawls, influential political philosopher, dead at 81: Author of "A Theory of Justice" was James Bryant Conant University Professor Emeritus By Ken Gewertz Gazette Staff John Rawls, the James Bryant Conant University Professor Emeritus, whose 1971 book, "A Theory of Justice" argued persuasively for a political philosophy based on equality and individual rights, died Sunday (Nov. 24) at the age of 81. Rawls is considered by many to be the most important political philosopher of the second half of the 20th century and a powerful advocate of the liberal perspective. His work continues to be a major influence in...

(snip) Although some in the party believe that it should be tilting right in whom to support in future elections, he said, "I will be by and large supporting conservative Republicans" but would not rule out backing some moderates, referencing former President Reagan. "He was the one who coined the term 'the big tent.' He also said that you don't build something by subtraction. So we welcome people who agree with us on most issues. Some will be very conservative on some issues. Some will be less so on others. We welcome you into the party." (snip) "We have a...

In Massachusetts, marriage really still does mean until death do you part -- even after divorce. The Supreme Judicial Court today rejected a push to stop most alimony payments when someone reaches retirement age. The decision, which came in the divorce case of a former federal magistrate and state judge, noted that alimony payments can be lowered or, in some cases, cut off to reflect a person's actual income after retirement.

Attorney General Martha Coakley said this morning that she would have voted against the landmark health care bill approved by the House over the weekend because it includes a provision restricting federal funding for providers of abortion services. Coakley this morning, in an interview on WTKK-FM, said her opposition to that aspect of the legislation is so strong that she would have voted against the overall bill, which would provide coverage for 36 million Americans, establish a limited public insurance plan, and prohibit insurers from discriminating against people with preexisting conditions. Her position opens up a potentially major fissure in...

A Boston city councilor is fired up over attempts by high-end condo owners to muzzle Old Ironsides’ twice-daily cannon blasts, calling their complaints of excessive noise “absolutely ridiculous” and vowing to push for a city resolution to support the time-honored tradition. “Old Ironsides is part of Boston history,” said Councilor Sal LaMattina, who represents Charlestown, where several residents in a swanky condominium development near the Naval Yard have launched a letter-writing campaign to silence the 44-gun frigate’s cannon salutes.

Jack Spillane column: A cup of joe with a guy named Steve (Pagliuca, that is)By Jack Spillane November 08, 2009 12:00 AM He's actually better in person than his ads. I'm talking about Steve Pagliuca, the venture capitalist and Celtics co-owner who's running for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. In the wake of my initial column about Pagliuca, I had the opportunity to sit down with him for a short interview this week. He had toured a New Bedford scallop company — which must have been in between his cutting TV ads. (I don't need to tell you, of course, that...

Mashpee, Mass. -- From a blustery perch over a Cape Cod beach, Chuckie Green gestures toward a stretch of horizon where he says construction of the nation's first offshore wind farm would destroy his Indian tribe's religion. The Wampanoag - the tribe that welcomed the Pilgrims in the 17th century and known as "The People of the First Light" - practice sacred rituals requiring an unblocked view of the sunrise. That view won't exist once 130 turbines, each over 400 feet tall, are built several miles from shore in Nantucket Sound, visible to Wampanoag in Mashpee and on Martha's Vineyard....

From: DGiannotti@eth.state.ma.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 6, 2009 Contact: David Giannotti, Communications Division Chief 617-371-9505 Ethics Commission's Enforcement Division Alleges that Town of Harvard School Superintendent and a Former School Committee Chairman Violated the Conflict of Interest Law Allegedly Used Official Positions to Secure Reimbursement of Private School Tuition by Harvard Public Schools The State Ethics Commission's Enforcement Division, in two Orders to Show Cause ("OTSC"), alleged that Harvard Superintendent of Public Schools Thomas Jefferson ("Jefferson") and former Harvard School Committee Chairman Paul Wormser ("Wormser") violated G.L.c. 268A, the conflict of interest law, by using Jefferson's official position as Superintendent,...

A manager at a Massachusetts retail store claims he was unjustly fired after he told a colleague he thought her impending marriage to another woman was wrong.

Just got off the phone with Cong. Delahunt's office (again). Asked what his intentions were regarding the healthcare vote. Girl taking calls said he had not made up his mind yet. I asked her how the calls were breaking down. She said about 50/50. I asked her how many calls they had taken. She says about a hundred.

