Thursday, January 31, 2013

Whoever Wins, We Must Support

     This evening, members of the Massachusetts republican State Committee will vote on who is to be the next part chairperson of the party. Both candidates, Kristen Hughes and RickGgreen are well qualified for the job. I for one am not able to endorse either candidate at this time, not because I am not happy with the choices, but rather due to a lack of knowledge about either one. My knowledge of both, and what they stand for, have been formed from the media coverage and from people whom I do know and who have shared their opinion. Many of those people, for whom I have a ton of respect, have come out in favor of both candidates.
     This campaign is exposing once again the differences in our party at this time. Conventional wisdom is that Mr. Green is more sympathetic to the Tea Party members of the party and the Ms. Hughes is more of an establishment candidate. Both of those things may or may not be true. After the election tonight, I hope those things no longer matter.
     If Mr. Green wins, I want to see all members of the party rally behind him. No games. No long drawn out battles over the vote simply because you can, no public statements of regret or subliminal messages that he is too far right.
     The same should hold true if Ms. Hughes wins. Within an hour of the final results, every single Tea Party Group and RTC in Massachusetts should immediately join hands behind her and give the full support of the party by publicly announcing their support.
     In short, our differences need to be put aside after the vote and compromises made. To my friends in the Tea Party Groups, if your guy loses, do not go away, or worse, fight against the party. Same goes for my more moderate Republican friends. If you win and then do not include some of the new ideas or strategies being brought about by those more conservative than you, we are all doomed to failure for a long time to come.
     Tonight is not the time to show the voters how divided we are. It is the time to show everyone how strong we are when we come together. I for one will start by saying this. Whoever emerges victorious tonight, I will vehemently support until or unless there come a time when they no longer deserve that support. Good luck to both of you.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

What's Next to Ban? LEGO®s?

     While looking through the news of the day, one story caught my attention right away. It seems a future domestic terrorist has been discovered lurking in the halls of the Hyannis West Elementary School on Cape Cod in the form of five year old Joseph Cardosa.( 5 year old threatened with suspension.) What was this youngster's crime? He dared to take two LEGO®  pieces and make them into the shape of a gun. In the letter to the parents threatening him with suspension, the school says the boy was using toys inappropriately. I would like to see the policy the letter is referring to because I suspect there is nothing mentioned about what the appropriate use of LEGO®'s is.
     I remember having them as a child and all four of my own children had buckets of them too. As I recall, there were plenty of things made out of them to look like tanks, planes with missiles, and toy figures with guns lying around the house all the time. In the above referenced articled, the author cites several other absurd cases from around the country and the involved school system's ridiculous response to them. All of these things raise some serious questions.
     Who are the people we have teaching our kids who could be so stupid as to overreact to these things? If Mr. Cardosa was running around pointing the gun at other students and pretending to shoot them, I would agree with the school in intervening. Not because of the LEGO®s, more because of the behavior exhibited. Instead, what we hear from the Principal of the school is that person's own apparent irrational fear of anything which even remotely looks like a gun, as if just the shape is dangerous. This presumably educated person told FOX 25 “We need a safe environment for our students. While someone might think that making a Lego gun is just an action of a 5-year-old, to other 5-year-olds, that might be a scary experience.” Really? A scary experience to who?
     My experience as a parent and youth sports coach is the less of a big deal we adults make of things, the better off the children are. It is not mentioned, but I wonder how many of the fellow students ran out of the building screaming in fear when young Mr. Cardosa brandished his newly made LEGO® gun? I wonder if the teachers present called 911 and placed the students under the desks to avoid whatever harm could come from plastic? 
     By the way, the picture I used is just one of thousands on the web. Kind of looks like a gun, don't you think? I guess I better watch for my letter in the mail too.
    

Monday, January 28, 2013

It's Time to Act!

