Allison P. Farrell is going places if this Crimson opinion piece is any indication. The Harvard undergrad explains the difference between intellectual conservatism and confrontational showboat conservatism – and how it applies to the late Charlie Kirk. … I know, I know. The next William F. Buckley Jr. isn’t walking through that door, folks. But it’s a nice to dream.

He isn’t wrong to consider challenging U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, as the Globe reports. But Seth Moulton would be wrong if he decides to actually go for it, for all the reasons I thought it would be a mistake for Jake Auchincloss to challenge Ed Markey, i.e. he’d lose in a primary system favoring the incumbent progressive candidate, even if that incumbent progressive candidate will be 80 years old next year. … But will Moulton, a moderate liberal, nevertheless go for it? Well, he’s already shown he wants to move up the political ladder, and look how that ended. I.e., Moulton isn’t the type who lets a likely outcome get in the way of his ambitions.

Update — 9.26.25 – The Herald’s Peter Lucas agrees that Markey will be hard to beat. … Btw: Has anyone corned Ayanna Pressley yet about her intentions? Just wondering.

— They’re so two-faced, cravenly praising the president in public while blasting his policies in private: “Inside the Room Where CEOs Say What They Really Think of Trump’s Policies” (WSJ)

— Self-censorship may be running rampant these days, but Dan Kennedy praises those few who are forcefully speaking out: “Media commentators are struggling to deal honestly with Charlie Kirk’s words and deeds” (Media Nation)

— First Hasbro. Now this. The downtown office market slowly recovers: “KKR Inks 133K SF Lease at International Place” (B&T)

— Gulf of Tonkin Alert: “Draft Bill Would Authorize Trump to Wage Drug Trafficking War” (NYT)

— We’re talking hundreds of students leaving the system. Where are they going?: “Chelsea school enrollment drops as ICE cracks down on Mass.” (WBUR)

— Joan Vennochi has some sound advice for the latest businessman mulling a challenge to an incumbent pol: “‘It takes more than money’: Running for governor would be an uphill climb for Alan Leventhal.” (Globe)

— We need many more AI startups like this one if we’re going to be a major player in the field: “Mass. ‘superintelligence’ startup Lila Sciences speeds from stealth to ‘unicorn’.”( BBJ)

— Speaking of AI: “Who needs elections? Google AI declares winners in Somerville preliminary mayor’s race – a day before the election” (Universal Hub)

— About time: “Treasurer abandons appeal to keep pot boss off the job” (Herald)

— Hint: It’s about a winter sport. And the movie is now high up on my movies-to-watch list: “Robert Redford Made a Sports Movie Masterpiece—but It’s Not ‘The Natural’” (WSJ)

Maybe the Massachusetts Communities Act needs a little more time before it starts producing substantially more transit-oriented housing in Greater Boston. It’s been only four years since the act’s passage. Give it time. Be patient. It will eventually work, etc. etc. … And yet … yet it sure looks like it’s not working as planned and hoped – and even some of the act’s firmest YIMBY backers are starting to get discouraged by the act’s lack of results so far, as Commonwealth Beacon’s Jennifer Smith reports. The consensus among advocates at a recent YIMBY conference, as Smith writes, seemed to be that the state hasn’t been “muscular” enough in dealing with communities on housing, that the state has been too nice, that it’s time to “limit cities’ and towns’ ability to flout state mandates.” …

Hmmm. Can I, as a non-advocate, suggest something? How about trying the opposite? How about less stick, more carrots? How about state financial incentives and protections that address local concerns about added infrastructure costs and loss of historic character that accompany major new housing developments? How about the state paying to conduct town-by-town surveys to find out exactly what residents want (and don’t want) in terms of more housing? How about more emphasis on smaller-scale multifamily housing — such as duplexes and triple deckers, or even single-family homes on smaller lots — rather than pushing/allowing giant big-box apartment buildings that so many people despise? …

As the BBJ reports, something needs to be done. Greater Boston’s’ housing production is actually declining, not increasing, and we’re now dead last in some rankings when it comes to new housing starts.  We need new approaches. Relying exclusively on brute force isn’t the answer.

Or should it be more appropriately called the Republican Cancel Culture? After all, there are some principled conservatives left in this country who are rightly alarmed at some of the anti-free-speech rhetoric flowing out of the White House and DOJ these days. … Let’s see if they remain alarmed now that Jimmy Kimmel has been cancelled – a cancellation celebrated by President Trump. … But now the political right’s version of cancel culture, which is not to be confused with the political left’s long-established cancel culture, has come to the Massachusetts gubernatorial race, with two allegedly moderate Republicans calling for the firing of any government employee who appears to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk, as the Herald reports in a story with a strangely off-subject headline. …

FYI: Historian Robert Conquest’s famous second law of power — “Any organization not explicitly and constitutionally right-wing will sooner or later become left-wing” – isn’t quite applicable here. But it’s damn close when it comes to much of the right’s pathetic embrace of cancel culture.

Update – From Caroline Mel and Jonathan Haidt at Chronicle of Higher Education: “The solution to violence isn’t less speech – it’s better dialogue.”

Update II — From U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton: “Donald Trump and the Republican Party are hellbent on silencing any speech that hurts their feelings. This isn’t just cancel culture, it’s state censorship. And it has no place in our democracy.” … Moulton comments via Universal Hub, whose post is headlined: “Living in a country run by that little kid from the Twilight Zone.” … And UH has the old Twilight Zone video. … Bad man. … Bad man. …

Update III — The Globe’s Carine Hajjar, a conservative,  is admirably criticizing Pam Bondi as well.

