David Schrag examines his navel and the world around it
“Carrying condoms in DC could get you arrested.” That warning was posted on Facebook by a magazine targeted to teenage girls. (No, I don’t read the magazine myself. It’s published by a client of mine.) I read that post a couple times and said to myself, “that can’t be right.” And in fact, it’s not. [...]
Did you know this? I didn’t until Mike Capuano mentioned it during a debate for the US Senate seat in Massachusetts. The number of Al Qaeda members in Afghanistan reportedly hovers around 100. I’m not sure where Capuano is getting his estimate of Al Qaeda within the US borders, but it’s easy to believe that [...]
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 Subject: Mayoral term limits To: Mark.Ciommo@cityofboston.gov, John.R.Connolly@cityofboston.gov, Michael.F.Flaherty@cityofboston.gov, Stephen.Murphy@cityofboston.gov, Sam.Yoon@cityofboston.gov Cc: Maureen.Feeney@cityofboston.gov Today I received an e-mail from the Committee to Elect Sam Yoon suggesting that I contact you regarding term limits for the Mayor of Boston. While I am a fan and supporter of Mr. Yoon, I believe he [...]
Rep. Mike Capuano (D-MA) is running for the Senate seat previously held by Ted Kennedy. One of his campaign strategies – a very cool one, if you ask me – is to hold teleconferences with potential voters. They’re like town hall meetings but without the signs and screaming. I’ve been in on two calls and [...]
There is a viral Facebook status update going around today: No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day. Let’s ignore the grammatical problems with this position and examine [...]
I have just joined The Archimedes Movement, which was founded by John Kitzhaber, the ex-governor of Oregon. Please read their core documents. http://www.wecandobetter.org/statement-of-intent http://www.wecandobetter.org/principles http://www.wecandobetter.org/framework-for-a-new-health-system Doesn’t everything they say simply make sense?
After watching countless TV ads for life insurance as a child, I finally went to my parents and asked “Do you have life insurance?” They assured me that they did. So I asked the natural follow-up: “Do I have life insurance?” They laughed. “Why would we need life insurance for you?” I was hurt. You [...]
I’m generally a pro-public-servant guy. After all, I spent seven years on federal and state government payrolls myself. But I gotta call ‘em like I see ‘em. I just saw three guys from the Boston Department of Public Works do the work of one. Problem: there’s a pothole next to a manhole cover in front [...]
The Obama administration and Congress are facing some difficult decisions as they tackle health care and health care financing reform. Meanwhile, I have to make some pretty important decisions for myself. I would probably be considered one of the lucky ones when it comes to finding health insurance. My insurance is provided by my employer: [...]
A year ago I speculated about how one could commit voting fraud. This scheme would have worked at my polling station today, too. Not good.