     Yesterday I attended the Freedom Rally in North Brookfield with about three hundred other American patriots. Groups like G.O.A.L. (Gun Owners Action League), Oathkeepers, and It's Time were there but most of the crowd seemed to be made up of regular folks who are just fed up. Many, like me, were Veterans, or police officers, or retired and there was at least one outspoken teacher. Several media folks were there too to take part and to exercise their right to cover the event. Although it was cold, the weather was clear and sunny. All in all it was a good rally, but it could have been, and should have been even bigger.
     As soon as I arrived I got myself put on the list to speak and when it came to be my turn, I concentrated on the history aspect of the Bill of Rights as a whole and what the written record says about our founding father's intents. I also spent a few minutes on making the point we need to engage the folks who were not there. Our friends, neighbors and family who we know are reasonable and not so far to left there is no hope of saving them. While the rallies are a good way of connecting and publicizing the message, nothing is really going to change until we start taking back our government one open position at a time.
     Every year, in towns and cities all across the country, positions remain unfilled or, even worse, no one runs against the current office holder, who, in Massachusetts, is most likely a left leaning Liberal out to usher in every crazy idea that comes along. You know, ideas like requiring gun holders to carry insurance, like we do on automobiles. Or intellectually dishonest laws like the ones to limit capacity when all of WWII was fought using eight round clips. It is time for those of us who know what freedom is, to step up and fill those open positions, or to run for elected ones. Even if you are appointed dog catcher, or you are a candidate, your voice will be heard. I agree with one slogan in particular from yesterday. It's Time to Act Now!
   
    
    

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Shameful Hearing Performance Fails to Shed Light

     Yesterday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and put on quite the show. She cried, she yelled, and like the good Democrat Party sycophant that she is, she blamed the Republicans for the outcome of the attack that night. Yes, Hillary Clinton complained it was the lack of money from the Republicans in the House of Representatives which led to there not being enough security at that consulate. A masterful performance by an actress all too well schooled on public deception and politics. Unfortunately she was dead wrong in her assessment and dead wrong to blame anyone other than herself, the military leaders in charge and her boss.
     CNN has published a timeline of the events in Benghazi which it received from the Pentagon. CNN Report  It clearly shows there were two separate attacks carried out hours apart from each other on the complex. Ambassador Stevens and Sean Smith were killed in the initial attack. Those deaths are tragic. They were probably preventable if someone, anyone, in charge had been listening and paying attention in the weeks leading up to the incident. Yet, they were the result of an attack which was not anticipated at the time it occurred, and can be explained in that context. Ignorance and complacency, in my opinion, were the main cause of their deaths. Not so the deaths of Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. There are no excuses for their demise.
     My premise is based on a few undisputed facts. First, our military leaders knew there was a full scale military assault on the consulate within fifteen minutes of its start at 9:42 pm. They knew RPG's and Mortars were being used. They knew automatic weapons were also being used. By 11:30 pm, they knew the attack was over and that two diplomats were dead. They spent precious time between the first attack and the second assault at 5:30 am telling special teams in Spain and Croatia to "prepare" to move, in case of a second attack. (More evidence they knew this was a military action and not a protest.) It was not until 1:30 am, four hours after the first shots, when six security people arrived from the embassy in Tripoli. It is less than an hour by air. (Only diplomats would think six people could defend them in that scenario.) Sometime after the second attack began, Woods and Doherty were killed while defending the second building. Reports are contradictory as to whether they survived for minutes or for hours. Either way, their deaths were preventable and someone should be held accountable. Unfortunately, the current media is more interested in things like the size of Snooki's baby than the details of a botched operation in Libya. I say botched because that is what happened. People, like Clinton, and Pinetta, and even the President, were so busy pontificating over what to do, they ended up doing nothing and more lives were lost.
     Think about this. I just looked on the Internet and learned there are at least three NATO countries within a two hour commercial flight of Benghazi. These include Italy, Turkey and Greece. In addition, we had carriers in the Eastern Mediterranean. How is it possible we had no military assets to respond to the scene sooner than 5am when the second attack started? It isn't folks. There are dozens of bases within range and plenty of allied soldiers who could have responded, if asked to do so in the first place. This was a failure of leadership from the President on down and it is not an ideological argument. It is an argument borne of having served in the military and seeing first hand our capabilities. Not even one fighter plane could be dispatched? Not one? Didn't we just help these same attackers with fighters? How can this narrative even be true? More importantly, why is it no one in the so called main stream media, or our leaders in congress, are asking those same questions? Why are people getting a pass on this?
     Woods and Doherty died most likely believing help was on the way. What a shameful black mark on our country for letting that happen. As for Hillary Clinton and her theatrics, I hope they have the same effect as Dr. Dean's scream, and put her off the stage once and for all.
    