It’s the smart move. U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss probably would have gotten mauled if he had challenged U.S. Sen. Ed Markey in the 2026 Dem primary election. This is Massachusetts. Progressives dominate the statewide  primary process here. Joe Kennedy III found that out the hard way in 2020. Nothing suggests that Auchincloss, a moderate liberal, would have fared any differently in 2026 – even with Markey turning a ripe 80 years old next year. It’s just the way it is in Massachusetts. And that’s why Auchincloss has decided to stay put in the U.S. House (assuming he wins reelection next year), as the Globe reports.. …

But what I find interesting is Auchincloss saying he’d rather focus more on his involvement with Majority Democrats, a new group of what sure sounds like young centrist Democrats who don’t want to call themselves centrist Democrats.* No matter how they define themselves, or refuse to define themselves, we can be pretty sure they’re obviously not like other young Dems who have embraced a 19^th Century movement and think it’s new. … We live in very strange times. …

Btw: The Globe’s Ideas Section this past week had an impressive package of what’s-next-for-Democrats pieces, such as these by David Sharfenberg and Robert Reich. As a centrist who’s more than a little frustrated with the far-left drift of the party, I obviously found these pieces by Yascha Mounk and Sabrina Joy Stevens most compelling. 

* Note: What is it with Auchincloss et gang and their almost impenetrable wonky language?

Update — Scott Van Voorhis has more on Auchincloss’s plans now that he’s ruled out a run against Markey — and they include pushing the idea for new cities. Yes, new ground-up cities. Scott explains.

The WSJ has a package of videos and a main story outlining how ICE’s tough tactics earlier this year in Boston have served as a model for subsequent immigrant roundups in L.A., Washington D.C. and now Chicago. And the Journal provides videos showing local police helping out with last spring’s crackdown in the area. From the WSJ:

“Despite vows by local political leaders to withhold cooperation, the Journal found multiple instances of local law enforcement assisting ICE arrests during Operation Patriot and other efforts in the region. The incidents, some of which occurred in sanctuary cities, show local police were not only present but, in some case, actively aiding the federal agents.”

What great journalism. … Screen capture above via WSJ.

Now that Boston’s mayoral race is effectively over, it’s time to turn our attention to 2026 – and it’s sure looking good for Gov. Maura Healey. Her latest poll numbers aren’t at Charlie Baker levels, but they’re still quite strong, as reported at CommonWealth Beacon. Or as Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling group, put it, Healey has ‘perfectly fine’ numbers for an incumbent. … And, no, she doesn’t have to worry about Michelle Wu, as the Herald’s Peter Lucas argues. Warren and Markey should be a little worried about Wu lurking in the background, as Peter notes. But not Healey – unless she wins next year and then decides to run for a third term in 2030 or goes after Warren’s seat in the same year. OK, then Wu starts to factor into the equation. But I don’t see the two ever clashing one-on-one. …

Re Wu’s future: Just like Kevin White once did, she probably has her eye on higher office. The executive-branch manager in her suggests gubernatorial ambitions. But I just don’t see her as governor. She’d discover quickly that running for mayor and governor are two different things. I see her more as a windbag senator type.

Update — From the Herald: “Gov. Maura Healey slams Republicans running for governor in fiery convention speech.”

They’re back. And they’re as bad as ever. Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, a sequel to Rob Reiner et gang’s classic This is Spinal Tap, came out today – and it comes with a cameo by Paul McCartney, who sings Tap’s “Cups and Cakes” during a band rehearsal. … It’s so touching. … As James Parker describes the song in his review at The Atlantic: “It’s a number from Tap’s psychedelic infancy, and—in its pastiche-y, chamber-musicky way—wonderfully McCartney-appropriate: It’s like ‘Martha My Dear’ written by … Spinal Tap.” … Fun stuff. … Elton John and Garth Brooks also make cameo appearances, Parker writes. … Here’s the NYT review of Spinal Tap II and Indie Wire’s review.

Update — 9.13.25 – The reunited band played ‘Big Bottom’ the other night on Jimmy Kimmel.

— What an accomplishment this would be: “Cambridge nonprofit Project Insulin aims to slash insulin costs with $20-30 vials” (BBJ)

— We’re talking potentially massive hidden aquifers: “Scientists tap ‘secret’ fresh water under the ocean off New England, raising hopes for a thirsty world” (WBUR)

— After last week’s disappointing jobs report, the answer is probably ‘yes’ to Larry Edelman’s timely question: “Is Massachusetts already in a recession?” (Globe)

— The Chinese are about to clean his clock anyway: “Tesla Wants Out of the Car Business” (The Atlantic)

— Clean-energy and bucolic settings don’t necessarily mix: “Rural communities fight state’s new energy storage siting process” (BBJ)

— Drake Maye Bust Watch: “Patriots’ opener was supposed to supply some answers, but loss to Raiders left questions about Drake Maye” (Globe)

— Cool story for all you military-history buffs: “Inside NATO’s Scramble to Shoot Down Russia’s All-Night Drone Raid Over Poland” (WSJ)

— Whew. I’m still a Leo. I was worried I might be a Virgo: “Your Zodiac Sign is 2,000 years out of date” (NYT)