Five Things you should know today, September 4, 2012

by: Rob "EaBo Clipper" Eno

Tue Sep 04, 2012 at 06:16:47 AM EDT

The Republican Primary is this Thursday. There are contested races all over the state plus a few write-in campaigns going on.  You probably know the contested races by now, but if you live in Burlington, consider writing in Walter Zenkin for State Representative, if you live in Natick, Sherborn or Millis consider writing in William Callahan.  Both are great gentlemen that would make great state representatives.

2. Native American DNC delegates want meeting with Warren

The Boston Herald is reporting that Native American delegates to the Democratic National Convention want a sit down with Elizabeth Warren.  They want to discuss her false claims of Native heritage.

"I think she owes us that, she owes the Native American community here at least that," said Stephen Lewis, a member of the Gila River Indian community. "That would go a long way in dispelling that question."

The Truth Squad paid a visit to a gathering of American Indian delegates to ask their feelings about the Massachusetts Democratic U.S. Senate challenger, and many of them expressed anger that Warren listed herself as an American Indian minority in law school directories without any proof.

"If you are native, there is no doubt, and if one has to research to try and ascertain if they are Native American, I would have great concerns with that and I think naturally I would just wonder if that was a vehicle she would want to use to her benefit," said Frank LeMere, an American Indian activist of the Nebraska Winnebago Tribe. "If that is the case, shame on her."

The reaction to John Walsh's sexist Misogynistic comments about Scott Brown and folding clothes over at Blue Mass Group are a laugh riot.  Particularly good are:

David Kravitz:

Walsh has apologized

for what was obviously a dumb comment.

   "In the excitement of getting the convention underway and getting the message out about how important it is to re-elect President Obama and elect Elizabeth Warren, I made a statement about Scott Brown that I regret," party Chairman John Walsh said in a statement this afternoon. "I apologize for that remark."

End of story.

Yep David has spoken, end of story.

Kbusch:

The dumb statement is kinda funny. Detached from context it sounds worse than it is.

4. Patrick hires first of many bureaucrats to implement Jones-Patrick care

According to the State House News Service, Deval Patrick has hired the first of many bureaucrats to implement the Jones-Patrick health care price controls.

Gov. Deval Patrick has plucked a top aide to Senate President Therese Murray to oversee the initial implementation of the state's new health care cost control law.

According to an administration official, David Seltz is coming on board early next week to tackle a menu of organizational and personnel tasks needed to start implementing a law that supporters say will lead to $200 billion in savings over 15 years and change the way practitioners approach health care delivery.

Seltz is familiar with the landscape, having played a role behind the scenes as legislative leaders and Patrick worked to refine their bill. When Patrick signed the bill into law Aug. 6, he singled out Seltz for his "consistent creativity" while working to develop the law, known now as Chapter 224.

According to the administration official, Seltz will work across several Cabinet secretariats involved in implementation of the 308-section law, including Health and Human Services, Administration and Finance, and Housing and Economic Development.

Zero savings so far, and extra government payroll.  Sounds like the law is getting off to wonderful start.

5. Massachusetts Small Business owners face uncertainty

Go Local Worcester has a story on the state of small business in Massachusetts. It's not looking good.

The main cause of such tempered optimism is the high cost of doing business in the Commonwealth.

Higher incomes and higher salaries go hand in hand with higher payroll and property taxes.

"Our health insurance is probably about the highest in the world," said Vernon.

Dick Kennedy, president of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, said he's seen a general uneasiness about the future among business owners that stems from uncertainty about the tax code and healthcare costs.