Free Republic

<p>FOR THE second year in a row...the population of Massachusetts has shrunk.</p> <p>It was one of only three states to end the year with fewer people than it had at the start -- New York and Rhode Island were the others -- and the only one to do so for the second year running.</p>

WASHINGTON -- Governor Mitt Romney raised the prospect of wiretapping mosques and conducting surveillance of foreign students in Massachusetts, as he issued a broad call yesterday for the federal government to devote far more money and attention to domestic intelligence gathering.

BOSTON - Gov. Mitt Romney, who helped resurrect the Salt Lake Winter Olympics and is considering a run for the White House in 2008, said Hurricane Katrina caused more economic damage than the Sept. 11 terrorist attack and the government response has been ``undermanaged'' and ``an embarrassment.'' The Republican refused to pin the blame solely on the Bush administration, but he spared no level of government in his critique during a Statehouse news conference called to discuss gasoline price gouging. ``No one can be happy with the kind of response which we've seen in New Orleans, and whether that's law...

BOSTON - Gov. Mitt Romney vetoed a bill Friday that would expand embryonic stem cell research in Massachusetts, but the measure has had more than enough support in the Legislature to override the governor's veto. Fulfilling his long-stated promise, Romney said at a news conference that he was unable to sign the bill because it includes a provision allowing therapeutic cloning, in which scientists create a cloned embryo to harvest stem cells in hopes of using them to treat and cure disease. Critics have said the practice amounts to creating human life only to destroy it. In a letter to...

BOSTON - The field of potential Democratic candidates for the 2006 governor's race is already shrinking. U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano [related, bio] said Friday he's decided not to pursue the party's nomination for the corner office, saying he wants to focus on working in Washington on issues like Social Security, affordable housing and lobbying for transportation dollars for Massachusetts. ``After much personal deliberation with my family and those closest to me, I have decided that I will not be a candidate for governor,'' Capuano said in a statement. ``As much as I am attracted to the campaign and the possibility...