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Please Patriots, Send Ray Lewis Away!

     It is 5:31 pm on Sunday, less than an hour before the AFC Championship Game, and I for one am sick and tired of all the Ray Lewis talk. It's bad enough our society treats guys like this as Gods in the first place, but in his case it is certainly unwarranted. All week, and especially today, the Ray Lewis worship has intensified to such a level,  it is becoming uncomfortable to watch. Pundit after pundit are heaping praise on this guy, for his activities on and off the field. People I normally respect, like Chris Berman and Terry Bradshaw. Please guys, give me, and all the rest of the law abiding folks out here in the real world, a break. Ray Lewis will, in my mind, be forever stained by the events which occurred on January 31, 2000 outside a bar in Atlanta. If you may recall, there was an altercation and when it was all said and done, two men lay bleeding to death on the sidewalk, while Ray Lewis and his entourage fled in a limousine. Although there was a criminal trial, and civil settlements, Ray Lewis has never been made to give a full accounting of what happened that night, or his roll in the incident. I think the families of those two men deserve those answers.
     Before writing this blog, I was looking up information on that crime, and came across a very well put together piece by Greg Stewart. Ray Lewis Trial Timeline It is clear from this article Mr. Lewis never completely atoned for his actions that night. Now, all these years later, Mr. Lewis is a longtime football player who is retiring at the end of a productive career on the field and suddenly he is being revered as some type of hero. It is sickening given what little we know about his involvement in the deaths of two people. How is it that grown men, educated men, public figures, can bring themselves to get this low in the mud over this person? Let's face it, we are not talking about Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, Payton Manning, Larry Bird or (I was going to add Lance Armstrong but...) any number of other great athletes who may deserve these accolades. No, Ray Lewis in my opinion is nothing more than a thug who could play good ball. Even if he came clean today, it would not change the way I feel, too much time has gone by and the families of those men have been hurt too much.
     Put yourself in their shoes for a moment. How do you think they feel to see this idolization of him? My guess is, it hurts. We will never know the truth of that night but for two young men, it doesn't matter. For them, and their families, it was a night to be remebered by pain and hurt.
     Here's to hoping the New England patriots put the lights out on this disgusting story that is Ray Lewis, once and for all

Thursday, January 17, 2013

A Day to Remember

    Today is the 22nd anniversary of the beginning of the First Gulf War, also known as Desert Storm. As a veteran of that war, I am surprised at how many years it has been. Like most war veterans, my memories of that time are still vivid and easily recalled. Memories like being in full MOPP 4 (Chemical protection suits worn over battle fatigues.) gear for the first several hours of the conflict, while being stuck inside our tents due to the weather, not knowing if the planes we heard, or the missile sounds from the nearby patriots, or if the gentle vibrations in the ground were from enemy action or our own. Any clue, or snippet, and a whole slew of memories come rushing back, like the smell of the operational area, the heat, the feel of the sand, the eerie dark color of the sky day after day after day and the missions with which we were tasked and on and on. It is the ease with which I remember all of it, while at the same time not being able to remember what I ate yesterday, that causes my surprise at how long its been.

     For those of you who do not know, I served with the 344th Military Police Company in the First Platoon. Although we were a reserve unit, we got assigned to the 503rd Airborne Military Police Battalion out of Fort Bragg as part of the XVIII Airborne Corps. I never got to jump out of planes but I remember the Battalion Commander threatening to throw us out of perfectly good planes if the ground war didn't go well. At the beginning of the conflict, our platoon was providing security for one of the fuel depots near the borders of Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Later we moved into Iraq and were responsible for moving prisoners from the forward battle areas to the POW camp near Hafar Al Batin, Saudi Arabia. In all, we moved over 22,000 of them, mostly by bus, over roads which would be considered bad in the back woods of Maine.
  
