Remember what the Republicans called John Kerry? They called him a “Massachusetts Liberal” – as if that’s a bad thing. Massachusetts liberals have a great deal to be proud of, actually.
Consider, for example, the status of poverty in Massachusetts. There is poverty in Massachusetts, as there is in every state in the USA. However, in Massachusetts, the poverty rate is lower than the national average. Nationally, the poverty rate is 13.3 percent. In Massachusetts, however, the poverty rate is only 10.3 percent.
The management of child welfare in Massachusetts has been even more of a success. As is the case in every state, child welfare in Massachusetts is higher than the general poverty rate. However, in Massachusetts, the child poverty rate is even further below the national average than the general poverty level – just 13.6 percent. That’s half of the child poverty rate in some Republican-voting red states.
It’s time for America to listen to the wisdom of Massachusetts liberals, instead of following the clumsy bravado of red state economics.
(Source: Food Research and Action Center, State of the States Report, 2007)
December 6, 2007
Massachusetts Liberals Know A Thing Or Two About Fighting Poverty
August 26, 2007
Leader in Coral Reef Restoration Dies
The following message comes from the Global Coral Reef Alliance, established in 1990 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts:
“It is with great sadness that I must tell you that our dear colleague and leader, Wolf Hilbertz, died on August 11 2007.
He had become sick in Dubai, but recovered and went back to Bali on his last vacation before moving to Berlin, in order to photograph the Biorock projects, when he was stricken again.
They were unable to determine the problem and he was airlifted to Germany, where he was diagnosed with terminal cancer that had spread from his lungs to his kidneys and liver. He passed away peacefully and without pain.
Wolf was an inspiring pioneer of new technologies in architecture and marine habitat restoration. Although we can never replace him, now it is up to all of us to see that his work is carried on.”
The Global Coral Reef Alliance is a very important organization that studies, defends, and works toward restoring the coral reefs of planet Earth. We all, whether coastal or inland, depend upon the resources created by those reefs. Donations can be made to:
Global Coral Reef Alliance
37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
617-864-4226 / 617-864-0433
goreau@bestweb.net
http://www.globalcoral.org
