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As many predicted, the revolutionary feeling that swept Scott Brown into office 15 months ago didn’t last. When the Republican wave swept across the nation this past November, it didn’t break in Massachusetts.
Not a single member of the Bay State’s Congressional delegation flipped to the GOP in the midterm election and incumbent Governor Deval Patrick beat out Republican challenger Charlie Baker by a little over 6 points — not bad considering his deserve reelect number was a dismal 29% following Brown’s election.
Today the Governor’s job approval rating is up 13 points from last February, and Barack Obama’s favorability rating has risen 6 points since November to 57%. Democrats are popular again in Massachusetts, no news

Many voters went to sleep in Wisconsin and thought they woke up in Florida on Friday after a “Republican activist” county clerk announced that she discovered an extra 14,315 votes in a hotly contested Supreme Court race. Not surprisingly, the votes went to the conservative candidate giving incumbent justice David Prosser a 7,500 lead over challenger Joanne Kloppenburg. Oddly, 7500 was the exact number of votes Prosser needed to avoid a statewide recount.
The Supreme Court race has garnered national attention as a proxy vote on Governor Scott Walker’s radical proposal to end collective bargaining in the state and cut a billion dollars from public

Forty years on Stephen Sondheim’s 1970 “Company” remains a landmark in the history of the American musical. This weekend the New York Philharmonic is presenting concert performances of “Company” with an all-star cast headed by Neil Patrick Harris.
The first of Sondheim’s collaborations with producer/director Harold Prince, “Company” suggested that the musical need not remain in the framework of conventional narrative. I shudder to use a phrase I have happily not heard in many years — concept musical — but “Company” demonstrated that you could construct a musical from something other than plot. Whether this is a good thing or not remains a question.
One might say the theme that unites the disparate scenes in George Furth’s book for the show is a fear of

If there is or was a favorite “first business” in America for the past one hundred years, it is probably delivering daily newspapers as a newsboy. Now, that business has shifted from eager youngsters on bicycles to less enthused adults in pickup trucks. I think that’s too bad. Every young person should have the benefit of learning what is involved in the business basics of buying, selling and working with

I want to reclaim the television, to take it back from the pedants, the posers and the perverts. Much of what appears on the box these days is junk food for the mind and body. And it’s not just clogging our arteries; it’s killing our souls — and our culture.
TV is ripe for change.
I want to see good

It is hard to miss the irony in the fact that the very same week that Republicans were publicly heralding Congressman Paul Ryan’s plan to inject market forces into the American health care system, they were crafting a budget deal to strip them from the health reform law. While Free Choice Vouchers didn’t fulfill my vision of a health care system in which every American would be empowered to hire and fire their insurance company, they were a foothold for choice and competition and a safety valve for Americans whose employers are already forcing them to bear more and more of their family’s health insurance costs.
Free Choice Vouchers were a true marriage of both Democratic and Republican ideas and they were killed in last night’s budget agreement. Given the battle it took to get them into the health reform law in the first place, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by their execution.
Under the new health law, Americans whose income falls below 400 percent of the federal poverty level and whose employer-sponsored health insurance premiums are between 8 and 9.8 percent of their total income will be exempt from having to purchase health coverage but will not be able to access the exchanges or qualify for government assistance to buy

The royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton has created a huge interest in tourism to Britain. If you’re one of the many international visitors who will travel to London for the event, consider also venturing outside the capital for other superlative experiences. Nestled in the picturesque Oxfordshire countryside about eight miles from the city of Oxford, is a hotel and restaurant held in such reverence by leading food critics, gastronomes, and fine hospitality connoisseurs, that it is the only country house hotel in the UK to achieve and maintain its two Michelin star status for 25 years. It has also garnered countless “World’s Top Hotels” accolades, and food awards in Relais and Chateaux, Zagat, AA Restaurant Guide, and

If the overthrow of a a dictatorship in Egypt taught us what social movements can accomplish through nonviolent resistance, then the crisis engulfing the Ivory Coast is a lesson in how even the trappings of democracy can fail to keep a fragile nation from breaking apart.
Though the battle for leadership of the country rages on, the showdown in Abidjan could mark the final convulsion of violence following a disputed presidential election last year. The conflict has left as many as 1,500 dead and pushed several hundred thousand from their homes.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. In fact, in contrast with the whirlwind revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, which caught the West by surprise and continue to bewilder European,

