The Front Page - something new!

Good Morning! Most of you know that I'm one of the moderators over at Air America Place. As such, I get to open the so-called 'Daily Blog' three days a week. After months of that, and subsequent neglect of my little blog here, I decided to simply replicate what I do at Air America.

This is something I call "The Front Page", a concept I have stolen from Air America's Rachel Maddow Show. Every other day, I'll try to feature two or three stories that are "lucky enough, plucky enough, and just plain good enough" to be on the front page. Could be politics, could be news, could be local interest....you never know. So, here we go!


We'll start locally....it seems our dear democratic legislature has voted to extend the nanny state.

The Massachusetts House narrowly approved a controversial bill yesterday to give police officers authority to pull over drivers for not wearing seat belts, a move that supporters say would prevent needless deaths and injuries on state roads every year.

The bill, which had stalled twice in the House on tie votes in the last five years, passed 77 to 74 over objections that it would lead to racial profiling and unwarranted government intrusion into people's decisions about their own safety.

It stands a good chance of becoming law; the Senate has backed similar bills twice in recent years, and Governor Mitt Romney signaled support for the measure yesterday.

Under current law, drivers and passengers are required to wear seat belts, but police cannot pull them over solely for failing to wear a seat belt. Officers must have another reason to pull over a car, such as speeding, and then may issue a $25 citation to the driver and passengers who are not wearing seat belts.

Seat belt requirements in Massachusetts have become a flashpoint in a 20-year debate about personal liberty and one's responsibility to society. The House's endorsement yesterday of the measure, called a ''primary seat belt" bill, is the latest chapter.

Lawmakers were lobbied to pass the bill by an umbrella group called the Seatbelts Are For Everyone Coalition, which includes several dozen health and public safety organizations and advocates. The coalition also includes insurers who would benefit from facing fewer expensive claims if injuries and deaths from car accidents were reduced.

Opponents of the law believe that drivers should be able to decide whether to wear a seat belt or not and that they have a right to drive unsafely if they wish. Continued...

Turning to the fantasy world of Washington, we hear that the "president" has declared the economy 'robust'....but not for anyone that I know. I guess 'robust' only counts for the richest 1% of Americans that have benefitted from Bush's policies. The rest of us are still running paycheck to paycheck, and getting further behind every week.

STERLING, Va. -- President Bush yesterday offered a preview of his State of the Union address later this month, telling an audience of business leaders that the US economy is ''robust," but that Congress should enact his economic proposals to make it even stronger.

'I'm going to go to Congress here pretty soon and call on them to put economic policy, energy policy, health policy in place that understands that this economy is strong, but we need to do the right things to keep it going -- with the centerpiece of our economic policy being the small business in America," Bush said.

Speaking before about 500 people at a warehouse at J&K Moving and Storage, Bush said he would ask Congress to make his tax cuts permanent, cap potential damages from lawsuits, expand individual health savings accounts, fund programs to find technological alternatives to foreign oil, and do more to expand the use of community colleges.

Many of the proposals echoed policies the administration has touted for some time, and were standard features of Bush's domestic issues stump speech during his 2004 reelection campaign.

In his speech yesterday, Bush repeatedly touted the strength of the nation's economy, saying jobs, manufacturing, productivity, and home ownership were all growing. He said the economy had overcome the 2001 terrorist attacks, war, and high energy prices because of his tax cuts.

''Things are going well . . . in the economy," Bush said. ''We added 4.6 million new jobs since April of 2003. What I'm telling you is the tax plan is working. . . . Things are going fine."

But Bush's speech drew immediate fire from Democrats. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, said Bush was ''out of touch with average Americans." Continued...

Finally, we'll turn to Red Sox Nation. Looks like Theo is Back!

Two-and-a-half months after Theo Epstein left the Red Sox, certain that his heart and soul were no longer fully invested in the job of general manager, the Sox last night announced that the 32-year-old Brookline native will be returning to the organization as soon as next week.

Epstein's exact role and title had not been completely determined as of last night. Nor had it been decided exactly how co-GMs Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington would be recast. The club, in a release, indicated only that Epstein would be rejoining the Sox in a ''full-time baseball operations capacity, details of which will be announced next week." However, expectations within the organization point to Epstein returning as the lead decision-maker within baseball operations, with Hoyer and Cherington working under him.

Neither Hoyer nor Cherington would directly address the job description awaiting Epstein, and how they will be affected, but both spoke of maintaining continuity in Epstein's absence, suggesting they will work for him, rather than Epstein working for them.

''We're definitely a stronger organization with Theo a part of it," Hoyer said. ''Certainly, Ben and I, our goal all along was to add continuity and keep in place the structure we all built together."

Added Cherington: ''When Jed and I accepted these positions several weeks ago, we did so in most part to maintain a sense of continuity in baseball [operations]. Theo's return will be a significant step toward maintaining that continuity." Continued...

So, there you have it. If anything here has piqued your interest, do drop by Air America Place and join in the discussion...or post me a reply here!