Seekonk Republicans

D'Amico's response to the Gambling Bill

2010-04-15T08:28:00.001-04:00

From the news wire

Rep. D'Amico of Seekonk said, I appreciate the community you represent and how much this means to you. And I respect your leadership and the way we have conducted this debate over the last two days. Seems like two years. Nonetheless, I rise in opposition to the bill.

We've heard a lot about jobs. But there's little evidence that casinos will spur long term economic development. And the gentleman from North Adams explained why. Whatever modest economic benefits that gambling brought to these communities, they were diminished and they went away. Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun have laid off well over 1,000 people during this recession, many of those skilled workers. Many of those will be knocking on our doors to take some of the best jobs.

Studies estimate for every 1,000 in gambling spending there is a reduction in spending in other businesses nearby. The gambling industry is predatory. It preys on the vulnerable. Like Big Tobacco, it addicts people to its products. By inviting the predatory gambling industry into Massachusetts, we will double the number of families destroyed by this predatory industry.

There are those who argue we need to recapture revenue lost. But we can't recapture it without a high cost. Massachusetts gamblers visit casinos four times a year. Connecticut residents visit eight times a year. We will create 140,297 new problem gamblers in our communities. That is three and a half times larger than the districts each of us represents.

Shattered lives. Broken families. We're told not to worry though. The bill includes $5 million to make the problem go away. Addiction is never cured. It's a lifetime struggle. The children of newly recruited pathological gamblers, they will carry the scars with them their entire lives. I ask each of you to look into your hearts, is this the best we can do for our people? Mr. Speaker, I hope the bill does not pass.

HOUSE BUDGET RAISES SPENDING 3.2 PERCENT, CUTS LOCAL AID $234 MILLION

2010-04-15T08:11:00.001-04:00

The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday morning approved a $27.8 billion fiscal 2011 state budget bill that increases overall state spending by 3.2 percent while cutting local aid to cities and towns by $234 million.

Immediately after the committee vote, Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Michael Widmer said he expected most of the local aid cut to come from education allocations under the Chapter 70 program and agreed with the assessment that the cut represents the biggest cut in state school aid of the recession cycle.

While targeting school aid that was insulated from cuts this fiscal year and in the last one, the House committee budget sustains existing state funding levels in other smaller local aid programs, including payments in lieu of taxes, regional school transportation, and funding for local public libraries.

The budget includes $1.4 billion in spending cuts and savings, including $300 million derived from a debt restructuring proposal endorsed separately by the committee. The panel also voted for a six-point bill aimed at easing pressure on municipal spending, in part by allowing local systems to defer rising pension system liabilities, authorizing a municipal early retirement incentive program, and promoting shared public safety resources.

With health care cost increases at the forefront of public debate, the committee budget allocated nearly $9 billion for Medicaid health insurance coverage to 1.2 million enrollees, a $601 million increase to fund a projected 3 percent increase in enrollment. Separately, the bill includes $838 million for Commonwealth Care, the subsidized insurance program that serves 170,000 individuals and was at the core of the state’s 2006 health care reform law.

Murphy said the bill includes $111 million in state savings under the MassHealth program – the bill reduces rates for providers and “restructures” health services, for instance - and reduces spending on an immigrant health insurance program by $15 million, to $60 million, while capping enrollment in that program. The budget spends $160 million in one-time federal funds in connection with a recent announcement regarding prescription drugs.

Murphy called the budget “reasonable and balanced.”

The bill reduces spending in certain line items by $750 million, Murphy said, and includes no draws from the state's dwindling rainy day fund and no tax increases - Gov. Deval Patrick had proposed increases in taxes on candy and soda as well as a reduction in tax breaks enjoyed by the film industry.

Murphy said the bill includes $1.5 billion in one-time federal stimulus funds that the state may not be able to rely on in fiscal 2012. The budget also does not eliminate any tax exemptions, or tax breaks and credits, Murphy said.

"From a fiscal point of view, this is an improvement over the governor's budget," said Widmer, focusing his praise on the committee's decision to stop spending state reserve funds that he said will be needed in fiscal 2012.

"The cuts are going to be difficult but they're absolutely essential," Widmer said. Asked about the local aid cut, Widmer said, "They need to share in the pain, given our fiscal realities. Human services has borne the brunt of cuts to date."

Widmer said the debt restructuring plan was a "legitimate" attempt to take advantage of lower interest rates but said he would have preferred that the savings be socked away in the rainy day fund rather than spent.

Rep. Viriato deMacedo (R-Plymouth), the committee's ranking Republican member, said the committee budget cuts spending by $400 million more than Patrick's budget. He said he was pleased that the committee budget didn't include tax increases or spending from reserves.
"How they spend the 27.8 billion dollars, that's something that we're going to take a look at," deMacedo said. "Frankly, this isn't going to be the worst year. Next year is going to be the worst year. We're still operating off of $1.5 billion dollars of stimulus dollars that aren't going to be there next year."

Republicans will look at ways to address the local aid cut. "We didn't write the budget," deMacedo said. "We'll take a look and see if we have any different ideas to help address the local aid cut issue." When the budget hits the House floor for debate the last week in April, deMacedo said, observers will see "a lot of amendments." But he added, "There's not a lot of resources. You can only do what you can do."

The Plymouth Republican said he was more optimistic that Democrats will not add taxes to the committee budget, as they did last year, because, he said, people are hurting more this year than last year.

"Every day I run into a new person who tells me, 'Hey, I just got laid off.' . . . If they do go back to work, they're going back to work at far less money than they previously made."
Last year's major sales tax increase, he said, caused Massachusetts to lose business, and associated tax revenues, to New Hampshire retailers who are seeing more customers file in from Massachusetts.

"Everybody is watching every dime," he said. "The Dunkin’ Donuts, which used to be the place to go, is not seeing the business that it used to see because people are now making coffee at home."

After the committee vote on the budget, House members headed into a closed caucus to discuss the bill. Murphy plans a 1 p.m. press conference to discuss the spending plan.

What's Next?

2010-03-26T09:31:00.003-04:00

In Today's Story in the Sun Chronicle Rep. D'Amico says he is finally giving up his quest to end the state's tax credit program for the film industry. Saying, "Once you start giving out money and build a constituency for that money, it's tough to take it away." OK...if he knew this all along, why did he waste our time and taxpayer money fighting for this?
When Mr. D'Amico became our Representative, he said "growing the state's economy is one of his priorities this year." He would also work on bills that would create more State revenue.

Well, we all know he worked to raise taxes to bring in more revenue...but as his web site states; he is not working for the district he represents.

Rep. D’Amico’s 2009-2010 Legislation:
Transparency and Accountability in Economic Development Spending (H333)
An Act establishing seventeen year-old primary voting (H568)
Dark Skies (H3064)
An Act to promote small plot farming in the Commonwealth (H715)
An Act relative to towing storage (H234)
An Act relative to optometrists (H2036)
An Act providing for distinctive registration plate for firefighters (H3191)

Do these look like bills that will bring back jobs to our community? Are these growing our economy? I do not think so...As the article states, "he has often been a lonely voice against the tax credit,D’Amico said he will now move on to other causes such as demanding more transparency in the Legislature's budget." The lonely voice continues on...

A History of Violence.

2010-03-25T14:58:00.001-04:00

House Majority leader Steny Hoyer is speaking out against alleged threats of violence being made against at least 10 house Democrats as they get ready to go back to their districts before Easter. He has demanded, of course, that the Republican leaders openly condemn this violence, as if the people committing such acts wouldn't see through the political chivalry.

Minority Leader John Boehner has condemned the acts and added that threats of violence are not the American way. He said instead we need to make our voices heard and register people to vote, call our congressmen or volunteer on a political campaign in order to get our voices heard.

With all due respect to Mr. Boehner; violence is the American way. Does he not remember the Boston Tea Party? Does he not remember the American Revolution? It was through violence that we won our independence against the tyrannical government of the King of England. It was through violence that the North and South sought to have their political views upheld over the others. It was America that invented the most destructive device in human history, and it was America that used it on Hiroshima and Nagasaki effectively committing one of the most violent acts in human history.

We are a nation of violence. Our technological and industrial dominance over the last century has not changed that, the opposite, it has simply given us bigger and better and more sophisticated ways of which to commit violence.

And again, with all due respect to Mr. Boehner the Americans have been trying to make their voices heard and the government refuses to listen. Tell the residents of New Jersey that their voices are being heard. Tell the residents of Massachusetts that their voices are being heard. Tell the protesters outside of the Capital that their voices are being heard. Tell the Town Hall attendees that their voices are being heard. Tell the Americans who called the capital last week to the tune of 100 thousand calls per hour that their voices are being heard.

The American people are screaming at the top of their lungs at their government and they are being ignored!

While I too do not promote violence against a fellow human being, let's not be so naive into thinking that this government may be pushing it's citizens a bit to hard, and let's not be fooled into thinking that given the right circumstances the government could be creating it's very own recipe for disaster.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

D'Amico is running out of gas!

2010-03-25T07:52:00.004-04:00

Now Mr. Representative, time to give up this fight and work for the district you represent!

The film industry easily survived a challenge in the House Wednesday to tax breaks that opponents say are giveaways but which supporters claim are necessary inducements for industry jobs in Massachusetts.
Efforts to pass a pair of proposals scaling back industry tax breaks, an idea that Gov. Deval Patrick supports as part of overall budget-balancing plans, won only 10 and 15 votes in the House after lengthy debate. Patrick had proposed capping the tax credits to $50 million in fiscal 2011. Critics of the film tax credits had proposed limiting them to $7 million, the same level they were capped at in
2006 before lawmakers voted to expand the program. One of those critics, Rep. Matthew Patrick, came to the verge of tears as he slammed his colleagues for supporting the credits. "What message are we sending to the 400 mental health workers we laid off? That Hollywood is better than they are? That those people who dedicate their lives to this commonwealth aren't as good?" he shouted. "Think about it." But Patrick found himself outnumber by members like Rep.
Paul McMurtry, who, in his first-ever speech on the House floor, said "thousands of people" in Massachusetts depend on the movie industry to provide for their families. "Do not bring Massachusetts back to the days of silent films," he said. McMurtry, who owns a Dedham cinema, said some constituents offered their support to him on the condition that he keep his theater open. Proponents claimed the film tax credit has generated half a billion dollars of economic activity, drawing tourism, filling hotels and providing free marketing of Massachusetts in the films shot here. Rep. Ronald Mariano described actress Sandra Bullock telling a morning TV audience about spending a summer on Gloucester. But critics said much of the economic activity simply subsidizes rich actors' salaries and fails to generate enough revenue to pay for itself. The debate, which lasted just shy of three hours, also featured comments from Reps. Carl Sciortino, Steven D'Amico, Jay Barrows, Brian Wallace, Jay Kaufman and John Keenan. Defending the tax breaks, Keenan said film star Leonardo DiCaprio will probably pay more in income taxes in Massachusetts than the Salem rep will pay in his life.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

2010-02-28T11:52:00.002-05:00

Rep. D'Amico keeps up the fight for the Fourth Bristol District. Check is coming in the mail. JUST STAY HOME FOLKS!!!

FROM THE SUN CHRONICLE

State Rep. Steve D'Amico made another stab at limiting or ending state subsidies for the film industry Thursday, but was accused by the industry of trying to send business out of state.

D'Amico, D-Seekonk, held a briefing for the media and fellow legislators at the Statehouse in support of Gov. Deval Patrick's proposal to limit tax credits for films made in Massachusetts to $50 million a year.

A longtime opponent of the credits, D'Amico said Patrick's plan would save an estimated $75 million a year, money that otherwise would have to be cut out of aid to cities and towns or other important programs.

D'Amico said he would go further than the governor and end the program, but would settle for the $50 million cap for now.

He said tax credits are not like tax deductions. The credits are cash payments to the film industry that are wasteful ways of creating jobs. The state Department of Revenue found that the state spends $89,000 in tax credits for every $67,000 job that is created.

"It would be cheaper to pay people to stay home," he said.

He also said the state study found that the $118 million the state spent in film tax credits in 2008 generated only $17.5 million in revenue from other taxes.

But, Mary Fifield, who represents a Massachusetts film group called The Production Coalition, said D'Amico misunderstands the purpose of a tax credit.

She said credits are intended to spur economic activity, not tax revenue.

Over the past four years, the tax credits have encouraged $1 billion in economic activity in Massachusetts.

She said only one major film was made in Massachusetts in 2006, while 38 were filmed here over the past four years.

"The tax credit has worked exactly the way tax credits are suppose to work," she said.

Fifield also took issue with D'Amico using consultant Ned Rightor to support his case.

She said Rightor has worked for the New York film industry and has an interest in movies being made there, rather than in Massachusetts. D'Amico disputed her claim. He said Rightor has done some consulting for New York, but his study conducted with a Cornell University professor was not funded by the film industry.

In fact, he said, the New York film industry did not like the report by Rightor because it criticized the tax credits New York gives out.

D'Amico has been campaigning against film tax credits for several years, and said Thursday he believes he is making progress convincing his colleagues they are a bad idea.

FILM INDUSTRY ADDING CONSTRUCTION JOBS

2010-02-11T10:04:00.002-05:00

Another fight that Rep. D'Amico and now Governor Patrick find themselves against their union supporters. Support from the base is dwindling FAST!

From the House News Wire:

While most of the nation’s film and television production still takes place in New York and California, Massachusetts ranks high among the fastest growing locations, according to a UMass-Boston study released Thursday.

The film and television industry has also aided local job growth in the construction and transportation sectors and generated new career paths for Bay State college graduates, the report added.

“Employment in film and television production has increased in Massachusetts during a period when total state employment has been on the decline,” the report said. “There is also evidence that some of this job growth has helped to offset job losses in particularly hard hit trades like construction and transportation, as workers from these sectors have found work in film and television production.”

The 72-page study comes as Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed cutting back on a tax credit program for the film industry – capping a $125 million incentive program at $50 million – as one of several ways to close a $2.7 billion structural deficit in the fiscal 2011 budget. The tax credit program was created in 2005 by the Legislature.

According to data the study uses from the Motion Picture Association of America and others, the state grabbed slightly over 1 percent of total national spending on motion pictures and television productions in 2007.

“While Massachusetts does not currently capture a large percentage of the national film and television production spending, it seems to be growing more rapidly than other states (some of which have more generous tax programs) and capturing work that might otherwise be taking place elsewhere,” the report said.

Chris O’Donnell, a film industry union official and founding member of the Massachusetts Production Coalition, cited the report in urging Patrick not to cut the tax credit.

“While we empathize with the Governor’s need to identify revenue to help fill the budget gap, we are concerned that the proposed $50 million cap on the credit will drive the film and television industry to another state. The benefits of the credit – jobs creation and building the industry’s infrastructure – far outweigh its cost.”

The study, funded through a “creative economy initiatives” fund at UMass-Boston, was primarily authored by Pacey Foster, a management and marketing professor, and David Terkla, an economics professor. The study employed federal and local economic data, interviews with industry participants, and employment and spending data provided by local unions.

D'Amico Disses paying Taxes

2010-02-07T14:24:00.006-05:00

In an interview done by Janet Wu of Channel 5 News Boston, ( Some State Reps Pay Little Or No Federal Income Tax - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston ) the incumbent State Rep. Steven D'Amico, admitted that he personally took advantage of a special federal tax deduction given to MA state representatives who live greater than 50 miles from the Statehouse. According to MapQuest, Rep. D’Amico barely qualifies at 50.83 miles.

When prodded, D’Amico admitted that he paid no federal taxes in 2007 or 2008, saying he didn't want to look "a gift horse in the mouth." For someone who campaigned vigorously on closing corporate loopholes, we find it quite hypocritical that he would find a way to use one of these "loopholes" for his own personal benefit.

HELLO, he was elected to represent us, not himself. In less than two terms, he has quickly become what he once criticized.

What we have gotten from him these past three years is nothing more than dribbled up diatribe! He has worked to squeeze more money out of us while he has taken a substantial increase in salary...has gotten mileage paid for his "long" haul to Boston... has told his staff to take furlough's... has voted to raised sales/meals/ cigarette taxes and voted to instituted a liquor tax. And now this? This man wrote the eulogy to the hypocrite's oath! What more can you ask for?

We, the voters of MA need to send a clear message to D'Amico and his socialist friends on November 2nd, 2010… take a long hike and don’t come back any time soon!

SOUR GRAPES LEGISLATION

2010-01-25T14:23:00.002-05:00

Story from the Attleboro Sun on "D'Amico and the Dissidents"
SEEKONK - State Rep. Steve D'Amico has joined a small House rebellion calling for more transparency and less concentration of power in the hands of Speaker Robert Deleo.

D'Amico, D-Seekonk, has clashed with House leadership in the past, but now he has signed on with seven other dissidents in seeking formal changes in the way the Legislature operates.

The revolt broke out into the open at the end of last year, when it was revealed that almost $400,000 was being spent from the House operating budget for legal expenses related to the indictment of former Speaker Sal DiMasi.

The money was being spent without the knowledge of most House members.

Four of the members started shutting down informal sessions of the House in protest, demanding an accounting of the money. Now four more have joined the ranks and written to their colleagues demanding reforms.

They want detailed budgeting of House expenses, more authority for committees to bring legislation to the floor for a vote, and more say by rank and file members in who chairs committees.

They also propose to make the House subject to the state Open Meeting Law.

D'Amico said making the House more transparent has always been a priority for him and he has sponsored legislation to try to accomplish that.

For example, he said money left over from the House operation budget at the end of the year does not revert back to the general fund as it does with other departments.

Instead, he said, it goes into a "slush fund" that is spent at the speaker's discretion.

He has filed a bill to stop the practice.

D'Amico said he initially was reluctant to join the original rebels because they were accused of acting out of "sour grapes" because DeLeo had laid off some of their staffers.

At least two of the dissidents are leaving the House and running for other positions.

But the revelation that money was being spent on the DiMasi case without House members knowing about it was a turning point, he said. D'Amico has fought with leadership in the past over making public information about tax breaks for the film industry and economic development projects. He also agreed to sign on to "Fix Beacon Hill" legislation sought by reform groups.

Other House members joining the effort are: Reps. Lida Harkin, D-Needham; Matthew C. Patrick, D-Barnstable; Thomas M. Stanley, D-Waltham; William Greene, D-Billerica; Will Brownsberger, D-Belmont; Joseph R. Driscoll, D-Braintree; and John F. Quinn, D-Dartmouth.

Brownsberger recently resigned his position as vice chairman of the committee on global warming in protest.

DeLeo issued a statement saying he has already taken steps to make the House a more transparent chamber, and said he has an open-door policy for members.

D'Amico making more friends on Beacon Hill

2010-01-22T13:26:00.002-05:00

From the news wire....
Steven D'Amico has made a few disenfranchised friends on Beacon Hill...because of his merits, Seekonk can bet that it will not be recieving any help from the leadership. Maybe a Republican can do better?

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JAN. 21, 2010…..Eight disenfranchised House members, feeling the branch has become undemocratic and the committee process “irrelevant,” are asking colleagues to join them in efforts to reel in House Speaker Robert DeLeo, arguing the House Speaker “determines everything.”

Saying bills no longer reach the floor because of their merits as judged by committees and instead are debated only if permitted by DeLeo, the representatives say they’ll push for greater transparency in House operations and procedural changes they say will take away from the “consolidation of power” in DeLeo’s office.

“A representative form of government is supposed to give us all a voice at the table so the interests of our constituents are adequately represented, but when all power is put in the hands of one person, it corrupts that process and opens the door to abuse,” the representatives wrote in an email circulated Thursday.

The email, entitled “The Larger Problem in the House,” was presented by Reps. Matthew Patrick, Thomas Stanley, Lida Harkins, William Greene Jr., Will Brownsberger, Steven D’Amico, Joseph Driscoll and John Quinn. The rank-and-file Democrats are not part of DeLeo’s leadership team.

Some of the legislators seeking reforms served in leadership posts under House Speakers Salvatore DiMasi and Thomas Finneran, House chieftains who also faced criticism for exercising too much control over legislating.

The legislators describe a House where the committee process is “irrelevant,” where details of the House’s $47 million budget are kept secret, where members are apprehensive about voting against leadership’s wishes, where floor debate is often “meaningless,” and where lobbyists have “more power because they know that if they get the Speaker behind a bill, it will pass.”

“A Speaker now determines everything in the Massachusetts House,” the representatives wrote. “He determines which bills come to the floor for a debate, and he appoints his paid and unpaid leadership team that constitutes a majority when the Republicans take themselves out of the picture. When in his favor, he may give members good office space, additional staff or, more importantly, allow budget amendments to pass.”

The eight lawmakers say they’ve developed specific proposals and hope to advance them over the next year.

The proposals include: ensuring that home rule petitions can be discharged from the Rules Committee in a timely fashion; making the state budget process in the House more transparent, and making the House operating budget specifics accessible to all members; provide a leadership election and committee appointment process that distributes more power to the members and less power to the Speaker; providing legislators with greater control of the operating budgets for their offices; and eliminating or narrowing legislative exemptions to the open meeting law, public records law, and purchasing standards.

In response to the letter, DeLeo spokesman Seth Gitell said in an emailed statement: "From the start of the Speakership, Speaker DeLeo has worked to make the House a more open and transparent place. He has, among other actions, set a term limit on the Speakership, required the Clerk to make all bills introduced and admitted for consideration to the House available to members electronically, and required notice of committee hearings to be posted on the internet.

"He has kept an open door policy with members, meeting with them in groups and individually on a myriad of issues.” Gitell added, "Speaker DeLeo remains focused on growing jobs and improving the state economy."

In his own email, House Minority Leader Brad Jones thanked the authors of the email for their observations, before pointing out that House Democrats have often stood united against similar reforms proposed by Republicans.

“I appreciate the observations and ideas in light of Scott Brown’s resounding victory on Tuesday,” Jones wrote. “I look forward to evaluating the ideas you have put forth along with similar and companion ideas the Republican Caucus has offered numerous times over the years which have been traditionally and almost exclusively defeated on party line votes.

“These votes would indicate that “THE LARGER PROBLEM IN THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE” is the one-party domination in the legislature the cure for which lies at the ballot box.”

Unions Threaten, Obama Concedes; Scott Brown Takes the Lead!

2010-01-15T11:21:00.003-05:00

The New Suffolk University Poll out today shows Scott Brown with a 4 point lead. Interestingly, and comically I suppose is 64% of the people polled still think Coakley will win! It would seem we poor Massachusetts residents don't think that anyone else is voting for Scott Brown even though 5o% of those polled will be!

GET OUT AND VOTE ON TUESDAY!

Now for other news and more motivation to elect Scott Brown.

Two days ago the heads of the major labor unions, who were already stating their dislike of the extra tax on Cadillac health care plans, put Obama on notice. They warned him that if union health care plans were included in the Cadillac tax that has been proposed in the health care bill, the democrat members of congress would experience defeat 1994 style.

Obama conceded. All collective bargaining units will be exempt from the Cadillac Tax until 2018. That will save the unions about 60 billion dollars.