     This year, the anniversary of the war is marked by the death of one of the influential people during that time. On December 27, 2012, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf passed away quietly in Tampa, FL. When I heard the news I was saddened, not only because I had met the man and knew him to be a gentle giant, but also at the loss of one of those people who rise to the top in our consciousness to be forever remembered throughout history. Stormin Norman, or the Bear, was one of those generals who invoked a sense of confidence, and belief among his troops, he would make the right decisions. No matter what the mission was, we knew he would get us through. I say that not just as an observer, but as one of those same troops who served under him. During the fall of 1991, our unit was rewarded for our service in the Gulf by being allowed to be the security/police force for the West Point football games. At one of those games, General Schwarzkopf, who had just retired, was honored. I was fortunate enough to be picked as one of the soldiers who was to wait on him during the game. I gladly got him his coffee and looked for more ways to make him comfortable. After the game he met with us and talking with him was like talking to each other. All of us had gone through something and the bond between us was palpable. It was right then I knew what it was like to be in the presence of a great leader. Shortly after his death, I was talking to a close family member who lives in the Tampa area. He was explaining all of the good charity work General Schwarzkopf had been involved in since his retirement in 1991. I was amazed at how much he had done but not surprised. He will be missed.

     Recently I was speaking with a Korean War Veteran who said something startling to me, "Hey, you Gulf War guys are just like us, they are forgetting about you too." I understood his sentiment but I hope it is never true.******************************************


 If you want a great resource for the First Gulf war, check out the book linked here.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Rant Alert...:)

I posted this on my website this afternoon. Website



A Letter From Bill


Hello everyone,
     Now that we are in 2013, it is time to regroup and get back to work. Already we are being faced with very severe consequences from the November elections. At the Federal level, President Obama has become even more emboldened in his quest to turn the USA into a socialist state patterned after those in Europe. At the State level, several new initiatives are looming which will only increase the hardship felt by many of our neighbors and yourselves. Some of these include a whole slew of new taxes and fees to pay for transportation costs, which are estimated to be in the Billions, water quality reforms which will allegedly cost over $20 Billion dollars over the next 20 years, and even more restrictive gun laws which will lead to many court fights about their constitutionality, while not doing anything to protect anyone from the criminals among us.
     As tempting as it might be to pack up and move away, or to turn away from politics altogether, I do not believe that is the right course of action at this time. Instead, I think we should rise up and let our voices be heard even louder. If an issue arises which really get s under your skin then get on the phone and call the lawmakers, the media, your friends and any Democrats you know. Write letters to the editor and letters to the lawmakers. Write blogs, tweet on twitter and share, share, share!
     We lost this race, but we did make a go of it, and we did it at a relatively very low cost. It can be used as proof anyone can run, against anyone! Starting this spring, team up with Activate Worcester, and recruit candidates to fill all levels of our local government, in every town and city. Complaigning is not enough. You have to get more involved if you want anything to change, I really believe that.
     No decision has been made yet  whether I will run again, but I am still raising funds to close out any left over bills from my campaign. If you can help, it would be much appreciated. No matter what, I am not stopping. I will continue to write my blog , thelebeaupost, which you can find here, on Facebook , on line, onTwitter, or you can be added to the email list if you wish.
     I hope all of you stay with us and continue to fight. It is more important now than ever!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

So MA Voter, How's that Status Quo Thing Working Out for You?

