Last week our 7 year old came home from school with a letter and a little plastic piggy bank telling us, the parents, she would need to fill the bank up with change and return it no later than December 16th. School fundraising is nothing new, heck it seems like not a week goes by we don't hear about some need for books, field trips, sports equipment etc. This one was different. On the side of the plastic piggy bank, which was in the shape of a building, was the name, in bright red lettering, of our town's library! Yes, the money collected is to go towards the Library Renovation and Expansion Project. Now before you sigh and say it's no big deal I want to point out a few things.
For starters, less than a year ago our town held a special meeting at which extra funds for the library were appropiated to replace an aging oil tank or furnace. I do not recall any discussion about the renovations or requests for funding which I am sure would have been appropiated within reason. Secondly, the letter explained to us an anonymous donor had given the library 2 million dollars towards the project. With that kind of funding, why would there be any need for a couple hundred elementary school kids to collect a few dollars each? Certainly just a few months of interest on those funds would generate many times the amount collected. This is when my conservative mind quickly figured out the real culprit here.
It seems the liberals among us believe projects like this should involve the whole community. They felt the kids would feel like they were part of the project if they helped raise money for it, no matter the amount. This point was made in the letter we received. Yes,the same thinking which gives us the occupy mess is hard at work creating communal thinking children in our schools. This is the same type of thinking put forth in the original Communist Manifesto! Don't believe me? Read the following which is taken right out of it!
1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5.Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State
capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a
common plan.
8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the population over the country.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour
in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.
In other words, everything is owned by everybody as long as you participate in the community. So what about the kids who, for whatever reason, cannot fill their little banks? Are they supposed to now feel guilty about using the library? Are they supposed to feel like they are less a part of the community for failing to contribute? Of course there was no mention of the taxes already paid by the parents which actually do fund the library. In typical liberal fashion there was no thought of the parent's views on the issue either. Who were they to decide for me this was a more worthy cause than replacing laid off police officers or aging fire stations? Who were they to think I for one would go along with one town department collecting money from my child who is sitting in a classroom in another town department also fully funded by my taxes? Yes, this is a small matter on the surface but I would argue it is a very big issue in our society when thinking like this becomes the working normal.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
It's time for an apology Jim!
Recently Jordan Levy interviewd Congressman Jim McGovern (a.k.a. McGivern) and former Marine Captain Matthew Hoh about our involvement in Afghanistan about the need to end that war. I was looking forward to hearing the Congressman since it appears likely he will be my Rep after the re-districting, (A.k.a. The Democrat Party Gerrymandering Project), takes place here in MA. From a distance, in a political sense, I had heard of Jim McGivern and his liberal leanings but to actually hear the vitriol live on the radio was something else.
Jim McGivern wants us out of Afghanistan which is something I agree with him on. It is his rationale and premises for doing so I have big problems with. He told the listening audience over two thousand American soldiers had been killed and over fourteen thousand have been wounded in the ten years of war there. Harsh numbers, no doubt, and reason enough to pay attention. Then, incredibly, Congressman McGivern asked rhetorically how the families of those soldiers feel about their loved ones being sacrificed for nothing. He explained Al-Qaeda is no longer in Afghanistan and he said all wars can now be fought with small units without the need for major deployments. Really? Does the Congressman not understand how the Taliban and Al-Qaeda were brought to their knees? Where does he think the intelligence used by such units to go after the leadership of those groups comes from? Does he not understand how our presence there, on the ground, has leddirectly to those successes? I think the Congressman owes all of the Afghan Veterans and their families an apology for trivializing the sacrifices they made over there or here on the homefront.
Congressman McGivern also complained about the cost of the war which is about one hundred and ten billion dollars a year. While that is a lot of money, McGivern failed to bring up the roughly two and a half trillion dollars the Obama Administration has spent, with McGivern's approval, in the past three plus years. We would have to stay in Afghanistan another twenty six years to even come close to that number! Although I agree with the idea of examining our role in Afghanistan and welcome an honest debate, my fear is the continued rhetoric from McGivern and orhers like him will only get in the way. Congressman McGivern needs to stop using the talking points provided by the DNC, recognize the job well done by the military, and work to bring this war to a satsfying end. He may find a lot of support from his constituents on both sides of the aisle if he does.
Jim McGivern wants us out of Afghanistan which is something I agree with him on. It is his rationale and premises for doing so I have big problems with. He told the listening audience over two thousand American soldiers had been killed and over fourteen thousand have been wounded in the ten years of war there. Harsh numbers, no doubt, and reason enough to pay attention. Then, incredibly, Congressman McGivern asked rhetorically how the families of those soldiers feel about their loved ones being sacrificed for nothing. He explained Al-Qaeda is no longer in Afghanistan and he said all wars can now be fought with small units without the need for major deployments. Really? Does the Congressman not understand how the Taliban and Al-Qaeda were brought to their knees? Where does he think the intelligence used by such units to go after the leadership of those groups comes from? Does he not understand how our presence there, on the ground, has leddirectly to those successes? I think the Congressman owes all of the Afghan Veterans and their families an apology for trivializing the sacrifices they made over there or here on the homefront.
Congressman McGivern also complained about the cost of the war which is about one hundred and ten billion dollars a year. While that is a lot of money, McGivern failed to bring up the roughly two and a half trillion dollars the Obama Administration has spent, with McGivern's approval, in the past three plus years. We would have to stay in Afghanistan another twenty six years to even come close to that number! Although I agree with the idea of examining our role in Afghanistan and welcome an honest debate, my fear is the continued rhetoric from McGivern and orhers like him will only get in the way. Congressman McGivern needs to stop using the talking points provided by the DNC, recognize the job well done by the military, and work to bring this war to a satsfying end. He may find a lot of support from his constituents on both sides of the aisle if he does.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
National Grid
11 Nov 2011, 0931 hrs.
Since I saw the first snowflakes in Leicester MA on Saturday October 29, 2011, 117 hours and 29 minutes have passed. Just shy of 5 full days and still there are tens of thousands of National Grid customers here in Central MA are without power. As bad as that is, the real story must include the well over 1 million customers in 7 different states who are still praying today will be the day their power is restored. This situation is unnacceptable on any level and I welcome the news leaders like Martha Coakley and Senator Brown are going to investigate the poor preperation and response to what amounted to be a severe snowstorm. Nothing more, nothing less. As far as storms go it was much less intense as forecast due to the lack of high winds expected. So why the tremendous headaches?
There seems to be a common theme in disaster response since Hurricane Katrina whereas the agencies and companies responsible for reacting fail to prepare properly or adequately to deal with the situations which arise. In the case of New Orleans it was simple. Money earmarked for levy improvements was spent elsewhere. In the case of this latest Northeast snowstorm, utlities like National Grid failed to maintain clearances between power lines and trees. They have failed miserably to update equipment and also made the poor decision to wait for the
storm to pass before calling in more resources.
To those who wish to defend the actions of those in charge, I want to point out there are people dying now due to the prolonged outages. It cannot be denied and no amount of spin will bring those victims back. This pattern is not new. We saw it with the ice storm of 2008, the tornados of this past Spring, Hurricane Irene and other weather related episodes in the past few years. Something has got to be done to change this culture of not being prepared in the
hopes things won't get too bad. It has not worked!
As for some suggestions, maybe we should hold the executives in charge more accountable for their decisions. Maybe we should also make the utilities pay for the shelters, lost food, overtime public safety pay, gas for the generators, and funeral costs of the victims too. At the least we need to pressure our Pols To hold hearings and not let this matter drop without getting some answers and changes.
Since I saw the first snowflakes in Leicester MA on Saturday October 29, 2011, 117 hours and 29 minutes have passed. Just shy of 5 full days and still there are tens of thousands of National Grid customers here in Central MA are without power. As bad as that is, the real story must include the well over 1 million customers in 7 different states who are still praying today will be the day their power is restored. This situation is unnacceptable on any level and I welcome the news leaders like Martha Coakley and Senator Brown are going to investigate the poor preperation and response to what amounted to be a severe snowstorm. Nothing more, nothing less. As far as storms go it was much less intense as forecast due to the lack of high winds expected. So why the tremendous headaches?
There seems to be a common theme in disaster response since Hurricane Katrina whereas the agencies and companies responsible for reacting fail to prepare properly or adequately to deal with the situations which arise. In the case of New Orleans it was simple. Money earmarked for levy improvements was spent elsewhere. In the case of this latest Northeast snowstorm, utlities like National Grid failed to maintain clearances between power lines and trees. They have failed miserably to update equipment and also made the poor decision to wait for the
storm to pass before calling in more resources.
To those who wish to defend the actions of those in charge, I want to point out there are people dying now due to the prolonged outages. It cannot be denied and no amount of spin will bring those victims back. This pattern is not new. We saw it with the ice storm of 2008, the tornados of this past Spring, Hurricane Irene and other weather related episodes in the past few years. Something has got to be done to change this culture of not being prepared in the
hopes things won't get too bad. It has not worked!
As for some suggestions, maybe we should hold the executives in charge more accountable for their decisions. Maybe we should also make the utilities pay for the shelters, lost food, overtime public safety pay, gas for the generators, and funeral costs of the victims too. At the least we need to pressure our Pols To hold hearings and not let this matter drop without getting some answers and changes.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
We've heard this before.....
Occupy Wall Street! Occupy Boston! Occupy Worcester! Occupy everywhere! That is the battle cry of the useful idiots who have decided to camp outside in city parks to protest. You dare to ask what they are protesting against? Shame on you for asking! Young idealistic naive college students lament the unfairness of low wages and student loan debt while older people decry the Bush Administration and pine for more government regulations. Finally, one month into this debacle, a common theme is starting to emerge as organized labor and radical leftist groups start to take hold of the movement. Basically they want the wealth of those in the private sector taken away by the government and redistributed to those who need it more.
If that sounds familiar to you it should. Marx and Engel were saying the same thing when they published the Communist Manefesto in 1848. You don't believe me? Well here is a copy of the n points as written in that book:
1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5.Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State
capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a
common plan.
8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the population over the country.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour
in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.
Can there really be any doubt what this movement is all about. I thought it was especially interesting to read #2 only to find we already have that type of tax system. We even call it
by the same name! Substitute healthcare in #10 and you have Obamacare. Some of these ideas
like abolishing child labor and providing free public education are good but the underlying
idea is flawed. By giving the government all of the power you give up all liberty. That is
against our American tenants. Accuse any of the protesters of being Communist and they go
ballistic in their denials but isn't that what they are? I think the evidence is clear.
If that sounds familiar to you it should. Marx and Engel were saying the same thing when they published the Communist Manefesto in 1848. You don't believe me? Well here is a copy of the n points as written in that book:
1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5.Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State
capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a
common plan.
8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the population over the country.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour
in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.
Can there really be any doubt what this movement is all about. I thought it was especially interesting to read #2 only to find we already have that type of tax system. We even call it
by the same name! Substitute healthcare in #10 and you have Obamacare. Some of these ideas
like abolishing child labor and providing free public education are good but the underlying
idea is flawed. By giving the government all of the power you give up all liberty. That is
against our American tenants. Accuse any of the protesters of being Communist and they go
ballistic in their denials but isn't that what they are? I think the evidence is clear.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Do we need another elitist representing us? I say no!
Obama economist and highly paid Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren, who is running against Scott Brown for the Senate, released information showing she has raised over 3 and a half million dollars during the third quarter of 2011. Amazing how she was so quick to release that tidbit but failed to make the deadline for releasing her own personal information. According to Boston Herald columnist Holly Robichaud, who appeared on the Jim Polito show on WTAG this morning, Professor Warren has yet to submit her required financial disclosure and has applied for an extension to do so until January 2012. Apparently Warren not only makes over $347,000 from Harvard, she also collects tens of thousands of dollars every year from being a consultant and for special projects. Hardly the type of income most of us live with every day. Given that, I simply ask this. Do you really think Warren could possibly know what it's like to worry about heating costs, gasoline cost, food costs or the impact the higher taxes she is calling for would have on our personal budgets? Warren is just another hypocrite, liberal, elitist, socialist Democrat and I for one think we have enough of them in our government already.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Occupy Wall Street...er Elm Park Worcester?
This coming weekend Elm Park will be invaded by a group of protesters in support of the occupy Wall Street group in NYC. If the model stays true to form, the demonstrators will consist of group of spoiled college students, thug union types, college professors, Communist Party USA representatives, homeless people, gypsies and of course a smattering of liberal Democrat politicians shamelessly looking for some media attention. If you are wondering what they are demonstrating for, I'm sorry but so far none of those interviewed at other locations have been able to answer. Those behind the scenes, like George Soros and others, are not so ignorant. Those types want to collapse our banking system and replace our capitalist economy with a communist one. Think I'm exaggerating? Just listen to "Queen" Elizabeth Warren railing against business owners and Rosanne Barr calling for re-education camps and the return of the guillotine for non compliers. Yes the college kids are naive and harmless. That cannot be said about the folks behind the scene stirring it all up!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Solyndra
It has already been two weeks since the general public became aware of the Solyndra scandal. In that time two of the top executives of the now bankrupt company have invoked the 5th in Congressional hearings, links to high roller political donors and the Obama Campaign have been found and it was learned the $535 Million dollars loans were re-worked so the private investors would be paid first ahead of the taxpayers, illegally I may add since Federal Law is very clear on that issue. Yesterday it was reported the California Democrat Party is listed as one of the creditors. How is that legally possible? Short answer; it's not. Party officials claim they have no idea why the party was listed. My guess is they are shocked no one took the organization off the list before it went public!
