'Miami Heat Want Coach Fired Because He Yells at Them'
I hope this is true. It probably isn't. But wouldn't it be great? ...  ¶ 9:55 AM

The WikiLeaks cable dump
Do we have any secure communication lines? How can foreign nations trust us to speak frankly if their private thoughts are so thoroughly compromised? Those are just two questions that pop to mind after the latest WikiLeaks dump. …

I’m no fan of the WikiLeaks founder. I’ll muster a little respect for him when he starts dumping sensitive military and diplomatic documents from China, North Korea, Iran and other closed societies. Believe it or not, I still think we’re the good guys on most issues around the globe -- and WikiLeaks has effectively become a "truth to power" squad against only one side. ... An example of my frustration: What possible good is to come from exposing diplomatic cables between allies desperately trying to block the nuclear ambitions of a rogue state? … With that said, the fact Wikileaks got its hands on so many U.S. documents is pathetic. Where's the security?  ¶ 9:36 AM

James V. DiPaolo, RIP Part II
The Globe reporters did absolutely nothing wrong, though it’s understandable if they emotionally struggle with DiPaolo’s suicide. They wouldn’t be human if they didn’t. … Hell, I feel a little guilty about my blog blast the other day, though I still maintain that DiPaolo’s regret was triggered by his getting caught.  ¶ 5:00 AM

James V. DiPaola, RIP
His suicide death is sad and shocking. No matter what he did and no matter what criticisms were aimed at him, it was never worth his or anyone else's life. ... I liked two observations this morning: Dan Kennedy’s and Howie Carr’s. First, Dan:

There is a possibility that much worse was about to come out, and he couldn’t bear the thought of disgrace and prison. But it could well be that depression was responsible both for his misdeeds and for his suicide. Killing himself was such an extreme reaction that it doesn’t seem likely the thought had never occurred to him before last week.

Now, Howie:

The thing is, pols don’t kill themselves, not around here anyway. Look at DiPaola’s predecessor as Malden Rep. — John “McFeel” McNeil — 450 pounds, convicted and jailed on kiddie porn charges. McFeel kill himself? Are you kidding?

Pols don’t kill themselves, but sometimes cops do and in the end, whatever he did in those final years, for better or for worse, DiPaola was a cop.

  ¶ 12:09 PM

‘Every member of the Legislature recommends people for positions’
Therese Murray doesn’t get it. Along with other lawmakers, she’s now moving the political and legal goal posts, saying nothing wrong happened at Probation as long as lawmakers didn’t take money in exchange for job recommendations. … Legislators are looking at this first-class scandal from a purely criminal standpoint, smugly concluding the Ware report doesn’t have the goods on them. They’re not looking at it from an ethical or civil standpoint. That’s the cocoon they live in: They can’t and won’t acknowledge their role in corrupting a state agency unless it’s proven their actions were criminal. …

Remember: Rutan. It’s not about criminal activity. It’s about unconstitutional activity. …  ¶ 6:04 AM

Rutan lawsuit?
Here's hoping an enterprising, idealistic young lawyer realizes that the state of Massachusetts is now highly vulnerable to a massive lawsuit under the anti-patronage Rutan decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. ... The proof is all there. The potential plaintiffs -- those who unfairly didn't get jobs or promotions at Probation -- are there for the plucking.  ¶ 6:50 AM

‘A spark of conscience’?
Not at all. James DiPaola got caught trying to pull a pension scam. He would have pulled it off if it hadn’t been for the Globe calls. It had nothing to do with a man wrestling with rights and wrongs. So please spare me the ‘conscience’ crap, unless you subscribe to H.L. Mencken’s definition of it: “Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking.” …

Now DiPaola is retiring in January. He’ll get $98,500 each year for the rest of his life. Less than two months after getting re-elected. He’s 57. It’s all still an outrage. But the people of this state keep re-electing these clowns. …

Oh, look. A top Democratic leader is signaling the boys on Beacon Hill aren’t going to be rushed into reforming the thoroughly corrupt probation department. Lawmakers technically weren’t caught selling jobs, he says. … That’s the new threshold for taking action in this state, I suppose. … But the people keep re-electing members of the one-party-state cabal. So why should Murphy et gang care?  ¶ 6:44 AM

The Aftermath
Though it's a little late, here are my thoughts on why Deval Patrick pulled off a victory that looked unattainable only nine months ago:

1.) Patrick looked like a candidate who wanted to win -- and win in the right way. He generally ran a confident, upbeat campaign and avoided outward signs of anger, self-pity or desperation. The few times I saw him on the campaign trail, he would walk into a room and behave like a man who truly wanted and needed every vote. His working a room or an audience was impressive to watch.

2.) The economy broke in his favor. The state and U.S. economies are a mess. But he could legitimately point to a number of signs showing that the Massachusetts economy was and is outperforming the nation as a whole. This was huge.

3.) The uninspiring campaign of Charlier Baker and the spoiler-role candidacy of Tim Cahill played right into Patrick's hands. Please don't tell me the final results mathematically showed that Cahill didn't matter. He did. Baker and his allies had to spend an enormous amount time, money and focus trying to knock down Cahill's once formidable numbers. Every minute spent on Cahill was a minute not spent knocking down Patrick's numbers.

4.) Massachusetts is a Blue State whose Democratic leaders got a huge wake-up call by Scott Brown's stunning upset win in January. Forget about Deval Patrick. Democrats knew what was coming toward all of them -- and they prepared for the worst. The Republicans and Tea Partiers pressed them hard on almost every front. Democrats weren't taken by surprise and pushed back hard.

5.) In the final 18 months or so before the election, Patrick seemed to have found a non-strident reformist and pragmantic stride in governing. I heard a lot of people giving him small credit for taking on public unions and pension reforms -- and it seems to have resonated enough to give people hope that at least someone was doing something about the obvious outrages on Beacon Hill.  ¶ 5:42 AM

Predictions
I've been busy lately and haven't covered the elections that closely this year. So keep that in mind when reading these predictions. Anyway, I was tempted to say that Deval would pull off today's election. He's run a solid campaign. He's been positive. He looks like he really wants the job. But my head says it's going to be Baker by 2. The anger and frustration are out there, though not at the intensity level we saw when Scott Brown defeated Martha Coakley last January. But they're out there. ... Other predictions: Republicans win at least one additional statewide office (probably auditor) and a handful of legislative seats. Not sure about congressional seats. Republicans might get one.  ¶ 1:03 PM

Randy Moss waived by Vikings
That was fast. ... The Pats shouldn't re-sign him. They'd just be back to where they were a few weeks ago: A quasi-malcontent, albeit a great player, fussing and pouting about his future contract status. Why would they want that headache? ... I was bummed about the initial trade of Moss. But the signing of Branch was a great Plan B -- and the Pats have been playing better ever since. ... Now, if Branch or another receiver gets hurt and Moss is still available, well, I'd put up with a Moss headache.  ¶ 3:44 PM