     MA Governor Patrick has finally come out with his list of ideas of ways to fund the future transportation needs of the state. Not surprisingly, the it is full of new ways to fleece the average worker and taxpayer. There are also the typical liberal targeted taxes like charging people more to use and register SUV's and less for stupid cars and bikes. Of course, new toll roads, new sales tax increases and so-called "green'" initiatives are part of the plan too. With a newly elected, one sided, liberal legislature, many of these ideas will soon become reality for the Massachusetts taxpayer. What a shame. All of this is due to a projected need of $1.2 Billion dollars per year for transportation needs and administrative costs. What was missing from the list of ideas? Not one single item mentions anything about cost cutting. Not one! Ideas like privatizing many of the functions of the MBTA, or of eliminating some of the 29 separate union contracts that the agency is forced to negotiate, or of any salary or labor cuts. Quite the opposite. For instance, new toll roads would mean hundreds of more jobs the lawmakers could give to family and cronies.
     A few years ago I wrote about a simple solution to our state's needs which was available by obtaining more of the Obama stimulus bill in 2009. (No More Tax Bailouts...) In case you forgot, there were lawmakers who predicted MA could end up with over $50 Billion of the $840 Billion which was eventually allocated. It was not to be. Instead we received a total of 7.785 Billion from those funds which have now been almost completely spent across the country. Governor Patrick and all of the Massachusetts Delegation in Washington failed the Massachusetts workers and taxpayers by not securing more of those funds. Now we are faced with a $20.2 Billion dollar transportation bill over the next 20 years to be paid by people who quite frankly cannot afford to pay more.
     Was it too much to ask for our Massachusetts political leaders in Washington and here in MA, who were all members of the same party as the President, to get more of the payout from that bill? After all, Massachusetts workers not only pay more into the Federal Treasury than workers from 48 other states, (State Avg Income) there are more workers here than in 36 other states too. (States by Population.) That money was our money! We should have expected more. For the Governor and State leaders to now come asking the taxpayers to pay more when there was no need in the first place, is despicable. Cut spending first, then see what needs to be done. I know it won't happen here, but it should.
     Speaking of the Stimulus Bill, does everyone remember the phrase "Shovel Ready Jobs?" I do. It was the main selling point of the need for the bill. Guess what? We were lied to and not in a small way either. Through a government spending tracking website, Recovery.gov , I was able to see, as you can too, exactly where the $840 Billion went. Here is a hint, not much of it came to MA! Over a third of the money went to tax benefits. Things like first time home buyer programs, transportation subsidies, education benefits and even earned income credits for people who, for the most part, do not even work. Big chunks of money went to energy incentives, the COBRA program and direct payouts to low income workers. Another third went to things like Contracts, Grants and Government Loans. The last third? You guessed it. Entitlements! In order to find funds spent for shovel ready jobs, you need to look very hard. When you do, you find less than ten percent of the $840 Billion Dollars went to shovel ready jobs.
     Maybe it's time for those of us who are aware and in the know, to really make ourselves heard. We can do that by making an effort. Write letters to the editor, call into radio shows, rally, and make ourselves a nuisance to family and friends until they wake up! Do not hide anymore. It hasn't worked anyway so what is there to lose? A few elections? Already doing our share of that. I for one am not going to go away without a fight and I hope you don't either. These proposals are wrong, obnoxious, arrogant and, given the current economic environment, stupid. Let them all know how you feel! I will.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

A School Shooting in CA? How Could That Happen?

     Earlier today there was another school shooting, this time at Taft Union High School in Taft, California. Taft is a small community about 25 miles from Bakersfield, CA. I am wondering how that could have happened? How was it possible for a school shooting to have happened anywhere in California? Doesn't California already have some of the strictest gun laws in the country? Isn't California one of the states that already bans assault rifles, high capacity magazines and any firearm near a school that is not locked up in an enclosed container? According to the gun control advocates, those are the laws needed across the country to prevent these types of incidents from happening, right? According to Vice President Biden yesterday, President Obama is so sure of that, he is prepared to issue executive orders to get those types of rules in place immediately, instead of waiting for congress to act. For weeks we have listened to the outcries for more gun laws from people who do not agree with the constitutional intent of the second amendment or who want to ban all guns, for all citizens. Or we've heard from people who are not even American telling us how wrong our system is.
     Today was clear proof of the absurdity of those claims. Today we saw first hand how inadequate written laws are at actually protecting people. I've said it before, I'll say it again. Only a good person with a gun can defeat a bad guy with a gun. Still, we are faced with ideologues who do not care if their views are wrong, or worse, dangerous.
     First, let me go over some of the gun laws in place in California right now. I got these from looking on the available California State Government websites. You can do the same very easily.

I will start with handguns.:
A handgun safety certificate is required, obtained by written test, for all handgun purchases. All handguns must be included on a statewide list of handguns for sale, before they can be sold. If open carry, handguns must be unloaded except by special permit. Concealed permits are at the sole discretion of local authorities and in many instances very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. In gun free zones, all weapons must be unloaded and locked in a fully enclosed container such as the trunk of a car. All schools and up to a 1000 feet from them, are considered gun free zones in California.