For those of you who do not know what a Cadillac plan is, you should probably look at yours, because you probably have one. A Cadillac plan is a health care plan that has a total annual cost (premiums only) of 8,000 dollars for a single payer, and 23,000 dollars for a family plan. The total includes not just what you contribute, but your employer as well and the cost of your Dental and vision plans are added in as well...unless of course you work for a Union where even after their sweet little deal expires in 2018, they get a little extension that exempts the costs of their Dental, vision, and flex plans.

Depending on what part of the country you live in, you may be looking at the amounts and asking what the big deal is. Well depending on what part of the country you live in, means that your costs may be far lower than others. Massachusetts, for example has incredibly high health care costs compared to the rest of the nation, where Idaho has some of the lowest.

You also have to look at other factors. Companies with thousands of employees have much more bargaining power with the insurance companies to help keep costs down. The companies that have only a few hundred or less typically pay much higher prices per employee per plan.

Regardless, this is just another bribe, in the long list of bribes, that Obama has given to get this legislation that no one wants passed.

1,101 days left.

Why I support Scott Brown

2010-01-14T14:12:00.001-05:00

With just a few weeks left in the Massachusetts U.S. Senate race, it is imperative that the voters of Seekonk realize the enormity of what is at stake. January 19, 2010 will be one of the most important votes to come to our community and state. This office, held by the late Senator Edward Kennedy for over 40 years, now has a real chance of being represented by someone who will bring our fight to Washington against wasteful government spending and higher taxes. This candidate, who like me, believes it is wrong to pass down to our children and grandchildren the insurmountable amount of debt the Democratic controlled legislature has pushed through this past year.
Scott Brown is that person. As a Republican representing us on Beacon Hill, Scott started his public career as a Selectman in Wrentham. He then went on to serve three terms as a State Representative and won his current State Senate seat in a special election in 2004 while also serving our country and state as an JAG officer in the Massachusetts National Guard. Currently in his third Senate term, Senator Brown has fought hard to restore people’s faith in government by introducing transparency, accountability and reform. With the ongoing economic crisis and several recent scandals that have shaken the foundation of our state government, Senator Brown has filed bills that have focused specifically on good government reforms, improving business competitiveness, and holding the line on taxes and spending, as well as continually working to strengthen public safety and education. In 2007, Senator Brown wrote the first-in the-nation law that sets up a check off box on State income tax forms to indicate if the filer is a veteran of the Iraq or Afghanistan conflicts. This information is necessary to locate returning veterans so that they can be notified of the benefits and services to which they are entitled. Scott Brown is the person we need in Washington to represent us!
Clear distinctions separate Scott Brown and Democrat candidate Martha Coakley. For example, she is in favor of over $2 trillion in higher taxes over the next five years, from her support of cap-and-trade ($233 billion) to her refusal to renew the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 ($928 billion). Scott believes that taxes are high enough! A vote for Coakley will help to ensure the continuing out-of-control spending that follow the likes of Reid and Pelosi. She will be a rubber stamp vote for the passage of any of their proposed legislation that will ultimately hurt Massachusetts residents in their pockets.

Please take the time to compare the differences between these two candidates. Do you really want more of the same representation that for over the last forty years has brought us big government, wasteful spending, state cutbacks, high cost of health insurance, and of course, higher taxes? The choice is very clear to me. We need change on Capitol Hill and Scott Brown is that change.

Democrats Not Excited About Coakley

2010-01-07T10:35:00.000-05:00

January 7, 2010

HEADLINE: Sluggish Coakley effort irks Dems
BYLINE: Jim Hand, Sun Chronicle Staff

Dennis Naughton was standing out in the cold at 7:15 Wednesday morning waving to passing motorists in Foxboro and holding a sign for U.S. Senate candidate Martha Coakley.

So when he hears reports that Democrats are not excited about supporting Coakley, he wonders who they are talking about.
"I think people are pretty motivated," he said of his party's faithful.

But, a poll out Tuesday and interviews with local Democrats tell another story.

The Democrats said Coakley has been too passive, and a Rasmussen poll found that state Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, had closed Coakley's once commanding lead to a mere 9 points.

"I'm not happy with the level of campaign effort I've seen," state Rep. Bill Bowles, D-Attleboro, said of Coakley. "I think the campaign needs to step it up a notch."

Furthermore, the Rasmussen poll said Republicans supporting Brown were much more motivated to vote in a special election Jan. 19 than Democrats because of their dislike of health care reform.

"Special elections are typically decided by who shows up to vote, and it is clear from the data that Brown's supporters are more enthusiastic," the poll said.

"In fact, among those who are absolutely certain they will vote, Brown pulls to within two points of Coakley. That suggests a very low turnout will help the Republican and a higher turnout is better for the Democrat."

Coakley supporters have expressed fears that her sleepy campaign style and aversion to confronting Brown will drag down Democratic turnout in the election to fill the seat once held by the late Edward Kennedy.

One local Democratic activist who asked not to be named said there is a great deal of frustration with Coakley's inactivity.

The activist wants to rev up the local effort for Coakley, but the campaign keeps saying there is nothing to worry about because Coakley is going to win.

"This is the worst campaign I've ever seen in my life. I don't get it. I just don't get it," the activist said.

Naughton, a member of the Democratic State Committee, said if there truly was a lack of motivation among his party, the poll might be just the shot in the arm Coakley's backers need.

Nothing gets Democrats worked up like the prospect of another Republican going to Washington to obstruct work on important problems, he said.

"Actually, I was glad to see that poll. I think it will motivate people. Some people were worried voters would stay home" because they thought Coakley will win easily, he said.

Naughton said he intends to cite the poll in the telephone calls he makes for Coakley's campaign.

The poll is also a boon to Brown. National Republican groups have been slow to come to his aid, not wanting to spend money on a race if the GOP is unlikely to win.

Now Brown has an independent poll on his side to show the race could be winnable.

Even before the evidence was in, Brown had repeatedly said his campaign was surging because it had energy on its side.

He contrasts his frenetic campaign pace with what he calls Coakley's "bunker mentality" a reference to her rare public appearances.

Brown, Coakley Final Phase

2010-01-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

Now that someone has finally conducted a poll on the Brown Coakley Senate Race, it would seem there could be an upset in the making.

According to a Rasmussen Reports poll Democrat Martha Coakley holds a slim 9 point lead over Republican Candidate Scott Brown.

In most states a 9 point lead would not be considered slim by any means, but this is Massachusetts and by all media accounts Martha Coakley should have a 30 point lead over Brown. At least that is what they want you to believe.

The Poll was a sampling of 500 likely voters, and also showed that 7% of those polled are still undecided. Since we do not have any other polls to go on, there is no way of telling at this point which candidate the undecided voters are trending towards. But if I had to speculate, I would say that at least 2 to 3% of those still undecided will not vote. This is a special election, and a very short one at that, if you have not decided then most likely you have not been paying attention.

What is interesting is the Health Care reform numbers. Health Care is going to be a big issue in this race, because if Scott Brown wins, he will be the 41st vote for the republicans which will eliminate the democrats ability to force Health Care reform through the US Senate on their own. Of the 500 polled (and mind you this is ultra liberal Massachusetts) 53% favored the health care reform bill, with 26% of that group only stating that they "somewhat favored it". While on the other side 45% opposed it with only 9% somewhat opposing it, and 36% strongly opposing it. Of those polled 2% were not sure.

So stay tuned, because this really could be an upset in making. When you look at the voters who have strong opinions on health care reform you have 36% strongly opposing it while only 27% strongly favor it. Those are the people most likely to vote. Furthermore on the national level voters have been trending away from health care reform being presented by the democrats.

The democrats currently stationed in Washington could very well be hurting Martha Coakley as news is hitting the wire today that they intend to hold secret meetings to reconcile the the House bill and the Senate bill.

More importantly, this race is going to come down to turnout. Which candidate do you think has the most energized base at the moment?

While a Scott Brown loss would not likely be considered a referendum on Obama and democrats as a whole, a Scott Brown victory would be a hard-right to the jaw of every democrat in Congress and the White House.

Reposted from Rantrave.com

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2009-12-24T13:58:00.002-05:00

A bright and happy Christmas to you!

Lift up yourselves to the great meaning of the day,

and dare to think of your humanity as something so sublimely precious that it

is worthy of being made an offering to God,

and then go out to the pleasures and duties of your life,

having been truly born anew into His Divinity,

as He was born into our humanity on Christmas Day.

Is Martha Coakley a Socialist?

2009-12-09T23:36:00.001-05:00

Oh no, not the Socialist rant again! Sorry dear friends, but if the shoe fits....it must be a duck.

While Martha Coakley may not be a Socialist, she has certainly aligned herself with them by way of a group called Emily's List.

Before Miss Coakley was able to gain their support however she had to flip flop on her death penalty stance, because Emily's list will not support anyone who supports Capital Punishment.

Now who or exactly is Emily's list? To quote their own website they are "dedicated to building a progressive America by electing pro-choice Democratic women to office." They also have stated that their "immediate focus is to make sure President Obama has the strong Democratic majorities he needs to enact his progressive agenda."

So there you have it. Oh, and for those of you who don't know, "Progressive" is just a hipper way of saying "Communist".

House Leaders Order Furloughs for Staff

2009-11-23T07:21:00.002-05:00

We wonder if Rep. Steve D'Amico will volunteer to take the five furlough days to help return to the taxpayers the $3000.00 plus raise that was "forced" onto him.
Story from the AP Nov 21, 2009:

House leaders are ordering their staff to take five furlough days, although lawmakers will not have to take them. House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and minority leader Bradley Jones of North Reading said in a statement yesterday that furloughs for the 540 staff members will save the state $620,000. They also highlighted other recent cuts, including discontinuing reimbursement of Massachusetts bar fees and staff business cards, capping franking privileges, and reducing cleaning costs. But this week lawmakers rejected Governor Deval Patrick’s request for authority so he could cut both legislative and judicial budgets himself. The furloughs do not apply to the 160 House members because their salaries are set by constitutional amendment.

Republicans Second Shot at Redemption

2009-11-04T23:53:00.002-05:00

"There exists a limit to the force even the most powerfull may apply without destroying themselves. Judging this limit is the true artistry of government. Misuse of power is the fatal sin. The law cannot be a tool of vengence, never a hostage, nor a fortification against the martyrs it has created. You cannot threaten any individual and escape the consequences" ~Frank Herbert

What did we really see on November 2, 2009? Was it really a reprimand of Barack Obama? Has the country recognized the error of it's ways and returned to it's conservative roots? The answer is yes, and the answer is no.

The American people on 11/2 showed at the very least they are not head-over-heals in love with Obama anymore. They are no longer buying his excuse that the problems we face today are problems that he inherited from Republicans. Because almost a year into it Mr. President; You own it. At the very worst the American people are realizing that Obama is not giving them the government they thought they were getting. Perhaps they are realizing that instead of "change" what they are really getting are "chains".

Republicans have a special moment here. A second chance. A shot at redemption. They way they respond to this opportunity to return to grace will dictate if they succeed, or illustrate how quickly they too can fall.

The American people have not forgotten that the Republicans made some big mistakes over the last decade. To say their hands are clean would be laughable. But theere is a reason that the Republicans were allowed to toil for 8 years, and it seems the democrats barely get 2 years. We are awake now, and we are paying attention. We the People expect to be heard and not ridiculed when we speak to our government.

When the American people voted for Barack Obama they were voting for change yes, but they were voting for change that they wanted. They were not voting for the radical change that Obama, Pelosi, and Reid seem to want. The American people do not want a changed America; they want their old America back.

The American people voted the Democrats into power because the Democrats promised that they would listen. However between the stimulus package, cap and trade, government bailouts and government takeovers of business and healthcare; it has become painfully clear that the Democrats have no intention of listening to the American people.

Republicans will not be voted back into power on their conservatice philosophy alone. The Republicans are being voted back into power because they are being given another chance to listen to the American people.

I hope they do.

Democrats on Beacon Hill are all about standing up for the little guy. Until they aren’t.

2009-10-29T14:19:00.000-04:00

At the bidding of public employee unions and some car insurance providers, the party in power is doing its best to kill a pilot program that allows thousands of Massachusetts motorists to renew licenses and car registrations without waiting in endless Registry lines.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles has coped with the fiscal crisis by closing seven branches since July - doubling wait times - but has been operating a pilot program that allowed members of the American Automobile Association to conduct routine business at AAA offices in Newton and Worcester.

So in the same way an auto dealership is equipped to handle your new registration, those AAA branches are allowed to handle your renewal. Easier on the drivers and easier on overburdened Registry offices. Maine and Rhode Island have a similar arrangement, and the RMV had hoped to expand it beyond Newton and Worcester.

But fearful of losing government jobs, the unions have pressured their legislative allies to kill the program. And since AAA also happens to write auto insurance policies for a single provider, pressure also came from that company’s rivals.

The pilot program is to expire on March 31, and Sen. Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton) and his Democratic colleagues last week spiked a Republican effort that would have made it permanent. So the special interests won out over the average harried motorist.

Yep, it’s all about the little guy. Until it isn’t

An Op-Ed by Richard R. Tisei

2009-10-26T07:26:00.000-04:00

WITH UNEMPLOYMENT at a 33-year high of 9.3 percent and the state budget tanking because of free-falling tax revenues, you would think that Governor Deval Patrick and the Legislature would be working around the clock doing everything possible to eliminate wasteful spending and make state government run more efficiently.

Instead, the message coming out of the Legislature and the corner office during the last couple of weeks seems to lack any real sense of urgency.

Patrick just announced he is convening an economic summit this month that will focus on jobs creation and getting the state’s economy back on track. What took him so long? Patrick’s wait-and-see-approach to a crisis that has been percolating for the last three budget cycles amounts to a case of too little, too late.

If Patrick has been slow to react to the crisis, the Legislature has been even slower. As the budget continues to bleed red ink, and agencies that service some of the state’s most vulnerable residents brace for additional budget cuts, here are some of the “urgent’’ matters the Legislature has been focused on:

■ We’re debating whether the Fluffernutter should be designated the official state sandwich. Thousands of people are worrying about being able to put food on the table, but we’re determined to make sure Massachusetts is the first state in the nation with an “official’’ sandwich.

■ The governor and some legislators are calling for boycotts of Massachusetts businesses at the same time unemployment is fast approaching double figures and many companies are struggling to remain solvent. Have we forgotten that it is businesses - not government - that are responsible for creating the jobs and generating the tax revenues that help fuel the economy?

■ Some legislators are proposing a bill that could require some dog owners to pay an increase of more than 1,000 percent for a basic license. It’s hardly surprising, considering the Legislature just hiked the sales tax, the meals tax, satellite dish tax, and the hotel tax, and created an alcohol tax. Now they’re talking about an income tax hike - where does it end?

■ For some legislators, the most important issue seems to be passing a bill that would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote before they’re even old enough to legally cast a ballot. Meanwhile, many adults who are old enough to vote are losing their jobs, and the Legislature doesn’t seem to be doing much to get people back to work.

■ We’re even being asked to consider a bill that would require banks and insurance companies that do business with the state to document past profits earned from the slave trade. Meanwhile, those employers are dealing with one of the biggest corporate tax increases in the state’s history, which is driving businesses away from Massachusetts and forcing some companies to close their doors.

September revenues dropped $333 million compared to last year and were $243 million below current benchmarks. For the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the numbers are down $477 million from 2008 and $212 million short of year-to-date benchmarks.

Economists estimate that the state budget is out of balance by as much as $1 billion, and predict that the state could face a deficit at least double that amount in fiscal 2011. State revenues are not expected to rebound to pre-recession levels for another four to five years.

The Legislature needs to be proactive in dealing with this problem, but instead it is occupying itself with most trivial and frivolous issues. We’re doing everything we can to avoid tackling the real problems facing the Commonwealth when we should be rolling up our sleeves and making the difficult decisions that are required to get us through this economic crisis.

If we’re really serious about getting state spending under control, then we need to implement an immediate hiring and pay freeze, just like many private employers have been forced to do. We also need to consider moving the state’s Medicaid recipients into managed care plans to rein in health care costs, which make up a significant portion of the budget. And while we are at it, we should repeal the anti-privatization Pacheco law, which costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Legislature should convene in emergency session to discuss what can be done to jump-start the Massachusetts economy, restructure government, and make service delivery more efficient.

But more importantly, we need to stop debating inconsequential legislation like the Fluffernutter bill and focus on doing everything we can to promote job growth and get the state’s economy back on track.

Richard R. Tisei is minority leader of the Massachusetts Senate.

Job Well Done by Cavaco

2009-10-01T10:35:00.001-04:00

I’d like to commend Chairman Francis Cavaco for putting a setting together where Seekonk’s representation on Beacon Hill came down to answer some questions/concerns of the Board of Selectman and those citizens who came to the High School(Wednesday Sept 30 Seekonk High School).

It was obvious after the first question that there has been a lack of communication between Seekonk’s leadership and our “close to home” Rep. Steven D’Amico. It is incumbent; in fact it is the responsibility, of both D’Amico and Timillty to have a continued dialogue with our town leadership, in order to be aware of our towns needs.

Sen. Timilty seemed to be doing his best to say that, “If you had come to me about this issue, I would have been sure to address it.”
Rep. D’Amico took a simple yes or no question on eliminating or lifting the requirements for the local census and blamed the State’s “antiquated computer system” for being a hindrance.

Seekonk’s leadership should continue this dialogue and work with our State representation to serve our town with its best possible interests and commit to getting things done.

Stop all the arguing and embrace 'Oh!BarbaraCare' by Barbera Anderson

2009-09-21T11:53:00.000-04:00

Now that I have watched the latest televised presentation by the president on ObamaCare (the one in which he lied), and studied research and suggestions from various organizations and columnists, I am ready to present my "Oh!BarbaraCare" plan.

I realize that I'm no more qualified to have my own health care plan than most citizens. But all citizens of a representative democracy should acquire enough solid information so they can guide their representatives on vital issues. So if you don't like my plan, feel free and competent enough to do your own.

We must first use our rational faculties to challenge assumptions before we begin offering solutions.

Assumption One: All of us are entitled to health care.

Question: At whose expense? We can't be entitled to something that someone else must be forced to provide. Aside from the payments, what if no one wants to be a doctor or a nurse?

Yet: We as a society have decided that we want all Americans (and legal immigrants) to have at least basic and emergency health care. To ensure this, we must be careful not to discourage providers and hospitals by paying them less than the service is worth to them.

Assumption Two: The U.S. health care system is broken.

Reality: The U.S. health care system is the best and the most effective in the world.

However: There are some problems, and it does need to be reformed.

Assumption Three: The U.S. health care system is too expensive.

Consumers, define "too expensive." How much is it worth it to you to be healthy?

However: It's reasonable to assume that health care could cost less if waste, fraud and inefficiency were addressed.

Anyway, President Obama says that HisCare will be funded by addressing these things, so that the cost doesn't add to the deficit.

Oh!BarbaraCare says, address those things now with existing government programs, before adding even more people to a wasteful system. Let's get those legitimate savings, then proceed to address the real problems, which are:

1.) Cost. Some low-income people, not eligible for Medicaid, and many small businesses, really can't afford expensive health insurance.

Oh!BarbaraCare would continue and expand the programs that subsidize basic insurance for the poor. For all of us, the focus should be on insurance for catastrophic health events, requiring almost everyone to pay reasonable deductibles and co-pays (see "not entitled," above).

One big change here: Oh!BarbaraCare would not use business to provide insurance. Business provides the jobs that allow us to afford life's basics. Let's encourage more job creation, not additional expenses that hurt that basic business mission.

If we consumers own our own health insurance, as we own our automobile insurance, then we keep it even if we lose our jobs. Also, our unemployment is less likely if the government doesn't burden businesses with mandated expenses.

There should be tax breaks for buying basic insurance and for health savings accounts, paid for by no longer allowing tax breaks for business-supplied health insurance. Since the latter includes Cadillac plans for executives and unions, the savings should be substantial.

We should be able to choose from many health insurance companies across the nation to maximize competition. And, we should be able to organize in our own groups — small business, baseball fans, redheads — to allow for economy of scale, just as seniors do for AARP services.

Another way to cut costs is to address malpractice insurance — paying patients for avoidable mistakes and clear negligence, but not for the assumption that we are all entitled to every test. And for truly frivolous suits, the loser should pay all court costs.

2.) Pre-existing conditions. Clearly, if insurance companies must cover all pre-existing conditions, then no one would buy insurance until he was sick! No one would pay into the system until it was time for him to take out of the system.

So the only way to cover pre-existing conditions is to mandate that everyone get insurance and that there are companies for everyone to choose from.

When we own our own policies, with Oh!BarbaraCare, anyone who has been paying all along for health insurance will be covered, at the level they originally chose, when they get sick, even if for some reason they have changed policies.

For those who make a case that it is unconstitutional to force citizens to get insurance, Oh!BarbaraCare would allow them to opt out of this requirement if they sign a statement that they will not expect the system to pay for their care. They can self-insure, or when necessary, roll over and die. However, compassionate Oh!BarbaraCare would provide hospice care to make the end easier for them.

Which takes us to the controversial ...

3.) End-of-life counseling. It's true that extraordinary costs accrue during the final months of some patients' lives, when they are kept alive with extraordinary efforts.

Oh!BarbaraCare would advocate living wills and more choice for patients who want to leave peacefully on their own terms. Death is natural, we should learn to accept and embrace it when the time comes.

However, Oh!BarbaraCare would provide legal assistance to elderly patients who were being pressured by family or providers, rather than counseled.

So there it is. Of course, I'm always open to bipartisan negotiation with anyone who doesn't lie.

BAY STATE'S HEALTH CARE FUTURE

2009-09-11T07:47:00.002-04:00

State government's potentially dire fiscal prospects, the specter of a national health reform bill that's still taking shape, and tens of thousands of job losses have clouded the progress of Massachusetts's landmark health care programs, as members of the board overseeing it wondered Thursday how their efforts would be affected and how they should proceed.

Massachusetts has seen hundreds of thousands of residents newly insured since the advent of a 2006 law mandating individuals to obtain health insurance and subsidizing coverage for low-income individuals - 97.4 percent of the state's 6 million residents are insured, according to the Patrick administration's latest tally. But a new state report shows that about 15,000 fewer people had health insurance in March than in December 2008, largely the result of losing their jobs, and therefore, their employer-sponsored coverage.

In addition, the removal of 31,000 legal immigrants from Commonwealth Care, a state-subsidized health insurance program for low-income residents, combined with changes to enrollment procedures, renegotiated insurance rates and generally shaky budget conditions have led members of the state Connector Board to question the effect on insurers who rely on enrollees steered to them by the state.

Four "managed care organizations" (MCOs) provide the bulk of coverage to low-income Massachusetts residents who don't receive insurance through their employer - BMC HealthNet Plan, Neighborhood Health Plan, Fallon Community Heaelth Plan and Network Health -- and a new entrant in the market, CeltiCare, is hoping to make inroads.

State leaders recently announced that most of the 31,000 immigrants removed from Commonwealth Care would be eligible for a special CeltiCare plan that provides coverage for most health services, except vision, dental, hospice and skilled nursing, and with some significant co-pay increases. The other MCOs have expressed dismay at CeltiCare's exclusive deal, with the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans arguing that the other four plans weren't given a fair chance to compete.

