Free Republic

Population growth in Massachusetts was essentially flat last year, according to new US Census data that shows a continuing pattern of stagnation that many fear threatens the state's economic and social prospects. The census data released yesterday covers July 2005 to July 2006, and displayed a pattern evident since at least 2000: Nearly 50,000 people left Massachusetts over the past year, while about 30,000 foreign-born immigrants arrived. The state inched to its slender gain because 22,503 more people were born than died. "It's yet more confirmation that our worries about stagnation are warranted," said Paul Grogan , president of the...

John Kerry is now in the crosshairs By Bill Cotterell CAPITAL CURMUDGEON In six or eight months, it might be hard to remember that "Massachusetts liberal" is really two words. You might recall how, in 1984, former U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick coined the term "San Francisco Democrats" for the unconventional convention that nominated Walter Mondale. You couldn't call it an attack, exactly, but the label cleverly conveyed an image of a party badly out of touch with mainstream America. If Sen. John Kerry is the Democratic nominee for president, a deal sealed at a convention not far from his Beacon...