So here we have a President handing out half a billion dollars to campaign fundraisers through bogus loans, then his people protect those folks ahead of the taxpayers whose money it is, then some of those funds are diverted to the California Democrat Party to be used to no doubt campaign for more taxpayer funded projects. Not true you say? No proof you say? Well here's what I say to you. Prove my theory is wrong! You see, right now my theory is as plausible as any other, including the one given by the players involved so far, which is "we don't know" or "we're not talking!" Stay tuned, this should be a hoot going forward.
So here we have a President handing out half a billion dollars to campaign fundraisers through bogus loans, then his people protect those folks ahead of the taxpayers whose money it is, then some of those funds are diverted to the California Democrat Party to be used to no doubt campaign for more taxpayer funded projects. Not true you say? No proof you say? Well here's what I say to you. Prove my theory is wrong! You see, right now my theory is as plausible as any other, including the one given by the players involved so far, which is "we don't know" or "we're not talking!" Stay tuned, this should be a hoot going forward.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Worcester County Armed Forces Committee Supper
Many thanks to Congressman McGovern as well as Councilors Joseph Petty and Konnie Lukes for attending the supper held at Holy Cross tonight in honor of the area's Military Members, families and Veterans. As for State Senator Michael Moore and State Representative James O'Day, your presence was also appreciated but by leaving early from an event which ended at a little after 9 pm anyway, it made it appear as if you were there only for the photo opp the event provided. As a veteran, I would rather you just stay home next time if your heart isn't in it.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The Birth Certificate; a final word...
I have purposefully let a few weeks go by before commenting on the release of the President's Official Birth certificate. You know, the one that ABC news and all of the other lame stream media claimed was already released by his campaign over two years ago. They were wrong, and knew it as they reported as fact, over and over again, the certificate of live birth was the same as an official birth certificate. Donald Trump knew the truth and he wasn't going to let the issue drop. When the President did finally release the original birth certificate, he at once validated Trump's assertions and proved the media had been lying to us all along. Well most of the media anyway. So President Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961. Ok, so? Many of the so-called birthers believed that anyway. It was simply the principle of it. As Americans we just hate it when people believe they are above us and entitled to different rules. In reality it may be true, but we cannot stand it just the same.
Now what? Well, if you are a liberal sycophant you just exhaled a huge sigh of relief because deep down you were afraid he really wasn't born in the US. Then you started to denigrate and ridicule anew all of those who asked the President to produce his original birth certificate as kooks and crazies. Establishment Republicans also welcomed the release so that a real debate about Obama's failed policies could begin, or so they said. Truth is most of them were afraid they would be called upon to take action against Obama as an illegal President if he wasn't eligible and none of them would have had the courage to do so. It seems like all of those beltway folks, pols and media alike, could not wait for this issue to just go away, and fast.
So why did the President take so long to release his real birth certificate? Aren't any of you curious, like me, as to that answer? Why take so long to do something the rest of us have to do just to play Little League Baseball? Well, according to some, it took this long to "create" an original official Birth Certificate. http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=295109 Others believe he just didn't want to be forced to release it. How did that work out?
Whatever the reason behind the decision not to release the document sooner, I think it demonstrates once again how inept the administration is. Think about it. For over two years this controversy has festered in and out of the headlines until it finally boiled over and had to be dealt with directly. How could the so-called leader of the free world be played so badly? How could he have been manipulated so easily into back flipping on such a trivial issue? Then again, what if it wasn't such a trivial issue after all? Anyone ever hear of Barry Soetoro?
Now what? Well, if you are a liberal sycophant you just exhaled a huge sigh of relief because deep down you were afraid he really wasn't born in the US. Then you started to denigrate and ridicule anew all of those who asked the President to produce his original birth certificate as kooks and crazies. Establishment Republicans also welcomed the release so that a real debate about Obama's failed policies could begin, or so they said. Truth is most of them were afraid they would be called upon to take action against Obama as an illegal President if he wasn't eligible and none of them would have had the courage to do so. It seems like all of those beltway folks, pols and media alike, could not wait for this issue to just go away, and fast.
So why did the President take so long to release his real birth certificate? Aren't any of you curious, like me, as to that answer? Why take so long to do something the rest of us have to do just to play Little League Baseball? Well, according to some, it took this long to "create" an original official Birth Certificate. http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=295109 Others believe he just didn't want to be forced to release it. How did that work out?
Whatever the reason behind the decision not to release the document sooner, I think it demonstrates once again how inept the administration is. Think about it. For over two years this controversy has festered in and out of the headlines until it finally boiled over and had to be dealt with directly. How could the so-called leader of the free world be played so badly? How could he have been manipulated so easily into back flipping on such a trivial issue? Then again, what if it wasn't such a trivial issue after all? Anyone ever hear of Barry Soetoro?
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Thank You Mr. President
If you've been reading this blog since I started writing it last year, you know I have been very critical of President Obama and his policies. His handling of our economic situation has been nothing if not inept. His tour around the world apologizing for our country and our way of life was embarrassing and uncalled for. His reliance on the UN to authorize our involvement in Lybia instead of going through congress was unconstitutional and may yet prove to be his un-doing. I will continue to be critical of those issues but not today.
Today I want to say "Thank you Mr. President for a job well done."
By getting rid of ubl up close and personal with a seal team instead of by air attack, he allowed us to rejoice in a hard fought victory over evil while at the same time leaving no doubt of his death. To all of those who are finding fault with the President on this issue I beg you to stop and put your ideology aside. Of all the options he had on Sunday morning, the one he chose was not the easiest. No, he did not fly there. No, he did not shoot ubl or come under any fire. None of that matters. In this instance he was the only person who could have allowed this operation to take place. Period. He didn't blow it by worrying about the Pakastanis, who it turns out may have been harboring ubl for years, or by sharing the plan with any of our so called allies. Did he take too much credit when he announced the victory? Probably, but who could blame him for a little gloating. After all, he's been getting beat up a ton lately. Has the decision to show the photographs or not show them dragged on too long. Yes, but that doesn't change the outcome of ubl being dead.
Thank you Mr. President, once again, on the behalf of all Americans, especially those killed on 9-11 like Brian Sweeney from Spencer and all the others, for allowing justice to be brought upon the one man who was most responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people on that fateful day.
Today I want to say "Thank you Mr. President for a job well done."
By getting rid of ubl up close and personal with a seal team instead of by air attack, he allowed us to rejoice in a hard fought victory over evil while at the same time leaving no doubt of his death. To all of those who are finding fault with the President on this issue I beg you to stop and put your ideology aside. Of all the options he had on Sunday morning, the one he chose was not the easiest. No, he did not fly there. No, he did not shoot ubl or come under any fire. None of that matters. In this instance he was the only person who could have allowed this operation to take place. Period. He didn't blow it by worrying about the Pakastanis, who it turns out may have been harboring ubl for years, or by sharing the plan with any of our so called allies. Did he take too much credit when he announced the victory? Probably, but who could blame him for a little gloating. After all, he's been getting beat up a ton lately. Has the decision to show the photographs or not show them dragged on too long. Yes, but that doesn't change the outcome of ubl being dead.
Thank you Mr. President, once again, on the behalf of all Americans, especially those killed on 9-11 like Brian Sweeney from Spencer and all the others, for allowing justice to be brought upon the one man who was most responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people on that fateful day.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Yes, a rant.....
My appointment this morning on Front Street was for 9:00 am. I left my house in Leicester at 8:20 which allowed for any traffic I might encounter. Surprisingly the ride in was smooth and without the usual backups. At 8:47 I turned from Mechanic Street to head into the parking garage there and was met with the dreaded "Garage Full" signs. No problem, continued on and turned right onto Foster Street. There I discovered the old garage being dismantled and limited parking spaces on the right side of the road, all metered. I went around to Franklin Street, turned right and then went onto Front Street. I went around City Hall, back down Franklin Street and then went to the Library parking lot. There I found plenty of spaces but once again they were all metered. After walking back to Front Street I made it to my appointment ten minutes late. So the net time to get to Front Street from Leicester Center was 37 minutes and the net time finding a place to park was 23 minutes.
After finishing up on Front Street I needed to go to City Hall. Because I was late for my appointment, it ended up going over. I was now close to the two hour limit I had put on the parking meter but did not have time to add to it. At City Hall my business ended up being close to 3 hours. When I finally made it back to the Library Lot I had a nice $20.00 present on my windshield. Ok, so that happens when you let it run over.
My complaint is not with the parking ticket enforcement, it is instead with the city for failing to provide enough signs so that people who have business downtown can know where to park. Didn't anyone think the elimination of the parking garage would cause parking issues? I also wonder why city council meetings are filled with trivial issues like banning cigarettes while real issues, like downtown parking, are ignored?
After finishing up on Front Street I needed to go to City Hall. Because I was late for my appointment, it ended up going over. I was now close to the two hour limit I had put on the parking meter but did not have time to add to it. At City Hall my business ended up being close to 3 hours. When I finally made it back to the Library Lot I had a nice $20.00 present on my windshield. Ok, so that happens when you let it run over.
My complaint is not with the parking ticket enforcement, it is instead with the city for failing to provide enough signs so that people who have business downtown can know where to park. Didn't anyone think the elimination of the parking garage would cause parking issues? I also wonder why city council meetings are filled with trivial issues like banning cigarettes while real issues, like downtown parking, are ignored?
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Obama's Communist Manifesto
As the President makes his remarks this afternoon on his budget proposal, I am reminded of the old scenes of Soviet Union Leaders giving speeches to their people on how free they are while the members of the Poliburo sit on the balcony overlooking Red Square.
In this speech so far he has used China as an example of a country where so many companies go to be in business. No mention of the oppressive Communist Regime there that lets companies get away with criminally low wages amid horrible working conditions. Where are all the liberals screaming at him for supporting those human rights violations?
He is calling out the wealthy of America for not doing enough to pay their fair share and intends to tax them even higher. Wonder why he didn't mention his friends at GE who paid zero taxes on billions of dollars in profit? No mention either of the thousands of waivers he has given to unions, huge companies and select individuals from having to abide by his coveted health care law. Just like the communists of old who allowed corruption to exist as long as they got their peice of the pie.
President Obama claims to have a plan to reduce the Federal deficit by 4 trillion dollars in 12 years. Huh? That would still leave a deficit of over 10 trillion dollars at the current levels. Wondering why he didn't mention the trillions of dollars of debt he and his party has incurred in just over 2 years? Those are inconvenient facts I guess. Just to remind those of you who forgot, the last Bush yearly deficit was just over 462 billion dollars. Not good, but compared to the current 1.6 trillion dollar deficit, it looks much better.
He is almost done and still hasn't mentioned how the 787 billion dollar stimulus package didn't work or how much of that allocated money is still unspent. No mention of the billions being spent on the War in Libya either. Just like a good commie Soviet Leader of old he is telling us how wonderful we are and how great our system is while he continues to apologize for us around the world and continues on a path of destroying our way of life.
By asking for more taxes to solve the spending problem and the huge debt, he is throwing in the towel and coming as close as I think he is capable of to admitting defeat. He looks more incompetent today than he ever has. Unfortunatley for him we do have freedom and the lamestream media is not our only source of information so his lies cannot be hidden. This President has spent more in two years than any other, period. We cannot recover until that spending stops. It doesn't sound like he is going to. If he wins another 4 years, God help us all!
In this speech so far he has used China as an example of a country where so many companies go to be in business. No mention of the oppressive Communist Regime there that lets companies get away with criminally low wages amid horrible working conditions. Where are all the liberals screaming at him for supporting those human rights violations?
He is calling out the wealthy of America for not doing enough to pay their fair share and intends to tax them even higher. Wonder why he didn't mention his friends at GE who paid zero taxes on billions of dollars in profit? No mention either of the thousands of waivers he has given to unions, huge companies and select individuals from having to abide by his coveted health care law. Just like the communists of old who allowed corruption to exist as long as they got their peice of the pie.
President Obama claims to have a plan to reduce the Federal deficit by 4 trillion dollars in 12 years. Huh? That would still leave a deficit of over 10 trillion dollars at the current levels. Wondering why he didn't mention the trillions of dollars of debt he and his party has incurred in just over 2 years? Those are inconvenient facts I guess. Just to remind those of you who forgot, the last Bush yearly deficit was just over 462 billion dollars. Not good, but compared to the current 1.6 trillion dollar deficit, it looks much better.
He is almost done and still hasn't mentioned how the 787 billion dollar stimulus package didn't work or how much of that allocated money is still unspent. No mention of the billions being spent on the War in Libya either. Just like a good commie Soviet Leader of old he is telling us how wonderful we are and how great our system is while he continues to apologize for us around the world and continues on a path of destroying our way of life.
By asking for more taxes to solve the spending problem and the huge debt, he is throwing in the towel and coming as close as I think he is capable of to admitting defeat. He looks more incompetent today than he ever has. Unfortunatley for him we do have freedom and the lamestream media is not our only source of information so his lies cannot be hidden. This President has spent more in two years than any other, period. We cannot recover until that spending stops. It doesn't sound like he is going to. If he wins another 4 years, God help us all!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Who are they kidding?
Well it looks like the Federal Government is probably going to shut down Friday because the Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on how much to cut the deficits this year. It sounds like politics as usual until you look a little deeper into the issues. Democrats are almost shrill in their characterization of the proposed Republican cuts as "extreme" and sure to be "deadly" to children and old people. Mainstream Republicans like Boehner and, I am sad to admit, Scott Brown are trying to "compromise" and settle for cuts that are less drastic and which will have a better chance of passing. So what are the numbers being talked about? Well for starters the Republicans wanted to cut 100 Billion off of this year's budget. Dems countered with spending increases. At this time they are about 7 Billion dollars apart at Dems 30 Billion and Republicans 37 Billion. Are they kidding? Really? Folks, the deficit this year alone is 1.6 Trillion Dollars! Does anyone know what those numbers mean?