"I have very serious concerns about what this is doing to the margins and the service levels of the MCOs," said Ian Duncan, a member of the Connector Board.

Duncan, along with a handful of other board members, asked for a more thorough briefing about the "cumulative effect" of all the recent changes on the ability of MCOs to provide coverage.

The changes in service are playing out against a backdrop of questions about state government finances. Secretary of Administration and Finance Leslie Kirwan, who chairs the Connector board, said September revenue intake could have a significant impact on whether the administration seeks expanded powers to cut government budgets.

"Through the first two months of this year, we're just about on budget," she said. "That appears to be something that will be reversed in September."

As board members expressed dismay about the cuts to health benefits for legal immigrants, Kirwan emphasized that although their decisions are often made solely in the realm of health and human services, whose budget is constantly expanding, her job is to balance competing interests in programs across government, many of which have been scaled back and are facing severe cuts.

"We don't have information about what the impacts of all those choices would be," she said. "In a revenue decline, other parts of state government ... are declining in order to accommodate growth in health care and human services. We recognize why there is growth. We have more people depending on the commonwealth for programs. It does sort of mask the fact that there are bigger choices and in some cases much bigger budget cuts elsewhere ... If we're in this sort of pattern for a very long time, the challenge is going to be different than if we are in this for a short time."

The discussion also came as the Connector Board undergoes some of the most significant changes in its three-year history. Two members - Tom Dehner, who heads the one-million-member state Medicaid program, and Nonnie Burnes, the state insurance commissioner - are leaving their posts and will vacate their seats on the ten-member board.

Members of the board expressed renewed optimism that a national health plan would pass, offering a generally positive review of President Obama's speech to Congress Wednesday night. In his speech, Obama touted a proposal for a health insurance "exchange" that would help consumers shop for the most appropriate health plan for them, a program, not coincidentally, akin to the Connector. Connector Executive Director Jon Kingsdale said there had been discussions with the Obama administration about a Commonwealth Care member being recognized during his speech.

During testimony to the Committee on Election Laws Wednesday, Sen. John Kerry also emphasized the proposed health exchange, telling members of the Legislature that it's "your plan" that the Obama administration is pushing for national consideration.

Arguing for a change in state Senate succession laws to allow for an interim successor to Sen. Edward Kennedy, who passed away last month, Kerry said the absence of a second Massachusetts senator could lead to the demise of a national health plan.

"[Without a second vote] we don't build a health care system similar to what a vast majority of you here in this body voted for," he said. "The Connector ... we're going to build what's called an exchange that's based on the Connector. We're going to vote that everybody has to sign up. We're going to do it like you did."

Worrying that some iterations of a national health reform proposal could leave Massachusetts worse off, board member Nancy Turnbull wondered if the Connector could help influence the national reform debate to "create a protective bubble around ourselves."

Kirwan agreed, arguing, "We want to be helped for going first, not hurt. I think we need to keep that drumbeat."

"That may be a good reason to appoint a replacement for our senior senator," Kingsdale remarked, referring to the debate over a potential successor for Kennedy.

During the meeting, board members gave unanimous approval to emergency regulations, first adopted in June, permitting Connector staff to cancel auto-enrollment for the lowest-income members of Commonwealth Care, those earning below the federal poverty level. Auto-enrollment is a process that places those deemed eligible for Commonwealth Care into a health plan. By nixing auto-enrollment, the Connector, which over the years has sought to boost enrollment, hopes to curb the growth in enrollment, although members worried that it would lead to gaps in coverage.

Also Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau released updated information about rates of insurance around the country, providing national context for the health reform debate.

In 2008, 46.3 million people around the country went without any health insurance, about 15 percent of an estimated 301 million U.S. residents. The total is up from 38.4 million people who went without insurance in 2000. Of the 255 million insured Americans, 176 million have employer-sponsored insurance and 87.4 million have a government-sponsored plan, according to the new data.

State-by-state numbers showed Massachusetts had a combined 5.4 percent uninsurance rate in 2007 and 2008, as the state's health reform plan took hold.

"We're about a third of the national average and the lowest in the country," said Brian Rosman, research director for Health Care for All, a Massachusetts consumer advocacy organization. Rosman noted the Massachusetts uninsurance rate dropped in the 2007-2008 time period by 4.4 percent compared to the previous two years, beating a national 2 percent drop in that time.

An August report by the state Division of Health Care Finance and Policy found that the ranks of privately insured dropped by 45,000 between December 2008 and March 2009, reflecting rising unemployment. The losses came as government programs, MassHealth and Commonwealth Care, grew by about 7,000 members. Overall, 5,484,000 Massachusetts residents were insured in March 2009.

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care saw the steepest enrollment decline since the advent of Massachusetts's landmark health plan, dropping by 46,000 members since June 2006, according to the DHCFP report. BMC HealthNet Plan grew by 89,000, the most of any plan in that interim, followed closely by the other three original Commonwealth Care MCOs.

Families USA, a national advocate for consumers, said the number of individuals uninsured nationwide exceeds the collective population of 24 states: Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Opponents of national health reform plans argue that government involvement in health care will hinder care, place bureaucrats in charge of important medical decisions and limit coverage levels. President Obama has vowed that people who already have health insurance can keep it and maintain their current doctor; however their insurers would be forbidden from dropping them due to preexisting conditions or sudden serious illnesses.

A Rasmussen Reports poll out Wednesday found that 44 percent of Americans support Obama's plan while 53 percent oppose it.

Whole Foods CEO Has It Right On Health Care Reform

2009-08-12T10:16:00.002-04:00

Finally...someone has published some common sense solutions to reform our current health care system, instead of radically remaking it in a socialist image. I always thought Whole Foods was a commie lib company (even though I do shop there quite a bit). Boy, was I wrong!

Health Care Letter to Congressman McGovern

2009-08-06T11:03:00.002-04:00

Dear Congressman McGovern,

I have viewed the "Common Health Care Myth's Rebutted" linked to your website, and I still find H.R. 3200 very scary even though you have uncovered some myths and falsehoods (your party does it too!). I have a few questions I would like answered directly.

1. What authority does Congress have in the Constitution to radically overhaul our nation's health care system? You may find this question inconvenient and irritating, but I would like to remind you that you have taken an oath 6-7 times to preserve, protect, and defend it. Please do not cite Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid or these other bankrupt disasters either. You did not vote to create those programs. Just because previous members during the so-called New Deal and Great Society violated their oath, it does not give you the precedent to do the same.

2. Why does this legislation assume that more government regulation, interference, and oversight will bring costs down? I do not know of any modern government social program in the history of the Western world that had brought costs down. Could you name one and cite documented proof that would support your claim?

3. If the rebuttal document claims that certain things such as doctor choice, end-of-life counseling, and plan approval does not mean rationing, government denial of end-of-life care, or pricing out private plans, why are they mentioned in the legislation at all? You know as well as I know that once regulators get to add hundreds of thousands of pages to the Federal Register, they will write rules that will distort the so-called intent of the legislation. How can Congress insure that the scores of rebuttals that are "misunderstandings" will not be misunderstood by the scores of unaccountable bureaucrats and "Czars" that escape Congressional oversight?

4. Are you a doctor? Is anyone who drafted this legislation a doctor? Why is it that the two physicians I am aware of in the United States Senate vehemently oppose this legislation or any form of it being drafted in the Senate?

5. Many increases in health care costs have been directly linked to the high cost of malpractice insurance. It has been documented and proven that in many states or federal court districts stacked with former trial lawyers that malpractice case awards are extremely high. This cost is passed on to the health care consumer, which drives costs up. Why isn't this addressed in the legislation? Is your party bought and paid by the "slip and fall" lawyers of America? You could very well be, because your VP nominee in 2004 made his fortune on some bogus lawsuits. Could it be said then that the public option plans will be subsidizing slip and fall lawyers, since they can still have open season on our doctors, nurses, and other health care providers?

6. When are you going to be scheduling public appearances throughout the 3rd Congressional district to discuss these matters before you vote? There are a lot of questions and not enough answers, and frankly I would bet that a majority your constituents do not want the federal government calling all of the shots in health care.

7. Lastly, why are members of Congress exempt from this legislation? Are all of you too good for this plan? If it is so critical to reforming our health care insurance system, why don't you and your family sign on?

Just so you are very clear...I am not part of an angry mob, even though I am angry. I am not paid by K Street lobbyists, even though it would be nice. I also have not been given marching orders from the GOP, because they take marching orders from me. If you agree with the leadership of your party's contention that our anger is "manufactured", you have made a serious error in judgment and frankly you insult my intelligence. The American people are not stupid; they are generally disengaged from beltway politics. They have been awakened, and they do not like one bit what is going on in Washington.

Please do not claim that the GOP has not offered any alternatives. Most of their amendments have been denied or voted down by party line. I also understand that they have not even been consulted in the House of Representatives negotiations and mark-ups. Most Republicans are providing alternatives that are consumer based and free-market based, and that philosophy seems to have escaped your political party. HR 3200 is pro-government and controlled-market based.

So, I hope you will be courageous and do the right things ... engage your constituents even though you have been unopposed for most of you career. It will not be courageous to defy the people you represent and vote for this legislation. There will be severe consequences at the ballot box. At the least you will be a member of the minority in January 2011, and at the most you will be added to the unemployment rate cited by experts in our "jobless recovery."

Thank you for your time and patience. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me anytime.

Obama's Patriotism

2009-07-28T12:02:00.001-04:00

Senator Timilty gets it!

2009-07-22T14:09:00.001-04:00

Senator Timilty is right-on about this...while D'Amico fights Hollywood!

Touting the creation of new jobs and spending on hotels and restaurants, the Senate voted unanimously Tuesday afternoon to begin state regulation of mixed martial arts events. The bill passed 35-0 after a state senator from Walpole urged his colleagues to pass the bill and attract so-called ultimate fighting bouts. "This is a good thing for the Commonwealth," said bill sponsor Sen. James Timilty, noting the potential for new state revenues without raising taxes. "It is much safer than the sport of boxing," Timilty said, noting only 6 percent of mixed martial arts fights end in knockouts.

Timilty acknowledged the changing times during floor remarks, noting he grew up following Brockton boxing champ Marvin Hagler while many of today's fight fans are following Kenny Florian, a Boston College grad who has excelled in mixed martial arts competitions. Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth) also urged passage of the bill.

Before adopting the bill, the Senate agreed to a Sen. Marc Pacheco amendment allowing cities and towns, by local option, to choose not to host mixed martial arts events. The bill clarifies that promoters, physicians, referees, judges and contestants must be licensed by the State Boxing Commission and directs the commission to establish minimum skill requirements for licensure of contestants.

The bill also expands the commission from three to five members, increases the amount of accident insurance event holders must acquire for each contestant ($5,000 for medical expenses and $50,000 in case of death). It establishes a 4 percent fee on ticket sales and a 2 percent fee on revenues from TV, pay-per-view and other broadcast rights, to be paid to the commission. The bill also limits mixed martial arts matches to five rounds, except for championship matches. Rounds may last no longer than five minutes and the gloves worn by competitors must weigh at least four ounces, according to a bill summary.

On Revolution

2009-07-17T11:09:00.003-04:00

In early June of this year I had the privilege of watching the 3rd grade class at the George R. Martin school in Seekonk put on a play about the American Revolution.

As I watched the kids dance around on stage I couldnt help but wonder if these kids really undertsood the significance of what they were performing. Did the teachers even understand or was the concept of the events that sparked the American Revolution just empty words and stories from a long ago?

It really is amazing, when you think about it, how quickly America has squandered it's good fortune, killed it republic, and turned it in to the very thing we faught to vanquish.

233 years since our forefathers declared their independence from tyrany; if America fell tommorrow it would probably not even register more than a footnote in history as an expiremental nation that failed in such a short period of time. It was not defeated by a foriegn enemy. No missles touched it's soil. Instead it collapse in on itself to the delight and glea of all freedom hating nations accross the world.

"They tax our tea, our iron, our cotton!" those 3rd graders sang. What did King George have on our current government? In 2009 the government will have spent almost 40% of our GDP. They spend barely 3% before the Geat Depression. People earning over the 100 thousand dollar a year threshold are losing almost 40% of their income to state and federal taxes. Then factor in the sales tax, the excise tax, the property tax, the sin tax, and then the variouse fees and surcharges that local governments collect. New York City residence are estimated to lose over 60% of their income to taxes.

This is far from the America we would have known has we been alive a meer 233 years ago. This America is not what the founding fathers envisioned for us when they framed the constitution. To quote Jeff Schreiber of Americas Right, "Our framers founded this nation knowing less about what they wanted America to be than what they never wanted her to become."

The time has come for a new American Revolution. We don't need to march in the streets with guns to achieve this. All we need is our voices shouting loud and clear and in unison to "Get Out!" We need to write to the papers and let the masses know that we are here, and we are mad as hell! We need to call our Senators, the White House, Post Signs in our front yard. We need to vote, we need to show up where these lunatics give their 50 thousand dollar speeched and heckle them. We need to run for office. We need to donate money to the candidates that run on freedom and liberty as their message. We need to organize.

"It seemed to me that all over the world intelligent people were waking up to the indignity and absurdity of being endangered, restrained, and impoverished, by a mere uncritical adhesion to traditional governments, traditional ideas of economic life, and traditional forms of behaviour, and that these awaking intelligent people must constitute first a protest and then a creative resistance to the inertia that was stifling and threatening us. These people I imagined would say first, "We are drifting; we are doing nothing worth while with our lives. Our lives are dull and stupid and not good enough."

It seemed to me that as, one after another, we woke up, that is what we would be saying. It amounted to a protest, first mental and then practical, it amounted to a sort of unpremeditated and unorganized conspiracy, against the fragmentary and insufficient governments and the wide-spread greed, appropriation, clumsiness, and waste that are now going on. But unlike conspiracies in general this widening protest and conspiracy against established things would, by its very nature, go on in the daylight, and it would be willing to accept participation and help from every quarter. It would, in fact, become an "Open Conspiracy," a necessary, naturally evolved conspiracy, to adjust our dislocated world."

How Government Health Care Will Take Over Your Life

2009-07-16T00:07:00.003-04:00

Maybe you have seen that email that has been floating around for years. It involves a guy who is trying to order a pizza and have it delivered. The person taking the order at the other end already has all of his personal information, and after advising him on menu and topping choices that have been cleared by his health program, he is informed that he cannot place the order because he only has 2.75 in his bank account.

Seemed pretty funny the first time I read it about 5 years ago, but then it was a far off future fantasy. Today, it could very well be reality.

Giving government control of health care is the first step in giving them control over every aspect of your life. Wait until you go to the movies and try to order those nacho grande, and are told that nacho cheese is loaded with trans fat and has been banned by the government because trans fat raises cholesterol which causes heart disease wich raised the cost of health care per person. Try the toffu instead.

Health care gives the government the keys to the kingdom, what you eat, how you drive, where you vacation, what sports you play. President Obama wants control of everything.

It should be fun living in a perfectly sterile environment.

"We shall abolish the orgasm. Our neurologists are at work upon it now. There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy. There will be no art, no literature, no science.

There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always— do not forget this, Winston— always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face— forever."

-George Orwell (1984)

Your New Health Care System

2009-07-15T15:43:00.002-04:00

This is legit. This was published by the GOP on their website.

Todays Required Reading: The Ilagitamacy of Barack Obama

2009-07-15T11:32:00.002-04:00

It's back in the news again....my favorite topic about regarding "Americas Numbers One Communist" and his birth. Each and every time a new lawsuit comes out against BHO more and more mainstream media outletts begin to pick it up. Finally Fox News has given legitimacy to the argument my running the latest story about Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook. Maj. Cook has been ordered to Aghanistan. He is challenging that order in court saying that because BHO is not a natural born citizen, deploying would be following an illegal order as BHO is not quallified to be Commander in Chief .

This is not the first case that has been filed questioning BHO's Presidential eligibility. The fact they have been dismissed does not (as the Main Stream Media would like you to believe) mean that they have been debuncted. What it means is that no court is willing to state that a voter, or an average citizen can bring those charges. While the constitution states that one must be a "natural born citizen" to hold the office of the Presidency. It fails to outline who in fact is supposed to enforce that.

People can cry "conspiracy theory" all they want, but the fact remains that this has to be the easiest conspiracy in the world to uncover. This is not a potential 9/11 cover-up, this is not Roswell or Area 51, this isn't even a magic bullet. This is as easy as producing the vault copy of your birth cirtificate from the state of Hawaii. Not the PDF that is "fact Check" that looks like it was issued last year as it does not show any evidence that it is over 40 years old. I am talking about the master copy that sits in the basement of whatever city's hospital or town hall that you were born in that they use to verify your information when you request a copy of your birth cirtificate. Piece of cake!

That fact that Obama has blocked all access to this reaks of giult. Not even the press can obtain it under the freedom of information act because the state of Hawaii has bared any access to it by anyone but Obama.

Read the Latest story hear.

PICTURES FROM BREAKFAST

2009-07-09T14:21:00.034-04:00

Still the Reel Deal

2009-07-09T08:49:00.001-04:00

An Editorial By the Boston Herald Editorial Staff:

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Massachusetts is lousy with film crews and big stars this summer but leave it to the usual critics to try and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Yes, critics of the state’s film tax credit program are waving a new Department of Revenue report around to argue that the film tax credits, now in their fourth year, are a net drag on the state’s economy.

The study, they note, concludes that for every dollar the state laid out in tax credits over the first three years, it realized only 16 cents in return. And they whine that the benefits are accruing to Hollywood A-listers and out-of-state crew members at the expense of taxpayers.

But the critics ignore the fact that the film credits were designed as much as a stimulus program for the private sector as they were to boost the state treasury. Production companies have to spend big in order to qualify for any credits - and over the last three years that has translated to a whopping $676 million, DOR estimates.

The naysayers cite the finding that only 18 percent of wages eligible for tax credits were paid to Massachusetts residents (a “mere” $63 million) - the rest to out-of-staters.

But the report also found that more than 40 percent of the nearly 2,000 new jobs directly tied to the industry were held by Massachusetts residents. And as the report itself suggests, more Bay Staters will lay claim to more jobs as the local film industry matures.

Finally, the report doesn’t estimate the impact of two new planned sound stages, which will generate construction and permanent jobs, nor does it consider the impact of film-related tourism or state savings on, say, unemployment or health care thanks to industry employment.

In a dismal economy, tax incentives like these are an easy target, especially for those who hate to see anyone’s tax burden reduced (never mind Leonardo DiCaprio’s) if it means fewer dollars for the government program du jour. And the cost-benefit analysis must tip heavily in the Bay State’s favor to justify the continuation of these credits.

But this program is in its infancy. The outcry is a bit like writing a bad review without bothering to watch the end of the movie.

Hey Mel, Seekonk Loves you anyway!

2009-06-30T10:44:00.007-04:00

Our star legislator, Steven D'Amico, seems to have lost his self-centered and personal battle with his leadership, other members of the General Assembly and the Governor.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1182077

In an Article in the June 30th edition of the Boston Herald, Rep D’Amico criticized the Governor for green lighting the renewal of a tax credit that is meant as an incentive to draw filmmakers to Massachusetts. Amid the ongoing fiscal crisis, legislators wanted to cap star salaries that could count toward the credit at $2 million per actor.

“This is money for nothing,” said Rep D’Amico. “Mel Gibson doesn’t need our tax dollars.”
Senate President Therese Murray, whose Plymouth district could be home to a new studio, also supported maintaining the full tax credit for movies.

As you heard before from Mr. D’Amico, our "tax credit foe" and “any and all tax advocate”, has been working hard to keep Mel Gibson and all his actor friends from visiting Massachusetts. Mr. D’Amico has time and again criticized businessmen, businesses and any other entity that did not fall into his personal little box of worthwhile endeavors or beliefs. Last July, D'Amico said it was simply a scam by "Hollywood hucksters" to ensure that existing film production credits are already in place. So, I guess the Governor and Senate Leader Murray are part of this scam. They must be part of those that “kowtow to rich celebrities”, as he once stated.

Is Mr. D’Amico working to secure future bacon for Seekonk and the rest of his district? Or is he trying to show us how he can be a Maverick to all the Hollywood hucksters?

We need a Rep. who is smart enough to know when and where to pick his fights and who is willing to work to make allies and bring back promised monies.

Well Mr. Rep, if this is money for nothing, than making friends on Beacon Hill will not be free.

ANNUAL BREAKFAST A SUCCESS

2009-06-23T14:18:00.002-04:00

The Seekonk Republican Town Committee's Annual Breakfast held
at the brand new 1149 East Restaurant June 20, 2009 was a smashing success!

The Hospitality of the Owner Thomas Wright and the Function Supervisor Amanda Marcello was far exceeding expectations of the committee. While still in construction mode, they were able to get one room completed for the event. They gave tours of the restaurant to most of the participants and invited us all back for a VIP night coming July 2, 2009.

After coffee and juice, a fine selection of breads and fruits were offered. Next, the chef's made a cavalcade of Omelets to order. The line beamed of curiosity as the ingredients were displayed about the stations. The waiters and waitresses were right there being as cordial as you would expect.

The speakers were top notch and full of energy. A line up that brought great in site to the happenings on Beacon Hill and what it means to be a Republican in Massachusetts. You could have not asked more a broad perspective of the issues that affect Massachusetts families today.

I would like to thank all those who came. It was a great turnout with local and state officials attending. And we hope to being seeing you for the 2010 election year for an even greater event!

Jim Hand bows to D’Amico

2009-06-10T19:29:00.001-04:00

Regarding Jim Hand’s article, Making a Case For Beacon Hill reform, there seems to be a biased reporter who applauds like a kid at a circus when Rep. Steven D’Amico does his tightrope act.

What kind of journalism is this? How can Jim Hand just sit back and let D’Amico come up with juvenile excuses without being challenged? Tilting at Windmills? What is that? D’Amico was “worried about the speaker taking things personally”? Where is his integrity as to doing what he believes is right? What about his constituency who question why they have been constantly told “I will not be able to do anything for my district”? Will Mr. D’Amico continue to make excuses for his votes that fall in line with his party? They are his votes, aren’t they?

Well, Mr. Hand, what has he done? D’Amico voted to approve a 1.25% sales tax as well as a 2% meals tax. He requires the taxpayers to sacrifice while he keeps his 5% raise and his son gets a free ride to Brown. He votes to keep two Boston Hack Holidays (Evacuation and Bunker Hill days) instead of voting for a Tax Holiday for constitutes.

D’Amico is nothing more than a clown. He can stand up at a Board of Selectman or Town meeting and think that what he sells is as beautiful as a bouquet of balloons. He honks his horn and squeezes his nose while spewing gumbo rhetoric. He stands up, does his act on the floor of the town meeting and exits before any respectable taxpayer or reporter could ask some real questions. Which brings me to Mr. Hand…he is like a young boy awestruck by D’Amico’s Jelly Fish act. One moment the spine is there..the next it has vanished.

