Free Republic

BOSTON -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is stepping back into the public spotlight after spending two years behind the scenes laying the groundwork for a second presidential campaign. (snip) Romney has shifted from social issues that brought accusations of flip-flopping and undermined his 2008 White House bid. With unemployment hovering around 10 percent, his new focus is on economic themes and fix-it skills he claims as a former businessman. That plays to what some observers believe would be his strength in a second race. They could also distinguish him from potential rivals such as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin,...

A Framingham rapist and Level 3 sex offender is accused of breaking his GPS monitoring bracelet and committing another rape and kidnapping after he violated his probation last month but was allowed to remain free. Prosecutors say William French, 29, raped a woman in Framingham on Thursday, just two days after Middlesex Superior Court Judge Howard Whitehead ordered French to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet for one year because he violated the terms of his probation by testing positive for smoking pot Jan. 4.

Deval Patrick is a disaster. A perfect prototype of the same disaster going on in Washington. Why, his good friend Barack Obama even lifted the same campaign slogans and promises. And the land of the gullible bought the idea that one party rule would lead to bipartisanship, better government, and lowed deficits and taxes. Surprise!

Just on Fox, a discussion of what's happening in Boston as the state gears-up for the canonization of Ted Kennedy (the "Liberal Lion of the Senate".) According to Fox, the head of the MA Republican Party is getting ready to seek an injunction to stop Gov. Deval Patrick from signing a singularly outrageous piece of legislation. According to Fox, sources say the MA Legislature needs just one day to write and pass a rewrite of the Ted Kennedy No Republicans Ever in Massachusetts Bill which, in 2004, revoked the governor's right to appoint a senator to finish the term of...

BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said Wednesday he would support changing state law to allow him to appoint an interim successor to Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat while a special election is held. Unlike most states, a successor to a vacant U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts is chosen by special election, not appointed by the governor. In a recent letter to lawmakers, Kennedy, who died Tuesday night, said the law should be changed to allow the governor to appoint someone to serve in the Senate during the course of the election—provided that person pledge not to run for the...