Obama bans some military-style gear given to police The Boston Globe

Nationwide, we’re seeing a trend towards the militarization of community police forces. The President’s action takes a wise step back towards balance.  Here in Mass., Rep. Mary Keefe and I have filed a bill to require local debate before military equipment transfers are allowed.

Obama

Read the article

Fighting Back Against Health Disparities WBUR

“Get off at Dudley Square, the diabetes rate is 11 percent; get off at Arlington, it’s just 3 percent.”

A bill I’ve filed would establish an Office of Health Equity to focus on reducing these types of health disparities along the lines of race, ethnicity or disability.

Read the article

Untitled-21-620x400

Revisiting grad tax Boston Herald

Massachusetts is one of only 16 states that doesn’t have a graduated tax on personal income. A bill I’ve filed would amend the state constitution to include one. Let’s balance the tax burdens of our citizens and narrow our widening disparities in income. A constituent from Chelmsford, Adithya Raajkumar, makes the case.

Read the article

 

Knowledge Isn’t Power The New York Times

Food for thought: the NYT’s Paul Krugman suggests we can’t come up with good answers without asking good questions; such as, if there’s a shortage of educated workers, why haven’t the salaries of educated workers gone up?

Read the article

Deeper Ties to Corporate Cash for Doubtful Climate Researcher The New York Times

Well, well. Things just got a little hotter for a recipient of funding to belittle climate change.

Read the article

22climate-01-JB-sub2-articleLarge

2014 Breaks Heat Record, Challenging Global Warming Skeptics The New York Times

This just in.  Yikes.  For the urgent consideration of the new Mass. Legislature, I’m proposing “An Act Combatting Climate Change.”  Pollution and health are huge expenses excluded from the prices of “fossil fuels” like coal, oil and natural gas; the taxpayer gets whacked with the expense later on.  If you want to reduce emissions, clean the air and cool the planet, ask us Mass. state legislators to go where British Columbia has already gone — to honest full pricing for fossil fuels.

Read the article

safe_image.php