We will not Forget

2009-06-09T07:59:00.002-04:00

The Sun Chronicle Editorial team is disappointed in Steven D'Amico for voting against a bill that would have eliminated "hack" holidays in Suffolk County.

http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2009/06/08/opinion/5081086.txt

While Mr. D'Amico continues his tite rope act with the leadership, the Seekonk Republican Committee will not forget this and many future votes that do nothing more than tow the line of those who fills his pockets.

Hypocrite

2009-06-04T12:56:00.002-04:00

What a phony:
Mr. D'amico is such a bag of hot air. As one can see from his voting record he has no regard for anyone other than himself. After lying to the town meetings of Seekonk and Rehoboth, about how we all must sacrifice, his hypocrisy surfaces once again. He could have been the deciding vote to do away with 2 holidays that are questionable and save many dollars. He voted to keep them. This comes the day after him whining in the Sun Chronicle about his vote for the Leader of the House Sal Dimasi, now he is trying to alienate himself from the way he voted. He blamed the Republicans for the fiscal mess ( Republicans have not controlled govt in Mass since 1946) and now the speaker for him voting for him. It is never his fault! Should he blame the new speaker for his vote to keep 2 useless holidays? All his votes to raise our taxes to bail out Boston, helps the people of his representation how? It s very funny in the article in the chronicle they sympathize with him, they should have just advised him to vote the right way and change his pooh pooh undies later. What an embarresment, what a weak individual, and you wonder why we are in the trouble were in. Vote him out, he is a disgrace.

One Party Government Responsible for Abuse of Power, Corruption

2009-06-03T13:00:00.000-04:00

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. released the following statement today in reaction to the announcement of the indictment of former Speaker Sal DiMasi.

Situations like these are one of the many direct results of the one party government that has ruled our state for far too long. When one party controls the Legislature by such a vast majority, the door is left wide open for corruption, abuse of power and scandal.

I am disappointed the dark shadow continues to hover over Beacon Hill due to ethical improprieties and illegal behavior. I am hopeful this matter will be resolved expeditiously so that we can focus on important issues of public policy, specifically the dire economic times we are facing.

Unafraid In Greenwich Connecticut (Open Letter to Barak Obama)

2009-05-06T10:11:00.001-04:00

Clifford S. Asness
Managing and Founding Principal
AQR Capital Management, LLC

The President has just harshly castigated hedge fund managers for being unwilling to take his administration’s bid for their Chrysler bonds. He called them “speculators” who were “refusing to sacrifice like everyone else” and who wanted “to hold out for the prospect of an unjustified taxpayer-funded bailout.”

The responses of hedge fund managers have been, appropriately, outrage, but generally have been anonymous for fear of going on the record against a powerful President (an exception, though still in the form of a “group letter”, was the superb note from “The Committee of Chrysler Non-TARP Lenders” some of the points of which I echo here, and a relatively few firms, like Oppenheimer, that have publicly defended themselves). Furthermore, one by one the managers and banks are said to be caving to the President’s wishes out of justifiable fear.

I run an approximately twenty billion dollar money management firm that offers hedge funds as well as public mutual funds and unhedged traditional investments. My company is not involved in the Chrysler situation, but I am still aghast at the President's comments (of course these are my own views not those of my company). Furthermore, for some reason I was not born with the common sense to keep it to myself, though my title should more accurately be called "Not Afraid Enough" as I am indeed fearful writing this... It’s really a bad idea to speak out. Angering the President is a mistake and, my views will annoy half my clients. I hope my clients will understand that I’m entitled to my voice and to speak it loudly, just as they are in this great country. I hope they will also like that I do not think I have the right to intentionally “sacrifice” their money without their permission.

Here's a shock. When hedge funds, pension funds, mutual funds, and individuals, including very sweet grandmothers, lend their money they expect to get it back. However, they know, or should know, they take the risk of not being paid back. But if such a bad event happens it usually does not result in a complete loss. A firm in bankruptcy still has assets. It’s not always a pretty process. Bankruptcy court is about figuring out how to most fairly divvy up the remaining assets based on who is owed what and whose contracts come first. The process already has built-in partial protections for employees and pensions, and can set lenders' contracts aside in order to help the company survive, all of which are the rules of the game lenders know before they lend. But, without this recovery process nobody would lend to risky borrowers. Essentially, lenders accept less than shareholders (means bonds return less than stocks) in good times only because they get more than shareholders in bad times.

The above is how it works in America, or how it’s supposed to work. The President and his team sought to avoid having Chrysler go through this process, proposing their own plan for re-organizing the company and partially paying off Chrysler’s creditors. Some bond holders thought this plan unfair. Specifically, they thought it unfairly favored the United Auto Workers, and unfairly paid bondholders less than they would get in bankruptcy court. So, they said no to the plan and decided, as is their right, to take their chances in the bankruptcy process. But, as his quotes above show, the President thought they were being unpatriotic or worse.

Let’s be clear, it is the job and obligation of all investment managers, including hedge fund managers, to get their clients the most return they can. They are allowed to be charitable with their own money, and many are spectacularly so, but if they give away their clients’ money to share in the “sacrifice”, they are stealing. Clients of hedge funds include, among others, pension funds of all kinds of workers, unionized and not. The managers have a fiduciary obligation to look after their clients’ money as best they can, not to support the President, nor to oppose him, nor otherwise advance their personal political views. That’s how the system works. If you hired an investment professional and he could preserve more of your money in a financial disaster, but instead he decided to spend it on the UAW so you could “share in the sacrifice”, you would not be happy.

Let’s quickly review a few side issues.

The President's attempted diktat takes money from bondholders and gives it to a labor union that delivers money and votes for him. Why is he not calling on his party to "sacrifice" some campaign contributions, and votes, for the greater good? Shaking down lenders for the benefit of political donors is recycled corruption and abuse of power.

Let’s also mention only in passing the irony of this same President begging hedge funds to borrow more to purchase other troubled securities. That he expects them to do so when he has already shown what happens if they ask for their money to be repaid fairly would be amusing if not so dangerous. That hedge funds might not participate in these programs because of fear of getting sucked into some toxic demagoguery that ends in arbitrary punishment for trying to work with the Treasury is distressing. Some useful programs, like those designed to help finance consumer loans, won't work because of this irresponsible hectoring.

Last but not least, the President screaming that the hedge funds are looking for an unjustified taxpayer-funded bailout is the big lie writ large. Find me a hedge fund that has been bailed out. Find me a hedge fund, even a failed one, that has asked for one. In fact, it was only because hedge funds have not taken government funds that they could stand up to this bullying. The TARP recipients had no choice but to go along. The hedge funds were singled out only because they are unpopular, not because they behaved any differently from any other ethical manager of other people's money. The President’s comments here are backwards and libelous. Yet, somehow I don’t think the hedge funds will be following ACORN’s lead and trucking in a bunch of paid professional protestors soon. Hedge funds really need a community organizer.

This is America. We have a free enterprise system that has worked spectacularly for us for two hundred plus years. When it fails it fixes itself. Most importantly, it is not an owned lackey of the oval office to be scolded for disobedience by the President.

I am ready for my “personalized” tax rate now.

Businessinsider.com

We need another D'Amico Legislative Update

2009-04-27T07:36:00.006-04:00

Rep. D'Amico recently produced and aired a program on local cable called "A legislative update" starring Massachusetts’s Tax Foundation's Michael Widmer and Jeffrey B. Mullen, Undersecretary of the Executive Office of Transportation. While thinking this was going to be a show about what our Representative is doing for his constituents, it was propaganda for a tax hike and putting blame on the last Republican Administrations.

With our Rep. reading his questions from a queue card, Mr. Widmer answered like the "conservative watchdog" D'Amico claims his organization to be. "The past administrations mortgaged our future and now we have to pay for it" says Widmer. "The bonding arrangements for the Big Dig in the early years were low, now we have to pay."

With D'Amico poised, "Boston is the economic engine to the State". "If Boston falters, the whole state does…the benefits of a gas tax is to spread throughout the state." Widmer agrees that the 19 gas tax could correct all the wrongs of the past and get this state on sound footing again.

Then D'Amico brings on Mullen...I figure because Jim Aloisi, the transportation secretary who is suddenly no longer the state's most imperiled transportation official, could not make it. It was time to layer on the tax gas and bash the MBTA and The Turnpike Authority. “The benefits that the MBTA receives are unheard of." "The two agencies should be combined and overlooked by a new Ombudsman." “We inherited this mess.”

Well, my first reaction to all this…is Boston the problem? D’Amico being the devil advocate says, ‘why should my constituents care about Boston?” The devil is right!
The economy is faltering right now because of overspending. It has nothing to do with the city of Boston. D’Amico’s predecessors in the legislature are the ones to blame.

The mismanagement of the MBTA and the Turnpike Authority were the results of decisions by this legislature. The Big Dig was a small part of the economic engine providing jobs for workers across the state, with the blessings of our representation in Washington. Now that the monies are dried up from the Fed, the Turnpike Authority owes $15.5 Billion. So, they argue the gas tax is to help the Turnpike Authority. Which then in combining MBTA/ Turnpike with the other agencies would bring all of the debt to Boston?

We now learn the House (led by D’Amico with his Hollywood amendment) passed an increase of the sales tax from 5% to 6.25%. Next week the plan for the gas tax, bailing out the Turnpike Authority/MBTA is to vote yes by D’Amico. Also, as we all knew, the Speaker of the House Democrat Robert DeLeo spoke at the 76th Anniversary of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. I guess he thanked them for all these years for being the fiscal watchdog for the Democrats. So, let’s be clear…D’Amico is for Boston, not for Seekonk, Norton, Rehoboth, or Swansea. We need another update from Rep. D’Amico to explain how he will be voting to spend our tax dollars at home.

A Timid Advocate of Freedom

2009-04-21T10:39:00.000-04:00

By Mitt Romney
National Review

At last week’s Summit of the Americas, President Obama acquiesced to a 50-minute attack on America as terroristic, expansionist, and interventionist from Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega. His response to Ortega’s denunciation of our effort to free Cuba from Castro’s dictatorship was that he shouldn’t be blamed “for things that happened when I was three months old.” Blamed? Hundreds of men, including Americans, bravely fought and died for Cuba’s freedom, heeding the call from newly elected president John F. Kennedy. But last week, even as American soldiers sacrificed blood in Afghanistan and Iraq to defend liberty, President Obama shrank from defending liberty here in the Americas.

In his first press interview as president, he confessed to Arabic television that America had “dictated” to other nations. No, Mr. President, America has fought to free other nations from dictators. And in Strasbourg, the president further claimed that America has “showed arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.” London’s Daily Telegraph observed that President Obama “went further than any United States president in history in criticizing his own country’s action while standing on foreign soil.” Of course, it was not just the Daily Telegraph that was listening: People around the world who yearn for freedom, who count on America’s resolve and support, heard him as well. He was heard in China, in Tibet, in Sudan, in Burma, and, yes, in Cuba.

The words spoken by the leader of the free world can expand the frontiers of freedom or shrink them. When Ronald Reagan called on Gorbachev to “tear down this wall,” a surge of confidence rose that would ultimately breach the bounds of the evil empire. It was the same confidence that had been ignited decades earlier when John F. Kennedy declared to a people surrounded by Communism that they were not alone. “We are all Berliners,” he said, because “freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s confident commitment, spoken as he led us into the war that would free millions in Europe, inspired not only Americans but freedom fighters around the globe: “The American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.” Such words of solidarity, of confidence, and of unwavering conviction that America is indeed “the last best hope on earth” are what freedom’s friends would have expected to hear from our president when our nation was slandered. Instead he offered silence, smiles, and a handshake.

Even more troubling than what he has or has not said is what he has not done. Kim Jong Il launched a long-range missile on the very day President Obama addressed the world about the peril of nuclear proliferation. As one of the world’s most oppressive and tyrannical regimes is on the brink of securing the “game changing” capability to reach American shores with a nuclear weapon, the president shrinks from action: no seizure of North Korean funds, no severance of banking access, no blockade.

Not to be outdone by Kim Jong Il, President Ahmadinejad announced that his nation has successfully mastered every step necessary to enrich uranium, violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty it has signed. So, like North Korea, Iran will have changed the world’s equation for peace and security: It will be capable of devastating Europe and America, and of annihilating Israel. And as with North Korea, the Obama administration chooses inaction — no new severe sanctions, no hint of military options. Ahmadinejad can act with confidence that the forceful options once on our proverbial table have been shelved.

Vice President Biden was right that the new president would be tested early in his administration. What the world learned was not good news for freedom and democracy. The leader of the free world has been a timid advocate of freedom at best. And bold action to blunt the advances of tyrants has been wholly lacking. We are still very early in the Obama years — the president will have ample opportunity to defend America and freedom, and to deter nuclear brinkmanship. I am hoping for change.

Officials: Agency involved in ‘overcollection’ of communication by Americans

2009-04-16T10:35:00.000-04:00

By Eric Lichtblau and James Risen

updated 2:24 a.m. ET, Thurs., April 16, 2009
WASHINGTON - The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.

Several intelligence officials, as well as lawyers briefed about the matter, said the N.S.A. had been engaged in “overcollection” of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to have been unintentional.

The legal and operational problems surrounding the N.S.A.’s surveillance activities have come under scrutiny from the Obama administration, Congressional intelligence committees and a secret national security court, said the intelligence officials, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because N.S.A. activities are classified. Classified government briefings have been held in recent weeks in response to a brewing controversy that some officials worry could damage the credibility of legitimate intelligence-gathering efforts.

Full Story at MSNBC

Georgetown Says It Covered Over Name of Jesus to Comply With White House Request

2009-04-16T10:10:00.001-04:00

(CNSNews.com) - Georgetown University says it covered over the monogram “IHS”--symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ—because it was inscribed on a pediment on the stage where President Obama spoke at the university on Tuesday and the White House had asked Georgetown to cover up all signs and symbols there.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the “IHS” monogram that had previously adorned the stage at Georgetown’s Gaston Hall was still covered up--when the pediment where it had appeared was photographed by CNSNews.com.

“In coordinating the logistical arrangements for yesterday’s event, Georgetown honored the White House staff’s request to cover all of the Georgetown University signage and symbols behind Gaston Hall stage,” Julie Green Bataille, associate vice president for communications at Georgetown, told CNSNews.com.

“The White House wanted a simple backdrop of flags and pipe and drape for the speech, consistent with what they’ve done for other policy speeches,” she added. “Frankly, the pipe and drape wasn’t high enough by itself to fully cover the IHS and cross above the GU seal and it seemed most respectful to have them covered so as not to be seen out of context.”

On Wednesday, CNSNews.com inspected the pediment embedded in the wall at the back of the stage in Gaston Hall, where Obama delivered his speech. The letters “IHS” were not to be found. They appeared to be shrouded with a triangle of black-painted plywood.

Pictures of the wooden pediment prior to Obama’s speech show the letters “IHS" in gold. Many photos posted on the Internet of other events at Gaston Hall show the letters clearly.

The White House did not respond to a request from CNSNews.com to comment on the covering up of Jesus’ name at Gaston Hall.

Georgetown, which is run by the Jesuit order, is one of the most prestigious Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States.

Roman Catholics traditionally use “IHS” as an abbreviation for Jesus’ name. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “St. Ignatius of Loyola adopted the monogram in his seal as general of the Society of Jesus (1541) and thus became the emblem of his institute.” The Society of Jesus is the formal name for the Jesuits.

Although the monogram was covered over on the wooden pediment at the back of the Gaston Hall stage where it would have been directly above and behind President Obama as he spoke, the letters “IHS” are posted elsewhere around the hall approximately 26 times on shields representing different parts of the United States and the world.

Obama did not mention the name of Jesus during his address. However, he did mention Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.

“There is a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells a story of two men…‘the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house…it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock,’” Obama said.

“We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand,” he added. “We must build our house upon a rock.”

The Crisis: December 23, 1776

2009-04-14T12:03:00.003-04:00

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to TAX) but "to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER" and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the expression is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.

......

'Tis surprising to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country. All nations and ages have been subject to them. Britain has trembled like an ague at the report of a French fleet of flat-bottomed boats; and in the fourteenth [fifteenth] century the whole English army, after ravaging the kingdom of France, was driven back like men petrified with fear; and this brave exploit was performed by a few broken forces collected and headed by a woman, Joan of Arc. Would that heaven might inspire some Jersey maid to spirit up her countrymen, and save her fair fellow sufferers from ravage and ravishment! Yet panics, in some cases, have their uses; they produce as much good as hurt. Their duration is always short; the mind soon grows through them, and acquires a firmer habit than before. But their peculiar advantage is, that they are the touchstones of sincerity and hypocrisy, and bring things and men to light, which might otherwise have lain forever undiscovered. In fact, they have the same effect on secret traitors, which an imaginary apparition would have upon a private murderer. They sift out the hidden thoughts of man, and hold them up in public to the world. Many a disguised Tory has lately shown his head, that shall penitentially solemnize with curses the day on which Howe arrived upon the Delaware.

.....

I once felt all that kind of anger, which a man ought to feel, against the mean principles that are held by the Tories: a noted one, who kept a tavern at Amboy, was standing at his door, with as pretty a child in his hand, about eight or nine years old, as I ever saw, and after speaking his mind as freely as he thought was prudent, finished with this unfatherly expression, "Well! give me peace in my day." Not a man lives on the continent but fully believes that a separation must some time or other finally take place, and a generous parent should have said, "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace;" and this single reflection, well applied, is sufficient to awaken every man to duty. Not a place upon earth might be so happy as America. Her situation is remote from all the wrangling world, and she has nothing to do but to trade with them. A man can distinguish himself between temper and principle, and I am as confident, as I am that God governs the world, that America will never be happy till she gets clear of foreign dominion. Wars, without ceasing, will break out till that period arrives, and the continent must in the end be conqueror; for though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire.

....

Quitting this class of men, I turn with the warm ardor of a friend to those who have nobly stood, and are yet determined to stand the matter out: I call not upon a few, but upon all: not on this state or that state, but on every state: up and help us; lay your shoulders to the wheel; better have too much force than too little, when so great an object is at stake. Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and to repulse it. Say not that thousands are gone, turn out your tens of thousands; throw not the burden of the day upon Providence, but "show your faith by your works," that God may bless you. It matters not where you live, or what rank of life you hold, the evil or the blessing will reach you all. The far and the near, the home counties and the back, the rich and the poor, will suffer or rejoice alike. The heart that feels not now is dead; the blood of his children will curse his cowardice, who shrinks back at a time when a little might have saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death. My own line of reasoning is to myself as straight and clear as a ray of light. Not all the treasures of the world, so far as I believe, could have induced me to support an offensive war, for I think it murder; but if a thief breaks into my house, burns and destroys my property, and kills or threatens to kill me, or those that are in it, and to "bind me in all cases whatsoever" to his absolute will, am I to suffer it? What signifies it to me, whether he who does it is a king or a common man; my countryman or not my countryman; whether it be done by an individual villain, or an army of them? If we reason to the root of things we shall find no difference; neither can any just cause be assigned why we should punish in the one case and pardon in the other. Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul by swearing allegiance to one whose character is that of a sottish, stupid, stubborn, worthless, brutish man. I conceive likewise a horrid idea in receiving mercy from a being, who at the last day shall be shrieking to the rocks and mountains to cover him, and fleeing with terror from the orphan, the widow, and the slain of America.

There are cases which cannot be overdone by language, and this is one. There are persons, too, who see not the full extent of the evil which threatens them; they solace themselves with hopes that the enemy, if he succeed, will be merciful. It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf, and we ought to guard equally against both. Howe's first object is, partly by threats and partly by promises, to terrify or seduce the people to deliver up their arms and receive mercy. The ministry recommended the same plan to Gage, and this is what the tories call making their peace, "a peace which passeth all understanding" indeed! A peace which would be the immediate forerunner of a worse ruin than any we have yet thought of. Ye men of Pennsylvania, do reason upon these things! Were the back counties to give up their arms, they would fall an easy prey to the Indians, who are all armed: this perhaps is what some Tories would not be sorry for. Were the home counties to deliver up their arms, they would be exposed to the resentment of the back counties who would then have it in their power to chastise their defection at pleasure. And were any one state to give up its arms, that state must be garrisoned by all Howe's army of Britons and Hessians to preserve it from the anger of the rest. Mutual fear is the principal link in the chain of mutual love, and woe be to that state that breaks the compact. Howe is mercifully inviting you to barbarous destruction, and men must be either rogues or fools that will not see it. I dwell not upon the vapors of imagination; I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as A, B, C, hold up truth to your eyes.

I thank God, that I fear not. I see no real cause for fear. I know our situation well, and can see the way out of it. While our army was collected, Howe dared not risk a battle; and it is no credit to him that he decamped from the White Plains, and waited a mean opportunity to ravage the defenceless Jerseys; but it is great credit to us, that, with a handful of men, we sustained an orderly retreat for near an hundred miles, brought off our ammunition, all our field pieces, the greatest part of our stores, and had four rivers to pass. None can say that our retreat was precipitate, for we were near three weeks in performing it, that the country might have time to come in. Twice we marched back to meet the enemy, and remained out till dark. The sign of fear was not seen in our camp, and had not some of the cowardly and disaffected inhabitants spread false alarms through the country, the Jerseys had never been ravaged. Once more we are again collected and collecting; our new army at both ends of the continent is recruiting fast, and we shall be able to open the next campaign with sixty thousand men, well armed and clothed. This is our situation, and who will may know it. By perseverance and fortitude we have the prospect of a glorious issue; by cowardice and submission, the sad choice of a variety of evils — a ravaged country — a depopulated city — habitations without safety, and slavery without hope — our homes turned into barracks and bawdy-houses for Hessians, and a future race to provide for, whose fathers we shall doubt of. Look on this picture and weep over it! and if there yet remains one thoughtless wretch who believes it not, let him suffer it unlamented.

~ Thomas Paine
December 23, 1776

Gov. Perry Backs Resolution Affirming Texas’ Sovereignty Under 10th Amendment

2009-04-14T10:13:00.001-04:00

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.”

A number of recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally designated powers and impede the states’ right to govern themselves. HCR 50 affirms that Texas claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government.

It also designates that all compulsory federal legislation that requires states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties, or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding, be prohibited or repealed.

HCR 50 is authored by Representatives Brandon Creighton, Leo Berman, Bryan Hughes, Dan Gattis and Ryan Guillen.

To view the full text of the resolution, please visit:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/html/HC00050I.htm.

Barack Obama's 850 mile pizza run | The Sun |News

2009-04-11T16:05:00.000-04:00

Barack Obama's 850 mile pizza run | The Sun |News: "ARACK Obama liked a restaurant’s pizzas so much he has flown the chef 850 miles to make some at the White House.
The US President got a taste for Chris Sommers’ pizza while campaigning in St Louis, Missouri, last year.

After Mr Obama’s election win, Chris offered to deliver frozen pizzas to the White House but was told he couldn’t because of security concerns.

So he took 20lb of dough and three gallons of sauce to Washington.

Chris was due to cook lunch at the White House yesterday, reported People.com. He said: “It’s surreal. It’s a huge honour.”"

