They’re going wild over Joe Milton in Dallas. … OK, maybe I’m obsessing too much about the loss of Joe. Maybe Mike Vabrel made the right call when the Pats traded him away in April. But I still have this awful feeling the Pats made one of worst trades in the team’s history when they unloaded Joe for a measly fifth-round draft pick. … Meanwhile, Drake Maye continues to not impress.

As the nation marks the 250^th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution, Eliot Cohen at the Atlantic has an interesting article on George Washington’s seemingly undramatic days in Boston in 1775. They didn’t include dramatic battles, marches, meetings and pronouncements. But they were still critical days. From Cohen:

“What happened that summer outside Boston was of monumental importance. If this was to be an American army and not just an assembly of colonial militias, then Washington would have to be the first American general, and not just a provincial. He would have to create a system out of chaos, and hold together a force against a dangerous enemy.”

And he did so while experiencing a major culture clash in New England:

“A slaveholding Virginia gentleman and loosely religious Anglican was going to lead an army that was mainly made up of New Englanders—including both psalm-singing, Bible-quoting descendants of the Puritans and dissenting freethinkers. For his part, Washington was appalled at what he saw: militia units that elected their own officers and called them by their first names, free Black men carrying weapons, money-grubbing Yankees (as opposed to land-grubbing Virginia gentry), and general squalor. ‘They are an exceeding dirty and nasty people,’ he told his cousin Lund Washington.”

Painting above ‘George Washington at Dorchester Heights.’ 

 

Donald Trump had a Wide World of Sports type of week, a true ‘thrill of victory … and agony of defeat’ experience. At the start of the week, even the New York Times and other media outlets were giving the president grudging credit for a string of tariff-deal victories. The president’s dutiful ideological backers were, needless to say, gleeful.  … Ah, the thrill of victory! … And then this morning: “Dow tumbles more than 500 points as weak jobs data, new tariffs spark sell-off” (CNBC). And from the WSJ: “Jobs numbers for May and June are revised down sharply” … And then there’s the agony of defeat. … Well, maybe not defeat. But you get the picture.

Update — He just confirmed the severity of the jobs news. From CNBC: “Trump fires commissioner of labor statistics after weaker-than-expected jobs figures slam markets.”

Update II — 8.2.25 — From the WSJ: “The Wild Week in the American Economy.”

Former Gov. Deval Patrick set the precedent years ago when he proposed spending $1 billion to boost the local biotechnology sector. So Gov. Maura Healey’s plan to spend $400 million to boost scientific research across the state, amid Trump administration cuts, isn’t exactly radical. In fact, it’s a good idea in general. But I have problems with the timing and proposed funding sources. Re the timing: let’s see how negotiations go between the Trump administration and Harvard before jumping into the funding breach. After Harvard, MIT and possibly Tufts etc. are next on the Trump ideological shakedown list. Let’s see what happens with them too. … Among other things, my fear is the Trump groupies will see the Massachusetts funding moves and conclude they can simply deduct that amount from final federal funding tallies. … Re funding sources: dipping into proceeds from the millionaire’s tax is a real stretch in terms of what the surcharge is supposed to fund (transportation and education). And using interest from the state’s rainy day fund? That fund is for recessionary periods – and for all state programs. Leave it alone. …

What the state needs is a well thought out funding plan, similar to what was done in 2008 with Patrick’s 10-year Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative, half of which relied on revenue from long-term bonds. … Bottom line: don’t rush into this. Think long-term. 

— Emily Rooney is right about White Stadium: “It’s not the central issue for Bostonians” (Contrarian Boston)

— Every new Celts owner dreams the same dream: “Let the Celtics Arena Games Begin!” (B&T)

— I’m surprised there are still 100 restaurants left to sell: “Friendly’s parent company sold to NJ Franchisee” (BBJ)

— A one-hit wonder? “Mass. vaccine maker Moderna cuts hundreds of jobs” (NBC Boston)

— Maybe the life-science sector isn’t in as much trouble as thought: “Bain Capital, Bristol Myers Squibb launch biotech with $300M” (BBJ)

— CAI and the Martha’s Vineyard Times admirably practice an oceanic version of gumshoe journalism: “Are 17 turbines really running at Vineyard Wind? Here’s what we saw by boat” (GBH)

— The Globe’s Joan Vennochi raises a sensitive topic that can’t be avoided if people are serious about solving the Mass-Cass mess: “Involuntary commitment should be on the table in the opioid crisis” (Globe)

— It’s really happening. Now it’s up to House Speaker Ron Mariano: “Mass. State Senate approves cellphone ban in schools statewide” (WCVB)

— The Things That Wouldn’t Leave: “Return of Biden, Harris snags Democrats’ push to turn the page on 2024” (Washington Post)

— Some of the same D.C. folks who downplayed Jan. 6 are now worried about safety: “Lawmakers Want More Security as Threats and Attacks Mount” (WSJ)

— Go ahead, read it. Resistance is futile: “Award-winning actress Jessica Chastain is pursuing a master’s degree at Harvard” (Patriot Ledger)

— A great gift to a great institution that’s truly blossomed over the decades: “Woods Hole marine lab gets largest donation in 137-year history” (BBJ)