Old Ironsides’ upscale Charlestown neighbors are trying to pull off what British, French and Barbary pirate guns failed to accomplish in more than two centuries - silencing the cannons of the nation’s oldest commissioned naval vessel. Miffed residents of a posh condo complex have invited the commanding officer of the USS Constitution over for a glass of wine so he can hear for himself that the frigate’s twice-daily cannon blasts - a tradition dating to 1798 - are “more disruptive to the neighborhood than you might have imagined.” Commanding Officer Timothy Cooper received the most recent complaint two weeks ago...

President Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress are spending billions of tax dollars to subsidize development of "green jobs" - positions for people and companies designing and manufacturing alternative energy sources such as biomass, wind and solar. One of Obama's buddies, Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, is also a vocal advocate of such subsidies. Last year, Patrick put Massachusetts taxpayers' money where is mouth is by backing a $58 million package of incentives and subsidies to Evergreen Solar, which manufacturers collector panels used in solar energy units. Now barely a year later, Evergreen has announced that it is moving...

While roaming the grounds of the US Capitol yesterday, Kristinn Taylor obtained a list of possible democrat defectors of the now infamous “Healthcare” bill. Kristinn was asked to post this list of wobbly democrats on FreeRepublic in an effort to mobilize our forces and overwhelm these members with phone calls and e-mails asking them to vote NO on the socialization of our healthcare. We also learned that Nancy Pelosi had just scheduled the vote for tomorrow; Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 6:00 PM. For all those who were unable to answer the call to surround the Capitol yesterday, here is...

DUDLEY, Mass., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts town outlawed owning three cats without a kennel license after a man complained his neighbor's felines were hurting his lawn. Voters at a Dudley town meeting Tuesday night approved the addition of the new language to a town bylaw, which will impose a $100 per day fine for violations, after a local man complained that some of the 15 cats owned by Mary Ellen Richards had destroyed his grass, the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette reported Wednesday. Richards said at the town meeting that she now plans to put her house up...

very ironic announcement that I just got in my Harvard email announcing a forthcoming lecture: HARVARD UNIVERSITY EDMOND J. SAFRA FOUNDATION CENTER FOR ETHICS Eliot Spitzer, former Governor and Attorney General of New York, will deliver a public lecture as part of the 2009/10 Labs Lectures on the Question of Institutional Corruption. Thursday, November 12 at 4:30pm Emerson Hall, Room 105 25 Quincy Street, Cambridge This is a ticketed event.

How’s that “hope and change” working out for you? I can’t speak for the Democrats, but Republicans - particularly New England ones - are loving it. After a year of defeat and dire predictions, Massachusetts conservatives have renewed hope for 2010. There’s definitely change on the way, and in a state whose legislators are about 90 percent Democrat, change can only be good for Republicans. And who can we thank for this new conservative spirit of hopeful-changeyness? The Republican Party’s new hero: Barack Obama. One year ago today, pundits were writing off the American right for the next election cycle,...

lredmond@lowellsun.com BOSTON -- As a Billerica gun case heads to the state's highest court next week, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Police Chiefs and other high-profile groups are urging the Supreme Judicial Court to reject the constitutional challenge to the state's safe firearm-storage law. The groups are joining with Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone, who is challenging a Lowell District Court judge's ruling that dismissed a gun-storage case against Richard Runyan, a Billerica man who kept an unlocked semiautomatic hunting rifle under his bed where it could be accessed by his teenage...

(snip) The GOP wins in New Jersey and Virginia are breeding a new competition among Republicans to take part of the credit. Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, potential rivals for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, both tried to bask in glow."We worked extremely hard on behalf of Bob McDonnell and the entire Republican ticket in Virginia, and helped him close strong with a full day of campaigning in the final week; in New Jersey, we endorsed Chris Christie early and made sure he had the resources to be competitive against his better-financed opponent," Romney told supporters of his Free &...

A Massachusetts man has been fired from his sales A Massachusetts man has been fired from his sales position at the Logan Airport branch in Boston of Brookstone allegedly for telling a female manager that his Christian faith says homosexuality is wrong. Peter Vadala was fired, and the company says he violated a tolerance policy. But Vadala reports his dismissal came because he expressed his Christian view of homosexuality after a female manager made repeated references, as she approached him four times during work hours, to her plans to marry her lesbian partner. "At the start of the day, she...

In a case that could have a major impact on water use in Massachusetts, the attorney general’s office argued before the state’s highest court yesterday that the Department of Environmental Protection can impose limits on the amount of water municipalities draw from aquifers, rivers, and lakes.... The case, which the Supreme Judicial Court did not immediately rule on, stems from a state policy adopted in 2007 that allows the department to limit residential water use to 65 gallons a day per person for basins at risk of drought and 80 gallons a day per person for those with less risk....