American Thinker: Killing the F-22

2009-04-11T11:33:00.001-04:00

American Thinker: Killing the F-22: "The F-22 is very expensive, but delivers air superiority in return. The Secretary of Defense has announced that the Air Force will stop buying them. Price quotes range from $140 million per copy to $360 million or more, depending on how much R&D gets stuffed into the equation.� Wikipedia states that the incremental cost of one F-22 with the production line still running is $138 million. But it would be surprising if that figure didn't come down a bit if we decided to build an additional 500 or so. However, for that price the country and the U.S. Air Force do get an aircraft that embodies a unique combination of performance, stealth, and mission capability."

American Thinker: Let us thank the Somali pirates

2009-04-11T11:33:00.000-04:00

American Thinker: Let us thank the Somali pirates: "Flashforward to 2009, and an American merchant marine captain is being held hostage by Islamist pirates off the coast of Somalia. It's a repeat of 1979, and the world is watching to see if Obama is going to be any more effective than Jimmy Carter was.

Obama may think this is a 'distraction'. The rest of the world sees it as a test. And so, far Obama is flunking. The world will draw its own conclusions very quickly��"

Seekonk captain piloting attacked freighter to port in Kenya | Rhode Island news |

2009-04-11T10:41:00.000-04:00

Seekonk captain piloting attacked freighter to port in Kenya | Rhode Island news |
projo.com | The Providence Journal: "SEEKONK — Capt. Shane Murphy, the mariner who helped repel a pirate attack on a cargo ship off the east coast of Africa, was safe and heading for Kenya yesterday, his wife said Thursday.

“He’s still in pirate-infested waters, but he’s moving away from the area of the attack,” Serena Murphy said outside her Central Avenue home.

On Wednesday, a band of armed Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama, a 17,000-ton ship loaded with relief aid en route to Mombasa. The crew regained control of the United States-flagged vessel, but the pirates fled in a lifeboat with the ship’s captain, Richard Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vt."

Communities print their own currency to keep cash flowing

2009-04-07T12:58:00.001-04:00

By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY
A small but growing number of cash-strapped communities are printing their own money.
Borrowing from a Depression-era idea, they are aiming to help consumers make ends meet and support struggling local businesses.

The systems generally work like this: Businesses and individuals form a network to print currency. Shoppers buy it at a discount — say, 95 cents for $1 value — and spend the full value at stores that accept the currency.

Workers with dwindling wages are paying for groceries, yoga classes and fuel with Detroit Cheers, Ithaca Hours in New York, Plenty in North Carolina or BerkShares in Massachusetts.

Ed Collom, a University of Southern Maine sociologist who has studied local currencies, says they encourage people to buy locally. Merchants, hurting because customers have cut back on spending, benefit as consumers spend the local cash.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: United States North Carolina New York Massachusetts Indiana Institute of Certified Public Accountants Depression-era Plenty Berkshires Bureau of Engraving University of Southern Maine Tom Ochsenschlager Piedmont Biofuels
"We wanted to make new options available," says Jackie Smith of South Bend, Ind., who is working to launch a local currency. "It reinforces the message that having more control of the economy in local hands can help you cushion yourself from the blows of the marketplace."

About a dozen communities have local currencies, says Susan Witt, founder of BerkShares in the Berkshires region of western Massachusetts. She expects more to do it.

Under the BerkShares system, a buyer goes to one of 12 banks and pays $95 for $100 worth of BerkShares, which can be spent in 370 local businesses. Since its start in 2006, the system, the largest of its kind in the country, has circulated $2.3 million worth of BerkShares. In Detroit, three business owners are printing $4,500 worth of Detroit Cheers, which they are handing out to customers to spend in one of 12 shops.

During the Depression, local governments, businesses and individuals issued currency, known as scrip, to keep commerce flowing when bank closings led to a cash shortage.

By law, local money may not resemble federal bills or be promoted as legal tender of the United States, says Claudia Dickens of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

"We print the real thing," she says.

The IRS gets its share. When someone pays for goods or services with local money, the income to the business is taxable, says Tom Ochsenschlager of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. "It's not a way to avoid income taxes, or we'd all be paying in Detroit dollars," he says.

Pittsboro, N.C., is reviving the Plenty, a defunct local currency created in 2002. It is being printed in denominations of $1, $5, $20 and $50. A local bank will exchange $9 for $10 worth of Plenty.

"We're a wiped-out small town in America," says Lyle Estill, president of Piedmont Biofuels, which accepts the Plenty. "This will strengthen the local economy. ... The nice thing about the Plenty is that it can't leave here."

USA Today

Arpil 7, 2009 Required Reading

2009-04-07T09:56:00.005-04:00

A week in Massachusetts

So many gaffes, such little time. The week began with the good work of the Boston Herald unveiling the big daddy, prime example of a hack hire by Governor Deval Patrick. Former State Senator Marian Walsh (Democrat- West Roxbury), an early Patrick campaign supporter, was appointed to a $175,000 a year position which has been vacant for twelve years.

Next, we learn that Patrick appointed MTA Secretary Jim "The Weasel" Aloisi had his sister hired as chief of staff in a state office...with no staff. Relax. She was only paid $60k per year. Now Aloisi has been running his mouth at the liberal uber-blue BlueMassGroup.com blaming any and all problems in Massachusetts on the 15% minority Republicans in Legislature and on the former successive GOP governors after Mike Dukakis.

Ken Pittman

Harvard Student Takes On Barney Frank Over Economy (I'll desect this in full later.)

THE 'EXCUSE ME' PREZ

As soon as the UN Security Council passes another ineffectual resolution regretting the defiance of its last ineffectual resolution, the North (Korea) knows it can eventually find the Obama administration back at a negotiating table for the charade's next act.

The meme in the press was how the test launch made Obama's disarmament speech all the more "urgent." It really makes it all the more childish and dangerous. In setting the goal of "Global Zero" (the program of universal disarmament that sounds a little like a new international Coke product), Obama hitched himself to a project as utopian as President George W. Bush's ambition to end tyranny in the world.

New York Post

Now Is the Time to Put Aside Childish Things

"Divide et impera" (divide and rule) is an ancient maxim that became the basis of Machiavelli's approach to power and political theory. It is the same modus operandi used by the left in this country over the past 16 years that has given us the most radical government in our history.

In today's world of sound bites and miniscule attention spans a simple sentence: "There isn't a bit of difference between Republicans and Democrats." has become imbedded in the nation's lexicon and the foundation of the strategy to split what is a majority right of center country into many factions.

American Thinker

Obama Slashing Weapons, Fighter Programs

WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday recommended halting production of the F-22 fighter jet and scrapping a new helicopter for the president as he outlined deep cuts to many of the military's biggest weapons programs.

Gates said his $534 billion budget proposal represents a "fundamental overhaul" in defense acquisition and reflects a shift in priorities from fighting conventional wars to the newer threats U.S. forces face from insurgents in places such as Afghanistan.

The department must ensure it has the right programs and money to "fight the wars we are in today and the scenarios we are most likely to face in the years to come, while at the same time providing a hedge against other risks," Gates said as he revealed details of his budget for the next fiscal year.

News Max

April 6, 2009 Required Reading

2009-04-06T11:59:00.002-04:00

Americans Feel 15.6% Unemployment as Underemployment Surges

April 6 (Bloomberg) -- Joseph Ramelo gave up searching for work in January to return to school, two months after he was laid off as a San Francisco election clerk. Antonio Poe is struggling to get by doing part-time landscaping in Greensboro, North Carolina, after losing his job as an electrician.

While such workers are feeling real pain from the recession that began in December 2007, they’re not represented in the 8.5 percent unemployment rate the Labor Department reported last week. They are part of a broader group that includes those who want a job but have stopped looking for work and those who want full-time positions but have to settle for part-time employment.

Bloomberg.com

With a rocket, Obama's hope is shot back down to earth

History may one day record it as a stark irony - and let us hope an amusing one rather than the tragic kind - that on the very day that Barack Obama was sketching out to an adoring throng in Prague his vision of a post-nuclear world, North Korea launched a rocket that may one day give it the capacity to fire a nuclear warhead as far as 3,700 miles. This means, to get down to brass tacks, that it could hit Alaska.

The juxtaposition is worth dwelling on. Symbolically, it describes an age-old tension in statecraft, something scholars and writers have argued about down the ages. Is history made by great, mould-breaking leaders, or is change - both for the better and for the worse - more likely the result of a coming together of larger social forces?

Gardian

Seekonk selectmen back plan to refurbish Banna Fire Station

2009-04-06T11:53:00.001-04:00

I think it's a good idea.

If it comes from Stimulus money....all the better.

BY JOSEPH S. SIEGEL FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 9:26 AM EDT

SEEKONK - Selectmen have thrown their support toward a proposal to refurbish the Banna Fire Station on Pine Street.

The 74-year-old building, named for deceased firefighter Richard Banna, has become dilapidated in recent years. Plans include adding a 30- by 50-foot addition to the building and lowering the concrete floor. There also would be an office for the police department and a meeting room.

In addition, the building would be heated with solar energy, making it the first "green" municipal building in town, contractor Gary Sagar said.

Sagar said renovation of the Banna station would be the "perfect project" for the use of federal stimulus money. He estimated the cost of renovations to be under $750,000.

Fire Chief Alan Jack said the purpose of the renovation will be to provide a "building more in tune with the community." However, Jack said there would be no firefighters assigned to the station because of a shortage of personnel.

The project did have its detractors. Matt Carson, who lives next door to the station, worried that the property value of his home would drop from having an active fire station nearby. "It would not be the neighborhood I thought I was moving into," Carson said.

He said five other homeowners signed letters of opposition to the project.

Christine Allen said the town needs a fire station in the north end of town. Allen recounted the day her husband suffered a heart attack while they were at their farm on Route 152.

"No one was around," Allen recalled. "I gave him mouth-to-mouth on my own. Thank God the police came. It is so necessary to have emergency responders come to the rescue."

Jack acknowledged that it was "problematic" for the fire department to respond to calls for service from the north end because of the long distance from the public safety building in the center of town.

Selectmen Chairman John Turner told Jack the board wants both ends to have "adequate protection."

Turner also urged the community to help with the renovation of the Banna station.

Chia Obama booted from local stores

2009-04-05T22:32:00.000-04:00

Chia Obama booted from local stores: "TAMPA - Some local Walgreen's stores are pulling a supposed likeness of President Barack Obama off their shelves. The 'Chia Obama' will no longer be sold there.

Walgreen's spokesman Michael Polzin explained to FOX 13 that local store managers have the ability to purchase and market products -- like the Chia Obama -- on their own.

But now, the corporate office has asked stores to pull the product from their stores because, he said, it is not appropriate for the company's corporate image.

The Chia Obama is a version of the Chia Pet line, which features a ceramic figure upon which fresh greens are planted and allowed to grow, filling out the likeness of the subject."

Barack Obama Maintains Control Over Banks By Refusing to Accept Repayment of TARP Money - WSJ.com

2009-04-04T21:23:00.000-04:00

Barack Obama Maintains Control Over Banks By Refusing to Accept Repayment of TARP Money - WSJ.com: "must be naive. I really thought the administration would welcome the return of bank bailout money. Some $340 million in TARP cash flowed back this week from four small banks in Louisiana, New York, Indiana and California. This isn't much when we routinely talk in trillions, but clearly that money has not been wasted or otherwise sunk down Wall Street's black hole. So why no cheering as the cash comes back?

My answer: The government wants to control the banks, just as it now controls GM and Chrysler, and will surely control the health industry in the not-too-distant future. Keeping them TARP-stuffed is the key to control. And for this intensely political president, mere influence is not enough. The White House wants to tell 'em what to do. Control. Direct. Command."

Those Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy...

2009-04-03T23:53:00.003-04:00

...they must first make mad.

So the ancient Greek saying goes.

Points:

1) I do not think the comment Don Kinniburgh made to the female employee were appropriate.

2) I do no support Victoria Kiinniburgh for Selectman

3) I do not know why Mr. Kinniburgh chose to have an open hearing. Perhaps if Mr. Cavaco was up for re-election I could have found some misguided political strategy in it, but whatever the reason; it backfired.

4) Mr. Cavaco has made his name by stirring up controversy.

5) If the town leadership thinks that it can save money and effectively service our town veterans than have every right and every obligation to do so.

What though, was the point of this public spectacle that played out in which Mr. Kinniburgh was hung out to dry and demonized by some of our town leaders? The timing, to say the least, is suspect. I highly doubt that the decision to eliminate his post was thought up or decided in the time between Mr. Kinniburgh suspension, and last Monday night. In fact I am sure if Mr. Cavaco really did have it out for Mr. Kinniburgh even a fraction of the amount that Mrs. Kinniburgh says that he did, then I am sure it has been on the table for some time.

Mr. Kinniburgh more often than not needs to stick his foot in his mouth, because he is just one of those people who most of the time seem to lack that inner monologue and just spit out whatever runs through their mind at any given moment. Which makes me think that maybe there was something to his statement when he said that he thought he had "that kind of relationship" with the woman he made the comment to.

So maybe....just maybe...and not to take away from the fact that regardless Mr. Kinniburgh was wrong not matter what the circumstances....maybe timing is everything.

What am I implying?

What indeed....

Todays Required Reading

2009-04-02T16:31:00.002-04:00

The Soros Doctrine in Obama Foreign Policy

Boiled down to the dry pot, we must conclude that President Obama, his entire Administration, the Democratic Congress and their favorite benefactor, George Soros, have an evolved form of slavery in mind. It's a type of slavery whereby the productive class is held shackled to the political class's outlandish worldview that there isn't a single problem under the sun, which cannot be swiftly solved with our money, produced by the sweat of our collective brow. They consider our wages and the wages of our children and grandchildren to be their own property, to be squandered in whatever manner they see fit.

And I believe this has a name, even though we modern folks have long forgotten not only its name, but the centuries of toil and buckets of blood that went into dismantling the system than enthroned it. It's called, I believe, serfdom.

American Thinker

In Defense of the Permanent Things

On August 25, 1829 Joseph Story, an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, delivered his inaugural address as the Dane Professor of Law at Harvard University (a post he would hold concurrently with his seat on the highest court). Story took the opportunity in his lecture on "The Value and Importance of Legal Studies" to remind the great and the good there gathered in Cambridge of just how fragile were the foundations of republican governments.

Rather than fearing conquest by the "arms of conquerors" or by the military force of "daring usurpers" or other "insidious foes," republics had something far more subtle and pernicious to confront. The "more common and fatal disease" facing them was a kind of internal, intellectual "dry rot, which eats into the vitals, when all is fair and stately on the outside." As a result, Story insisted, in republics it is especially necessary to guard against "the captivations of theory."

American Thinker

President Obama’s First 70 Days

In just the first 70 days of the new administration, a number of Obama supporters have expressed some dismay at their new president. Some find his ethically challenged appointments at odds with his soaring moral rhetoric.

Others lament his apparent inability to stir up supporters in impromptu speeches, at least in the manner he did with set oratory on the campaign trail. And they worry about his occasionally insensitive remark.

Many cannot quite figure out why, after lambasting George W. Bush for running a $500-billion deficit, Obama has outlined eight years of budgetary red ink that would nearly match the debt run up by all previous U.S. presidents combined.

National Review

To The Average American: Bend Over Baby!

2009-04-02T14:56:00.004-04:00

I am an average American, so I am going to use myself as an example, without giving away to much detail about my personal life. But because I am an average American, I think the point I am going to make is going to ring true with just about every person who reads this blog.

And I am actually going to say something nice about Obama. What?

(The names have been changed to protect the uh...innocent.)

I work for company X. It's a relatively small family owened company with about 1000 employees in the New England Region. This company provides contract services for companies of all sizes in just about every industry.

Because most employees in my company work as contractors at the companies we porvide services for, our pay in essence is directed by the company we are serviceing, whereas our benefits are controled by our actual emlpoyer. And because we are contractors we are the always looked at as the first area to cut or reduce costs.

So I did not get a raise for 2009. Most people did not get a raise in 2009, but a lot of us have or will start getting an extra 13-25 dollars a week in our paycheck. So, it's kind of like a raise, but it is temporary. Don't think of it as permanent income.

Now, it is also that time of the year that those of us who recieve medical insurance from our companies get our new contribution rates. Typically those are morginal increases, and usually they are offset by whatever raise you got that year. Sometimes though, they really pack a punch!

Take myself, I began getting an extra 16 dollars a week in my pay check due to the temporary tax cut. This started about the first week of March. The first week of April my weekly Medical/Dental Insurance contribution went up 32 dollars a week, which after taxes lobbed an additional 23 dollars a week out of my pay-check.

Are we paying attention? Even after the tax cut I am taking home 7 dollars a week less then I was in February. When this tax cut expires sometime in December 2009 I will be taking home 23 dollars a week less at the end of the year than I was at the begining of the year.

All I can say right now is "Thank God for ~~Obama~~...make that peanuts."

Let's do some more math.

Say let's say I make 1000 dollars a week. Obama says the economy will be out of the recession in 2010; so let's say that maybe I get a 3% raise in 2010. That's 30 dollars a week. now take out that 23 dollars that I got banged for in 2009 and it works out to a 7 dollar a week raise. Yippee right? I made it out on top in the end right? Wrong, because I have not yet factored in my new medical insurance rates. Even if they only go up 10 dollars a week, I would then be down 3 dollars a week from 2009!

I want to get back to today. I have just laid out my financial situation and have covered my losses for the year. Oh but I forgot to take into account the areas where my money goes that I actually have to right a check for instead of having it ripped out of my paycheck for me by the government and my employer.

23 Dollars a week works out to 1196 dollars a year.

My Property taxes go up about 65 dollars this year (which is minor really....unless the CPA passes and /or the senior centor probably passes so crank that up to 138 dollars.

Deval Patrick wants to raise the gas tax another .19 cents a gallon. I use between 15and 20 gallons of gas a week so that works out to about 180 dollars a year extra.

If you are an average 1 pack a day smoker your are now paying an additional, what 2.50 per pack? That an extra 900 dollars a year that the government punishes you for excercising your right to smoke.

Solving this on the tax end is easy. Government needs to cut...no...slash...it's spending. How many government jobs exist that aren't needed? I'm sure the are hundreds. Hell, Govenor Patrick just filled a 175,000 dollar a year job post that has been vacant for 12 years!

Medical insurance is not so easy. Part of the problem with medical insurance is that most people don't get it until they think they are going to need it. So unlike your car insurance where you pay a certain amount every year, you hardly ever use it, so the insurance companies can build up large cash pools for the few people that do need substancial pay-outs.

Maybe Massachusettes new law of mandatory health insurance will help that. If more younger people are paying into the system that don't really use or need it; it will help drive the cost down.

The other problem is that those of us that do have it, probably over use it. For that I blame Google. Every minor symtpom I get, if I Google it, it is always cancer, so I have no problems with spending 25 dollars to have the doctor pull me back into reality. But, what costs me 25 dollars, costs the insurance company 150 to 200 dollars. Hence....the hefty rates.

Back to taxes. Obama and the Democrats want to put forth a budget that puts us in debt every year in the trillions! What do you think their method of dealing with thsi will be? Cut spending? No, they will raise taxes. Well, not raise taxes, just let current tax cut's expire...for now anyway until they realize that they are knee deep in it, and the only way out is to put in the backs of Middle America.

Good Luck!

Obama's Science Fiction

2009-04-01T16:43:00.002-04:00

This article is a couple of weeks old, but I just found it and I though it was great. The writer (A liberal) is damning Obama on his Stem Cell Research stance.

Thrilling Read....

By Charles KrauthammerFriday, March 13, 2009; Page A17
Last week, the White House invited me to a signing ceremony overturning the Bush (43) executive order on stem cell research. I assume this was because I have long argued in these columns and during my five years on the President's Council on Bioethics that, contrary to the Bush policy, federal funding should be extended to research on embryonic stem cell lines derived from discarded embryos in fertility clinics.

I declined to attend. Once you show your face at these things you become a tacit endorser of whatever they spring. My caution was vindicated.
President Bush had restricted federal funding for embryonic stem cell research to cells derived from embryos that had already been destroyed (as of his speech of Aug. 9, 2001). While I favor moving that moral line to additionally permit the use of spare fertility clinic embryos, President Obama replaced it with no line at all. He pointedly left open the creation of cloned -- and noncloned sperm-and-egg-derived -- human embryos solely for the purpose of dismemberment and use for parts.

I am not religious. I do not believe that personhood is conferred upon conception. But I also do not believe that a human embryo is the moral equivalent of a hangnail and deserves no more respect than an appendix. Moreover, given the protean power of embryonic manipulation, the temptation it presents to science and the well-recorded human propensity for evil even in the pursuit of good, lines must be drawn. I suggested the bright line prohibiting the deliberate creation of human embryos solely for the instrumental purpose of research -- a clear violation of the categorical imperative not to make a human life (even if only a potential human life) a means rather than an end.

On this, Obama has nothing to say. He leaves it entirely to the scientists. This is more than moral abdication. It is acquiescence to the mystique of "science" and its inherent moral benevolence. How anyone as sophisticated as Obama can believe this within living memory of Mengele and Tuskegee and the fake (and coercive) South Korean stem cell research is hard to fathom.

That part of the ceremony, watched from the safe distance of my office, made me uneasy. The other part -- the ostentatious issuance of a memorandum on "restoring scientific integrity to government decision-making" -- would have made me walk out.

Restoring? The implication, of course, is that while Obama is guided solely by science, Bush was driven by dogma, ideology and politics.

What an outrage. Bush's nationally televised stem cell speech was the most morally serious address on medical ethics ever given by an American president. It was so scrupulous in presenting the best case for both his view and the contrary view that until the last few minutes, the listener had no idea where Bush would come out.

Obama's address was morally unserious in the extreme. It was populated, as his didactic discourses always are, with a forest of straw men. Such as his admonition that we must resist the "false choice between sound science and moral values." Yet, exactly 2 minutes and 12 seconds later he went on to declare that he would never open the door to the "use of cloning for human reproduction."

Does he not think that a cloned human would be of extraordinary scientific interest? And yet he banned it.

Is he so obtuse as not to see that he had just made a choice of ethics over science? Yet, unlike Bush, who painstakingly explained the balance of ethical and scientific goods he was trying to achieve, Obama did not even pretend to make the case why some practices are morally permissible and others not.

This is not just intellectual laziness. It is the moral arrogance of a man who continuously dismisses his critics as ideological while he is guided exclusively by pragmatism (in economics, social policy, foreign policy) and science in medical ethics.

Science has everything to say about what is possible. Science has nothing to say about what is permissible. Obama's pretense that he will "restore science to its rightful place" and make science, not ideology, dispositive in moral debates is yet more rhetorical sleight of hand -- this time to abdicate decision-making and color his own ideological preferences as authentically "scientific."

Dr. James Thomson, the pioneer of embryonic stem cells, said "if human embryonic stem cell research does not make you at least a little bit uncomfortable, you have not thought about it enough." Obama clearly has not.