I called into Jordan's show yesterday and explained it like this. If the debt was actually $160.00 the amounts the politicians are fighting over would be $3.00 and $3.70 respectively! I'm not kidding. When the Dems were calling the 100 Billion dollar cut off the 1.6 Trillion dollar deficit extreme, they were in effect talking about $10.00 off of $160.00. Is that extreme? Is that going to cause old people and children to die? Not hardly.
So where is the lamestream media in all this? Why can't we have some honesty in the reporting of this? Until people wake up to the facts of this stuff nothing is ever going to get better. If we can't get the two sides to save even $10.00 off of $160.00 then there is no hope of ever getting our country back. Now there are going to Social Security recipients who won't get their checks because the Democrats refuse to cut any amount from their drunkin spending spree over the past two years. Oh yeah, plenty of liberals will scream it's the Republicans fault but who are they kidding. The numbers don't lie! Just remember what the amounts are they are talking about really mean and you will see clearly who is at fault. No amount of hype and fear mongering will change that fact.
I called into Jordan's show yesterday and explained it like this. If the debt was actually $160.00 the amounts the politicians are fighting over would be $3.00 and $3.70 respectively! I'm not kidding. When the Dems were calling the 100 Billion dollar cut off the 1.6 Trillion dollar deficit extreme, they were in effect talking about $10.00 off of $160.00. Is that extreme? Is that going to cause old people and children to die? Not hardly.
So where is the lamestream media in all this? Why can't we have some honesty in the reporting of this? Until people wake up to the facts of this stuff nothing is ever going to get better. If we can't get the two sides to save even $10.00 off of $160.00 then there is no hope of ever getting our country back. Now there are going to Social Security recipients who won't get their checks because the Democrats refuse to cut any amount from their drunkin spending spree over the past two years. Oh yeah, plenty of liberals will scream it's the Republicans fault but who are they kidding. The numbers don't lie! Just remember what the amounts are they are talking about really mean and you will see clearly who is at fault. No amount of hype and fear mongering will change that fact.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Weekly Obama Moments
After watching our President and his administration spin all kinds of tall tales or half truths recently I started to wonder if they really think we are that stupid. I guess that's the only answer as to why they continue to misrepresent things and then outrageously lie about it with straight faces. Otherwise they are crazy and really belief the, uh, septic waste they are selling to us. In response I have decided to create a weekly post of what I call Obama moments. This weeks entries, and there were so many candidates, are as follows.
1. In his speech about our actions in Libya on Monday the President explained why there would be no US boots on the ground. He referenced Iraq and at one point said, " But regime change there took eight years, thousands of American and Iraqi lives, and nearly a trillion dollars." Uh, sorry Mr. President but that is absolutely not true. In actuality the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and his Baathist party took just 22 days. That's right; the invasion of Iraq started on March 19, 2003 and Bagdhad fell on April 9th of that year. It was not the regime change that took so long, it was the establishment of a working democratic government and by all accounts that lofty goal has been accomplished. Other examples should be noted too. After WWII Japan did not reach its current political structure until 1955, ten years after the end of the war. Germany after WWII was similar and it took a heroic effort by the allies to rebuild that country into the freedom loving democracy it is today.
2. In his speech on energy Wednesday the President proposed a very ambitous goal of reducing our daily import of barrels of oil by one third within ten years when he said, "So today, I’m setting a new goal: one that is reasonable, achievable, and necessary. When I was elected to this office, America imported 11 million barrels of oil a day. By a little more than a decade from now, we will have cut that by one-third." That was cute Mr. President. I immediately asked myself why he referenced the barrels of oil per day from November 2008 instead of a more recent date, like last Friday for instance. The answer is simple folks. After more than two years of a deep recession our import of oil has dropped to around 9.7 million barrels a day. Even if he does nothing the President is already well on the way to his goal. The goal itself is laughable though when you figure that as our economy heats up use of oil will increase. Where does the President think we are going to get the extra oil if we don't import it. That leads me to the next moment.
3. In the same speech the President touted how his administration has been so supportive of domestic off shore drilling when he said, "Today, we’re working to expedite new drilling permits for companies that meet these standards. Since they were put in place, we’ve approved 39 new shallow water permits; and we’ve approved an additional 7 deepwater permits in recent weeks. When it comes to drilling onshore, my Administration approved more than two permits last year for every new well that the industry started to drill." What the President didn't say was only four permits have been "issued" since his unnecesary ban last year and those only after a federal judge declared the Administration was in contempt for not doing it earlier. He also failed to mention that one of those permits was to a Brazillian company who will now "export" any oil they drill off our shores back to us for a profit. This while American comapnies are still being denied the same opportunity. By some estimates this President's policies are costing the US about 220,000 barrels of oil a day and around 19,000 American jobs. Who is he kidding? As far as on shore drilling permits, which is what he referenced in the speech, those are usually given to open a new well on the same oil field. If this guy was a salesman we would be suing him for false advertising!
4. In the Monday speech President Obama said about our role in the Libyan conflict, "In that effort, the United States will play a supporting role — including intelligence, logistical support, search and rescue assistance, and capabilities to jam regime communications. Because of this transition to a broader, NATO-based coalition, the risk and cost of this operation — to our military and to American taxpayers — will be reduced significantly." A few short minutes later he said this, "To brush aside America's responsibility as a leader and — more profoundly — our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are. Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as President, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action." How can we be the leader Mr. President if we are committed to being in a "supporting" role? Does he even read these speeches before he delivers them?
There were many other Obama moments this past week and if you think one of them should have been included, let me know or better yet, blog about it. Have a great weekend.
1. In his speech about our actions in Libya on Monday the President explained why there would be no US boots on the ground. He referenced Iraq and at one point said, " But regime change there took eight years, thousands of American and Iraqi lives, and nearly a trillion dollars." Uh, sorry Mr. President but that is absolutely not true. In actuality the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and his Baathist party took just 22 days. That's right; the invasion of Iraq started on March 19, 2003 and Bagdhad fell on April 9th of that year. It was not the regime change that took so long, it was the establishment of a working democratic government and by all accounts that lofty goal has been accomplished. Other examples should be noted too. After WWII Japan did not reach its current political structure until 1955, ten years after the end of the war. Germany after WWII was similar and it took a heroic effort by the allies to rebuild that country into the freedom loving democracy it is today.
2. In his speech on energy Wednesday the President proposed a very ambitous goal of reducing our daily import of barrels of oil by one third within ten years when he said, "So today, I’m setting a new goal: one that is reasonable, achievable, and necessary. When I was elected to this office, America imported 11 million barrels of oil a day. By a little more than a decade from now, we will have cut that by one-third." That was cute Mr. President. I immediately asked myself why he referenced the barrels of oil per day from November 2008 instead of a more recent date, like last Friday for instance. The answer is simple folks. After more than two years of a deep recession our import of oil has dropped to around 9.7 million barrels a day. Even if he does nothing the President is already well on the way to his goal. The goal itself is laughable though when you figure that as our economy heats up use of oil will increase. Where does the President think we are going to get the extra oil if we don't import it. That leads me to the next moment.
3. In the same speech the President touted how his administration has been so supportive of domestic off shore drilling when he said, "Today, we’re working to expedite new drilling permits for companies that meet these standards. Since they were put in place, we’ve approved 39 new shallow water permits; and we’ve approved an additional 7 deepwater permits in recent weeks. When it comes to drilling onshore, my Administration approved more than two permits last year for every new well that the industry started to drill." What the President didn't say was only four permits have been "issued" since his unnecesary ban last year and those only after a federal judge declared the Administration was in contempt for not doing it earlier. He also failed to mention that one of those permits was to a Brazillian company who will now "export" any oil they drill off our shores back to us for a profit. This while American comapnies are still being denied the same opportunity. By some estimates this President's policies are costing the US about 220,000 barrels of oil a day and around 19,000 American jobs. Who is he kidding? As far as on shore drilling permits, which is what he referenced in the speech, those are usually given to open a new well on the same oil field. If this guy was a salesman we would be suing him for false advertising!
4. In the Monday speech President Obama said about our role in the Libyan conflict, "In that effort, the United States will play a supporting role — including intelligence, logistical support, search and rescue assistance, and capabilities to jam regime communications. Because of this transition to a broader, NATO-based coalition, the risk and cost of this operation — to our military and to American taxpayers — will be reduced significantly." A few short minutes later he said this, "To brush aside America's responsibility as a leader and — more profoundly — our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are. Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as President, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action." How can we be the leader Mr. President if we are committed to being in a "supporting" role? Does he even read these speeches before he delivers them?
There were many other Obama moments this past week and if you think one of them should have been included, let me know or better yet, blog about it. Have a great weekend.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Whaaaat???
Did I just hear that right? Two minutes ago on the Jordan Levy Show (WTAG 580) I could swear I heard Worcester Mayor Joe O'Brien say that we need to support Representative James O'Day's bill to raise the state income tax and the capital gains taxes. If you live in Millbury, Leicester, Sturbridge or even East Brookfield and you don't think what happens in Worcester is relevant you need to think again. If you think your protests over higher taxes are going to be heard in Boston, think again. If the city governments across the state buy into this idea and then promote it like Mayor O'Brien is doing right now it will happen. When I blogged about this issue last month I was told by so many liberals and, unfortunately, independents I was being alarmist and over reacting to something that not going to happen in this political environment. They were wrong and if we don't scream loud and long about this, our taxes will go up, a lot, and for no other reason than to prop up the status quo like $100,000 per year parking attendants and floor sweepers! If you are angry about how our governement is behaving, do something now before it's too late. Make phone calls, write letters, talk with your friends and neighbors! Don't put it off! It will be too late then.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Red Cross
Tonight I was watching the news when I heard about the great job the Red Cross is doing in Japan. I also saw some new video of the tsunami that was very sobering. I then remembered how the Red Cross had helped me and decided this was a good time to say thanks.
Seven years ago today I awoke at 5 am to the most horrible nightmare imaginable. Our house was on fire. Thankfully everyone survived without any injuries although we did lose one cat. Still, we lost everything we owned and did not even have any shoes on our feet. Soon our neighbors were there with shoes, hot coffee, warm kitchens and comforting ears. After awhile I went back to our front yard and I remember standing there looking at the black shell that had been a home and wondering what next. With the arrival of the American Red Cross disaster van some of those questions were answered.
A voucher was provided so that we could go and buy enough clothes to wear for a couple days. We were given information on agencies that were available to assist us. They made sure we had a place to stay (We did.) and were told if not they would arrange for some type of housing. I don't remember how long they were there but I know it was more than a couple hours.
So who were the Red Cross volunteers that day? Sadly I don't know their names but I do know this. They were local residents like you and me who were awoken early on a Sunday morning to come to someone else's aid. Not for money, not for public recognition, not for anything other than a deep sense of wanting to help people in need.
As an adult I have given to charities like the United Way and heard about some of the groups they help, like the Red Cross, but never really thought about what the money was used for. On that cold March morning I saw first hand where some of it went.
Although I cannot personally thank the volunteers from that day I can say thank you to the Red Cross for being there when I needed them. I have never worked for the Red Cross and I don't know anyone who does but I do know the sacrifices the volunteers make every time they are called out. If you can, I am asking that you support the Red Cross so they can continue to be there for people in need whether its on your own street or in Japan, thanks.
Seven years ago today I awoke at 5 am to the most horrible nightmare imaginable. Our house was on fire. Thankfully everyone survived without any injuries although we did lose one cat. Still, we lost everything we owned and did not even have any shoes on our feet. Soon our neighbors were there with shoes, hot coffee, warm kitchens and comforting ears. After awhile I went back to our front yard and I remember standing there looking at the black shell that had been a home and wondering what next. With the arrival of the American Red Cross disaster van some of those questions were answered.
A voucher was provided so that we could go and buy enough clothes to wear for a couple days. We were given information on agencies that were available to assist us. They made sure we had a place to stay (We did.) and were told if not they would arrange for some type of housing. I don't remember how long they were there but I know it was more than a couple hours.
So who were the Red Cross volunteers that day? Sadly I don't know their names but I do know this. They were local residents like you and me who were awoken early on a Sunday morning to come to someone else's aid. Not for money, not for public recognition, not for anything other than a deep sense of wanting to help people in need.
As an adult I have given to charities like the United Way and heard about some of the groups they help, like the Red Cross, but never really thought about what the money was used for. On that cold March morning I saw first hand where some of it went.
Although I cannot personally thank the volunteers from that day I can say thank you to the Red Cross for being there when I needed them. I have never worked for the Red Cross and I don't know anyone who does but I do know the sacrifices the volunteers make every time they are called out. If you can, I am asking that you support the Red Cross so they can continue to be there for people in need whether its on your own street or in Japan, thanks.
Thank you Donald Trump!
No matter what you think of Donald Trump, if you follow politics you've got to love him for his latest stand on President Obama's birth certificate, or lack there of. By raising this controversial issue to such a level that every network is commenting on it and taking the usual sides, Trump is accomplishing in two weeks what some lawyers and pundits have been unable to do in two plus years. He is forcing the political establishment to be held accountable and to come clean as to what this business is really all about.
