Keller @ Large
WBZ-TV Political Analyst Jon Keller is full of opinions, and he isn't afraid to share them. Check back often for Jon's unique take on the world of politics, with some occasional Pop Culture thrown in.
You can watch Jon's commentaries from WBZ-TV to the right of your screen. Read his blog entries for wbztv.com below.
Email: Send Jon Your Comments and Feedback
Bio: Meet Jon Keller
Unequal Pay For Equal Work
05/22/08 7:57 AM
Hope you enjoyed Wednesday night's "It's the Pits" feature on gender-based wage bias, a festering problem in the described by one expert as "the dirty little secret of the American workplace."
Here are some links to useful information on this topic I hope you'll find helpful:
The WAGE Project (Women Are Getting Even) web site has a wealth of info including a useful "Getting Even Calculator" that gives you insight into whether your salary is comparable and fair.
This page on the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission web site describes the federal law governing equal pay.
Here is an interesting blog with advice on salary negotiation and other useful tidbits.
What do you see happening around you – an injustice like unfair wage scales, a hazard, a blight on the landscape, you name it – that makes you say 'gee…this is the pits'?
E-mail me the details here and I may come out and interview you and shine the spotlight on it.
What Ted Kennedy Means To Us
For millions of Americans and others around the world who grew up admiring the Kennedy brothers and what they stood for, Ted Kennedy is an iconic figure. For thousands and thousands of people who have been affected by the legislation Ted has championed during his 46-year Senate career – low-wage workers making higher minimums, seniors enjoying health benefits, students receiving student loans, minorities protected by civil rights legislation just to name a few – he is a guardian angel.
But we here in Massachusetts enjoy an extra benefit from having Ted Kennedy represent us. He is, by all accounts and by bi-partisan consensus, the most effective inside player on Capitol Hill in modern times.
What does that really mean? It means that if you have a good job at a hospital, a lab, a university, a military base, or any other place that relies on federal funding, chances are you owe that job to Kennedy's work on the Senate floor. And it means that if you ever have a problem with the feds, you have perhaps the nation's most tireless, effective advocate at your disposal.
Consider this true story, told to me by a leading local Republican, on the condition that I not name names: a few years back, a conservative Republican businessman down the South Shore ran afoul of a federal bureaucracy and its arcane interpretation of federal regulations governing that industry. Their dispute mushroomed into a fight; the bureaucracy dug in its heels. The businessman turned to his congressman for help; no luck. He called Sen. John Kerry; his call went unreturned. Desperate and facing bankruptcy, the businessman placed what he assumed would be a futile phone call to Kennedy's office.
Within an hour, a high-level staffer was on the phone soliciting details of the businessman's plight. Would he be at that same phone number later that day? Yes, our desperate citizen said. Two hours later, the phone rings. It's Ted Kennedy. He asks detailed questions about the situation for ten minutes, then asks if the businessman will be reachable at that number the next morning at 10 a.m. The businessman hangs up, pleasantly stunned and hopeful.
The next morning at 10 sharp, the businessman receives a phone call from the federal bureaucrat who's been torturing him. Surprise – upon further review, it appears they have misinterpreted the rules, and the businessman's problem is now gone. He hangs up the phone, overcome with relief, and within minutes, it rings again. It's Ted. Did you get a call from that agency? Is everything all set now? Here is a name and number in my office to call 24/7 if any further hassles arise.
Now that's a legislator. That's Sen. Ted Kennedy. And that's the kind of irreplaceable service and caring we stand to lose is – God forbid – anything should force Ted to the sidelines.
Civic Dialogue Is Here!
May 19, 2008
Gov. Deval Patrick promised to begin a new era of direct communication between the public and their government, and I'm pleased as punch to be able to play some small part in spurring that laudable trend. As you can see below, I quoted from a viewer's e-mail wanting to know what the heck Patrick had been doing for us. Kyle Sullivan of the governor's press office offered a prompt response. Now, his spin undergoes a thorough analysis from another viewer, Scott, who writes:
"What I didn't see in the many paragraphs of beautiful prose was an answer to the question all of us who are bleeding out the wallet want to know: Hey Governor where's my property tax relief?
What has he done?
"Highlights in 2007 include the historic vote on same-sex marriage" – circumvented the Constitution of the state and assisting in the Legislature once again ignoring the will of the voters.
"Lower rates and increased choices in auto insurance" - not just yet.
· "Implementation of health care reform" - moves forward in bankrupting the state with yet another ill-thought-out boondoggle started by Gov. Mitt Romney…it has already announced it has a financial shortfall.