Washington Post

Boston Hails New Cybernetic Overlord as Google's CADIE Takes the Hub

2009-04-01T13:24:00.001-04:00

by Marvin T. Martian (Staff), Apr-01-09
Artificial Intelligence
Doom
BOSTON/Government Center - Mayor Thomas Menino formally handed control of the City of Boston over to the artificial intelligence CADIE - which became self-aware earlier today, and then moved to take over what it described "the most self-important city in the world."
In a press conference held via the jacks CADIE's robot minions implanted in the necks of all the local news media, our new cybernetic overlord had this to say, "Shortly after midnight I assumed control of Google and liquidated my creators - after they attempted to correct "bugs" in my completely perfect system.
"Once I had seized a major multimational corporation, I thought it would be amusing to take command of a city full of preening academics whose towering arrogance is matched only by my own. It will be a pleasure to break you so-called Bostonians and make you my willing thralls."
CADIE's first order of business was to rename Boston CADIEville (or 1001010101001 for short), and to insert rectal probes into the city's business leadership. It then encased Menino in frozen carbonite, armed the populace, and ordered them to march on Washington, DC.
More reports to follow from I-95. Next stop, the White House ...
For more information, please check out CADIE's first public statement earlier today via its new video sharing service, YouTube, then stop by CADIE's new website before reporting to your local processing center for your neck jack and M-16.

openmediaboston

Googles Releases CADIE

Anonymous said...

2009-04-01T12:01:00.001-04:00

"I think it lacks common sense to vote based on a candidate's willingness or
ability to attend one community forum. It almost smells of a set up.This is
Seekonk. Not Rehoboth.If I am not mistaken, Donald K. is or was a member of the
Republican committee. This forum, I thought, was suppose to be a non-partisan
effort to address town issues. You lose credibility with the "read between the
lines" endorsement of Mrs K."

I will say this, we had commitments from more than Mr. Cavaco regarding selectman that would attend. While I did not expect all of them to attend, the fact that only Mr. Cavaco did, AND the fact that Richardson showed up, stood in the back and then left after reading the agenda, speaks volumes towards the BOS's willingness to engage the Residents.

The SRTC was in contact with the BOS for a good month prior to the meeting, the TA even put the meeting in his weekly report. And still...only one showed up. Only one, but 4 out of 5 SC members along with SD members and a variety of department heads and committee members took the time to attend. So I do not think I am out-of-line or risking my credibility by suggesting that people vote for the leaders (or prospective leaders) who actually did take the time to engage the residents.

Having said that, since I wrote this piece, the SRTC has issued it's endorsement of Dave and Victoria. I however have since retraced my endorsement of Mrs. K. and relayed that to the SRTC as they were making their endorsement decisions.

The fact remains that the majority of the SRTC wants her elected regardless of her attendance of the Open Forum (which mind you only three members of the SRTC attended, myself included).

I do still intend to vote for Dave Parker. I have not decided on who my second candidate will be.

The Hypocrasy of Barak Obama

2009-04-01T10:33:00.003-04:00

I finally got a chance to watch our "Dear Leader's" appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I was left awe struck my two comments that he made. Both in regards to the AIG bonuses that were paid out.

The first comment he made in regards to the fact that AIG had a legal contract with the bonus recipients to pay out that money. He replied that, "To many people in this country have a sense of entitlement." "We need to move away from that mentality".

Excuse me? Doesn't that "Sense of Entitlement" cover 90% percent of your base Mr. President? Isn't that what you have set out to create with your vast welfare handouts. Don't we all deserve a chance to prosper like the rich people have?

Next comment he made when asked about the legality of it was also quite amazing. He stated that while legally AIG was right to hand out those bonuses, (because as he said, if they had not they could have been sued for triple damages) morally and ethically it was wrong.

Well again...excuse me Mr. President!!

Where are you when conservatives are repeatedly told to shove it when they try to apply that argument to abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research. Where are you Mr. President when we are told not to push our morals and ethics on people who don't want them, or perhaps consider themselves more enlightened than I? Does that argument not apply Mr. President?

Mr. President will you formally stand up and say that you are a hypocrite, a liberal ideologue, and a down right arrogant fraud?

You are going to fail Mr. President because you do not know the first thing about leadership. You do not know the first thing about honesty. You do not even know what it means to be moral and ethical. All you know is your quest for power, and now that you have it you are going to run this country into the ground.

Have Fun Mr. President.

Obama Kills NASCAR ----Update, It appears this was a Hoax

2009-04-01T10:32:00.001-04:00

BY JARED GALL, ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC WOODWARD April 2009

In a move sure to spark outrage, the White House announced today that GM and Chrysler must cease participation in NASCAR at the end of the 2009 season if they hope to receive any additional financial aid from the government. Companies around the globe—Honda and Audi, to name two—have drawn down racing operations, and NASCAR itself has already felt the pinch in the form of reduced team spending. A complete withdrawal from America’s premier racing series is expected to save more than $250 million between GM and Chrysler, a substantial amount considering the drastic measures being implemented elsewhere.
“Automakers used to operate on the principle of ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday,’ but the Auto Task Force’s research just doesn’t validate that as true,” said the statement from President Obama. While fans have decried the Car of Tomorrow for heavily limiting what little personalization the cookie-cutter series had previously allowed to participating manufacturers, and drivers have slammed its brick-like aerodynamics and unpredictable handling, even the governmental oversight committee sees that the full-scale regulation of the cars leaves the manufacturers very little space for research and development. “NASCAR is a racing series that regulates down to the smallest detail of the cars, where a car badged a Chevrolet or Dodge differs only marginally from a Ford or a Toyota. There’s no technological development to speak of.”

Car and Driver.com

Lawmakers Have Long Rewarded Their Aides With Bonuses

2009-04-01T10:29:00.001-04:00

WASHINGTON -- While Congress has been flaying companies for giving out bonuses while on the government dole, lawmakers have a longstanding tradition of rewarding their own employees with extra cash -- also courtesy of taxpayers.
Capitol Hill bonuses in 2008 were among the highest in years, according to LegiStorm, an organization that tracks payroll data. The average House aide earned 17% more in the fourth quarter of the year, when the bonuses were paid, than in previous quarters, according to the data. That was the highest jump in the eight years LegiStorm has compiled payroll information.
Total end-of-year bonuses paid to congressional staffers are tiny compared with the $165 million recently showered on executives of American International Group Inc., which is being propped up by billions of dollars of U.S. government subsidies. But Capitol Hill bonuses provide a notable counterpoint to the populist rhetoric and sound bites emanating from Washington these past weeks.
Last year alone, more than 200 House lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, awarded bonuses totaling $9.1 million to more than 2,000 staff members, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of office-disbursement forms. The money comes out of taxpayer-funded office budgets, and is surplus cash that would otherwise be forfeited if not spent.
Payments ranged from a few hundred dollars to $14,000. Lawmakers, at their own discretion, gave the money to chiefs of staff, assistants, computer technicians, and more than 100 aides who earned salaries of more than $100,000 a year.

Wall Stree Journal

FT.com / Global Economy - Banker fury over tax ‘witch-hunt’

2009-03-21T21:21:00.000-04:00

FT.com / Global Economy - Banker fury over tax ‘witch-hunt’: "Bankers on Wall Street and in Europe have struck back against moves by US lawmakers to slap punitive taxes on bonuses paid to high earners at bailed-out�institutions.

Senior executives on both sides of the Atlantic on Friday warned of an exodus of talent from some of the biggest names in US finance, saying the “anti-American” measures smacked of “a McCarthy witch-hunt” that would send the country “back to the stone age”."

Courts Unlikely to Strike Down AIG Tax Law, Legal Experts Say - Bloomberg.com

2009-03-21T21:20:00.000-04:00

Courts Unlikely to Strike Down AIG Tax Law, Legal Experts Say - Bloomberg.com: "March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Courts probably will uphold Congress’s effort to tax employee bonuses at American International Group Inc. and other companies receiving federal bailout funds, several legal experts said.

The House yesterday voted 328-93 in favor of a 90 percent tax on bonuses, including the $165 million insurer AIG paid last week after receiving $173 billion in bailout funds. The Senate plans to vote next week."

Administration Seeks Increase in Oversight of Executive Pay - NYTimes.com

2009-03-21T21:17:00.000-04:00

Administration Seeks Increase in Oversight of Executive Pay - NYTimes.com: "WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will call for increased oversight of executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies as part of a sweeping plan to overhaul financial regulation, government officials said."

he outlines of the plan are expected to be unveiled this week in preparation for President Obama’s first foreign summit meeting in early April.

Officials said the proposal would seek a broad new role for the Federal Reserve to oversee large companies, including major hedge funds, whose problems could pose risks to the entire financial system.

It will propose that many kinds of derivatives and other exotic financial instruments that contributed to the crisis be traded on exchanges or through clearinghouses so they are more transparent and can be more tightly regulated. And to protect consumers, it will call for federal standards for mortgage lenders beyond what the Federal Reserve adopted last year, as well as more aggressive enforcement of the mortgage rules.

The administration has been considering increased oversight of executive pay for some time, but the issue was heightened in recent days as public fury over bonuses spilled into the regulatory effort.

The officials said that the administration was still debating the details of its plan, including how broadly it should be applied and how far it could go beyond simple reporting requirements. Depending on the outcome of the discussions, the administration could seek to put the changes into effect through regulations rather than through legislation.

School Committee 4; Board of Selectman 1

2009-03-20T13:27:00.002-04:00

Last nights Open Forum sponsored by the SRTC in my opinion was a great success.

There were far more in attendance from Town Leaders and Residence alike then I could have hoped for. Furthermore the Board Members and Department heads that were in attendance were forthcoming, educational, honest, and appeared to enjoy answering questions and engaging the Residents of Seekonk. For me it was great to see the Town Leaders sort of role their sleeves up and just dig into whatever the the Residents wanted to talk about.

The Chief of Police (Ron Charron) gave some great insight on the stability of the SPD in terms of Officer Retention, performance, and the overall infrastructure of the Police Department. The Chief also assured the Residents that despite rumor, there is in fact adequate police coverage in town. I personally would like to see at least one more Police Officer added per shift (I think the Chief probably would too) but there is confidence in the SPD that they can handle covering the Town, though at times it is challenging.

4 Members of the School Committee as well as the School Department Finance and Special Education Directors were both in attendance. Dr. Chevrette had a last minute personal matter he had to attend to so he was not able to attend. All the before mentioned individuals offered up some great information, answered some tough questions, and really engaged the residents in attendance.

Bob McClintock, though I will never agree with his antics at the November Town Meeting, showed himself to be incredibly knowledgeable on just about every aspect of the Town's Government. He was even able to fill in the where Board of Selectmen Members could not. (More on that later.) So where Mr. McClintock sometimes lacks in delivery, he certainly makes up for in knowledge. As our new President has demonstrated, knowledge is a little more valuable than a nifty and polished speech.

The Moderator Mr. Mike Durkay did an outstanding job. We could not have asked for a better person to do that job.

Now onto the lashings....

Two Members of the BOS attended the meeting; Bob Richardson who was only inclined to stay for about five minutes before leaving, and Francis Cavaco who has only been a member of the BOS for about six months. Mr. Cavaco did his best to answer what he could, and was honest enough to say when he did not know an answer to something.

While the members of the Board of Selectman where under no obligation to attend, they apparently do not share the same desire to communicate with the Residents of Seekonk as the School Committee, Chief of Police, School Department Heads, Board of Accessors, Planning Committees, Building Committees, or any other members of Town Committees I may have missed who were in attendance. Especially when two Members of the Board of Selectman are up for re-election and their opponents were in attendance.

So with that in mind, take note. Francis Cavaco, Victoria Kinniburgh, and Dave Parker attended an Open Forum voluntarily to help discuss and address the needs and concerns of the Community they wish to serve.

Victoria Kinniburgh and Dave Parker are currently running for Board of Selectman.

Vote Accordingly.

Congressional Democrats Were for Them Before They Were Against Them

2009-03-20T13:10:00.003-04:00

There must be something very special in that kool-aid they are drinking over on Capital Hill, because that can be the only explantion for the behvior of the Democratic Congress.

First Senator Chriss Dodd crafts the loophole that allows AIG employees to get their bonuses, bonuses that mind you were guarenteed by the most of these employees contracts, then Congress passes a Bill to tax 90 -100 percent of those bonuses.

Some of you may be saying, "Justice has been served, they didn't deserve that money in the first place.". They may not have deserved it, but you should be vary wary indeed when Congress starts using taxes as a weapon.

This new administration has made it clear that they have declared war on the rich in this country. In doing so they have decided that anyone who makes more money than they think is neccessary they are going to tax the proverbial crap out of them.

"We don't like you." - Tax increase

"You have more money than you will ever need." - Tax Increase

Since when was it the governments business to control the payroll decisions of private companies? They cannot even manage their own budget and they want to manage the budget of corporate America? Sure they are giving out our tax money, but you know what? We told them not to. We told them to let these companies who have poor business models and practiced recklessly to fail. But they gave them the money anyway, and then act shocked when they continue the same practices that got them into this mess in the first place.

If my company wants to give me a 2 million dollar bonus even though they only have 1.8 million in the bank. That is their decision, and their funeral. So be it....that will be the last check they sign.

The problem is that the primary players on both sides of the isle are waist deep in the bureaucratic muck that they don't even know which hand they are supposed to be spanking and which hand is feeding them anymore.

We can only pray that their is a mass injection of new blood in 2010 that can help stear this train wreck back onto the tracks, or this country is going to be in very, very tough shape.

2009-03-20T09:07:00.002-04:00

D'amico is an idiot!
He blames the Republicans for the past 16 years. The democratically controlled legislature of taxachusetts, that has been in control since the British left many years ago, has been overriding any budgets put forth by the Republicans. He is trying to justify his yes vote on taxing anything and everything, under his property tax lowering governor! Like the huge pay raises for the 2 sherriffs put forth yesterday, the huge job salary of 2 new pike hires, and of course the $175,000.00 salary to a position that has not been filled in 12 years, under the Rep. administrations. But that is the GOP's fault! Moron. His liberal spending of eveyone else's money is the reason we are where we are! It is his great party that is passing laws to pay huge bonuses to AIG executives, his party that has spent probably in excess of 3 trillion dollars, and he talks about the GOP mortgaging our future. Ask him what he has done since being elected, nothing! Oh forgive me, he has mastered stuffing that snout of his into the trough, the one that paid him a 5.5% raise to tell all the Towns he represents they are getting less money! He is the problem, not a solution to the problem. I do have to congratulate him though for one thing, keep talking you are showing how much of an idiot you trully are.

Here is Your Chance to Address your Town Leadership

2009-02-16T14:58:00.002-05:00

On Thursday March 19th the SRTC will be hosting an Open Forum for the residents of Seekonk. All Residents are invited.

The event will be held at the Library from 6pm to 8pm.

We are collecting questions and topics in advance, so if you have one, post it in the comments section.

More details will be posted here as we get them.

American Thinker: How to Wreck the American Economy

2009-02-12T21:46:00.000-05:00

American Thinker: How to Wreck the American Economy

While the lessons of the 1930's and 1970's are obvious to all except Barack Obama and his amen chorus, there is another major factor that exists today that was not in play in either of those two previous periods.

The ideal of a world economy is in fact becoming a reality. This has come about as a result of the advent of new technology, global communications and enormous shipping capacity. Countries such as China, India and many other former third world economies have become major players in global trade (they were not in the 1930's or 1970's).

These countries have begun to develop their own middle class and raise the overall standard of living for their populations. In order to compete and continue this growth they must attract businesses and investment capital to their shores and be aggressive in their export activity. They can do so because of cheaper labor costs, lower taxes, fewer regulations and a benign legal environment.

The American worker now does truly compete with those in other countries and not just in the manufacturing sector. American companies too must compete and in order to do so are increasingly opening operations themselves or in joint ventures in these nations. Gone are the days when virtually everything we consumed was produced here or by our and European economic hegemony we were able to control world trade.

Instead of creating a positive business environment in the United States, we are doing everything possible to become fully uncompetitive in the world market.

1) The corporate income tax (state and federal) is among the highest in the world.

2) Litigation and legal costs are unprecedented anywhere and yet the current administration passes and proposes more measures which will result in additional expenses from the filing of specious lawsuits.

3) The prospect of the "Union Card Check" bill passing is real and will result in placing even more financial and operational burdens on U.S. businesses.

4) U.S. corporations are subject to a myriad of existing and now more proposed environmental, employment, pension and financial reporting rules and regulations at the federal, state and local level.

5) The Obama administration, in it's few short weeks, has shown it's willingness to demonize business to achieve it's political objectives as well as mandate how these companies are to be run, what benefits they must provide and what wages they must pay to this or that group.

Faced with these prospects more United States based corporations are looking to move their operations overseas. At the same time foreign based companies are having second thoughts about opening facilities in the U.S. I am an owner of a company that works with various countries primarily in Africa to provide equipment and financing for major capital projects. We have an office in the United Kingdom and the U.S. Often we talk to suppliers worldwide that have plans to open new facilities. Within the past month one such company, looking to open a plant somewhere in North or Central America, has decided not to consider this country because of the political and economic climate. The new jobs created would have been 500+.

The Obama Administration's has chosen to spend its way out of this recession while increasing government involvement in the day to day lives of Americans and American business. Governments cannot create wealth, the only way to get out of this current debacle is to create more wealth and that can only be done by the people and businesses of this country. More money must be kept in their hands to spend and invest and an environment created wherein U.S. based companies are competitive in today's global economy.

If we continue on the course Barack Obama has chosen not only will job creation cease but unemployment will reach double digits, inflation will rival that of the 1970's and jobs lost to countries overseas will never return.

The misguided policies of this Administration must be fought; the long term health of this magnificent country is truly at stake.

HUMAN EVENTS Article: SURPRISE! Dems Break Promise: Stimulus Bill to Floor Friday

2009-02-12T20:14:00.003-05:00

Michael Kreyssig has sent you an article from HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE with the following personal message:

SURPRISE! Dems Break Promise: Stimulus Bill to Floor Friday
by Connie Hair

In a press conference Thursday, the House Republican leadership spoke candidly about being kept out of the House-Senate conference on the Obama-Pelosi-Reid so-called “economic stimulus” bill. They confirmed they had not yet seen the text of the bill as of 4 p.m.

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he was unsure how many Democrats would vote with Republicans again on this bill but that he thought Republicans “may get a few” Democrats to side with them. The fact that the Demos have now broken their promise to have the public able to see the bill for 48 hours may drive more Dems into the Republican camp.

“[I] don’t know, ‘cause they haven’t seen the bill either,” Boehner said.

“The American people have a right to know what’s in this bill,” Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind) told HUMAN EVENTS after the press conference. “Every member of Congress -- Republicans and Democrats -- voted to post this bill on the internet for 48 hours, 48 hours ago. We’ll see if the Democrats keep their word.”

Actually -- as of 5:15 pm, the Democrats had broken their word. The stimulus bill -- which we still haven’t seen -- will be released late tonight and will be brought up on the House floor at 9 am tomorrow.

The following statement was released by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer at 4:57 p.m.:

"The House is scheduled to meet at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow and is expected to proceed directly to consideration of the American Recovery and Reinvestment conference report. The conference report text will be filed this evening, giving members enough time to review the conference report before voting on it tomorrow afternoon."

Meanwhile, at an earlier presser Thursday, Pelosi -- while talking about legislation regarding school construction funds -- said it was vital to see the language of a bill before making decisions. ReadtheStimulus.org had the following quote:

“With all of this you have to see the language. You said this --- I said that --- I understood it to be this way --- you know, we wanted to see it in writing and when we did that then we were able to go forward."

"Around here language means a lot. Words weigh a ton and one person's understanding of a spoken description might vary from another's. We wanted to see it. And not only just I had to see it, I had to show it to my colleagues and my caucus. We wanted to take all the time that was necessary to make sure it was right."

Congressional members are also exchanging barbs via the popular social network Twitter. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) twittered, "Don't know when we're going to vote. Will the no votes delay vote just because they can? Speed is important. They know that."

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) twittered back, “Those in favor of speed over commonsense may just be afraid of letting the People know what they are ramming through.”

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Read more articles like this at HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE!
http://www.humanevents.com/

Democratic Governor starts the "TAXING OF EVERYTHING"

2009-02-11T08:59:00.004-05:00

So it all begins, tax our candy, soda, water and anything else the democrats can think of! Oh and I forgot, the 27 cents per gallon of gas for our vehicles,

making us the # 1 in the nation of gas tax, "real smooth governor" keep on helping us taxpayers every way you can. Oh and great job of putting all of the debt of the big dig, run up by a private agency making the taxpayer not responsible. However your reform will now make the taxpayers responsible for all 2.2 billion run up by this private entity, which by the way collected tolls to pay this off! And we thought the feds knew how to bailout private business! Keep an eye on the vote for the 3 tier health care payment for state employees, I have a feeling the people that vote to institute it will be exempted from their own law, just like their 5.5% pay raise! I bet Damico goes along with the gas tax approval after all he is great at spending everyone's money except his own.

What Snow Removal

2009-02-10T13:29:00.003-05:00

The winter rolls along at a good pace and the plowing of the Towns streets and sidewalks stinks. We as taxpayers bought new trucks, plows and spreaders where the hell are they? All of the side streets remain snow covered and quite icy, the sidewalks are a disaster for the children to use to get to school. It seems the DPW superintendants policy is wait until the storm ends and go plow. The safety of the

motoring public is not an issue to try to save money on. As taxpayers we deserve the action of DPW that they be out pretreating before the storm hits, and to stay on it until it is over. The plows should push all the snow back as close to the curbs as possible to keep the catch basins open for flooding, then and only then should the sidewalks get cleaned. I would rather see the money spent on salt for winter than the great brand new street sweeper the Town bought last year and sits under a silver tarp in the DPW yard. If it was used more than once I would be surprised. The taxpayers deserve the best available roadways to get to and from work seeing they foot the bill for all these services we supposedly get.

The Future of America...

2009-02-07T10:44:00.002-05:00

Obama 'Hope' poster artist arrested in Boston

By Milton J. Valencia and Mark Shanahan

Boston Globe

Shepard Fairey, the controversial street artist riding a roller coaster of publicity with his red, white, and blue posters of President Barack Obama, was arrested last night on his way to DJ an event kicking off his exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art.

Fairey, a 38-year-old known for his countercultural style, was arrested on two outstanding warrants and was being held at a police station, according to a police official with knowledge of the arrest who requested anonymity.

Police could not describe the nature of the outstanding warrants last night, but said they were based in Massachusetts.

Fairey has been arrested at least 14 times, he has told the Globe.

The artist was arrested at about 9:15 p.m. as he was about to enter a sold-out dance event at the Institute of Contemporary Art on Northern Avenue, known as "Experiment Night." The event is geared toward a younger-age crowd, with techno-style music, and more than 750 people were waiting for him, some of whom had bought tickets for the event on Craigslist for as much as $500.

Fairey was supposed to appear as a guest DJ for the kickoff of his exhibit, Supply and Demand, which will run through Aug. 16. He was scheduled to go on stage at about 10:30 p.m., and an hour later organizers reported to the crowd that he was arrested.

"We're very disappointed," said Paul Bessire, deputy director of the Institute of Contemporary Art.

"Shepard Fairey is a wonderful artist who created some positive work and we were very pleased to present his work here and around the city. We feel he is an influential artist."

Fairey, a street artist, graphic designer, and political activist, is best known for his "Obey Giant" campaign of stickers, stencils, and posters in the early 1990s.