— Both sides are starting to really annoy: “Bar advocates’ defiance leaves no clear end in sight for court crisis” (Globe)

Times sure have changed.  Nearly twenty years ago, the mayor of Boston and leaders of community health centers and hospitals were freaking out over CVS’s planned introduction of for-profit health clinics at its stores. For-profit health care! The horror!   … But today the for-profit CVS MinuteClinics and the non-profit MGB, the state’s largest health care provider, hope to join forces — with the former expanding into primary care and then referring patients to MGB’s regional provider network, as the Globe’s Jonathan Salzman reports. … Is this good for patients? I suppose so, on the surface, if it really provides health-care services where they’re needed. But I remember a time when CVS’s MinuteClinics were touted as a for-profit alternative – actual competition – to non-profit provider behemoths like MGB (formerly known as Partners) and a way to help control skyrocketing health costs while providing easy access to basic care. Now the two are allies? How does funneling patients to the most expensive care network in the state help reduce health costs? How does this help struggling community health centers and hospitals left behind in the underserved areas that CVS-MGB plan to target? …

Fyi: I’ve used CVS’s MinuteClincs a number of times in the past. Ditto WalMart’s mini-clinics. They’re handy, particularly for getting necessary vaccine shots. I’m glad they’re around. But count me a skeptic when two former health-care foes –- one a publicly traded corporation and the other a giant provider network viewed by some as semi-monopolistic -– band together and say it’s all about altruism.

The Globe’s Dana Gerber has a fun piece comparing Market Basket’s prices to other supermarkets’ prices. And a spoiler alert: The results aren’t a big surprise (though Wegman’s close second–place finish was impressive). … Reading the Globe piece, I was struck by the obvious: Market Basket is an old-fashioned high-volume seller, following a long New England tradition of high-volume/off-price/discount businesses over the years, including Mr. Hamburg, Filene’s Basement, Lechmere, Spag’s, Boch Toyota, TJ Maxx/Marshalls, etc. But a key to MB’s appeal, besides its low prices, is that you don’t necessarily feel like you’re in a high-volume environment (crowded, yes; treated like cattle, no). MB goes that extra mile to make its food displays look attractive, even intimate, and the wide selection of its well-stocked products sometimes awes (particularly its poultry and meat offerings). And, of course, MB has down-to-earth employees. They’re considerate. Nothing more. No forced smiles and fake fun. No flairs, etc. … So, yes, MB is a high-volume seller. But it’s a high-volume seller that provides that little bit extra for its customers.

Fyi: Unfortunately, the supermarket industry in general may be headed toward an Uber-like, dynamic-pricing model: “Welcome to the Grocery Store Where Prices Change 100 Times a Day” (WSJ). … All I can say is: get used to high-demand-time price gouging. 

Fyi II: Here are blast-from-the-past images of some of the old local businesses mentioned above:

At the Atlantic, U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-NY, has a message to follow moderate Dems: Instead of whining about Zohran Mamdani’s primary victory in the NYC mayoral election, centrists should be backing better candidates and developing attractive agendas that actually motivate voters. … He’s right, of course. But the question is: What is a Dem centrist these days? Since centrism is not a set ideology and includes people with all sorts of varying opinions, it lacks the intensity and force of the hard left (and hard right, for that matter). The center includes a lot people who simply don’t live, eat and breathe politics. Nevertheless, Dem moderates had better get their act together soon or they’re going to go the way of moderate Republicans in the GOP, Torres warns:

“It’s not enough for the center left to be against the far left, to sneer at them. We actually have to put forward an affordability agenda. We have to be more introspective about our failures, to be blunt.”

Update – Here’s the latest reality check for Dems who think the party’s main problem is merely a matter of messaging, not actual policies, via the WSJ: “Democrats Get Lowest Rating From Voters in 35 Years, WSJ Poll Finds.”

Update II — 7.31.25 — At the Liberal Patriot, John Halpin takes a stab at explaining why approval of the Democratic Party is at a 35-year low. I agree with most of his points, including how Dems seem to have learned little since their big loss last year.

 

One day we’re going to look back at this economic era in stunned wonder – the slashing of scientific budgets amid the rising technological threat from China, cutting taxes for the rich while adding trillions to the national debt, dismantling renewable energy programs amid growing evidence of severe climate change, the forfeiting of U.S. leadership over the global economy. And, last but not least, the cult-like embrace of unregulated cryptocurrencies by a shameless president and large segments of the business community, including, increasingly, small businesses around the world, as the WSJ reports. … And business acceptance of crypto is happening right here in Massachusetts (“Crypto Reserve Secures Construction Bond for Chelsea Development” – B&T) and in real estate deals in general across the country. … As the Journal notes:  ‘What could possibly go wrong?’ 

When a politician starts a new nonprofit that focuses on politically organizing people in four states more than 1,300 miles away from his family and home, it’s pretty safe to say he has political ambitions. In the case of Joe Kennedy III, you might add it also signals a political resurrection of some sort, heralded by a sympathetic NYT puff piece. … Btw – Kennedy’s prominent reappearance might partly be about restoring/rescuing the family name from a certain current Trump cabinet member. But there is a personal side to the nonprofit effort, as Kennedy readily admits to the Times. …