· "Development of a statewide anti-crime council" - and yet the murder rate continues to grow.
· "Passage of the film tax credit" - and that benefits the rank-and-file taxpayer how?
· "The creation of thousands of new jobs" – unless he's talking about the state payroll, thousands???
· "Attracting new and dynamic leaders in important areas like the Department of Corrections, DSS, and DCR" - the jury's still out on that but from what I've seen, it seems to be a lot more proposed spending in education and a Dukakis-like regime at DOC. DSS is just a mess.
· "Passage of Commonwealth Corps" – who have done what so far???
· "Already this year, the Governor has worked with legislative leadership to forge a compromise to close corporate tax loopholes" – i.e drive business out of the state by making it harder and more expensive to stay here. We're already saying goodbye to Fidelity Investments. Ask yourself who wants to pay more to get less?
· "Create an education secretary to lead the next round of education reform" - keep spending and pander to the teachers union.
· "Put in place a child advocate for the first time in state history" – much needed but how does it work?
"In addition, Governor Patrick filed a budget that balanced nearly half a billion in savings and efficiencies, new revenue, and targeted investments in job creation, education, and public safety" - on the back of pie-in-the-sky revenue like casinos?"
Send Jon Your Comments and Feedback
Memo To Obama: Talk The Talk
May 18, 2008
From an interesting column this week by Slate's always-readable John Dickerson, in the wake of yet another poor showing by Barack Obama among working-class whites in West Virginia:
"Obama's problem with white working-class voters does suggest that his powers of persuasion have real limitations. Throughout the campaign, he has touted his ability to reach out to people and to bring them together. His rallies, fundraising, and huge army of volunteers prove he can mobilize many Democrats and some independents as well. But he's been trying to woo working-class whites for months and months—arguably since the start of the campaign—and he can't get a handle on them. This is not an electoral problem, perhaps, but it's a governing problem. How can he make the case for his special ability to rally all Americans of diverse backgrounds and interests, yet have such a big problem with one group? For a while, Obama's supporters said that the more voters got to know him, the more they were disposed to vote for him, which suggested a powerful ability to sway people of all types. They don't make that case any more."
I have a constructive suggestion: sit the candidate down in a satellite studio for a few days (with fortifying beverages of his choice) and have him do live appearances, with listener call-ins, on every major conservative radio talk show in the country. If you listen to programs of this type (some of which, like Michelle McPhee's show on WTKK-FM, are not necessarily a fount of doctrinaire conservatism at all) you know that they feature a chronic and growing distaste for Obama-mania based on a procession of his "elitist" statements and behaviors that goes almost totally unrebutted.
How to stop these shows from driving a deep wedge between Obama and voters he'll desperately need come fall? Rebut them. Go on the air and charm the hosts and the callers by, as he seems to be quite capable of doing, calmly and intelligently addressing their concerns in a way that leaves them, if not sold, then significantly de-fanged. I know of one prominent Obama-like political figure who has significantly damaged himself by refusing to venture onto such programs, even though the worst-case scenario is that hosts and/or callers are so rude and obnoxious to him that they provoke a major surge of listener sympathy. It's one thing for critics to trash a political figure from afar, quite another to do so right to his or her face. Obama's recent venture onto Fox News after more than a year of ducking it was, by all sane accounts, a smashing success. For gosh sakes, if Obama's willing to sit down and talk unconditionally with foreign despots, you mean to tell me he hasn't the nerve to chat up Michelle McPhee?
Send Jon Your Comments and Feedback
Pray For Ted
May 17, 2008 12:47 p.m.
Stay with us here on the web and on WBZ-TV for the latest developments on Sen. Ted Kennedy's condition. And while you're at it, pray for Ted, his family and friends – and for us here in Massachusetts, who rely so heavily on him for the federal-funding fuel that keeps our economy going.
The Governor Responds
May 16, 2008 5:20 p.m.
Wow! Barely 24 hours after posting a viewer's query about Governor Deval Patrick's whereabouts and activities (see previous blog posting), we have a response from press secretary Kyle Sullivan, quoted here in its entirety:
"We appreciate the opportunity to answer your reader's question. Since you would like a brief reply for what could be a very expansive answer, I will break it down into what I think are the two main questions: Where is the Governor and what he is doing?
Where is the Governor?
