With only 8.4 percent of voters registered as Republicans in Massachusetts, the state GOP has to take what it can get when it comes to people joining the party. And that applies to three out of seven GOP statewide candidates who only recently registered as Republicans before filing to run for offices, the Globe reports. … Call it the party’s rent-a-candidate strategy. Or is it the candidates’ rent-a-party strategy? 

But when you think about, the state Democratic Party has been doing roughly the same thing in Massachusetts for decades, often playing host to pols who would be Republicans in any other state. They run as Democrats merely because, well, they’re not going to get very far as a member of a nearly bankrupt GOP in this bluest of blue states.

Btw: Is this bluest of blue states really that blue? After all, only 25.8 percent of voters are registered Democrats in Massachusetts, meaning a party representing only a quarter of all voters in this state has 100 percent control over our Congressional delegation, 100 percent control over of our statewide executive offices and more than 80 percent control of the Massachusetts legislature. …

— — This is what happens when a moderate tries to out-progressive a progressive: “Moulton’s State of the Union guest referenced in police reports involving ‘sexual assault and juveniles,’ according to police” (Herald)

–Says something about our tech economy in general: “Once a cornerstone of the startup scene, District Hall remains shuttered years after closing” (BBJ)

— There’s smoke here. Lots of smoke: “State watchdog found ‘too many flaws’ in MassDOT contract procurement” (NBC Boston)

— We’re such an enlightened state. Yeah, right: “Massachusetts is one of the more secretive states” (Globe)

— When you think about it, this story and the one immediately above have a lot in common: “Cambridge bans all city departments from using the social media platform X” (WBUR)

— The piece is a little old but bears repeating: ‘Unless he’s s###-faced, I’m not worried’: Mass State Police dash cam catches aftermath of deadly cruiser crash [+video]” (Herald)

— So depressing: “U.S. researchers flee to Australia, Germany, as federal funding cuts deepen” (BBJ)

— The question is often asked after major storms and the answer is always the same: high costs: “With so many storm outages, why don’t we put more power lines underground in Mass.?” (WBUR)

— They were just asking for a backlash: “After ambitious state law, Lexington welcomed a wave of new housing. Now people there are having second thoughts.” (Globe)

— They’d be crazy not to pick Atlanta. Just saying so: “Hub one of five finalists for 2028 Democratic National Convention” (Universal Hub)

— History-buff Alert: “Trump Says He Wants to Destroy Iran’s Navy. Here’s What to Know” (NYT)

— History-buff Alert II: It’s about the brutal murder of a brutal murderer, Leon Trotsky: “The moral squalor stemming from communist conviction” (Washington Post)

Well, the Pats may have another off-field controversy on their hands, thanks to a rather wild celebratory bash at a downtown bar, as Universal Hub reports. … Was this information available in police reports at the time? Did the media just miss it in the run-up to the Super Bowl? It would have made great pre-game fodder for this Dan Shaughnessy column.

Update – 3.4. 26 – The Globe/Boston.com is on the story.

Update II — 3.5.26 – And the Herald is on it too. … Can you imaging the sensation if this had been reported during Super Bowl week? Now it’s merely second fiddle to Stefon Diggs’s release and the Pats’ 31st-pick draft prospects.

I thought he was just huffing and puffing when he first threatened to cancel the military’s educational ties with local colleges. But the Secretary of Ideological Warfare actually did it, cancelling out MIT and Tufts, the BBJ reports. … No mention of BC, BU and Northeastern, which were also put on double secret probation last month. … Wonder how those schools feel this morning. Relieved? Or a little embarrassed they made Pete’s ideological cut? 

Update – No big deal. MIT only played a key technological role in winning World War II and the Cold War. Don’t worry. Pete knows best. … Hmmm. Does this ban apply to MIT Lincoln Labs? Just wondering.

Jeff Kanne, chief executive of National Real Estate Advisors, tells the Globe’s Shirley Leung why his pension fund has hit the brakes on financing big development projects in Boston: Mayor Wu’s affordability set-asides and energy efficiency requirements as well as the prospect of rent control becoming law in Massachusetts. … Yes, high construction costs and interest rates are also factors when firms consider building in Boston. But those same conditions exist in other cities – and yet those cities are seeing construction, Kanne notes. … It’s a good column by Shirley.

Some things never change. The same rationales. The same rhetoric. The same early-war boasting of success. And one other thing about the ongoing Iran War compared to the start of the Iraq War in 2003: the same contradictory feelings, i.e. an intense dislike about how we got into this war and at same time rooting for U.S. military success. … I’ll bet there’s more than a few people with similar contradictory feelings. 

Update – Speaking of contradictory feelings and views, from Tom Friedman at the NYT: “To think clearly about Middle East wars, you need to hold multiple thoughts in your head at the same time. It’s a complicated, kaleidoscopic region where religion, oil, tribal politics and great power politics interweave in every major story. If you are looking for a black-and-white narrative, you might want to take up checkers.”