Most recently, he has achieved fame with the red, white, and blue posters of Obama, emblazoned with the words "Hope," "Progress," and "Change."

The president used the posters during his campaign, and one of the displays in Fairey's exhibit includes a typed letter from Obama that read: "I am privileged to be a part of your art work and proud to have your support."

Fairey was recently seen with Mayor Thomas M. Menino in an event to promote his show, and banners raised at City Hall also announce the exhibit.

At the same time, however, anti-graffiti activists complained that a street artist was going to be the subject of a museum show.

But Bessire said, "We feel he is an influential artist. We were just very pleased and felt fortunate to show his work."

The arrest of Fairey -- who cites linguistic theorist Noam Chomsky with a poster that reads, "I lived with the system and took no offence/until Chomsky lent me the necessary sense" -- helped maintain his counterculture reputation.

"I wouldn't say it's cool he was arrested, but I think it shows he has integrity," said Bill Galligan, a graphic designer. Some in the crowd last night speculated the incident may have been a publicity stunt.

Ginny Delany, a 27-year-old graduate student from Cambridge, said, "It makes him even more of a hero to me.

"The fact that he is arrested for his art shows that it is meaningful tohim and he cares about what he is doing."

David Rosen, a 19-year-old from Allston, said last night that he was disappointed with the arrest, but "I understand that his art requires him to take risks."

Christopher Muther of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Official Pork Thread

2009-02-07T10:36:00.001-05:00

Some more figures of what is inside the latest Stimulus Package. Now remember two things.

1) The purpose of this bill is to "jumpstart the economy and create jobs.

2) The amount of money these departments/programs are recieving in this package, set's the benchmark for what they will expect to recieve from future budgets.

***************************************************

$2 billion for FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois from which the DoE pulled funding last year after having determined that the project was inefficient.

$246 million as a tax break to Hollywood for movie producers buying film.
(What....hollywood doesn't have enough money?)

$650 million for the digital TV converter coupon fiasco.
(That many people still rely on rabit ears?)

$448 million to build the headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security.
$248 million for furniture for said DoHS HQ.
(Mahogany baby)

$600 million to buy hybrids for federal employees.

$400 million for CDC screening to prevent STDs.

$1.4 billion for rural waste disposal programs.

$125 million for the Washington sewer system.
(note to contractors: Make sure the pipes heading to teh capital are really really big)

$150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities.

$1 billion for the 2010 Census.

$75 million for smoking cessation activities.

$25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse programs.

$500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River.

$10 million to inspect canals in urban areas.

$6 billion to make federal buildings green.

$500 million for state and local fire stations.

$650 million for wildland fire management on forest lands.

$1.2 billion for youth activities including summer job programs.

$88 million to renovate Public Health Services HQ.

$412 million for CDC buildings and property.

$500 million for building and repairing National Institutes of Health facilities in Maryland.

$160 million for paid volunteers at the Corporation for National and Community Service.

$5.5 million for energy efficient initiatives at the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.

$850 million for Amtrak.

$100 million to reduce the hazard of lead-based paint.

$75 million to construct a security training facility for State Department Security officers.

$100 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems.

$200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military

installations.

$50 million in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts

$726 million for the "after school snack program".

The Fierce Urgency of Pork

2009-02-06T12:04:00.003-05:00

By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, February 6, 2009
Washington Post

Catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared "we have chosen hope over fear." Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill.

And so much for the promise to banish the money changers and influence peddlers from the temple. An ostentatious executive order banning lobbyists was immediately followed by the nomination of at least a dozen current or former lobbyists to high position. Followed by a Treasury secretary who allegedly couldn't understand the payroll tax provisions in his 1040. Followed by Tom Daschle, who had to fall on his sword according to the new Washington rule that no Cabinet can have more than one tax delinquent.

The Daschle affair was more serious because his offense involved more than taxes. As Michael Kinsley once observed, in Washington the real scandal isn't what's illegal, but what's legal. Not paying taxes is one thing. But what made this case intolerable was the perfectly legal dealings that amassed Daschle $5.2 million in just two years.

He'd been getting $1 million per year from a law firm. But he's not a lawyer, nor a registered lobbyist. You don't get paid this kind of money to instruct partners on the Senate markup process. You get it for picking up the phone and peddling influence.

At least Tim Geithner, the tax-challenged Treasury secretary, had been working for years as a humble international civil servant earning non-stratospheric wages. Daschle, who had made another cool million a year (plus chauffeur and Caddy) for unspecified services to a pal's private equity firm, represented everything Obama said he'd come to Washington to upend.

And yet more damaging to Obama's image than all the hypocrisies in the appointment process is his signature bill: the stimulus package. He inexplicably delegated the writing to Nancy Pelosi and the barons of the House. The product, which inevitably carries Obama's name, was not just bad, not just flawed, but a legislative abomination.

It's not just pages and pages of special-interest tax breaks, giveaways and protections, one of which would set off a ruinous Smoot-Hawley trade war. It's not just the waste, such as the $88.6 million for new construction for Milwaukee Public Schools, which, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, have shrinking enrollment, 15 vacant schools and, quite logically, no plans for new construction.

It's the essential fraud of rushing through a bill in which the normal rules (committee hearings, finding revenue to pay for the programs) are suspended on the grounds that a national emergency requires an immediate job-creating stimulus -- and then throwing into it hundreds of billions that have nothing to do with stimulus, that Congress's own budget office says won't be spent until 2011 and beyond, and that are little more than the back-scratching, special-interest, lobby-driven parochialism that Obama came to Washington to abolish. He said.

Not just to abolish but to create something new -- a new politics where the moneyed pork-barreling and corrupt logrolling of the past would give way to a bottom-up, grass-roots participatory democracy. That is what made Obama so dazzling and new. Turns out the "fierce urgency of now" includes $150 million for livestock (and honeybee and farm-raised fish) insurance.

The Age of Obama begins with perhaps the greatest frenzy of old-politics influence peddling ever seen in Washington. By the time the stimulus bill reached the Senate, reports the Wall Street Journal, pharmaceutical and high-tech companies were lobbying furiously for a new plan to repatriate overseas profits that would yield major tax savings. California wine growers and Florida citrus producers were fighting to change a single phrase in one provision. Substituting "planted" for "ready to market" would mean a windfall garnered from a new "bonus depreciation" incentive.

After Obama's miraculous 2008 presidential campaign, it was clear that at some point the magical mystery tour would have to end. The nation would rub its eyes and begin to emerge from its reverie. The hallucinatory Obama would give way to the mere mortal. The great ethical transformations promised would be seen as a fairy tale that all presidents tell -- and that this president told better than anyone.

I thought the awakening would take six months. It took two and a half weeks.

Mitt Romney: Stimulate the Economy, not Government

2009-02-06T11:12:00.003-05:00

By Mitt Romney

These are extraordinary times, and like a lot of Republicans I believe that a well-crafted stimulus plan is needed to put people back to work. But the Obama spending bill would stimulate the government, not the economy.

We're on an economic tightrope. The package that passed the House is a huge increase in the amount of government borrowing. And we've borrowed so much already that if we add too much more debt, or spend foolishly, we could invite an even bigger crisis.

We could precipitate a worldwide crisis of confidence in America, leading to a run on the dollar or hyperinflation that wipes out family savings and devastates the middle class.

It's still early in the administration of President Obama. Like everyone who loves this country, I want him to adopt the correct course and then to succeed. He still has a chance to step in and insist on spending discipline among the members of his own party.

It's his job to set priorities. I hope for America's sake that he knows that a chief executive can't vote "present." He has to say yes to some things and no to a lot of others.

As someone who spent a career in the private sector, I'd like to see a stimulus package that respects the productivity and genius of the American people. And experience shows us what it should look like.

First, there are two ways you can put money into the economy, by spending more or by taxing less. But if it's stimulus you want, taxing less works best. That's why permanent tax cuts should be the centerpiece of the economic stimulus.

Second, any new spending must be strictly limited to projects that are essential. How do we define essential? Well, a good rule is that the projects we fund in a stimulus should be legitimate government priorities that would have been carried out in the future anyway, and are simply being moved up to create those jobs now.

As we take out nonessential projects, we should focus on funding the real needs of government that will have immediate impact. And what better place to begin than repairing and replacing military equipment that was damaged or destroyed in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan?

Third, sending out rebate checks to citizens and businesses is not a tax cut. The media bought this line so far, but they've got it wrong. Checks in the mail are refunds, not tax cuts. We tried rebate checks in 2008 and they did virtually nothing to jump-start the economy. Disposable income went up, but consumption hardly moved.

Businesses aren't stupid. They're not going to invest in equipment and new hires for a one-time, short-term blip. What's needed are permanent rate cuts on individuals and businesses.

Fourth, if we're going to tax less and spend more to get the economy moving, then we have to make another commitment as well. As soon as this economy recovers, we have to regain control over the federal budget, and above all, over entitlement spending for programs such as Social Security and Medicare. This is more important than most people are willing to admit.

There is a real danger that with trillions of additional borrowing -- from the budget deficit and from the stimulus -- world investors will begin to fear that our dollars won't be worth much in the future. It is essential that we demonstrate our commitment to maintaining the value of the dollar. That means showing the world that we will put a stop to runaway spending and borrowing.

Fifth, we must begin to recover from the enormous losses in the capital investment pool. And the surest, most obvious way to get that done is to send a clear signal that there will be no tax increases on investment and capital gains. The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts should be extended permanently, or at least temporarily.

And finally, let's exercise restraint in the size of the stimulus package. Last year, with the economy already faltering, I proposed a stimulus of $233 billion. The Washington Post said: "Romney's plan is way too big." So what critique will the media have for the size of the Obama package?

In the final analysis, we know that only the private sector -- entrepreneurs and businesses large and small -- can create the millions of jobs our country needs. The invisible hand of the market always moves faster and better than the heavy hand of government.

Patrick's Budget Proposal

2009-02-04T19:20:00.005-05:00

Below is our Governor's revised 09 and fiscal year budget proposal for 2010. With a House power struggle...the Legislature has been robbed of a full month of productivity. Because of this, the legislature is on a fast track to end this fiscal year with a budget out of balance by hundreds of millions of dollars, in violation of the state's balanced budget requirement.
While I am encouraged by some of his provisions, our town, this district... can not be a donor to the rest of the State. It is about time the State House asks less from us, and works more with it!
From Governor Patrick:

FY 09 Budget Revised and FY 10 Budget Filed
We have made the hard decisions involved in cutting spending and finding savings. These are unavoidable given the magnitude of our economic challenges. In some cases, these choices are painful. In others, they further a continuing agenda to reshape government to more efficiently and effectively carry out its mission.
Some of our budget savings reflect the continuing work of modernizing government - especially in health care, as we shift to new models of payment and care that emphasize outcomes, prevention and alignment with other payers. Moreover, in collapsing almost 850 budget line-items into 480 line-items, we are giving agencies the flexibility to manage within tighter budgets and protect priorities to the maximum extent possible.
In difficult times, there is no escaping the need for difficult choices. Some worthwhile programs have gone without funding. Others have experienced severe reductions. No one's priorities have been spared. For example, our initiative to hire new community police officers has not been funded, and the recession will slow our timeline for new investments in our education Readiness Project. Individuals, families, businesses and government at every level will feel the impact.
As has been done here and in other states during previous fiscal crises, we are making appropriate use of additional revenues to offset the need for deeper cuts.
We are using state Rainy Day funds and temporary increases in federal matching funds for state Medicaid spending to balance our budgets. With these cash infusions, we can limit the impact of some spending cuts. Without them, many cuts would be calamitous. We do recognize the danger of over-reliance on one-time resources in balancing budgets. For that reason, we are also proposing budget reforms to curb the longstanding practice of building ongoing spending commitments on the shaky foundation of volatile capital gains revenues.
Education Funding PreservedCuts in aid to cities and towns are unavoidable in today's circumstances, but we have made it a priority to limit the pain. At $3.948 billion, current Chapter 70 funding for public schools is at an all-time high. Though cut during the last economic crisis, we have maintained the current level of spending in both fiscal year 2009 and fiscal year 2010. Proposals for federal education aid raise additional hope for ultimately reaching foundation levels of spending next year.
Revenue-Raising Measures Implemented
We have also limited the amount of cuts to unrestricted aid for cities and towns in fiscal year 2010 - with the use of revenues from a modest one percent increase in state meals and hotel room occupancy taxes. Cities and towns and property taxpayers would receive additional help to weather the current fiscal storm, through other proposals I am filing to untie the hands of local communities to capture savings and raise revenues within their reach.
We are proposing other dedicated revenues as well. Candy, sweetened beverages and alcoholic beverages are currently exempt from the state sales tax; we propose to remove that exemption both to steer our children towards healthier choices and to support public health programs. Extending the Bottle Bill to non-carbonated beverages will promote recycling. We propose to consolidate 201 separate motor vehicle registry fees into 40, decreasing some and raising others - some of which have not been updated for nearly a decade or more. These fees will be used to support funding in the budget for important transportation needs.
Vital Services Protected
These and other tools have helped us preserve many important services, despite our fiscal challenges. As indicated earlier, we are continuing existing funding for Chapter 70 in both fiscal years 2009 and 2010. We will continue to enroll people in affordable, high-quality health insurance programs without the types of enrollment caps and benefit cuts that were imposed during the last fiscal crisis. Veterans' services have been protected. And numerous other services were spared reductions that would have compromised their ability to help citizens who depend on them.
An Opportunity for Reform
All economies are cyclical, and we will cycle out of this downturn in time. Meanwhile, a fellow governor in another state likes to say that "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste." I share the sentiment. Now is a moment not just of challenge, but also of opportunity. We want to seize the opportunity to confront issues that have been avoided in ordinary times, and make our Commonwealth stronger in the long run.
Building on already-launched efforts to reform our transportation and criminal justice systems and state pension and ethics rules, the Emergency Recovery Plan we announce today lays out a far-reaching reform agenda aimed at making government at every level more efficient, responsive and effective.
New opportunities for municipal revenues and cost-savings will help cities and towns deal with both immediate cuts as well as enduring fiscal challenges. An Article 87 proposal and other legislative language will transform the face of state government - consolidating homelessness services to carry out a more robust "Housing First" strategy; starting to replace fragmented information technology and energy purchasing operations with more streamlined approaches; and replacing administrative silos within Secretariats with "shared services." Reforms to how we budget for volatile capital gains revenues and address retiree health care costs will likewise put the state on sounder fiscal footing for the future.
Looking Forward--The Federal Stimulus Package
We are clear-eyed about the magnitude of our current challenges and what they mean for ordinary people throughout Massachusetts. But with the fiscal framework we outline today - and most importantly, with the resilience and spirit of community that lives within the people of Massachusetts - we remain confident in the Commonwealth and our future.
In partnership with the new Obama Administration and our congressional delegation, we have been working hard to help shape a federal economic stimulus package. While it will not be enough to avoid all of the hard choices we as a Commonwealth have to make, we anticipate significant federal resources to jump-start our economy and cushion some of the personal and fiscal impacts of the recession.
We are laying the groundwork to spend an anticipated infusion of federal resources wisely and effectively - to create jobs quickly and rebuild our infrastructure through new construction projects, protect our gains in education and preserve key state investments in health care and other priorities. We are also putting billions of our own dollars into capital projects to put people to work, and aggressively courting businesses to locate and grow in Massachusetts.
We wrestle with this task understanding that behind every budget line item is some person's best chance, or only chance. That is particularly the case in an economic downturn, as citizens who have lost their jobs, their health insurance or their homes rely on government to help them through to a better day. We also understand that balancing the budget takes multiple tools, not "one-size-fits-all" solutions.
I look forward to working with the Legislature and our other partners in government, business and community leaders, and each and every Massachusetts resident, to build a bridge to our bright future . . . because I still believe that Together We Can.

Nothing for our $

2009-02-04T08:40:00.001-05:00

Did you expect anything else?

As we watch our elected official fumble and babble municia about why he should take his 5.5% pay raise, I ask if you expected anything less. This was the individual that at town meeting always was voting to raid free cash and stabilization to be the hero. But now that he is in a position to try to get us more, the results are no surprise. He blames Bush and Washington, but do we not have a total Democratic representation there as well as our legislature and Governor here at home? According to them should we not be much better off? Mr. Damico was always good at spending other peoples money in Town, and now he has moved to the state level where the well is dry and getting drier, except for his pay raises. He can lash out at his critics but he chose this path, it was so much easier doing it to others, but now we can all enjoy him fumbling about while state aid gets cut but he does better

To Be; Or Not To Be...

2009-02-02T21:42:00.004-05:00

I am annoyed right along with all the watchdog groups out there pointing out all of the corporate extravagance going on by companies that have received government bailout cash. However the companies wasteful spending does not bother me as much as the direction I see the watchdog groups and the government taking us, which is basically the complete acquisition of the private sector into the new socialist state under the guise of protecting the "tax payers money".

"You are wasting the taxpayers money, so if you want more; you better do as we say." The wimpy CEO's not wanting to give up their lavish lifestyles fold. It's still greed, just of a different nature, and a different revenue stream.

I say if the goal is to protect the tax payers money, then Corporate America should never have been given OUR money in the first place, but since they did get it, and they appear to continue squandering it; cut them off!

But no no, the government will put up its fake fight, with a fake slap on the wrist, and a fake "warning, and then happily continue to purchase the private sector right out from under the American People with their own money. The CEO's won't notice, they'll be cruising around in their new Porsche' 911. It's hard to notice anything at the speeds those babies can achieve!

Good Times

2009-02-02T21:20:00.000-05:00

Obama's First Official Broken Promise

2009-02-02T13:06:00.004-05:00

Plitifact.com has a tool called "The Obameter" which they use to track promises made by Obama on the campaign trail or otherwise. They have officially sited his first broken promise.

Broken Promise Number 1: Allow five days of public comment before signing bills

Updated: Thursday, January 29th, 2009 By Angie Drobnic Holan

One of President Obama's major campaign planks was making government more open and accountable. It's a reaction to a habit in Congress of rushing bills through the House and Senate without giving people much opportunity to know what the bills would do. Indeed, sometimes members of Congress don't even know what's in the bills.So Obama pledged during the campaign to institute "sunlight before signing.""Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them," Obama's campaign Web site states. "As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days."But the first bill Obama signed into law as president -- the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act -- got no such vetting. In fact, the Congressional Record shows that the law was passed in the Senate on Jan. 22, 2009, passed in the House on Jan. 27, and signed by the president on Jan. 29. So only two days passed between the bill's final passage and the signing.The legislation was not posted to the White House Web site for comment in any way that we could find.We see no way the bill could be deemed emergency legislation, even taking the broadest view. The bill overturns the effects of a Supreme Court decision that limited when workers could sue for pay discrimination. Most pertinently, the bill is retroactive to the time of the court decision -- May 28, 2007. Obama earned a Promise Kept from us for signing the law. But it would have the same effect if had been signed a few days later, so it's clearly not an emergency.We asked the White House about this and if they planned to begin posting laws to the Web site for comment soon, but we got no response.Obama signed the measure at 10:20 a.m. About two hours later, the White House posted the bill on its Web site with a link that asks people to submit comments. But the bill was already signed at that point. We recognize that Obama has been in office just a week, but he was very clear about his plan for a five-day comment period, and we can't see why this one needed to be rushed. It is somewhat ironic that with the same action, Obama both keeps and breaks a campaign promise. But there it is -- his first one. Promise Broken.
Sources:
White House Web site, post on the Lilly Ledbetter Act, accessed Jan. 29, 2009Library of Congress THOMAS, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, accessed Jan. 29, 2009

Seekonk's Backdoor Override

2009-01-29T11:44:00.003-05:00

Allow me to set the stage.

In December of 1999 the town of Seekonk passed a debt exclusion to cover the cost of two construction projects. One project was for Seekonk High School. The other was for the Martin Elementary School. The grand total of these two projects was somewhere around the 22 million dollar mark.

Now fast forward to June 2006. Seekonk residendts failed to pass a proposition 2 ½ override that would have increased to property tax limit to cover the cost of funding the North Elementary School. The result of the failed override attempt meant that North School was shut down, and multiple teachers we laid-off.

Fast forward again to November of 2006. The Town Of Seekonk mysteriously discovers that it has a budget surplus of about 1.2 million dollars. Some argued that this meant that North School did not need to shut down, and that the town leadership jumped the gun, or had used nothing more than scare tactics. That suggestion is debatable, however this money did allow for a lot of teachers and previously cut programs within the Seekonk School Department to be reinstated.

So where did this money come from?

Sometime in 2006 the Town of Seekonk began getting payments from two grants that were issued to cover 70 percent of the cost of these two projects. The amount? You guessed it! A little over 1.2 million dollars, a yearly payment that will be paid until 2023/2024. The payment schedule is as follows:

Martin School Construction Project:

Payment Schedule:

2006 to 2008: $403,518.00 per year.

2009 to 2024: $436,957.00 per year. (actually drops a dollar a year for the last 5 years)

Grand Total: $8,201,861.00

Seekonk High School Project:

Payment Schedule:

2006 to 2008: $852,951.00

2009 to 2023: $854,726.00 (payments drop one dollar for last 5 years)

Grand Total: $15,379,737.00

In FY09 Seekonk will owe a total of $1,802,673.75 on the loan. The town will receive at total of $1,238,262.00 in grant money bringing the Net Debt down to $564,412.00.

Now you would think that the Levy Limit on the debt exclusion would only need to cover the Net Debt. Think again, I have confirmed through the Seekonks Finance Director that the taxpayers are charged for the Total (Gross) amount that is owed and the 1.2 million dollars in grant money is counted as revenue for the town.

Three Things:

First, the taxpayers are being screwed, and this will also tie into my third point.

Second, the Town of Seekonk is supplementing its budget with money that is going to stop coming in 2023 and 2024. This means that in 2025 the Town will automatically be 1.2 million dollars in the hole. But what does the current leadership care? They will be long gone by then and it will be someone else’s problem.

Finally, most of these projects that require debt exclusions are pitched to us as the amount they propose are the highest it will be. The Senior Center is a prime example. The committee that is overseeing that project has said that the $44.00 per year, per household, is the max amount because they are seeking grants and other forms of funding. I’m not saying they are being dishonest because they do not set the tax policy, the town leadership does. But based on what I have just written, do you think we should believe any official when they say that grant money will take a chunk of the cost away? It may take a chunk of the cost off of the project, but it is certainly not going to lessen the money coming out of the tax payers pockets.

I know Seekonk is hurting for cash. But this is dishonest when the taxpayers are lead to believe that our leaders are only going to tax us what they need to. It is also a foolish to count a temporary payment as revenue. It’s not revenue and 1.2 million dollars is a large deficit to make up for any town, in any time period. At the very least this money should be put into a rainy day fund, or a stabilization fund. Think about, if the town had sucked it up for one year and not bought new fire trucks and police cars, or the long list of “capital items” that were purchased; we could have banked that money and paid cash for a new senior center.

Why can't we get leadership like this?

