In his taped presidential campaign announcement, former Vice President Joe Biden began on a sublime note citing the Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident," he intoned, "that all men are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights."
Then he stops the historic recitation. Perhaps as a Catholic of an older generation whose political career has drifted away from any discernible pro-life expectations, Biden felt ashamed to say the next phrase: "that among these are Life."
Applying a 4 percent surtax to million-dollar incomes and dropping a required reference to God from the state's oath of office are among proposed changes to the Massachusetts Constitution that could be coming before state lawmakers before summer.
Legislators will also be asked to send a proposal to allow no-excuse-needed absentee voting, as opposed to the technically limited reasons voters can offer now to justify for voting without showing up at the polls on election day.
