Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Deck the Halls (& Columns) With Clients of Holly

Congressional Portrait, Congressman Barney FrankImage via WikipediaWhile trying to keep pace in grading the tsunami of end-of-the-semester term papers, the crack team at "TUOL" overlooked a local egregious ethics breach by a columnist at the tabloid Boston Herald.

A tip of the hat to the Blue Mass Group political blog that first brought to light last week Herald columnist Holly Robichaud's piece about potential challengers to fill the Congressional seat being vacated by Democrat Barney Frank after a mere three-decade run. Robichaud touts Mass. Rep. Shaunna O'Connell (R-Taunton), a freshman (freshperson?) legislator who ousted long-term Democratic Rep. James Fagan.

Robichaud suggested O'Connell "could pose a serious threat for the Democrats" eager to retain Frank's seat. Prognosticating about elections is red meat for columnists, but the "rub" as Shakespeare used to say, is that Robichaud also is a principal at the Tuesday Associates political consultant shop, which--now don't get ahead of us, readers--has pocketed more than $17k since 2009 from client Shaunna O'Connell, according to the Commonwealth's Office of Campaign & Political Finance ("OCPF"). Nowhere in her column handicapping the Congressional race to succeed Frank does Robichaud disclose she may "wanna Shaunna" to win.

Op-ed or operative? You be the judge.

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3 comments:

  1. Can't resist asking, are you pleased with the overall quality of term papers you're gradomg?

    I'm often appalled at the calibre of writing and reasoning I see these days.

    On a personal note, thanks for your charming inquiry on my absence a while back. It was very kind of you, and I apologize for my tardy Twitter response. I'd been offline for some time. It's good to be back.

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  2. I'd be happy to share my views on the caliber of students' work nowadays, but not in such a public forum. If you have a private email or Twitter account you're willing to share, I'll give you the lowdown. By the way, don't worry about typos--it won't affect your final grade.:)

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