Tear down one highly unsustainable McMansion and build two small green, handcrafted homes in its place? I like this idea a lot.
Bothered by Australia’s homogenous housing landscape, which is dominated by brick veneer and terracotta tile-roofed houses in every climate from the cold highlands area to the tropical north, artist Mathieu Gallois and a team of architects and experts have launched the Reincarnated McMansion Project to demonstrate alternatives to unsustainable housing models and draw attention to sustainability in existing housing. The Reincarnated McMansion Project wants to audit and dismantle “poorly built, mechanically cooled and heated” suburban homes, then use the materials to rebuild two green houses in their place.
“In our discussions with developers, urban planners, architects and home owners, the question of what to do with Australia’s vast car dependant suburbs, built during a short period of cheap energy and cheap raw materials (second half of the 20 century), has been asked time and again,” the project’s website states.
The Reincarnated McMansion project’s approach to suburban redevelopment discourages the practice of knocking down existing housing, down-cycling some materials and sending the majority to landfill, then rebuilding with all new

Earlier this week, Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, unveiled a sweeping plan to save the rich from paying taxes and kicking the rest of us in the gut by decimating vital programs and services. The richest few would enjoy a tax cut at the expense of schools, highways, Medicare, and a broad array of safety net programs supporting low income workers and their families.
On the same day, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) — a group that oddly claims to like immigrants but not immigration — released a report asserting that immigrant working families use safety net programs for which they are

“The Book of Khalid is about how American values could actually inspire revolution from the Ottoman Empire,” says Mr Fine, who is editing a new edition of the book, due to be published at the end of the year.
“In fact the novel even ends with riots triggered by Khalid in Damascus. It is this uncanny connection that makes me believe that if we revisit the relationship between the US and the Arab world through Rihani and through The Book of Khalid we can realise that we don't have tremendous differences.”
Echoes of Rihani's stand against tyranny and human rights violations were evident in the protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square which led to the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, says his nephew Ramzi Rihani.
“I think the message is about bridging East and West,” he

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US Congress agrees last-minute budget deal

Source:Associated Press
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MIAMI — Though it lacked a lot of style points, the Miami Heat took care of their No. 1 objective.Next up: A game that may wind up deciding the No. 2 seed.Chris Bosh scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade returned from injury to score 27 more, and the Heat held off the scrapping Charlotte Bobcats 112-103 on Friday night.The victory, combined with Boston’s 104-88 win over Washington, kept the teams tied for the second spot in the Eastern Conference with identical 55-24 records. They play in Miami on Sunday, with the winner taking a huge step toward securing home-court for the first two playoff rounds.”Why not go get it?” LeBron James asked.James added 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Miami, which won for the 12th time in 15 games and swept all four games with Charlotte this season. The Heat will secure the East’s No. 2 seed by winning out, and coach Erik Spoelstra vowed Friday his team would not look ahead to Boston — or anyone else — keeping the focus on Charlotte.Down the stretch, the Bobcats insisted that be the case.D.J. White’s tip-in with 1:29 left got Charlotte within 104-98, even though Miami took a 14-point lead into the fourth and held that same margin with 6 minutes to play.The “Big 3″ took care of providing some breathing room. Wade got the ball at midcourt, threw to Bosh, who then set up James for a basket with 1:09 left that made it a three-possession game again. And James sealed it with 37 seconds left, finding Bosh with a sharply angled pass for a layup to make it 108-100.Miami moved to 14-0 when it has 25 or more assists. It put up 26 against the Bobcats.Kwame Brown finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte. Garrett Temple scored 17 points, D.J. White added 13 and Boris Diaw and D.J. Augustin each finished with 11 for the Bobcats.The Bobcats had nine available players, with Stephen Jackson, Tyrus Thomas and Shaun Livingston sidelined with various ailments that may end their seasons.”We can’t score as much without a Jackson, a Tyrus Thomas and those guys,” Charlotte coach Paul Silas said. “That’s the downside of where we are right now.”Another downside of where the Bobcats were Friday? Wade was playing.Wade’s status wasn’t official until about 45 minutes before tip-off because of the deep bruise that he’s battled for about a week in his right thigh. The way he came out, it was hard to tell anything was wrong.He scored 14 points in the first quarter, his third-highest total for an opening period this season, attacking the rim enough to get to the foul line for nine shots in the first 5:53.When he stopped scoring, James started, getting three field goals in a 75-second span — the last of them a one-handed slam off an inbounds pass from Mario Chalmers, who was officially credited with his first assist of the night exactly 0.7 seconds after checking into the game. Miami was up 31-22, and signs pointed to a quick runaway.Charlotte had other ideas.It was a 41-38 game midway through the second quarter, and Miami needed a 10-4 run just to take a double-digit lead — 55-44 — into halftime.The third quarter turned into a bit of a highlight show at times for the Heat, with Wade throwing a pair of full-court overhand passes to James and Miami running at every opportunity. Brown took exception at one point, leveling Wade with a flagrant-1 foul on a dunk try with 5:35 left in the third.Game notes Erick Dampier was introduced as Miami’s starter at center, but Zydrunas Ilgauskas actually got the start. … Queen Latifah was among the celebrities in the building. … Charlotte became the 11th team to get swept by Miami this season, joining Detroit, Golden State, Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento and Washington. The Heat could also add Toronto to that list if they win in Canada on Wednesday.
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Source:espn.go.com

