alexwill's blog

Governor Deval Patrick has decided against taking action to allow illegal immigrants to pay resident tuition and fees at state colleges and universities this fall... ("Tuition aid to illegal immigrants falters")  read more »

Since I heard the news about Senator Kennedy's seizures on Saturday, I have been reflecting on his amazing place in history, fighting for civil rights for all. Especially since hearing the diagnosis of a malignant glioma, up until the positive news this morning that as I write this Senator Kennedy will be released from the hospital in a few minutes, there has been flood of positive reflections. I am sure he will return to work fighting for the rights of all, fighting right up to the last minute.

I wanted to focus on this article in found in today's Globe. It was a timeline of just some highlights of major legislative achievements of the man some have called the most successful Senator in history. I thought specifically significant was the bill listed as his first major achievement:

1965: Immigration
In his first major legislative accomplishment, the 32-year-old Kennedy managed the successful floor battle to pass the Hart-Celler Act, a reform of immigration policy that abolished quotas and lifted a 1924 ban on immigration from Asia.  read more »

I've been trying to figure out how to start writing since Kyle asked me to part of this project. I think Welcoming Massachusetts! is one of the best and most important ideas I've heard about in a long time. The focus on positivity and community are vital and expect me to try to focus on those in the weeks and months ahead. I think people have a lot of ideas about what they want this place to be and what they want it not to be, so I think I'll be talking about that, but first I'd like to introduce myself:  read more »