As for long guns:
All semi-automatic weapons which are deemed assault type by the state are prohibited from being sold, possessed or carried in California. These include all AR-15's and Ak7's to name a few. Shotguns can only be carried or transported if there are no shells chambered or ready to be fired. All magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds are prohibited.
All sales of any weapons require a ten day waiting period and must be recorded by the state. Private sales must be done through a dealer. On and on it goes.
      So, again I ask, how could there have been a school shooting in California today? First of all, the shooter was 16. Although it was not technically illegal for him to possess the shotgun used, it is illegal in CA to sell or give a firearm to anyone under 18 for anything other than lawful purposes, so someone violated that law, or he stole it, which is a violation of another law. Second, he was in a "gun free zone", with a loaded weapon, another clear violation. Third, he used the weapon to try to kill people. I am pretty confident there are plenty of laws against that activity, even in California. I am also pretty sure I could come up with many more California laws broken by this shooter, if you really needed more examples.
     Until there is honesty from the gun controllers of what their real agenda is, we will never be able to agree on these matters. They are being dishonest in their approach and many of us know it. Today's shooting should not be used to get more laws, it should be shown as an example of why more laws will not solve anything.

   

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Keep Moving Folks, There is Nothing to See Here

     Elections have consequences, good and bad, and that has never been more evident than at the Monday night meeting of the Worcester Election Commission. At the meeting, according to an article by Nick Kotsopoulos in the Worcester Telegram today, T&G, a letter was presented by City Clerk David J. Rushford in which he makes it clear he believes there are no lingering issues from the November 6 election or the earlier September primary. Since the Commission shamelessly failed to take any action against him, the status-quo has been preserved and we, the voters, can expect more of the same in upcoming elections.
     At the heart of the issue was the brazen attempt by the Worcester Commission to implement its own rules for poll workers during the elections. In a Telegram article on October 31, (Earlier article from Worcester Telegram) Commissioner Diane Mohieldin defended their actions by claiming, since the Secretary of States Office did not respond to their request to implement their own local rules, they felt it was proper to do just that. On and on she goes throughout the article describing the local rules and how much better they are for the election process. Let's think about this for a second. In her arrogance she leaves out one very important part of the equation; the Secretary of States Office is responsible for setting the rules across the state and guided by the Massachusetts General Laws in doing so. Why should the Secretaries Office even respond to that request? Under what authority does the Worcester Election Commission presume to be able to write its own rules? Who do these people think they are?
     Unfortunately the arrogance displayed is a direct result of not having to worry about your job. It is created every time an election is held in which the same party wins big, over and over again. This is the message which gets lost during the campaign season. Local elections matter! Clerk Rushford has nothing to worry about because he is strongly supported by a one sided city council. They have nothing to worry about because for decades they have not had to face any real challenges to their authority. On and on it goes folks.
     Of course, the Secretary of States Office probably had the same questions of the commission as me, but since all of the players are part of the same political persuasion and power machine, it would be naive to think any real action would be taken or answers provided. Instead we can count on a lot of blubbering hot air and a very large broom to appear to sweep the whole mess aside. Hence the Clerk's letter and the lack of interest displayed by the commission. I would call them all to shame, but it would surely be a waste of time with this bunch.
   
     

Friday, January 4, 2013

2013 Top 5 Wish List

     Now that we are almost done the first week of 2013, I have decided to post my top five wishes for the upcoming year. Before you go all crazy and complain to me about them, keep in mind, these are my own personal wishes. I have hundreds more but these are my top five, as of today, and not listed in importance either:

1.     By Christmas next year there are at least two passenger carriers operating out of Worcester Airport. Like it or not, it is going to remain an airport and any modern city needs to have one. Let's get our Democrat Leadership to take $39 mil from the $250 Billion still not spent from the 2009 Federal Stimulus funds, and get the upgrades done. If they did that, Jet Blue would come. While an access road would be nice, there wasn't one in 1989 when 354,000 people used the airport so that is a bogus argument against using it. By the way, to all of those homeowners I met while on the campaign trail who live near the airport, please stop blocking progress. If you don't like airplane noise, move. After all, you knew there was an airport there when you bought your house.