Source:Associated Press
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CLEVELAND — Carlos Boozer had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 93-82 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
Fast Facts
• The Bulls clinched the best record in the East and the conference’s top seed for the playoffs.
• The last time the Bulls were the East’s No. 1 seed was the 1997-98 season — Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson’s last in Chicago.
• The Bulls swept the season series with the Cavaliers for the first time since 1996. Chicago finishes 15-1 within its division this season.
• Tom Thibodeau got his 59th win in his first season as a head coach. Only two coaches (Paul Westphal and Bill Russell) won as many in their first year.
• The Cavaliers’ two-game win streak, their longest since Nov. 9, came to an end.
– ESPN Stats & Information
Chicago, which has won six straight and 18 of 20, will have home-court advantage through the first three rounds of the playoffs. The Bulls hadn’t finished with the best record in the the East since 1997-98, the most recent of their six NBA championships in the Michael Jordan era.The Bulls, winners of five in a row and nine of 10 on the road, had six players score in double figures. Ronnie Brewer had 12 points while Derrick Rose added 11 points and eight assists. Joakim Noah scored 11 points while Luol Deng and Kyle Korver had 10 points apiece.J.J. Hickson led Cleveland with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Daniel Gibson scored 14 points while Ramon Sessions added 13. The Cavaliers, who had won their previous two games, fell into a tie with Minnesota for the league’s worst record.Chicago led 54-46 at halftime, but the Cavaliers cut the lead to three midway through the third quarter. The Bulls scored 10 straight points and ended the period on an 18-6 run.Hickson’s thunderous dunk brought the Cavaliers to 60-57 at the 7:06 mark of the quarter, but the Bulls scored six straight points, forcing Cleveland coach Byron Scott to call timeout. The run contiued on Deng’s layup and a basket by Boozer, giving Chicago a 70-57 lead.Hickson scored two baskets for Cleveland, but the Bulls ended the quarter on an 8-2 run and led 78-63.Rose’s two free throws broke a 14-14 tie midway through the first quarter, giving Chicago the lead for good. Cleveland cut the lead to 31-30 early in the second period, but the Bulls quickly built a 14-point lead.Alonzo Gee scored 11 points and Baron Davis added 10 for Cleveland.Before the game, the Cavaliers honored their Hall of Fame radio play-by-play man Joe Tait, who is retiring at the end of the season, his 39th announcing Cleveland’s games. A banner bearing Tait’s name was raised to the rafters next to the Cavaliers’ retired numbers. Tait has called 3,381 Cavaliers’ games. His last one will be Wednesday against Washington.Game notes Noah hit a hook shot from about 35 feet at the end of the first half, but it came after time ran out. … The Bulls play their next two games on the road, Sunday at Orlando and Tuesday at New York. … Cavaliers F Samardo Samuels (groin) missed his third straight game. G-F Christian Eyenga has been benched for the last two games because he has missed two many defensive assignments.
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