First off let me say that I do not believe that President Obama is ineligible to be President but that statement is just as crazy as someone saying he is. Since he has refused to release his original birth certificate there is just no way to know which statement is true. On the left there is a frenzy of vitriole alleging that anyone who asks the question is either stupid or racist. There are irrational thoughts such as the one expressed by Whoopi Golderg in which she says "...if he's the President he is is a citizen, period." What? By that logic, if a foriegn born national is somehow elected President of the US then that person is automatically eligible. That is just plain dumb.
On the right some of the language is just as bad. Whenever I hear a right wing pundit swear that the only reason the birth certificate isn't being released is because Obama is absolutely not a citizen, I cringe. That type of rhetoric helps to cloud the issue, which to my mind is the release of the original birth certificate. I can think of several other reasons why the President would not want it released such as personal information or who his parents really are. I'm not saying I believe these things but the questions are out there.
So why should it be released? I thought it would be fun to first list just a few of the things that require a certified copy of an original birth certificate. This list is off the top of my head as I sit here writing this so here goes:
To play Little League baseball you need a certified birth certificate.
To get a driver's license you need a certified birth certificate.
To join the military you need a certified birth certificate.
To play Pop Warner football you need a certified birth certificate.
To get government benefits you need a certified birth certificate.
To get a social security card you need a certified birth certificate.
To run for many state offices, including state senate in Illinois, you need a certified birth certificate.
etc. etc.etc.
The one thing all of those things have in common? None of them legally require that you be a natural born citizen of the US! That requirement is reserved for being elected to the highest office of the land. Our forefathers were not stupid men. They simply wanted to ensure that the president was not susceptible to foreign influence. Pretty straightforward stuff. So why has this issue lingered? It is very simple. President Obama has not only refused to release his original birth certificate, he has spent over a million dollars to keep it hidden. It's not just his birth certificate either. Where are the college transcripts? Where are the high school documents? We know less about our president than we do about little league coaches who must pass a background check prior to coaching. Do any of you think you can get hired to any job without disclosing a ton of personal information about yourself ? Yet we blindly accept this man as the leader of the free world on his word and the word of loyalists around him that he is a absolutely eligible for the job and a good guy. But how do we really know that? These are some of the questions now being asked by Trump. Is he stupid? Uh, no! Is he racist? There is nothing in the record to indicate that but I guess it's possible. That wouldn't change the questions though, would it?
I know this blog will bring out the usual criticism about how he has released his original birth certificate, or how it's racist to ask questions about it, or it doesn't really matter because he got elected, etc. etc. To each of those there are very rational detailed answers. Unfortunately the so called mainstream media on both the left and the right refuse to properly investigate this story because it would expose their utter incompetence as news gatherers. Up until now they have been able to characterize anyone who asked the questions as being part of the fringe and not relevant. With Trump now asking the same questions, that is not going to work.
On one point the critics are correct. In the end none of this matter for the 2008 election. Even if he was not eligible, noone is going to impeach him over it. 2012 will be a different matter. Just because someone is already President, the rules for being elected do not change. He will have to once again prove that he is eligible to hold the office. If he refuses to produce a valid, original signed certified birth certificate this time around he may find himself left off many state ballots where the Tea Party has the power to demand it. That is the law of our land. If he doesn't release the original he will also have to rely on all the other candidates ignoring the issue and just letting it drop. With Trump as a candidate, that won't happen this time around either. So thank you Donald Trump for at least ensuring the upcoming election will be as interesting and entertaining as ever. Either Obama won't be able to produce the necessary proof or he will bring it forward in a dramatic event that will slam his critics and make them look like the crazies they are being made out to be.
One more thing. To those of you who think the pursuit of this story is crazy because a scandal like this could never happen, I would remind you the same things were said to Bernstien and Woodward about the Watergate story.
First off let me say that I do not believe that President Obama is ineligible to be President but that statement is just as crazy as someone saying he is. Since he has refused to release his original birth certificate there is just no way to know which statement is true. On the left there is a frenzy of vitriole alleging that anyone who asks the question is either stupid or racist. There are irrational thoughts such as the one expressed by Whoopi Golderg in which she says "...if he's the President he is is a citizen, period." What? By that logic, if a foriegn born national is somehow elected President of the US then that person is automatically eligible. That is just plain dumb.
On the right some of the language is just as bad. Whenever I hear a right wing pundit swear that the only reason the birth certificate isn't being released is because Obama is absolutely not a citizen, I cringe. That type of rhetoric helps to cloud the issue, which to my mind is the release of the original birth certificate. I can think of several other reasons why the President would not want it released such as personal information or who his parents really are. I'm not saying I believe these things but the questions are out there.
So why should it be released? I thought it would be fun to first list just a few of the things that require a certified copy of an original birth certificate. This list is off the top of my head as I sit here writing this so here goes:
To play Little League baseball you need a certified birth certificate.
To get a driver's license you need a certified birth certificate.
To join the military you need a certified birth certificate.
To play Pop Warner football you need a certified birth certificate.
To get government benefits you need a certified birth certificate.
To get a social security card you need a certified birth certificate.
To run for many state offices, including state senate in Illinois, you need a certified birth certificate.
etc. etc.etc.
The one thing all of those things have in common? None of them legally require that you be a natural born citizen of the US! That requirement is reserved for being elected to the highest office of the land. Our forefathers were not stupid men. They simply wanted to ensure that the president was not susceptible to foreign influence. Pretty straightforward stuff. So why has this issue lingered? It is very simple. President Obama has not only refused to release his original birth certificate, he has spent over a million dollars to keep it hidden. It's not just his birth certificate either. Where are the college transcripts? Where are the high school documents? We know less about our president than we do about little league coaches who must pass a background check prior to coaching. Do any of you think you can get hired to any job without disclosing a ton of personal information about yourself ? Yet we blindly accept this man as the leader of the free world on his word and the word of loyalists around him that he is a absolutely eligible for the job and a good guy. But how do we really know that? These are some of the questions now being asked by Trump. Is he stupid? Uh, no! Is he racist? There is nothing in the record to indicate that but I guess it's possible. That wouldn't change the questions though, would it?
I know this blog will bring out the usual criticism about how he has released his original birth certificate, or how it's racist to ask questions about it, or it doesn't really matter because he got elected, etc. etc. To each of those there are very rational detailed answers. Unfortunately the so called mainstream media on both the left and the right refuse to properly investigate this story because it would expose their utter incompetence as news gatherers. Up until now they have been able to characterize anyone who asked the questions as being part of the fringe and not relevant. With Trump now asking the same questions, that is not going to work.
On one point the critics are correct. In the end none of this matter for the 2008 election. Even if he was not eligible, noone is going to impeach him over it. 2012 will be a different matter. Just because someone is already President, the rules for being elected do not change. He will have to once again prove that he is eligible to hold the office. If he refuses to produce a valid, original signed certified birth certificate this time around he may find himself left off many state ballots where the Tea Party has the power to demand it. That is the law of our land. If he doesn't release the original he will also have to rely on all the other candidates ignoring the issue and just letting it drop. With Trump as a candidate, that won't happen this time around either. So thank you Donald Trump for at least ensuring the upcoming election will be as interesting and entertaining as ever. Either Obama won't be able to produce the necessary proof or he will bring it forward in a dramatic event that will slam his critics and make them look like the crazies they are being made out to be.
One more thing. To those of you who think the pursuit of this story is crazy because a scandal like this could never happen, I would remind you the same things were said to Bernstien and Woodward about the Watergate story.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Spin, Spin, Spin
What has long been suspected became official this week when the census numbers for Massachusetts were released. Large numbers of middle class folks are leaving the cities and being replaced by folks who do not have the same income opportunities. Many of those middle class families are not stopping at the state line either, they are simply leaving this whole mess behind. As desirable as that solution may be I am more inclined to stay and fight the good fight against those who want to undermine our society, namely the progressive, socialist liberals masquerading as caring, responsible leaders.
So how are the Democrats responding? Gleefully! Cheerily! Their progressive policies are finally bearing fruit for their party.
Worcester Mayor Joe O'Brien is a prime example of one of these politicians. His campaign to bring all of the world's refugees to Worcester is enjoying great success. He is also advocating for more low income housing and for more benefits for those in need who live in the city, or anywhere else. That is where the problem really lies. Unfortunately he is not advocating for helping those same people to assimilate into our society. I know it sounds cynical but I cannot help but think he is instead just looking at each of those people as a vote for him and his party going forward. I don't blame the recipients either. If I were poor and lived someplace else, I would look to go where the most benefits can be had for my family. That is human nature. Politicians like Joe O'Brien denegrate those of us who raise these issues as racists and mean. I contend that his approach to governing is worse for those involved.
When my ancestors came here from Canada and Italy they had to fit in to the American Society, not the other way around. English needed to be learned quickly and well. Dems continually enact laws to get in the way of that process. While Democrats like to throw out words like racist and mean they ignore another human trait. We like to be able to communicate with each other. It is not racist, it's life. They never talk about how hard it is for small businesses to hire people who don't know English, but it is a real concern. This is not a racist view. There are laws on our books that require we be able to read English to get a driver's license. By not encouraging full immersion into English and our culture, it makes it harder for the newcomers to find jobs and succeed. That not mean, it's realistic.
So what about the middle class? Why are they leaving? Well, the city and state has raised fees and taxes continually for decades. School systems across the state are suffering under the weight of more students with less resources. Police, Fire, DPW, and all other departments suffer too. Bring more people in who cannot conribute as much as those leaving and you have a recipe for disaster. Thousands of restrictive laws and regulations make it difficult for businesses to succeed too, especially small businesses. If we do not stop these progressive policies, our cities will be doomed and our state will continue to lose its voice in Washington. Working class families know these things instinctively and that is why they are so afraid of the future. Right now, at this time, there is just not enough hope for a better Massachusetts anytime soon. Heck, even our Governor can't stand to be here for more than a few days at a time. No matter how the Democrats spin this news, it is not good and needs to be addressed at the ballot box. Their approach for the past fifty years has not worked. It's time to change course.
So how are the Democrats responding? Gleefully! Cheerily! Their progressive policies are finally bearing fruit for their party.
Worcester Mayor Joe O'Brien is a prime example of one of these politicians. His campaign to bring all of the world's refugees to Worcester is enjoying great success. He is also advocating for more low income housing and for more benefits for those in need who live in the city, or anywhere else. That is where the problem really lies. Unfortunately he is not advocating for helping those same people to assimilate into our society. I know it sounds cynical but I cannot help but think he is instead just looking at each of those people as a vote for him and his party going forward. I don't blame the recipients either. If I were poor and lived someplace else, I would look to go where the most benefits can be had for my family. That is human nature. Politicians like Joe O'Brien denegrate those of us who raise these issues as racists and mean. I contend that his approach to governing is worse for those involved.
When my ancestors came here from Canada and Italy they had to fit in to the American Society, not the other way around. English needed to be learned quickly and well. Dems continually enact laws to get in the way of that process. While Democrats like to throw out words like racist and mean they ignore another human trait. We like to be able to communicate with each other. It is not racist, it's life. They never talk about how hard it is for small businesses to hire people who don't know English, but it is a real concern. This is not a racist view. There are laws on our books that require we be able to read English to get a driver's license. By not encouraging full immersion into English and our culture, it makes it harder for the newcomers to find jobs and succeed. That not mean, it's realistic.
So what about the middle class? Why are they leaving? Well, the city and state has raised fees and taxes continually for decades. School systems across the state are suffering under the weight of more students with less resources. Police, Fire, DPW, and all other departments suffer too. Bring more people in who cannot conribute as much as those leaving and you have a recipe for disaster. Thousands of restrictive laws and regulations make it difficult for businesses to succeed too, especially small businesses. If we do not stop these progressive policies, our cities will be doomed and our state will continue to lose its voice in Washington. Working class families know these things instinctively and that is why they are so afraid of the future. Right now, at this time, there is just not enough hope for a better Massachusetts anytime soon. Heck, even our Governor can't stand to be here for more than a few days at a time. No matter how the Democrats spin this news, it is not good and needs to be addressed at the ballot box. Their approach for the past fifty years has not worked. It's time to change course.
Fiasco underway with Libya
After weeks of imitating John Kerry by waffling on the Libya situation President Obama finally gets tough and acts. Well sort of. Apparently he has ordered those in his administration to not use the word war when describing the military operation now under way. He also failed to tell us, the American People, what the objectives of the military campaign are and what our role will be as part of a loosely held international coalition. Since the attacks on Libya began there have been public squabbles among the so called allies about what the goals are or even who is in charge. Obama insists that NATO will be taking over the operation but in fine liberal academia fashion, there will be a steering committee set up to make operational decisions. Even the lowest private in the Army can see how disastrous that approach will be in any situation like this. Can you imagine how that might go for the troops involved? Think about it. Just a couple of days ago one of our planes went down and both of the pilots had to eject. Our Navy and Marines quickly reacted and both crew members were safely brought back. Now fast forward a couple of weeks and the same situation arises. Before any rescue is launched permission would have to be granted by the NATO steering committee. By the time members are assembled and a consensus is agreed upon as to what assets to use, how to do it, and which member countries would be involved, those same crew members would most likely become casualties.
When Obama was campaigning to become President these are the situations his opponents pointed to. They worried he just did not have the experience or world view needed to lead our country. Kenya? No problem. The US, no way! When we do not lead in this world, there is no leadership. I hope the President learns this at some point before it is too late for all our sakes.
