Is Senator John Kerry angling for the coveted role of Secretary of State? Apparently the Boston Globe’s Joan Vennochi thinks he might be. She fired up her crystal ball today and said in her column: “AS EGYPT battles over its future, Senator John Kerry is negotiating his own.” The Bay State’s senior senator is running an unofficial campaign to become the next secretary of state. For once, he looks artful, as well as ambitious. His recent opinion piece in...

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In the clearest legislative response yet to the events unfolding in Egypt, the Senate has gone on record joining the chorus of those seeking a quick ouster of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. The Senate on Thursday approved a bipartisan resolution calling on Egypt to begin the transition to a democratic political system. The resolution was put forward by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.). Kerry is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “I strongly support...

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I usually do not post here about local politics but last Friday, I felt compelled to speak out about the proposed paid parking plan in my hometown, Newburyport, MA.. The Wednesday edition of the Newburyport Daily News published an edited version of my blog post for their As I See It column on the Opinion page. After writing the initial blog post, at the urging of a few folks who work in Newburyport’s downtown, I drafted a petition to circulate on...

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Democrats hope political infighting among Republicans help them hold their shrunken Senate majority in what could be a difficult election in 2012, according to the top staffer on the committee in charge of electing Democrats to the Senate. “Keeping the Senate blue won’t be easy – we have 23 seats to defend in 2012,” says Guy Cecil, who recently became the new executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). Republicans need win four seats four seats next...

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by Walter Brasch A man who killed 100 sled dogs has received not a prison sentence but workers’ compensation from a British Columbia agency. The man successfully proved he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after he claimed he was ordered to kill the dogs. “It was the worst experience could ever imagine, his lawyer told CKNW, Vancouver, which had obtained the government document and then contacted the Humane Society. Howling Dog Tours Whistler, a division of Outdoor Adventures...

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BREAKING NEWS: U.S. State Department has told U.S. citizens who want to leave Egypt, ‘report to airport immediately’. A battle between allies of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his opponents is entering a second day as dawn approachs. No one appears to be safe, including the media. Pro-Mubarak supporters opened fire on anti-government protesters in Tahrir Square, killing at least one, witnesses have said. MSNBC is covering live: It’s looking more and more like a revolution in the streets...

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Senate Dems held off the attempt by Senate Republicans today to repeal President Obama’s healthcare law with a 51 – 47 vote split along party lines. The vote came two weeks to the day the Republican House voted 245-189 to repeal the law, and just days after a federal judge ruled Obama’s signature legislative achievement is unconstitutional. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, a senior member of the Finance Committee, which has significant jurisdiction over health care reform, released a statement...

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Senate Democrats defeated the repeal of healthcare reform Republicans had hoped for, but not before denouncing the GOP attempt at repeal in turn. Senators on Wednesday defeated the repeal measure put forward by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The repeal failed on a vote of 47-51. Ahead of the vote, Democrats lined up to criticize Republicans, including Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. Mikulski charged that, by voting to repeal last year’s landmark reform law, Republicans actually were breaking a...

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