Gov. Maura Healey should still somewhat easily win re-election, based on the most recent UNH poll (scroll down) and other surveys. But she’s definitely making it harder than it should be. There’s the migrant-shelter debacle, the rise and fall of odd-duck Monica Tibbits-Nutt, the governor’s cocaine-peddling liaison to western Mass., natural-gas pipeline flipflops, the rapid-fire turnover of her cabinet, etc. And there’s also, of course, the general affordability issue that’s driving residents out of Massachusetts and the general crappy-time-to-be-an-incumbent sentiment that could be detected in last year’s local elections.

Btw – There’s one thing I’m pretty sure voters aren’t overly concerned about: the governor’s schedule. What an odd story from the Globe. I suppose her pullback from the spotlight does say something about the governor. I just don’t know what. 

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’s editorial board 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). …