When Obama was campaigning to become President these are the situations his opponents pointed to. They worried he just did not have the experience or world view needed to lead our country. Kenya? No problem. The US, no way! When we do not lead in this world, there is no leadership. I hope the President learns this at some point before it is too late for all our sakes.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Dem Lobbies for Higher Taxes
Yesterday, I was listening to the Jordan Levy Show, when he announced Representative James O'Day, D-West Boylston, would be a guest in the five o'clock hour to respond to the harsh criticism he has been receiving for his recent tax hike proposals. I immediately made a mental note to make sure I was able to hear the interview in anticipation of hearing him explain how he was taken out of context, misunderstood or at the least respond to legitimate questions raised by opponents of his approach to solving the state's budget crisis.
Instead Rep. O'Day opined about the need for discussions about finding new revenue for the state so the neediest among us would not suffer. I really could not believe I was hearing him say the same things I had blogged about a few days ago. There was no backing down, no shame, and there were no other solutions presented by him. He could not think of one single thing other than raising taxes by 20% on most of us, that could help to solve the fiscal crisis. Rep. O'Day said a few other things like telling the audience he has heard people tell him directly that our taxes are too low. What? If I had been watching TV I would have hit the rewind button on that one just to make sure I heard him right. After the interview Jordan brought it up with Mike Mussina so I know I did. I may be just one person but I have never heard anyone in this state complain about the low taxes.
Rep. O'Day also explained how people making over $32,000 per year would be the ones with tax decreases. Really? Apparently Rep. O'Day doesn't understand that most of the people in that category are already exempted from most state taxes anyway. He also failed to point out how married folks would be paying an even higher price. Rep. O'Day explained how people making $60,000 to $70,000 per year could afford the new hikes. Well, if you have two married people each making $30,000 per year and combine their income, voila! You get to the magical $60,000. If that same couple has children can you imagine the econmic effect his proposals will really have? Apparently Rep. O'Day cannot.
Since Rep. O'Day cannot think of any ideas beyond raising taxes to help the state budget, I thought I would offer a few suggestions here. How about eliminating state pensions and have all the state workers go into Social Security like the rest of us. How about doing what Wisconsin has done and take away the ability of unions like the Teamsters to hold our legislature hostage and then turn around and pay parking attendants and floor sweepers over $100,000 per year at places like Logan Airport and the Hynes Convention Center. How about cutting taxes for businesses like then Governor Dukakis did in the early eighties. Those cuts brought such businesses as Digital and Wang to our state which ignited one of the biggest econmic growth periods in our history. How about going through each state agency and eliminating redundant positions or services? How about eliminating the Mass Turnpike authority? How about getting more of our fair share from the federal government stimulus funds, 70% of which have not been spent. Currently Massachusetts has received less than 1% of the total of those funds. These are just a few ideas that should be discussed long before we hear about new higher taxes.
Unfortunatley Rep.O'Day is typical of the tax and spend liberals who populate the halls and offices of our statehouse. Although most of the legislators are publicly saying they are not in favor of Rep. O'Day's proposals, there is no doubt in my mind they would like nothing better than to continue the status quo by raising taxes and fees. There is also no doubt that at some point in the near future we are going to hear about modest increases from other Represenatives which compared to Rep. O'Day's proposal will look much better. They will still be tax increases but the politicians like Rep. O'Day will couch them as something else. There is only one way to change this horrible tax and spend game. Change the players!
Instead Rep. O'Day opined about the need for discussions about finding new revenue for the state so the neediest among us would not suffer. I really could not believe I was hearing him say the same things I had blogged about a few days ago. There was no backing down, no shame, and there were no other solutions presented by him. He could not think of one single thing other than raising taxes by 20% on most of us, that could help to solve the fiscal crisis. Rep. O'Day said a few other things like telling the audience he has heard people tell him directly that our taxes are too low. What? If I had been watching TV I would have hit the rewind button on that one just to make sure I heard him right. After the interview Jordan brought it up with Mike Mussina so I know I did. I may be just one person but I have never heard anyone in this state complain about the low taxes.
Rep. O'Day also explained how people making over $32,000 per year would be the ones with tax decreases. Really? Apparently Rep. O'Day doesn't understand that most of the people in that category are already exempted from most state taxes anyway. He also failed to point out how married folks would be paying an even higher price. Rep. O'Day explained how people making $60,000 to $70,000 per year could afford the new hikes. Well, if you have two married people each making $30,000 per year and combine their income, voila! You get to the magical $60,000. If that same couple has children can you imagine the econmic effect his proposals will really have? Apparently Rep. O'Day cannot.
Since Rep. O'Day cannot think of any ideas beyond raising taxes to help the state budget, I thought I would offer a few suggestions here. How about eliminating state pensions and have all the state workers go into Social Security like the rest of us. How about doing what Wisconsin has done and take away the ability of unions like the Teamsters to hold our legislature hostage and then turn around and pay parking attendants and floor sweepers over $100,000 per year at places like Logan Airport and the Hynes Convention Center. How about cutting taxes for businesses like then Governor Dukakis did in the early eighties. Those cuts brought such businesses as Digital and Wang to our state which ignited one of the biggest econmic growth periods in our history. How about going through each state agency and eliminating redundant positions or services? How about eliminating the Mass Turnpike authority? How about getting more of our fair share from the federal government stimulus funds, 70% of which have not been spent. Currently Massachusetts has received less than 1% of the total of those funds. These are just a few ideas that should be discussed long before we hear about new higher taxes.
Unfortunatley Rep.O'Day is typical of the tax and spend liberals who populate the halls and offices of our statehouse. Although most of the legislators are publicly saying they are not in favor of Rep. O'Day's proposals, there is no doubt in my mind they would like nothing better than to continue the status quo by raising taxes and fees. There is also no doubt that at some point in the near future we are going to hear about modest increases from other Represenatives which compared to Rep. O'Day's proposal will look much better. They will still be tax increases but the politicians like Rep. O'Day will couch them as something else. There is only one way to change this horrible tax and spend game. Change the players!
Monday, March 7, 2011
No More Tax Bailouts for State Dems! Make them work instead!
I don't know Representative James O'Day, D-West Boylston, and until today I didn't know anything about his politics. Unfortunately he was unnopposed in the last election so we will never know if he would have admitted to being a typical Massachusetts tax and spend liberal. After reading an article in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, (http://www.telegram.com/article/20110305/NEWS/110309765) , in which he proposed to increase both state income taxes and capital gains taxes on an electorate already strained by some of the highest taxes in the country, he doesn't have to. He just is one!
Still, this outrageous response to our fiscal crisis raises so many questions. Is Rep. O'Day so out of touch with reality that he can't even read a gas station sign as he commutes back and forth to Boston? Or does he just not care since he is reimbursed so much by the per diems our state reps get? Didn't he hear about our state losing a congressional seat because people are fleeing in droves. Isn't there one aide on his staff who could have mentioned to him that many companies are relocating out of Massachusetts because of the anti-business tax environment already in place. Is he so arrogant that he ignores stories about $100,000 per year union parking attendants at Logan Airport while he continues to file legislation on behalf of those same unions? (The same unions, by the way, who are desperately trying to stop Governor Walker in Wisconsin from bringing some sanity into that state's budget process.) Or is his proposal instead led by the leadership of the house in an attempt to placate the unions and special interest groups who donated so much money into the Democratic Party and their respective campaigns? It doesn't matter what the reasons are for these proposals. This behavior, in these times, is simply put, outrageous!
In typical liberal fashion he frets about the inevitable cuts to public safety, programs for the poor and neediest among us, not to mention housing and services for disabled residents if we don't pass his proposals. Rep.O'Day, are you serious? Really? If we don't increase the state income tax by almost 20% you would let disabled wheelchair bound folks get tossed out of their homes, or not get homes in the first place? Is that what you just said? It sure reads that way and unless the quotation marks put in by the reporter, John Monahan, are somehow misplaced, it is what you implied.
Rep.O'Day, like other Democrat politicians from this state, pointed out there are no more Federal Stimulus funds coming to replace lost tax revenue. Well Rep.O'Day, maybe you should have done more to secure a bigger chunk of the $780,000,000,000 Obama stimulus package of 2009. In an earlier blog, Where Is Our Money?, I pointed out the $7,000,000,000 our state received was less than 1% of the total. That was disgraceful and all the members of the Democrat Party from this state who hold elected office should be absolutely ashamed of those figures. Instead, we hear from the likes of Rep.O'Day that we need to pay more to the state just so we can keep disabled folks from being homeless and so we can get fires put out when they happen. Unbelievable dribble. I wonder what just a few billion dollars more from the 787 Billion Obama package would have done for our state?
I also found it interesting there was no mention in the referenced piece about how much money Rep. O'Day's proposals would raise or how long they would be in effect. This is another tactic used by the tax and spend liberals who infest our statehouse. They would most likely raise hundreds of millions of dollars and would never end, but we will never hear that from slick politicians like Rep. O'Day, will we? Just like we never hear about them being tax and spend liberals until after we elect them.
Still, this outrageous response to our fiscal crisis raises so many questions. Is Rep. O'Day so out of touch with reality that he can't even read a gas station sign as he commutes back and forth to Boston? Or does he just not care since he is reimbursed so much by the per diems our state reps get? Didn't he hear about our state losing a congressional seat because people are fleeing in droves. Isn't there one aide on his staff who could have mentioned to him that many companies are relocating out of Massachusetts because of the anti-business tax environment already in place. Is he so arrogant that he ignores stories about $100,000 per year union parking attendants at Logan Airport while he continues to file legislation on behalf of those same unions? (The same unions, by the way, who are desperately trying to stop Governor Walker in Wisconsin from bringing some sanity into that state's budget process.) Or is his proposal instead led by the leadership of the house in an attempt to placate the unions and special interest groups who donated so much money into the Democratic Party and their respective campaigns? It doesn't matter what the reasons are for these proposals. This behavior, in these times, is simply put, outrageous!
In typical liberal fashion he frets about the inevitable cuts to public safety, programs for the poor and neediest among us, not to mention housing and services for disabled residents if we don't pass his proposals. Rep.O'Day, are you serious? Really? If we don't increase the state income tax by almost 20% you would let disabled wheelchair bound folks get tossed out of their homes, or not get homes in the first place? Is that what you just said? It sure reads that way and unless the quotation marks put in by the reporter, John Monahan, are somehow misplaced, it is what you implied.
Rep.O'Day, like other Democrat politicians from this state, pointed out there are no more Federal Stimulus funds coming to replace lost tax revenue. Well Rep.O'Day, maybe you should have done more to secure a bigger chunk of the $780,000,000,000 Obama stimulus package of 2009. In an earlier blog, Where Is Our Money?, I pointed out the $7,000,000,000 our state received was less than 1% of the total. That was disgraceful and all the members of the Democrat Party from this state who hold elected office should be absolutely ashamed of those figures. Instead, we hear from the likes of Rep.O'Day that we need to pay more to the state just so we can keep disabled folks from being homeless and so we can get fires put out when they happen. Unbelievable dribble. I wonder what just a few billion dollars more from the 787 Billion Obama package would have done for our state?
I also found it interesting there was no mention in the referenced piece about how much money Rep. O'Day's proposals would raise or how long they would be in effect. This is another tactic used by the tax and spend liberals who infest our statehouse. They would most likely raise hundreds of millions of dollars and would never end, but we will never hear that from slick politicians like Rep. O'Day, will we? Just like we never hear about them being tax and spend liberals until after we elect them.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Time to Man Up Mr. President!
Twenty two plus years ago, on December 21, 1988, a Pan Am 747 carrying 259 passengers and crew, was blown out of the sky over Lockerbie Scotland by a bomb. A bomb that was later proved to be from Libya and eventually a Lbyian national , Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was tried for the crime and convicted. Lbyan Dictator, Muammar al Gaddafi, was long suspected of having ordered the bombing but there was never any proof offered, until today.
Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who recently resigned as justice minister in protest over the innocent killings of peaceful protesters in Libya, told a Swedish Tabloid, Expression, that Gaddafi personally ordered the bombing of that plane. If true, then it follows that since gaddafi is the recognized leader of Libya, the bombing was a clear act of war carried out by a soveriegn nation. Although over a dozen countries were represented by those on board, the clear majority, 189 of the 256 people on board were from the United States. Over 50 of those, including Nicole Boulanger of Shrewsbury MA, were students returning home for the holidays from studying abroad. That act of war was clearly against the United States.
Now there is a high official from the Gaddafi Regime claiming that the dictator personally ordered the bombing. What will our President do with this new information? I fear not much. Today he said the Libyan treatment of protesters was "appalling" and he announced Hillary Clinton was being dispatched to Geneva to talk about the evolving situation. Wow, that should really make Gaddafi think twice, don't you think? Plus there was no mention from him of the new revelations. (There were no questions about it either from the mainstream media.)
Shortly after 9/11 Gaddafi contacted the then Bush Administration and handed over all of his WMD programs. Why did he do that? Was he feeling generous and remorseful? Its obvious today that was not the case. The reason he did that was because it was Bush in charge! A real Texas cowboy type who would shoot first and ask questions later. Gaddafi knew Bush meant it when he said you were either with us or against us. He knew he had to offer some sort of olive branch to stay in power.
President Obama does not project that same sense of authority in this part of the world. It has become very clear throughout the region in the past month that the Obama Administration is basically absent from the table and not able to influence events.
If the President takes the new information about the act of war perpetrated by Gaddafi on the United States in 1988 and acts on it appropiately by publicly siding with the opposition forces and moving military forces into place he would go a long way towards changing that equation. The cultures in these countries are very different from the culture we live in. They see force as strength and diplomacy as weakness. Until the administration learns that, like all of the others before it, it will remain innefective.
Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who recently resigned as justice minister in protest over the innocent killings of peaceful protesters in Libya, told a Swedish Tabloid, Expression, that Gaddafi personally ordered the bombing of that plane. If true, then it follows that since gaddafi is the recognized leader of Libya, the bombing was a clear act of war carried out by a soveriegn nation. Although over a dozen countries were represented by those on board, the clear majority, 189 of the 256 people on board were from the United States. Over 50 of those, including Nicole Boulanger of Shrewsbury MA, were students returning home for the holidays from studying abroad. That act of war was clearly against the United States.
Now there is a high official from the Gaddafi Regime claiming that the dictator personally ordered the bombing. What will our President do with this new information? I fear not much. Today he said the Libyan treatment of protesters was "appalling" and he announced Hillary Clinton was being dispatched to Geneva to talk about the evolving situation. Wow, that should really make Gaddafi think twice, don't you think? Plus there was no mention from him of the new revelations. (There were no questions about it either from the mainstream media.)
Shortly after 9/11 Gaddafi contacted the then Bush Administration and handed over all of his WMD programs. Why did he do that? Was he feeling generous and remorseful? Its obvious today that was not the case. The reason he did that was because it was Bush in charge! A real Texas cowboy type who would shoot first and ask questions later. Gaddafi knew Bush meant it when he said you were either with us or against us. He knew he had to offer some sort of olive branch to stay in power.
President Obama does not project that same sense of authority in this part of the world. It has become very clear throughout the region in the past month that the Obama Administration is basically absent from the table and not able to influence events.
If the President takes the new information about the act of war perpetrated by Gaddafi on the United States in 1988 and acts on it appropiately by publicly siding with the opposition forces and moving military forces into place he would go a long way towards changing that equation. The cultures in these countries are very different from the culture we live in. They see force as strength and diplomacy as weakness. Until the administration learns that, like all of the others before it, it will remain innefective.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Mayor O'Brien misses the point....
Today I watched the you tube video provided by the Worcester Gop of Mayor O'Brien's remarks in front of the election commission and was appalled. Here was an elected official trivializing the apparent misdeeds of a few over zealous activists by saying, more than once, that 43,000 people voted in the past election in Worcester. I guess he was implying since there are only a few allegations of voter fraud, it doesn't really matter. He even recited the large gap of votes between the winner and loser in the election. I can only infer that he wants us to believe voter fraud is ok in one sided elections. Mayor O'Brien, you missed the point entirely. Voter fraud should never be accepted. Period!
The sixth Worcester District race for State Representative is a prime example of why. That race came down to a one vote win for Peter Durant, even after three recounts. In Southbridge, a Democrat stronghold in the district, allegations of the same type of voter misdeeds as those alleged in Worcester surfaced on the day of the election. It was also in Southbridge where some ballots were questioned which opened the door for a liberal Duval Patrick appointed judge to declare the race a tie, forcing another two elections on the taxpayers. Even if only a couple of votes for the Democratic Incummbent were the result of fraud, it would still be a travesty to all of the voters. As disappointed as I am in the Mayor's reaction to the allegations in Worcester I am sadly not surprised. This type of response to these types of accusations is not new to the Democratic Party. I cannot help but think it is in their playbook for winning elections. Maybe it reads something like this:
If voter fraud is alleged or even proven in a landslide victory, minimize it by declaring it didn't matter anyway. If the election is close and the Democrat wins, negate the fraud by stuffing more ballots into open ballot boxes during the recounts and blame it on "honest mistakes." If the Democrat loses, do the same thing but cry foul at the inept election workers for being wrong the first time. Also confuse the situation by getting the media to go along with any outrageous claim you can come up with. for why the election was loss such as smudged ballots or hanging chads. Never under any circumstances admit or allege that the voters did not want you to win!
As absurd as that sounds, I don't think it's any less absurd for an elected official to stand in front of an election commission and imply voter fraud should be accepted as trivial or meaningless. Mayor O'Brien is way off base on this issue and I hope the voters in Worcester let him know it.
The sixth Worcester District race for State Representative is a prime example of why. That race came down to a one vote win for Peter Durant, even after three recounts. In Southbridge, a Democrat stronghold in the district, allegations of the same type of voter misdeeds as those alleged in Worcester surfaced on the day of the election. It was also in Southbridge where some ballots were questioned which opened the door for a liberal Duval Patrick appointed judge to declare the race a tie, forcing another two elections on the taxpayers. Even if only a couple of votes for the Democratic Incummbent were the result of fraud, it would still be a travesty to all of the voters. As disappointed as I am in the Mayor's reaction to the allegations in Worcester I am sadly not surprised. This type of response to these types of accusations is not new to the Democratic Party. I cannot help but think it is in their playbook for winning elections. Maybe it reads something like this:
If voter fraud is alleged or even proven in a landslide victory, minimize it by declaring it didn't matter anyway. If the election is close and the Democrat wins, negate the fraud by stuffing more ballots into open ballot boxes during the recounts and blame it on "honest mistakes." If the Democrat loses, do the same thing but cry foul at the inept election workers for being wrong the first time. Also confuse the situation by getting the media to go along with any outrageous claim you can come up with. for why the election was loss such as smudged ballots or hanging chads. Never under any circumstances admit or allege that the voters did not want you to win!
As absurd as that sounds, I don't think it's any less absurd for an elected official to stand in front of an election commission and imply voter fraud should be accepted as trivial or meaningless. Mayor O'Brien is way off base on this issue and I hope the voters in Worcester let him know it.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Winter: Round Two
Welcome back winter. Like the eye of a hurricane, these past couple of days were nothing more than a calm in the middle of the maelstrom that is New England winter. Frigid cold, heavy snow, tired plow drivers, frustrated people...it's all back this week.One little bit of silver though, our little ones are already home so no worry about more snow days piling up. Tonight the temperature is already at 13 degrees with a -6 degree wind chill. Ah, the wind. Such a welcome sound to the stranded sailor on the South Pacific. Not so much here. While I write this I can hear my furnace struggling to keep it at bay, spending our money at rate faster than a slot machine at Foxwoods. Ugh!
Where are all the global warming fanatics now? Isn't it curious how we only here from them during the inevitable heat waves in July? I swear this winter is their fault. Mother Nature has an uncanny way of constantly contradicting the crazies among us who think they know better. As for that stupid oversized rat in Pennsylvania, will someone please shoot him and make some sort of hot stew out of him, please?
So here we are again. Shuttered inside our homes as winter rages outside. At least it isn't November with all of Winter's fury ahead. It's February, and in a few weeks nights like these will be a memory...for a few months anyway. Until then there is nothing to do but hope the walls stay intact and the trees don't come crashing down. Yeah, welcome back winter, thanks for nothing.
Where are all the global warming fanatics now? Isn't it curious how we only here from them during the inevitable heat waves in July? I swear this winter is their fault. Mother Nature has an uncanny way of constantly contradicting the crazies among us who think they know better. As for that stupid oversized rat in Pennsylvania, will someone please shoot him and make some sort of hot stew out of him, please?
So here we are again. Shuttered inside our homes as winter rages outside. At least it isn't November with all of Winter's fury ahead. It's February, and in a few weeks nights like these will be a memory...for a few months anyway. Until then there is nothing to do but hope the walls stay intact and the trees don't come crashing down. Yeah, welcome back winter, thanks for nothing.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Iraq and the myth of no WMD's
Recently I have been receiving emails in response to some of my earlier blogs from very passionate liberals. While I welcome the spirited discourse generated by these emails I am wondering why they chose that venue instead of commenting directly here. One of them said he could not leave a comment but every time I test that it works for me so I don't know. Anyway, one of the things that constantly crops up is the liberal mantra of how wrong and evil it was for our country to invade Iraq. Last night I was actually sent a link to a news article by one of them that tells about an Iraqi who lied to us about their Chemical Weapons program and how that information was used to justify invading Iraq. I guess the goal was to somehow convince me that the chemical weapons I was exposed to in the First Gulf War were no longer there or not real in the first place in 2003. Really? Is that how far a leftist liberal has to go to discredit the Bush Administration. In response I am posting a couple letters I received from our governement under the Clinton Administration in 1997 and again in 2000. As you can see these letters admit my unit was exposed to Sarin and Cyclosarin nerve agents that were destroyed by our forces after the cease fire in March of 1991. Folks, we did not bring the stuff with us! The Chemicals were developed by Iraq and put into their arsenal long before we arrived. I believe it is crazy to think we destroyed all of their chemical weapons when we were not even near Baghdad at that time!
That raises another issue that I take exception to with the left. When our forces entered Iraq in the Spring of 2003 it was not an un-provoked attack. It was a resumption of combat operations due to Iraq having violated the terms of the ceasefire they signed in 1991 to stop hostilities. During the next twelve years Iraq continually snubbed their nose at the UN by not allowing inspectors to do their jobs, by attacking their own people, by threatening their neighbors and many more indiscretions aimed at ignoring the world and intimidating its neighbors. Even President Clinton knew Iraq was a rogue country and while I am not satisfied with his response to their clear violations, his administration did respond, even with force. To those Bush haters like my new liberal friends who believe the presence of WMDs in Iraq was a myth I ask this. Where
did all those chemical weapons go?
I have some answers provided by some of our popular media outlets. In 2006 Fox News reported over 500 WMDs had been found in Iraq by our forces from 2003 thru 2006. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200499,00.html As recently as October 25, 2010 the New York Post reported that in the WikiLeaks documents there was plenty of evidence that our forces had been finding not only caches of chemical weapons but labs and remnants of a chemical weapons program. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/us_did_find_iraq_wmd_AYiLgNbw7pDf7AZ3RO9qnMAnother thing that has always irked me about the liberals in this debate is there insistence that deposing Saddam Hussein and the Bathist Party was somehow not in our best interest. This view seems to come universally from people who have never met an Iraqi citizen. I have. As a matter of fact my unit, the 344th MP Compnay, (the first platoon of which I was a member is located right here in Worcester) escorted over 22,000 Iraqi soldiers from the battlefield during the Gulf War. What I learned about them is this. They are smart, literate and care about the things you and I do. Jobs, the pursuit of happiness and a sense of safety for their families. Under Saddam those things were not guaranteed or even enjoyed by most of their citizens. Just ask a Shiite or a Kurd.
Taking out a rogue regime after it violated a ceasefire agreement with us was not only the right thing to do, it was necessary. In that part of the world, anything less would have been looked upon as being weak and it would definitely have led to more tragedy for us all. As far as the argument that we were creating more al qaeda members by our actions, there is just no proof of that. There is plenty of proof however that our actions in Iraq attracted thousands of al qaeda members and sympathizers to the battle from other countries who wanted to kill us. Instead most of them were killed or captured. That in and of itself was a victory. While Iraq is not the most stable place on Earth yet, it is certainly a lot better off now than it was under Saddam and there is a form of democracy taking hold there, despite what the liberals believe.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Project New Hope
Project New Hope is a non-profit organization that puts on retreats for veterans and their families. When our soldiers return home they are faced with many issues that can be overwhelming to the families. If they are married they may find it hard to adjust to their new role with their spouse who has been running things during their absence. There may be financial strains on the family as a result of their deployment which can cause stress, resentment and actual loss among other things. One sad statistic involving veterans is that many relationships they are in including marriages do not survive the return of the veteran. This is especially hard on any children involved. Project New Hope uses its retreats to help families address the problems involved with a veteran returning home.
Project New Hope is 100% privately funded and relies heavily on fundraising events. If anyone is interested, this Sunday from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, at Biagios Grille on Park Ave Dick Doherty will be performing and half the proceeds will go to Project New Hope. http://www.projectnewhopema.org/ Also on Saturday March 26th the Worcester Sharks are partnering with Project New Hope to present this season's Hereos Night! Tickets, which are $15.00 each ($20.00 face value), can be bought through Project New Hope at http://www.projectnewhopema.org/ and the Worcester Sharks at http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sharksahl.com%2F&h=885bf. I am also selling tickets to the game so drop me a msg if you want. If you were planning on attending an upcoming game please think about joining us on March 26th, thanks.
Project New Hope is 100% privately funded and relies heavily on fundraising events. If anyone is interested, this Sunday from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, at Biagios Grille on Park Ave Dick Doherty will be performing and half the proceeds will go to Project New Hope. http://www.projectnewhopema.org/ Also on Saturday March 26th the Worcester Sharks are partnering with Project New Hope to present this season's Hereos Night! Tickets, which are $15.00 each ($20.00 face value), can be bought through Project New Hope at http://www.projectnewhopema.org/ and the Worcester Sharks at http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sharksahl.com%2F&h=885bf. I am also selling tickets to the game so drop me a msg if you want. If you were planning on attending an upcoming game please think about joining us on March 26th, thanks.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Illegal Alien Benefits...on our dime!
This past Saturday a bold headline proclaimed "Young immigrants vow to press on for resident benefits" http://www.telegram.com/article/20110212/NEWS/102120398 This article by Russell Contreras of THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, is yet another example of our local paper acting as a propaganda tool for all that is liberal in our state and country. First of all let me point out in the headline the ILLEGAL ALIEN students are referred to as "Young Immigrants." This is a blatant attempt to hide who these people really are; ILLEGAL ALIEN sons and daughters of ILLEGAL ALIENS who disregarded our laws and then took advantage of all the goodies the Democrats in power have provided for them. All we have to do is look to the Boston Housing Authority to see the corruption in place. President Obama's Aunt has been living in one of their units for years after being ordered out of the country by the INS. (It is disgusting to think of how many veterans who served their country are homeless right now in Massachusetts while ILLEGAL ALIENS like her get free housing on our dime!)