2.     Worcester is still the second largest city and metro area in all of New England, yet we get treated by the government, both State and Federal, as if we are some small town tucked away in the western wilderness. With that in mind, would it be too much to ask for the VA to have at least one full service hospital for Central MA Veterans, of which there are a huge number? Currently our area Vets are served by 1 outpatient clinic and VA hospitals in either Boston or Northampton. So if you are an area veteran and in need of specialized care, you have to travel quite a bit to get care. Our Veterans deserve better than this. Again, the aforementioned stimulus money could be tapped to get that done! I am so sick of all our politicians claiming to be supportive of Veterans while delivering very little in the way of real help.

3.     Keeping with this theme, wouldn't it be nice to see some cranes working on skyscrapers in our city, and not just downtown? What about Webster Square? While knocking on doors in that area, I was tripping over the same run down sidewalks as I was when I was delivering newspapers there as a kid. I know we can do better. Where are the visionaries who see the city for what it could be? Where are the business folks who would get things done in spite of inept politicians? Worcester has so much to offer but if you've been to Hartford, Providence, Manchester or even New Haven, you would see how far we are falling behind!

4.     By the end of this year, all public safety departments in our area up to full strength. There are no excuses for police and fire departments to be understaffed. It is a short term solution which has long term consequences. When those folks are worked harder, they get hurt more and burn out quicker. Please make all of our pols recognize this and make public safety a priority! No money is no excuse!

5.     A new fire station for Leicester! Currently the Station 1 trucks have to be pulled into a neighbors driveway to turn around and the building is too small for a modern ladder truck. Years of empty promises need to come to an end. It is time to find the roughly $5 million necessary to replace the building. Towns across Massachusetts benefit from call departments. They all have a responsibility to provide the best resources and equipment to the brave men and women who provide those services while sacrificing so much of their time and energy. In my recent race, this was an issue. Hopefully Congressman McGovern, State Senator Moore and Representative Binienda will follow through and get it done, this year!

Well, those are my top 5, how about yours?

Thursday, January 3, 2013

New York County Says No to Liberal Demand

     On December 23rd The Journal News, a New York based newspaper and online news source, published an interactive map and story about gun permit holders in Westchester and Rockland Counties in New York State. The   Map allowed readers to scroll and see the names and addresses of handgun permit holders in those counties. As a Massachusetts resident and holder of that type of permit myself, I was appalled by the reckless behavior of the publication, and nervous the far left leaning papers here would follow suit by putting pressure on our state to change the current laws against it. Today, another county in New York, Putnam County, has refused to comply and officials there stated they will not honor the paper's request.  USA Today
     Kudos to them for taking this stand which, for now, will protect the permit holders. This action will surely lead to a much larger battle in court between the individuals right to privacy versus the public right to know. Although the New York Supreme Court has ruled this information is public, the issue could still be heard by the US Supreme Court. In this instance, I believe the individual right should prevail, and here is why.
     Unlike a driver's license or any other license or permit, firearm permits are granted as part of an individual right protected by the Constitution of the United States in its second amendment. All of the other state issued items are privileges. Not so a gun permit. Whether liberals like it or not, the US Supreme Court has upheld, over and over again, the individual right of a US Citizen to keep and bear arms based on that amendment. A Recent Supreme Court Decision
      This is the wording of the second amendment as ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State: A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. (Young, David E., The Founders' View of the Right to Bear Arms, p.222)
     Technically, this wording could be interpreted to mean no permit should be necessary. After all, we do not require a permit to exercise free speech, religion or to own property. Having said that, I do not personally have anything against the permit process, except where it is used to intimidate people from exercising their individual constitutional rights, which the activity by The Journal clearly does. 
     If you take the time to use the map, you will instantly see how easy it would be for a criminal to make a plan for stealing guns. Yes, the paper claims it does not know if a gun is in the residence, but to the criminal, the odds are much higher there are some there compared to other addresses. In addition, if a criminal has a beef with the police officer who arrested him or her, well, here you go. Just pull up the map and voila! After a little bit of work, there will be the name and address of that officer, including his or her family since it is a requirement of the job to have a handgun permit! As a former police officer, I am outraged by this, as all law enforcement affiliated people should be.
     One question I would like to ask the editors is why do this is in the first place. Allegedly it was done in response to the Newtown CT shooting but what did it accomplish? No rifle or shotgun holders are listed since there are no permits needed to own them in the first place in New York. You read that right, only handguns require a permit. One obvious explanation could be the editors of The Journal News are extreme liberals who only care about advancing their ideology instead of providing a real service to the public. This story and map do nothing to protect anyone or help in any way to mitigate the risk against some crazy person hellbent on doing harm. Instead, it could be argued it puts more people in danger.
     Another question I have of them is why not publish the names and addresses of all people deemed mentally incompetent, or who have committed crimes, or who hold driver's licenses, contractor permits, etc. etc. As absurd as it sounds, it is a valid question and one which, if answered, would clearly expose them for what they are. Leftist zealots who do not care about the safety of law abiding people over their own biased views.
     Hopefully legislators in New York and other states will create laws making this information private. They have the right to do that. If challenged, I believe the current Supreme Court would side with the legislators, as well they should.
    
