A column on yesterday's swearing-in ceremony in Massachusetts:

An indicted former House speaker and a convicted one got a standing ovation from their former colleagues on Beacon Hill as the new Legislature was sworn in yesterday. Rep. Angelo Scaccia (D-Boston), acting as emcee, warmly received indicted former Speaker Sal DiMasi, who resigned from office after he was charged with public corruption, along with former Speaker Tom Finneran, a convicted felon who is now a radio talk-show host. Scaccia called them “two of the brightest speakers in the history of the commonwealth.” But not everyone was thrilled by their appearance. One freshman lawmaker said the disgraced pols cast a “cloud” over the inauguration as more than 50 new legislators — many of whom promised to combat corruption on Beacon Hill — were sworn in to office. “It was the most disappointing part of the day,” said Ryan Fattman, 26, a Sutton Republican who has been a vocal critic of the abuse of power in the State House. “It would have been appropriate if we had been alleviated from that cloud . . . I noticed a lot of my Republican colleagues (that) I don’t think were thrilled,” he said.

Whole thing here, in the Boston Herald.