Now we have a group of young ILLEGAL ALIENS who are demanding that the taxpayers of Massachusetts allow them to attend our tax funded higher education institutions at the same tuition rate as resident CITIZENS! How did we ever let this farce get so far? I wonder why we even allow them to attend these schools in the first place. For every ILLEGAL ALIEN who does, a citizen is left out. Are the Democrats so far gone they cannot see how hurtful and wrong this is to the young people of this state to be left out in the cold while law breakers are given the opportunities they should be getting?
All of the arguments used by the ILLEGAL ALIENS in the article can also be used to explain why actual citizens should get a higher education. Better opportunities to make them productive members of society is a noble idea, for our own citizens! One of the telling things mentioned in the article is that these ILLEGAL ALIENS have already been afforded a high school education at our expense but apparently that wasn't enough. Are the Democrats so ignorant they cannot see how every benefit given to an illegal immigrant by our tax money is a big bright neon sign of enticement to others in their respective home countries who may be thinking about coming here? Can't they see that whatever they give is never enough? And please don't tell me it's not just the Democrats who pander to the criminals. In this state they own the issue.
As a veteran I am also extremely upset that programs in place for myself and other veterans have to compete for resources with ILLEGAL ALIENS! Only Democrats seem to be able to say otherwise but it cannot be denied, especially here in Massachusetts. Millions and millions of our tax dollars go towards paying for ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT education, health care, housing, food, utilities and so much more. Every other recipient of our state tax dollars have to compete with these criminals too. How is it that we as an electorate ever let it get this bad?
Mr. Contreras' liberal bias bleeds through every paragraph. At least three times he refers to the ILLEGAL ALIENS as undocumented student immigrants and four other times he leaves out the word undocumented and just writes student immigrant. This is the type of reporting I am referring to when I characterize the mainstream media as being a mouth piece of the liberal establishment. I could not find one question by Mr. Contreras in which he asks the ILLEGAL ALIENS why they think they should be rewarded for breaking this country's laws! Many other questions come to mind but of course they will never be asked or answered.
In 1922 my Great Grandfather came over from Italy on a ship leaving his wife and nine children behind. He worked in menial jobs and lived in a tenement house for two years before he could get them here. He followed all of the rules in place and did it the right way. Most people's families , no matter their ethnic background with two well known exceptions, have a similar history. People like my Great Grandfather are and were IMMIGRANTS. People like those referred to in the article are CRIMINALS! They should be treated as such and denied any benefit of any kind from their illegal activity.
Now we have a group of young ILLEGAL ALIENS who are demanding that the taxpayers of Massachusetts allow them to attend our tax funded higher education institutions at the same tuition rate as resident CITIZENS! How did we ever let this farce get so far? I wonder why we even allow them to attend these schools in the first place. For every ILLEGAL ALIEN who does, a citizen is left out. Are the Democrats so far gone they cannot see how hurtful and wrong this is to the young people of this state to be left out in the cold while law breakers are given the opportunities they should be getting?
All of the arguments used by the ILLEGAL ALIENS in the article can also be used to explain why actual citizens should get a higher education. Better opportunities to make them productive members of society is a noble idea, for our own citizens! One of the telling things mentioned in the article is that these ILLEGAL ALIENS have already been afforded a high school education at our expense but apparently that wasn't enough. Are the Democrats so ignorant they cannot see how every benefit given to an illegal immigrant by our tax money is a big bright neon sign of enticement to others in their respective home countries who may be thinking about coming here? Can't they see that whatever they give is never enough? And please don't tell me it's not just the Democrats who pander to the criminals. In this state they own the issue.
As a veteran I am also extremely upset that programs in place for myself and other veterans have to compete for resources with ILLEGAL ALIENS! Only Democrats seem to be able to say otherwise but it cannot be denied, especially here in Massachusetts. Millions and millions of our tax dollars go towards paying for ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT education, health care, housing, food, utilities and so much more. Every other recipient of our state tax dollars have to compete with these criminals too. How is it that we as an electorate ever let it get this bad?
Mr. Contreras' liberal bias bleeds through every paragraph. At least three times he refers to the ILLEGAL ALIENS as undocumented student immigrants and four other times he leaves out the word undocumented and just writes student immigrant. This is the type of reporting I am referring to when I characterize the mainstream media as being a mouth piece of the liberal establishment. I could not find one question by Mr. Contreras in which he asks the ILLEGAL ALIENS why they think they should be rewarded for breaking this country's laws! Many other questions come to mind but of course they will never be asked or answered.
In 1922 my Great Grandfather came over from Italy on a ship leaving his wife and nine children behind. He worked in menial jobs and lived in a tenement house for two years before he could get them here. He followed all of the rules in place and did it the right way. Most people's families , no matter their ethnic background with two well known exceptions, have a similar history. People like my Great Grandfather are and were IMMIGRANTS. People like those referred to in the article are CRIMINALS! They should be treated as such and denied any benefit of any kind from their illegal activity.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Who's on first?
As I watch the events unfold in Egypt today I am reminded once again how inexperienced and incompetent our President is in International affairs. Yesterday afternoon our President actually co-opted the demonstration in Egypt and compared it to his victory in 2008. He went on to espouse the virtues of the Egyptian People in having changed their leadership in this manner. Several hours later he was forced to hide behind a press release as it became clear the Egyptian President was not actually leaving. No amount of spin can hide this major misstep by our President.
From the beginning of this event the administration has been shown to be out of step and lacking any real intelligence about what was really happening. Whether you like Obama or not does not matter. When we have a president this far removed from facts about world events like this it is dangerous for all Americans, especially those who are in other countries. Although the liberal media machine will work hard to cover up the apparent incompetence it will not be an easy task. Just two weeks ago Vice President Biden said that Mubarak should not step down and said the protests around the Middle East were unconnected. Although Secretary of State Clinton's remarks have been more middle of the road, I suspect that is because she is smarter than Obama in these matters and probably saw the writing on the wall before he did about Mubarak's fate. Yesterday was just plain embarrassing to watch as our President came out like a cheerleader at a football game and praised the young people of Egypt for bringing about a change in their leadership. When Mubarak defiantly refused to step down last night I wondered if I was the only one who saw the similarities between Obama and Bush when he declared Mission Accomplished on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Of course the media will just ignore it and in the coming weeks as more and more facts come to light from those closest to the protest, the liberal machine will give Obama more and more credit for helping to bring about these changes.
As an American I hope our President will quickly overcome his ignorance of what just happened in Egypt and get up to speed so that we can as a nation help Egypt make a smooth transition to a true democracy. To that end we do have true leverage. The United States is the biggest source of funds for the Egyptian military and our administration needs to take advantage of that. If we don't, we are leaving the door open to groups like the Muslim Brotherhood to step into the power vacuum and if that happens all bets are off as to the safety of Israel and the United States.
President Obama has to act quickly to get rid of incompetent fools in his administration like the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, who just yesterday said the Muslim Brotherhood was "largely secular" and not particularly extreme. (For those who don't know, the Muslim Brotherhood is largely suspected of having assassinated Anwar Sadat because of the peace treaty with Israel and they are credited with being the father group al qaeda and hamas.) There are plenty of other amateurs working in the administration and it is long past time to get rid of them for the good of all of us. There are some strong intelligent people there too and I hope the President leans more and more on them. Going forward I hope we can start getting better intelligence about the events that have unfolded and where these protests will erupt next.
Sometimes events happen that force us as Americans to put our political differences aside and unite as one voice. I believe this is one of those times. One of the realities around the world is that the people on the street in oppressed countries always look at America for guidance and always hope for our help. Unfortunately we sometimes have to support dictators for very political reasons and this leads to the alienation of the regular folks in those countries. When an opportunity comes along like the one in Egypt right now for there to be a real democracy formed, we should act quickly as a nation to help and to repair our relationship with the people there. Although I don't have much faith in his ability, I do want our President to get the response right so that we can do that. I want our leaders from both sides of the aisle to help him in this endeavor. This needs to be done for the good of our country. I am happy for the people of Egypt, I just hope their euphoria is not short lived or misguided.
From the beginning of this event the administration has been shown to be out of step and lacking any real intelligence about what was really happening. Whether you like Obama or not does not matter. When we have a president this far removed from facts about world events like this it is dangerous for all Americans, especially those who are in other countries. Although the liberal media machine will work hard to cover up the apparent incompetence it will not be an easy task. Just two weeks ago Vice President Biden said that Mubarak should not step down and said the protests around the Middle East were unconnected. Although Secretary of State Clinton's remarks have been more middle of the road, I suspect that is because she is smarter than Obama in these matters and probably saw the writing on the wall before he did about Mubarak's fate. Yesterday was just plain embarrassing to watch as our President came out like a cheerleader at a football game and praised the young people of Egypt for bringing about a change in their leadership. When Mubarak defiantly refused to step down last night I wondered if I was the only one who saw the similarities between Obama and Bush when he declared Mission Accomplished on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Of course the media will just ignore it and in the coming weeks as more and more facts come to light from those closest to the protest, the liberal machine will give Obama more and more credit for helping to bring about these changes.
As an American I hope our President will quickly overcome his ignorance of what just happened in Egypt and get up to speed so that we can as a nation help Egypt make a smooth transition to a true democracy. To that end we do have true leverage. The United States is the biggest source of funds for the Egyptian military and our administration needs to take advantage of that. If we don't, we are leaving the door open to groups like the Muslim Brotherhood to step into the power vacuum and if that happens all bets are off as to the safety of Israel and the United States.
President Obama has to act quickly to get rid of incompetent fools in his administration like the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, who just yesterday said the Muslim Brotherhood was "largely secular" and not particularly extreme. (For those who don't know, the Muslim Brotherhood is largely suspected of having assassinated Anwar Sadat because of the peace treaty with Israel and they are credited with being the father group al qaeda and hamas.) There are plenty of other amateurs working in the administration and it is long past time to get rid of them for the good of all of us. There are some strong intelligent people there too and I hope the President leans more and more on them. Going forward I hope we can start getting better intelligence about the events that have unfolded and where these protests will erupt next.
Sometimes events happen that force us as Americans to put our political differences aside and unite as one voice. I believe this is one of those times. One of the realities around the world is that the people on the street in oppressed countries always look at America for guidance and always hope for our help. Unfortunately we sometimes have to support dictators for very political reasons and this leads to the alienation of the regular folks in those countries. When an opportunity comes along like the one in Egypt right now for there to be a real democracy formed, we should act quickly as a nation to help and to repair our relationship with the people there. Although I don't have much faith in his ability, I do want our President to get the response right so that we can do that. I want our leaders from both sides of the aisle to help him in this endeavor. This needs to be done for the good of our country. I am happy for the people of Egypt, I just hope their euphoria is not short lived or misguided.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Where Is Our Money?
I woke up this morning and while perusing recent articles I found yet another liberal puff piece about the stimulus funds in the Worcester Telegram. Unbelievably the reporter, Bob Salsberg of the Associated Press, wrote what amounts to a testiminonial for Federal Funds having helped Massachusetts in its dire time of need the past two years. Even the headline in big black bold letters proudly proclaimed that the Stimulus put $7,000,000,000 (Billion) in the state of Massachusetts' pocket! Both of the people quoted in the article, Michael Widmer and Rep. David Linsky D-Natick, are well known liberal democrats and added to the tone of the article by touting how effective the stimulus has been in staving off a major depression and in creating 71,000 MA jobs.
Of course there was no mention of the hundreds of thousands of jobs lost in that same time frame or of the sluggishness of our economy two full years after the stimulus was passed. There were also no quotes from any Republican Pols or others who may have an opposing view on the matter. I guess if there had been, that in itself would have been news. As a fiscally conservative minded person, I was dead set against any of these so called stimulus bills. It is just not the right way get an economy going. Just ask yourself this. What would happen if you walked into a bank, told them you were $12,000 in debt which you could not afford to pay back, and then asked for $20,000? We all know the answer to that and if bankers think its's bad business for them, why is it good for our government? All that aside, the reality is that the stimulus bills have been passed and they are here. Given that, I have a huge problem with Massachusetts only receiving $7 Billion dollars.
Instead of rejoicing over that number, our elected leaders should be screaming at the top of their lungs for a bigger piece of the pie! $7 Billion is simply not nearly enough of the funds for a state the size of Massachusetts.
In February of 2009 Pesident Obama signed a stimulus bill which was for over $787 Billion. The $7 Billion Massachusetts has received amounts to less than 1% of the total. This for a state that is 14th in population and 8th in median income. You would think that with so many of our congressional seats held by Democrats, and a Governor who is supposed to be so close to the President, our state should have been able to get a heck of a lot more of those funds that were allocated. It is insidious that our citizens are paying so much more per year in Federal Income Taxes only to see the stimulus money unfairly distributed to so many other poorer states. A quick check of the US Census Burea http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/statemedfaminc.html figures shows that 6 out of the 10 poorest states are all recieving more stimulus funds per capita than Massachusetts. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/where-will-the-stimulus-money-go-a-state-by-state-breakdown/ Yet our elected leaders continue to tout the virtues of the funds we have received without addressing these glaring inequities in how they were handed out.
All of this leads back to questioning why reporters like Mr. Salsberg refuse to do their jobs and ask these same questions of our elected officials. I am not a professional reporter yet it took me less tham 1 hour to find the information I am referring to. We are being ripped off, scammed and swindled as taxpayers here in Massachusetts and it's time to start putting a stop to it!