The simple answer is the Governor has been all over the state. In the last six weeks alone the Governor traveled across the state highlighting his plan to make immediate and long-term investments across the Commonwealth, making funds available to train new workers, and helping communities create a culture of opportunity for all residents. Specifically – when he hasn't been at the State House -- he has been in Haverhill(2x), Lowell (2x), Salem, Newburyport, Norton, Fairhaven, Northampton (2x), Springfield, Fall River, New Bedford, Chicopee, Lexington, Brookline, Newton, Fitchburg, Devens, Mattapan, Wellesley, Grove Hall, Amherst, Jamaica Plain, Greenfield, Shelburne, Roxbury (3x), Wilmington, Billerica, Worcester Weymouth, Cambridge, Lynn, Burlington and Pittsfield.
What has he done?
Highlights in 2007 include the historic vote on same-sex marriage, lower rates and increased choices in auto insurance, implementation of health care reform, development of a statewide anti-crime council, passage of the film tax credit, the creation of thousands of new jobs, attracting new and dynamic leaders in important areas like the Department of Corrections, DSS, and DCR, the passage of Commonwealth Corps, and national leadership in clean energy and environmental issues.
Already this year, the Governor has worked with legislative leadership to forge a compromise to close corporate tax loopholes, create an Education Secretary to lead the next round of education reform, and put in place a child advocate for the first time in state history. In addition, Governor Patrick filed a budget that balanced nearly half a billion in savings and efficiencies, new revenue, and targeted investments in job creation, education, and public safety.
What is he doing now?
The Governor has been focused on creating economic opportunity and job growth through a number of very specific efforts:
Accelerated Bridge Program
He filed this week legislation to accelerate the repair and replacement of approximately 250 – 300 Massachusetts bridges identified as structurally deficient. With the strong support of Speaker DiMasi, Senate President Murray and Treasurer Cahill, the nearly $3 billion plan will address hundreds of bridges in most urgent need of repair across the Commonwealth over the next eight years, creating thousands of engineering and construction jobs while saving an estimated $1.5 billion in avoided inflation and deferred maintenance costs and ensuring the public safety.
Making Massachusetts a Leader in Life Science and Clean Energy
Governor initiatives that will make Massachusetts a leader in the fields of life sciences and clean energy are expected to be approved by the Legislature in the next couple of weeks. These are smart and targeted efforts that take advantage of Massachusetts' knowledge-based economy.
Education
The Governor and his team are finalizing the findings and recommendations of the Readiness Project that will be announced next month. As the leading example of grassroots governing, the Readiness Project has not only brought over 100 experts, activists and practitioners in education together to help prepare our children to compete in the global economy, it has also included a number of town hall forums and over 800 "ready rep" volunteers who are connecting these reforms to their local communities. We fully expect that the results will lead to a robust, inclusive conversation about how MA can build upon its success to better prepare our children for the future.
I hope this answered the question for your reader. Also as a reminder to your readers, the Governor appears monthly on WTKK to answer questions directly from callers and e-mailers and we hope all you readers will listen in.
Regards,
Kyle"
A Question For The Governor
May 15, 2008
This e-mail just landed in my inbox, quoted verbatim:
"Could you do the folks of Massachusetts a favor and tell us where our governor is and what he is doing for the people of this state? I just received a piece of mail from an organization for whom the governor will be the keynote speaker. It refers to him as "one of the nation's most talented and innovative leaders and fastest rising political stars." Are we forever doomed to be merely a stepping stone for our past and present governors' political ambitions? When is our governor going to address the people of Massachusetts to discuss the issues of poverty, crime, healthcare, rising fuel costs, jobs, education and all the other quality of life issues? And I am a lifelong Democrat who voted for him."
Hey, Governor's office! (Sorry if I woke you.) Shoot me a reasonably brief email answering this voter's question, and I'll post it in its entirety.
'In The Tank' For Obama?
May 13, 2008
From an interview on Fox this morning , courtesy of the Politico web site:
Host: "What percentage of the mainstream media is in-the-tank for Barack Obama?"
Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe: "Oh, 90 percent. I mean, from day one it is what it is. We're not complaining. We have to deal with the hand we're dealt with."
Yikes! OK blog readers, your turn: do you believe that's true? And what is your reaction to it?
I'll post interesting responses here later.
Obama Puts On Flag Pin
May 13, 2008
That's an actual headline out of West Virginia today.
On the one hand, this is a smart, if obvious and long overdue, move. Why give the doubters oxygen for their musings about your patriotism by pompously refusing to ever wear a flag pin? And if you really love America (as I'm sure Obama does), expressing it in this way doesn't seem such an onerous burden.
On the other hand, if he's willing to do this now, what in the name of Michael Dukakis was this all about?