     









     

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Shame on the RINO's

     If you have been reading this blog for the past few years or listening to me on the radio, you know I am a strong fiscal conservative who believes in reigning in the out of control government spending at all levels. You know I am against the wasteful spending of semi-public agencies and the power they have over our lives. You know I despise the outrageous wages given to public parking attendants while private sector workers live on the edge of poverty. How do you know this about me? You know it because you read it and you hear it. Unfortunately, tonight, there are a large number of Republicans in the House of Representatives who betrayed their voter's trust and who proved to be not so convicted.
     It was just over two years ago in when these Republicans were elected by voters across the country intent on stopping the Obama, Pelosi and Ried version of government from coming to fruition. It is nothing more than the classic European Socialist model based on central control and limited freedom for the people and many of us don't want it. In a shameful move, eighty five Republicans sided with their Democrat counterparts and voted to raise taxes and spending. That's right folks. You are reading this correctly. The cliff saving bill will not just raise the income taxes of all those who make over $450,000 per year to an outrageous amount, it will also increase taxes by 2% on all workers, at all income levels. This is because the Bush payroll tax cut disappears. All of the spending cuts, which would have been automatic without this bill, are now averted and tabled for at least two months. In the bill a year long extension of unemployment benefits was approved while capital gains and estate taxes were increased. Are you kidding me?
    This behavior by self serving politicians is reprehensible. Millions of voters spoke loudly in November of 2010 when these turncoat rinos were elected. Voters believed the lies about spending cuts and no new taxes uttered by the traitors. Now, under the threat by Dems of being saddled with the blame for so called middle class tax increases, they quivered and shook hiding under their desks like children afraid of the dark until they surrendered. Shame shame shame.
     As a conservative, I can only shake my head in disgust. Our Republican Party is no longer trustworthy or deserving of our support as it is constituted. As painful as it will be, the ranks need to be purged and these rinos run out for good. Yes, that will probably lead to short term Democrat victories, but in the long run our country will be better for it, if it can last long enough.
     A person's character is defined by what they do when their backs are against the wall. Eighty five Republicans tonight showed us their true character. Every single one of them should be out of a job for what they did. I was especially disappointed with Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Is he just too new to understand Democrats? Does he really believe they will follow through with their promises to cut spending? Don't forget what the definition of a cut is to a Liberal. If your spending was slated to go up 10% and you decide to only go up 5%, that is a cut in their minds of 5%. I am not making that up folks, it has been like that for decades.
     Once again, Democrats showed us how much better they are at the game. I believe the biggest reason is the loyalty they demand from their members to their cause. Can anyone imagine Nancy Pelosi or Harry Ried voting to cut spending or lower taxes? Of course not! How dare those Republicans vote against the wishes of the voters. How dare they act as if their personal interest in holding the job is more important than this country we live in. Although it is too late for this bill, please consider calling congress and complaining long and loud. Write them, call them, email them, facebook them and shame them! They deserve nothing less after tonight.

The phone number for the Capitol switchboard is (202) 224-3121