Of course there was no mention of the hundreds of thousands of jobs lost in that same time frame or of the sluggishness of our economy two full years after the stimulus was passed. There were also no quotes from any Republican Pols or others who may have an opposing view on the matter. I guess if there had been, that in itself would have been news. As a fiscally conservative minded person, I was dead set against any of these so called stimulus bills. It is just not the right way get an economy going. Just ask yourself this. What would happen if you walked into a bank, told them you were $12,000 in debt which you could not afford to pay back, and then asked for $20,000? We all know the answer to that and if bankers think its's bad business for them, why is it good for our government? All that aside, the reality is that the stimulus bills have been passed and they are here. Given that, I have a huge problem with Massachusetts only receiving $7 Billion dollars.
Instead of rejoicing over that number, our elected leaders should be screaming at the top of their lungs for a bigger piece of the pie! $7 Billion is simply not nearly enough of the funds for a state the size of Massachusetts.
In February of 2009 Pesident Obama signed a stimulus bill which was for over $787 Billion. The $7 Billion Massachusetts has received amounts to less than 1% of the total. This for a state that is 14th in population and 8th in median income. You would think that with so many of our congressional seats held by Democrats, and a Governor who is supposed to be so close to the President, our state should have been able to get a heck of a lot more of those funds that were allocated. It is insidious that our citizens are paying so much more per year in Federal Income Taxes only to see the stimulus money unfairly distributed to so many other poorer states. A quick check of the US Census Burea http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/statemedfaminc.html figures shows that 6 out of the 10 poorest states are all recieving more stimulus funds per capita than Massachusetts. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/where-will-the-stimulus-money-go-a-state-by-state-breakdown/ Yet our elected leaders continue to tout the virtues of the funds we have received without addressing these glaring inequities in how they were handed out.
All of this leads back to questioning why reporters like Mr. Salsberg refuse to do their jobs and ask these same questions of our elected officials. I am not a professional reporter yet it took me less tham 1 hour to find the information I am referring to. We are being ripped off, scammed and swindled as taxpayers here in Massachusetts and it's time to start putting a stop to it!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Highest Paid Jobs In Massachusetts?
Have you ever seen those ads for the staffing agencies who only offer jobs that pay over $100,000 per year? What kind of jobs come to mind? Doctors? Lawyers? Ceo's? Engineers? Entertainers? How about Parking Attendant or Floor Sweeper? No? Well here in Massachusetts those are the jobs that should come to mind. On June 15, 2009, Jay Fitzgerald of the Boston Herald reported that the Teamster's Union Local 82 in Boston was employing ex-cons as laborers at the Hynes Convention Center. In that article it was mentioned some of those laborers were making over $100,000 per year as members of the union.
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1178998
The article detailed how these people were responsible for the labor in setting up shows at the convention hall and then the cleanup...in other words sweeping the floors! When that news first came out the headline and outrage was about the violent criminals who were being paid out of public funds. Of course the typical Democrat response from the pols at the time was, well, the state doesn't hire them, the union does, we just contract with the union. It is the typical doublespeak that drives anyone who understands math absolutely crazy! I always wonder why the reporters doing the interviews never follow that answer up with the observation the workers get paid out of the money the taxpayers pay to the unions as part of their contracts! As bad as it was ex-cons were involved, I think the real outrage should have been over the salaries these thugs were making. Now it has happened again or I should say the outrageous practice of our state government over paying for labor has come to light again because it is clear the practice never stopped.
On Thursday February 3, the Boston Herald reported they had discovered 16 parking attendants working for Massport at Logan Airport who made over $90,000 and of those 7 had made over $100,000! http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_0203mass_pay_at_massport_some_parking_attendants_pull_in_100g_a_year/srvc=home&position=1
So what are the duties of these parking attendants. According to the article, finding cars for travel weary commuters and brushing snow off of them, traffic control, manning the booths etc. It was clear after reading the article someone was trying to make the job sound important and vital to justify the salaries but there is just no way to do that seriously. While I am grateful to the reporters, Joe Dwinell and Hillary Chabot, for bringing this out into the open I am still left with more questions. According to the article the attendants are members of Teamsters Local 25 Parking Union. Well, are we to believe that the Logan Airport contract is the only one that local has in the city of Boston? A quick check of the local's website shows it boasts a membership of over 9000 workers. I wonder how many other attendants throughout the city in public lots are represented by this local. If their parking attendants are making $100,000 plus per year can you imagine what their nurses or food processors are making?
As disgusting as these pay rates for parking attendants are I cannot in good conscience blame the union. I lay the blame solely on those elected and appointed state officials who are supposed to be watching out for the taxpayer and doing what's in the best interest of the State of Massachusetts. Can anyone argue with a straight face that $100,000 or more per year for parking cars is in the taxpayers best interest? So why aren't the reporters grilling these folks about these contracts?
In the article State Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan promises to "review" the practice. Really? How about promising to stop the practice? Is that too much to ask? Massport spokeswoman Danny Levy claims last year was an "unusual" year. What does that mean? Did they all of a sudden have to park trailer trucks instead of cars? I wonder what her salary is? The one pol quoted in the article, state Sen. Mark C. Montigny (D-New Bedford) did say “There’s no excuse for a parking attendant to be making over $100,000 anywhere — under any circumstances.” Well that sounded nice for the paper but the truth is Sen. Montigny is a member of the ruling party in Massachusetts and that party is the biggest supporter of the same union in question. Simply put he was being dis-ingenuous. How about this senator? How about admitting there is no excuse, under any circumstance, for a Massachusetts state official to sign a contract that would lead to at least 16 parking attendants making over $90,000 per year!
These practices have been going on forever in this state, remember the big dig? Until the day comes when the Democrats lose their monopoly of power in our state government nothing will change. For those who believe that day will never come I ask you this. Do you think any group of 20 voters anywhere in this state would agree that a parking attendant job should pay over $100,000 per year under any circumstance? How about the people who live and work in the inner cities in this state. Democrat strongholds or not do you think this would sit well with them? I don't. Think about all your friends and family who are struggling right now just to survive. Think about your own job and what you get paid to do it. If you are as angry as I am then call your state reps and senators and let them know how you feel. At the very least go to the voting booth and start leveling the playing field for the citizens of this state. Until we do there will continue to be parking attendants and floor sweepers making over $100,000 per year!
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1178998
The article detailed how these people were responsible for the labor in setting up shows at the convention hall and then the cleanup...in other words sweeping the floors! When that news first came out the headline and outrage was about the violent criminals who were being paid out of public funds. Of course the typical Democrat response from the pols at the time was, well, the state doesn't hire them, the union does, we just contract with the union. It is the typical doublespeak that drives anyone who understands math absolutely crazy! I always wonder why the reporters doing the interviews never follow that answer up with the observation the workers get paid out of the money the taxpayers pay to the unions as part of their contracts! As bad as it was ex-cons were involved, I think the real outrage should have been over the salaries these thugs were making. Now it has happened again or I should say the outrageous practice of our state government over paying for labor has come to light again because it is clear the practice never stopped.
On Thursday February 3, the Boston Herald reported they had discovered 16 parking attendants working for Massport at Logan Airport who made over $90,000 and of those 7 had made over $100,000! http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_0203mass_pay_at_massport_some_parking_attendants_pull_in_100g_a_year/srvc=home&position=1
So what are the duties of these parking attendants. According to the article, finding cars for travel weary commuters and brushing snow off of them, traffic control, manning the booths etc. It was clear after reading the article someone was trying to make the job sound important and vital to justify the salaries but there is just no way to do that seriously. While I am grateful to the reporters, Joe Dwinell and Hillary Chabot, for bringing this out into the open I am still left with more questions. According to the article the attendants are members of Teamsters Local 25 Parking Union. Well, are we to believe that the Logan Airport contract is the only one that local has in the city of Boston? A quick check of the local's website shows it boasts a membership of over 9000 workers. I wonder how many other attendants throughout the city in public lots are represented by this local. If their parking attendants are making $100,000 plus per year can you imagine what their nurses or food processors are making?
As disgusting as these pay rates for parking attendants are I cannot in good conscience blame the union. I lay the blame solely on those elected and appointed state officials who are supposed to be watching out for the taxpayer and doing what's in the best interest of the State of Massachusetts. Can anyone argue with a straight face that $100,000 or more per year for parking cars is in the taxpayers best interest? So why aren't the reporters grilling these folks about these contracts?
In the article State Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan promises to "review" the practice. Really? How about promising to stop the practice? Is that too much to ask? Massport spokeswoman Danny Levy claims last year was an "unusual" year. What does that mean? Did they all of a sudden have to park trailer trucks instead of cars? I wonder what her salary is? The one pol quoted in the article, state Sen. Mark C. Montigny (D-New Bedford) did say “There’s no excuse for a parking attendant to be making over $100,000 anywhere — under any circumstances.” Well that sounded nice for the paper but the truth is Sen. Montigny is a member of the ruling party in Massachusetts and that party is the biggest supporter of the same union in question. Simply put he was being dis-ingenuous. How about this senator? How about admitting there is no excuse, under any circumstance, for a Massachusetts state official to sign a contract that would lead to at least 16 parking attendants making over $90,000 per year!
These practices have been going on forever in this state, remember the big dig? Until the day comes when the Democrats lose their monopoly of power in our state government nothing will change. For those who believe that day will never come I ask you this. Do you think any group of 20 voters anywhere in this state would agree that a parking attendant job should pay over $100,000 per year under any circumstance? How about the people who live and work in the inner cities in this state. Democrat strongholds or not do you think this would sit well with them? I don't. Think about all your friends and family who are struggling right now just to survive. Think about your own job and what you get paid to do it. If you are as angry as I am then call your state reps and senators and let them know how you feel. At the very least go to the voting booth and start leveling the playing field for the citizens of this state. Until we do there will continue to be parking attendants and floor sweepers making over $100,000 per year!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Now is the time!
When I looked out my window this morning at 5:30 am and saw how cold and frozen everything was, not to mention the four plus feet of snow on the ground, I wondered for a moment if I should just head back to bed. I shook that idea off and instead carried through with my plan of attending the Massachusetts Republican Party Grass Roots Conference in Milford on this cold Saturday in early February. Although I did have a fleeting thought that I and the other five Republicans from my town who were attending would be the only ones there, I ignored it and hoped for the best. I had no need to worry.
It has been just over a year since the election of Scott Brown sent shock waves through the Massachusett's political landscape and it is clear the aftereffects are still being felt. When the Chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, Jennifer Nassour, opened the conference at just after 9:00 am there were well over 400 enthusiastic Massachusetts Registered Republicans already in attendance. Just a couple of years ago that type of turnout would have been unheard of. Not today. It was not just the numbers of people there, it was the energy they brought with them that made this conference such a huge success. From the first moments when Peter Durant (who won the 6th Worcester representative race by 4 votes, even after three recounts, only to see a Duval Patrick appointed judge declare the race a tie) led the throng in a strong recital of the Pledge of Allegiance until the last speaker left the podium at 5:00 pm the crowd was buzzing. During breaks groups of people could be heard debating the issues of the day. In the training blocks the questions raised were inciteful and thought provoking. Those on hand to answer those questions, many of whom are, or have been, successful as Republican candidates in Massachusetts at all levels, were articulate and well informed. There is no doubt the information, suggestions, and strategies shared will lead to more and more successful Republican camapigns across the state at all levels.
To those people of all political persuasions who believe the Scoltt Brown election was a fluke, or a one time convergence of several different situations that can never be repeated I say this. "You are wrong."
As this conference demonstrated today, the Republican party in Massachusetts has been reborn and re-energized. Infused with a new type of activist who is not afraid to declare themselves as Republican and not afraid to try and win races at any level or in any location, the party is alive and ready to fight the Democrat Machine in Massachusetts in every way in the upcoming election cycles. It was not too long ago many of us thought turning this blue state into a red one was more of a dream than a realistic goal. Not anymore. With hard work, perserverance, and continued energy, we will overcome the machine and shock the world again! After today I am sure of it!
It has been just over a year since the election of Scott Brown sent shock waves through the Massachusett's political landscape and it is clear the aftereffects are still being felt. When the Chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, Jennifer Nassour, opened the conference at just after 9:00 am there were well over 400 enthusiastic Massachusetts Registered Republicans already in attendance. Just a couple of years ago that type of turnout would have been unheard of. Not today. It was not just the numbers of people there, it was the energy they brought with them that made this conference such a huge success. From the first moments when Peter Durant (who won the 6th Worcester representative race by 4 votes, even after three recounts, only to see a Duval Patrick appointed judge declare the race a tie) led the throng in a strong recital of the Pledge of Allegiance until the last speaker left the podium at 5:00 pm the crowd was buzzing. During breaks groups of people could be heard debating the issues of the day. In the training blocks the questions raised were inciteful and thought provoking. Those on hand to answer those questions, many of whom are, or have been, successful as Republican candidates in Massachusetts at all levels, were articulate and well informed. There is no doubt the information, suggestions, and strategies shared will lead to more and more successful Republican camapigns across the state at all levels.
To those people of all political persuasions who believe the Scoltt Brown election was a fluke, or a one time convergence of several different situations that can never be repeated I say this. "You are wrong."
As this conference demonstrated today, the Republican party in Massachusetts has been reborn and re-energized. Infused with a new type of activist who is not afraid to declare themselves as Republican and not afraid to try and win races at any level or in any location, the party is alive and ready to fight the Democrat Machine in Massachusetts in every way in the upcoming election cycles. It was not too long ago many of us thought turning this blue state into a red one was more of a dream than a realistic goal. Not anymore. With hard work, perserverance, and continued energy, we will overcome the machine and shock the world again! After today I am sure of it!
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