Update II – It seems many Dems and Republicans prefer playing checkers. Via NYT and NBC, respectively.

Update III — 3.3.26 – The Herald’s Joe Battenfeld is blasting the all-Dem Massachusetts congressional delegation’s extreme preference for checkers.

Update IV– 3.3.26 – As military veterans, these local Republicans aren’t following a black-and-white narrative. Via GBH: “Mass. GOP candidates call for Trump to talk to Congress about Iran strikes”

Update V – 3.4.26 – This is the type of success I’m talking about now that we’re in this war. From the Globe’s Jeff Jacoby: “When a tyrant dies, decent people rejoice.” … But decent people also want leaders to follow the constitution and most want this unwanted war to end ASAP.

If Congress won’t stop the war with Iran, maybe a shortage of munitions will. The WSJ has the details on the behind-the-scenes concerns of the Pentagon brass. Just terrific reporting.

Update. — 3.3.26 — The Atlantic is also warning of a munitions shortage.

Update II — 3.4.26 – The WSJ thinks the munition-shortage concern is overblown.

They’ll once again get around the constitution by saying we’re not really at “war,” just conducting an “assault,” therefore there was no need for Congressional authorization before we attacked Iran last evening. … Another war. More bogus claims of WMDs (see debunkings here and here by the WSJ, not exactly an America-hating lefty newspaper of record, it should be noted). … 

Is Massachusetts about to get the full “war on fraud” treatment from the Trump administration? You have to wonder after President Trump’s SOTU assertion that welfare fraud in Massachusetts, Maine and California is “even worse” than what’s been found in Minnesota. … Gov. Healey is pushing back against the president’s claims, as the Herald reports. …  Vice President Vance sure looks like he’s raring to go as Trump’s new fraud-buster in chief, withholding Medicaid funds from Minnesota until, well, who knows.  … I can see it now: withholding federal bucks from Massachusetts, similar to what the administration has done to Harvard. Think of all the ga-ga MAGA praise Vance would get!

GBH’s Adam Reilly looks at the president’s “even worse” claims and finds they don’t exactly pass muster, though he does raise the prospect of potentially huge amounts of welfare “leakage” in Massachusetts. He explains… I could be wrong but I don’t think this administration, not known for its strict adherence to the truth, is going to differentiate much between fraud and ‘leakage.’

The Herald has been all over the fraud-is-everywhere story/hysteria, even running a long piece Sunday about an anonymous whistleblower’s claims of ‘rampant’ fraud within the state’s SNAP program. I have my qualms about the one-source piece, mainly that’s it’s a one-source piece. But the source sounded credible at points — and never forget this is the state that recklessly spent billions on the right-to-shelter fiasco, etc. Do you really think the Trump administration will differentiate between fraud and really bad fiscal policy? 

Update –A reader notes that John L. Micek at MassLive was already looking at how the “fraud furor” might impact the Massachusetts governor’s race — even before President Trump poured more fuel on it on Tuesday.

Update II – 3.1.26 – Is this fraud, ‘leakage,’ or a combination of the two? From the Herald: “Biden Admin urged Healey to clean up state SNAP program, 2024 letter shows.”

Update III — 3.3.26 – As a reader notes, never forget all the multibillion-dollar problems the state has had with it Unemployment Insurance fund.

— Another very promising (and simple) clean-energy technology: “Small-scale solar panels could see a breakout year in New England” (Globe)

— Nearly 4,000 units have been proposed so far on these sprawling properties: “Housing Starts to Fill Up Office Parks” (B&T)

— The non-health care numbers are pretty scary, as Larry Edelman notes: “Without health care, the Massachusetts job market would be dead in the water” (Globe)

— He’s taking a page from Michelle Wu’s alarmist /blame-others playbook: “Mamdani Warns of Nearly 10% Property-Tax Boost if No Tax on Wealthy” (WSJ)

— It will chill the market, not ‘could’ chill the market – and it’s what they wanted: “State’s top health official: FDA’s reversal on Moderna’s flu vaccine could ‘chill the market’” (GBH)

— No surprise here. They’ve been doing it for decades: “UMass Amherst likely violated suspended student’s First Amendment rights, Massachusetts judge rules” (Herald)

— I love this company. Is it the commercials? “After rough start to last year, SharkNinja cleans up on Wall Street” (Globe)

— As the article notes, PE is on academic probation: “The Ivies Are Having Second Thoughts About Investing in Private Equity” (WSJ)

— And Ed Markey is on his case too: “Ring’s Founder Knows You Hated That Super Bowl Ad” (NYT)

— A good summary of conservative thoughts on the Old World: “What the American Right Wants From Europe” (NYT)