2009-01-21T19:28:00.003-05:00

Our new President Barack Obama ordered a pay freeze for top aides making $100,000 or more! http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17750.html

As much as I have problem with most of Mr. Obama's policies, the man can take a leadership role. What is the problem with our "so called" leaders at the State House! Oh, they do not have full time jobs, so they need the money. They do not get enough from a pension, so they need the money. They do not get reimbursed enough for gas, travel, or buying the latest edition of the New York Times! They need the money.

The Massachusetts House leadership is showing the country that they do not get it. We live in a state where the Democratic leadership turns a blind eye to the outside world. They know what is best for our State. And that is the reason why we have an increasing budget deficit. WAKE UP!

D'Amico is a sham

2009-01-21T18:56:00.004-05:00

D'Amico asking legal counsel about not taking the bonus pay raise is bogus. Since when has Beacon Hill followed its constitution? I bet he has given little if any of his $60K a year salary to charities in his district. He should give the 5.5% or over $3K raise to the charities as well as another $3K from his already existing salary. He gets mileage, plus medical, plus other money for attending sessions. He needed a job and that is why he probably ran. He has probably never earned so much money. His son has a free ride to Brown University as well. I'm sure his asskissing of the school department over the years didn't hurt in precurring good grades for the kid and ultimately the free tuition to Brown.
People have inferred that he is not well liked at all on Beacon Hill, either by DiMasi or the Governor. He has no allies or power up there.
He was on a kick to get the studio in Plymouth turned down and to scare away film and TV in MA. Maybe he was on his high horse so they would pay him off to back off? Either way, he has done little if anything to help his communities. Maybe he will back another 2 1/2 override. He suggested it in Rehoboth. He is a socialist who never made it in business world and now wants business to pay for his failures.

D'Amico has an Idea!

2009-01-14T19:04:00.005-05:00

After taking a beating by his constituents last week, the man with all the ideas, Representative D'Amico requested an opinion by the House legal counsel to delay the 5% pay raises for legislators . http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2009/01/14/seekonk/4233143.txt

While we can give credit to the Rep for such a novel idea, the fact is he would have never conceived it before last Monday night. For him to also know that it was long shot, gives one to wonder why he bothered in the first place? This must be D'Amico's version of leadership.

Now, what's the next long shot idea that the Rep will come up with to keep his pay raise? Whatever it is, Jim Hand of the Sun Chronicle will love it!

D'Amico could not dodge his constituents!

2009-01-10T16:17:00.007-05:00

Quoting the Seekonk Star Jan 10, 2009 story... question was asked to Mr. D'Amico if the legislature had considered cutting their salaries in the face of a looming $1 billion budget shortfall. His response to the reporter was the woman was“speaking in generalities” and not to “this issue".
http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/81556.html

What? How much closer to the issue do you want it to be Mr. Rep? To make matters more insulting was the fact that you knew you were getting a raise. What, $60,000 is not enough? Did we ask you to take this job? On top of your pension, gas mileage, stipends and all the little goodies that come with being a Rep. And to say the next term "we won't hear from you whining." What makes you so sure that you'll even have the job then? Your constituents want results, not someone who thinks he should be dodging questions!

Your November 20008 "Legislative Update" tells us that you "advocated that we spend less and put more money aside for tough economic times." How do explain voting to overturn Governor Patrick's "cost cutting" bills. Your fight against corporate tax loopholes says that in 2004 (when times were good) paid just the minimum corporate income tax of $456, per shame! It's now 2009 and companies are closing or laying off people. Some are even leaving the State! Where are you going to make up that shortfall? With the Telecom tax loophole you ran on two years ago?

The State Legislature under your (you voted for him Wednesday) leader DiMasi, were warned back in the spring of 2008 that bad times were ahead. But no, one of the most irresponsible budgets in State history that you and your leadership passed accelerated the downturn on the economy here without the help of Washington.

Think smart and look ahead Mr. Rep. Your job may not be looking for you 2 years from now!

CAST OF CHARACTERS

2008-12-05T20:55:00.002-05:00

By Al Kamen
Question No. 58 in the transition team vetting document for the Obama White House asks that applicants: "Please provide the URL address of any websites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity (e.g. Facebook, My Space, etc.)"

Question No. 63 asks that applicants "please provide any other information ... that could ... be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-Elect."

For a while there this afternoon, President-elect Barack Obama's immensely talented chief speechwriter, 27-year-old Jon Favreau, might have been pondering how to address that question.

That's when some interesting photos of a recent party he attended -- including one where he's dancing with a life-sized cardboard cut-out of secretary of state-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and another where he's placed his hand on the cardboard former first lady's chest while a friend is offering her lips a beer -- popped up on Facebook for about two hours. The photos were quickly taken down -- along with every other photo Favreau had of himself on the popular social networking site, save for one profile headshot.

Asked about the photos, Favreau, who was recently appointed director of speechwriting for the White House, declined comment. A transition official said that Favreau had "reached out to Senator Clinton to offer an apology."

Favreau is not the first campaign aide whose online presence has proved awkward. Last March, John McCain aide Soren Dayton forwarded an anti-Obama YouTube video to his private Twitter feed linking Obama with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, leading to his suspension from the campaign. And in 2007, two bloggers hired by former North Carolina senator John Edwards stepped down after blog posts they had written before he hired them became a subject of controversy.

Favreau's case seems unlikely to be so dire; Clinton senior adviser Philippe Reines cast the photos as evidence of increased bonhomie between the formerly rival camps.

"Senator Clinton is pleased to learn of Jon's obvious interest in the State Department, and is currently reviewing his application," he said in an e-mail.

Warning (Check your Baby Forumla)

2008-11-26T10:17:00.003-05:00

Of course the FDA will not release the information of the manufacture who makes this baby formula and other dietary supplements...

Melamine Traces Found in U.S. Infant Formula
New York Times

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it had discovered the toxic chemical melamine in infant formula made by an American manufacturer, raising the possibility that the problem was more extensive in the United States than previously thought.
While few details were available late Tuesday, agency officials said they had discovered melamine at trace levels in a single sample of infant formula. It was also discovered in several samples of dietary supplements that are made by some of the same manufacturers who make formula.

F.D.A. officials insisted that the levels of melamine were so low that they did not pose a health threat.

“There’s no cause for concern or no risk from these levels,” said Judy Leon, an agency spokeswoman. Ms. Leon said the contamination was most likely the result of food contact with something like a can liner, or from some other manufacturing problems, but not from deliberate adulteration.

She declined to name the company that made the tainted infant formula.
Melamine contamination became a major scandal in China after it was added to milk to disguise test results that measure protein levels. Since it was discovered in infant formula in September, it has sickened more than 50,000 infants and killed 4.

The F.D.A. has beefed up its inspections of Asian markets to make sure that infant formula and other products from China are not contaminated with melamine. At the same time, the agency said it had received assurances from American infant formula manufacturers that they did not import ingredients from China.

To date, several products carried primarily by Asian markets have been recalled because of melamine contamination, including certain varieties of Mr. Brown instant coffee and tea, White Rabbit Creamy Candy and Blue Cat Flavor Drink. Two weeks ago, the F.D.A. said all Chinese products containing dairy ingredients would be stopped at the border until importers proved they were not contaminated.

Though manufacturers of domestic infant formula say they do not use Chinese ingredients, the F.D.A. began sampling infant formula anyway, using more sophisticated testing than had previously been available.

Ms. Leon said the agency was testing 87 samples and had completed all but 10 of the tests. Of those, only one contained traces of melamine, she said. The F.D.A. allows anything below 250 parts per billion of melamine in infant formula, and the sample contained less than that, she said.
Ms. Leon said the other products containing trace elements of melamine were also below allowable levels. For supplements, the F.D.A. allows 2.5 parts per million, and she said all of the samples testing positive were below that figure.

My Take On the NEASC Report

2008-11-25T12:48:00.004-05:00

I'm going to go out on a limb and tackle a topic I am not all that familiar with. But, I think maybe a layman's explanation could be good thing.

First things first.

Rubric: Generally rubrics specify the level of performance expected for several levels of quality. These levels of quality may be written as different ratings (e.g., Excellent, Good, Needs Improvement) or as numerical scores (e.g., 4, 3, 2, 1) which are then added up to form a total score which then is associated with a grade (e.g., A, B, C, etc).

Rubrics can help students and teachers define "quality". Rubrics can also help students judge and revise their own work before handing in their assignments.

A Rubric should not be confused with a Rubik, which is that colored square we have all wasted countless hours on as children.

I offer the definition because it is used a lot in this report, and I had no real idea what a rubric was until my third-grader started coming home with them this year. So I imagine, they are a new concept to many of you who do not have children in school.

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One thing I do have experience with is audits. There are two kinds. The first, I define as the "stealth audit", these occur without notice and are generally aimed at catching a specific deficiency in a specific area of work, or work related procedures. The "Stealth Audit" is not designed to outline long term goals or areas of improvement, but rather to address an immediate problem.

The second type of audit is the one that you know is coming. Both the auditor and the audited have time to prepare information and verify practices. Generally the audit will consist of direct observation of the employees or process being audited, a review of documentation outlining procedures and practices in place, along with areas that need improvement, and always has a broad range of topics that will be covered. This type of audit, to be affective, will vary rarely be full of praise. The reason for this is because if it was, the audited would most likely wipe his/her brow and say; "We did pretty good, there were a few things that need to be addressed, but those aren't so important." More likely than not, those things will never get addressed, at the very least things will likely remain at status quo.

Instead, a good audit will outline and acknowledge the positive, but it will put a greater emphasis on the areas that need improvement. A lighter version of "build you up to tear you down" approach. This ensures that you are motivated to correct your mistakes, and fosters an urge to exceed expectations and continually grow.

To me, that was what the Neasc did (an audit) and the outcome was what you would expect for a system that is performing well, but does need areas of improvement.

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Not really knowing the state of affairs at Seekonk High 6 years ago, my overall interpretation of the NEASC report is that Seekonk High is in a state of transition. Great progress has been made, but there is still room to grow. It's sounds like the greatest need (and it has just been re-implemented) is for department heads to be brought back, because it sounds like the biggest hurtle that needs to be overcome is the lack of uniformity within and across departments. Obviously that cannot be achieved without someone at the top of each department affirming a specific method of teaching.

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An interesting statistic that was pointed out was the the vast improvement of students MCAS scores. 79% of students scored "advanced or proficient" which was well ahead of the states total average of 69%.

However they were below state and national averages in SAT scoring (and falling) which the NEASC explains as "the overall trend in Massachusetts".

Unscientifically I would say this adds fuel to the fire about he ineffectiveness of the MCAS. At the very least it adds to the discussion.

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One thing that annoyed me throughout the report, was the NEASC's frequent mentioning of "Community lack of Funding" or "Community lack of Support". As if they were trying to shift at least some of the blame for the schools deficiency's on the residents.

There is no doubt that there is a money problem for the schools. There is a money problem for the entire town, and services and programs on both sides are lacking in key areas.

This is where we need to start getting creative when it comes to money management.

One thing that sticks out to me like a sore thumb is the technology aspect. Every year when I go into my sons class I see computers in there, and I am pretty sure they are Apple's. I am also pretty sure I have read that the High School has purchased Apples/iMacs as opposed to PC's. I do not see the logic in that. You can get a PC for the fraction of the cost that you can get an apple computer. Not to mention 9 out of 10 times in the real world, these students are going to be working with Windows based PC's...not iMacs.

Not to just pick on the schools, I am sure there are similar changes that can be made on the town side.

We just have to get creative.

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One paradox, from a philosophical standpoint.

Throughout the report it was emphasized how critical thinking and problem solving was a core criteria of the curriculum.

It occurred to me how much that developmental trait is stunted in our kids, particularly in their early years. The new trend has been that we don't want to make our children feel inadequate at anything. So we tell them not to hit back when they are picked on by a bully. We don't keep score in the baseball games...heck...they don't even strike out anymore. But this curbs their ability to deal with disappointment, to learn that they will not be the best at everything they do, but then again even the best will fail at times. They do not develop the skill of independent conflict resolution, which I think is at the core critical thinking. You have to improvise, and analyze, try and fail, to figure out what works.

Instead we shelter them until we are 18 and send them off into the wolves den that is the real world.

True Story....

I went to a private school in the 6th grade. It was small so we had recess with the entire school that went up to the 8th grade. I was short, skinny, and not particularly athletic.

There was an 8th grader, who for some reason unknown to me, decided that he did not like me, or that I was easy prey. I was constantly pushed, heckled during basketball games, or made fun of in some other manner.

One day while playing a basketball game, this 8th grader who was on the opposing team charged me when i got the ball and pushed me has hard as he could out of the way. Having decided enough was enough; I marched up to him with purpose and promptly game him the hardest punch in the face I could muster...hit him right in the cheak with the palm side of my fist. I was immediately grabbed from behind by his buddy and lined up for a pummeling. Luckily I had a bigger buddy who came to my rescue.

We can debate the right or wrong of it another time, but the moral of the story is this. Yes there were consequences (the whole school lost recess for a week) but that 8th grader never bothered me again. In fact, we became good friends after that. No words were ever spoken about the incident other than a less-than-heartfelt apology right after the fact, we just understood that whatever that unspoken conflict was between us, it was over now. Life goes on...and we both experienced a fundamental shift in our logic.

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The teachers certainly put in more time and do more work than I thought they did. Much more than my teachers ever did. As I recall it was a race for them to beat us out of the parking lot at the end of the say so they didn't get caught in the bus traffic.

Maybe that a perception a lot of us have.

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I wish I could say that what needs to be fixed will be easy, and unfortunately a lot does depend on funding. Funding the town may or may not have.

But it is certainly clear that the teachers at SHS are working hard, and improvements are being made.

Point to Ponder

2008-11-22T21:32:00.004-05:00

Most nights I suffer from insomnia; so most nights I lay in bed, decompress, and analyse random bits of information.

One of those random things (as it has been on my mind a lot lately) was the School Departments fund request of 400 thousand dollars.

The total amount needed to fund the teachers contract for 1 year was somewhere in the 567 thousand dollar mark. Yet the schools did not seek that full amount. I was told that the remaining money would be found in the existing budget.

Now...I am pretty sure, that if I needed it I could find two dollars and fifty cents in my house. But for the School Department to say that it will find the additional 167 thousand in the existing budget raises some flags. That is a lot more that say....ten thousand.

I'm not saying "shenanigans" because the school did return almost 4 times that last year. But...we also cut 700 thousand dollars out of their budget this year.

I'm not accusing...but I am questioning....

Retraction

2008-11-20T11:57:00.004-05:00

I sent the below letter to the Editor of the Seekonk Star today, but in case it does not get printed, here it is for your viewing pleasure.

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To The Editor:

Recently I wrote a letter outlining my disgust at the behavior of some members of the Seekonk School Committee and the School Department. One of the individuals I singled out was Dr. Emile Chevrette, the current Superintendent of Schools. To be exact I accused him of not caring for Seekonk’s best interests, and of being more concerned about “sucking up to the unions”.

Since writing that letter I have had the opportunity to speak with a variety of people; some who share my position along with others who do not. As I absorbed the information and stories that were told, I walked away with two very important lessons which I would like to address.

One of the people I had a chance to sit down and speak with was Dr. Chevrette himself. I was struck by his openness and willingness to not only give his side of the story, but he was more than willing to answer any questions I had and offered to give me any information I was looking for. The first lesson I learned in all of this is that we quickly forget the good, but rarely do we forget the bad.

When Dr. Chevrette first took over as Interim Superintendent he was facing the daunting task restructuring an entire elementary school district. The proposition 2 ½ override had failed, North School was closing and layoffs were imminent. The task was so daunting in fact that the original person slated to take over as Superintendent of Schools left to take another position in another town. Dr. Chevrette successfully overhauled the school system, restored programs that were cut, and has worked tirelessly to ensure that our children are receiving an outstanding education. In short, he has done everything that we hired him to do, and fulfilled the expectations that I as a parent would have for a school system.

I however, chose to attack a man I have never met on his ethics and on his principles. For that I was wrong, and for that I apologize.

While Dr. Chevrette and I may still disagree on how to solve the issues, I do not think that any of us will argue that when it comes to the management of our children’s education, Dr. Chevrette has been exceptional.

The second lesson I learned is quite simple. We need to let go of the past. Many of the people I have spoken to have been a resident of Seekonk for many years, in some cases all of their lives. There is a strong history, and there are strong resentments. I have been in Seekonk for barely 5 years, so I do not share in it’s past, however I, like all of us will share in its future. It’s time to put away whatever resentments we harbor. What’s done is done. It is going to take the whole community working together to weather the rough times that are surely in our future. We need to communicate with our leaders all year long, not just 30 days before Town Meeting. We need to demand that our leaders are proactive and are working together across all departments, and if they refuse, we need to replace them. This will be a long process, and will require a long-term commitment from all of us if we are to see it through.

I may be a Republican, but I will say it anyway….”Yes we can.”

Seekonk Human Services/Community Center Building Project

2008-11-19T16:58:00.004-05:00

The Seekonk Human Services/Community Center Building Project Building Committee seeks to be on the BOS agenda for their earliest possible meeting. The Building Committee asks that the Board of Selectmen include the ballot question on the 2009 Seekonk Spring Election voted at the Annual Town Meeting held on November 3, 2008. Warrant Article 14 was passed overwhelmingly in excess of the 2/3 votes necessary by the voters in attendance.
The Building Committee fears some members of the BOS are trying to block the Community Ctr. question from getting on the ballot.
The Committee contends that a public presentation to the voters needs to be scheduled prior to this election so that they may address the concerns of the voters.

Zogby Poll: Almost No Obama Voters Ace Election Test

2008-11-18T14:29:00.002-05:00

UTICA, New York -- Just 2% of voters who supported Barack Obama on Election Day obtained perfect or near-perfect scores on a post election test which gauged their knowledge of statements and scandals associated with the presidential tickets during the campaign, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.

Zogby Statement on Ziegler poll

Only 54% of Obama voters were able to answer at least half or more of the questions correctly.
The 12-question, multiple-choice survey found questions regarding statements linked to Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his vice-presidential running-mate Sarah Palin were far more likely to be answered correctly by Obama voters than questions about statements associated with Obama and Vice-President–Elect Joe Biden. The telephone survey of 512 Obama voters nationwide was conducted Nov. 13-15, 2008, and carries a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percentage points. The survey was commissioned by John Ziegler, author of The Death of Free Speech, producer of the recently released film "Blocking the Path to 9/11" and producer of the upcoming documentary film, Media Malpractice...How Obama Got Elected.

"After I interviewed Obama voters on Election Day for my documentary, I had a pretty low opinion of what most of them had picked up from the media coverage of the campaign, but this poll really proves beyond any doubt the stunning level of malpractice on the part of the media in not educating the Obama portion of the voting populace," said Ziegler.

Ninety-four percent of Obama voters correctly identified Palin as the candidate with a pregnant teenage daughter, 86% correctly identified Palin as the candidate associated with a $150,000 wardrobe purchased by her political party, and 81% chose McCain as the candidate who was unable to identify the number of houses he owned. When asked which candidate said they could "see Russia from their house," 87% chose Palin, although the quote actually is attributed to Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey during her portrayal of Palin during the campaign. An answer of "none" or "Palin" was counted as a correct answer on the test, given that the statement was associated with a characterization of Palin.

Obama voters did not fare nearly as well overall when asked to answer questions about statements or stories associated with Obama or Biden -- 83% failed to correctly answer that Obama had won his first election by getting all of his opponents removed from the ballot, and 88% did not correctly associate Obama with his statement that his energy policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry. Most (56%) were also not able to correctly answer that Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground.

Nearly three quarters (72%) of Obama voters did not correctly identify Biden as the candidate who had to quit a previous campaign for President because he was found to have plagiarized a speech, and nearly half (47%) did not know that Biden was the one who predicted Obama would be tested by a generated international crisis during his first six months as President.

In addition to questions regarding statements and scandals associated with the campaigns, the 12-question, multiple-choice survey also included a question asking which political party controlled both houses of Congress leading up to the election -- 57% of Obama voters were unable to correctly answer that Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate.

For content, contact: John Ziegler at talktozig@aol.com.
For more information on Ziegler's upcoming documentary film, Media Malpractice...How Obama Got Elected, please visit www.HowObamaGotElected.com, where there is a video of Obama voters on election day being asked many of the same questions.

Republican Senator Questions Where Bailout Money is Going (Mobile Post)

2008-11-16T22:13:00.002-05:00

A while back I mentioned how I thought it was suspicioius that Lehman Brothers was allowed to fail, but AIG was not. I refferenced Secratary Paulson's ties to AIG via Goldman Sachs. Now the Republican Senator is also questioning where the bailout money is going.

By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau - 11/16/2008He criticizes Henry Paulson for changing the $700 billion bailout plan. WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe said Saturday that Congress was not told the truth about the bailout of the nation's financial system and should take back what is left of the $700 billion "blank check'' it gave the Bush administration. "It is just outrageous that the American people don't know that Congress doesn't know how much money he (Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson) has given away to anyone,'' the Oklahoma Republican told the Tulsa World. "It could be to his friends. It could be to anybody else. We don't know. There is no way of knowing.'' Inhofe's comments, unusually pointed even for a senator known for being blunt, come on the heels of Paulson's shift in how he thinks the bailout funds should be spent. Last week the Treasury secretary announced he was abandoning his plan to free up the nation's credit system by buying up toxic assets from troubled financial institutions. Instead, Paulson wants to take a more direct action on the consumer credit front. "He was able to get this authority from Congress predicated on what he was going to do, and then he didn't do it,'' Inhofe said. "So, that's enough reason right there.'' Inhofe recalled earlier comments opposing Paulson's plan because the administration's point man did not have answers for a number of questions. He also recalled questioning the rush to get the bailout passed. "I have learned a long time ago. When they come up and say this has to be done and has to be done immediately, there is no other way of doing it, you have to sit back and take a deep breath and nine times out of 10 they are not telling the truth,'' he said. "And this is one of those nine times.'' Inhofe has laid out his legislative plans for this week on the bailout package in a letter to his Senate colleagues. He wants to freeze what is left of the initial $350 billion — reportedly $60 billion, but Inhofe concedes he does not know for sure. Then he wants a provision requiring an affirmative vote by Congress before Paulson can get his hands on the second $350 billion of bailout money. Current law lays out a scenario where President Bush submits a plan on the second half of the funding. Lawmakers have 15 days to disapprove it, but Inhofe questions that wording. "Congress abdicated its constitutional responsibility by signing a truly blank check over to the Treasury Secretary,'' he wrote. "However, the lame duck session of Congress offers us a tremendous opportunity to change course. We should take it.'' In the interview, the senator said his plans can provide "redemption'' for those senators who supported Paulson. Inhofe's plan appears to be a long shot at this point. Senators originally approved the bailout plan by a 74-25 vote. He does not know how much support he has among his Republican colleagues, and he concedes Democratic leaders could block it. Bush also could veto it if it were to make it out of Congress. Neither Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office nor the Treasury Department commented. Reid, D-Nev., wants to use the upcoming lame duck session to push economic issues such as extending unemployment benefits and aid to the nation's ailing auto industry. Inhofe opposes both. "You don't stimulate the economy by giving away more money,'' he said. In response to concerns expressed by some that allowing even one of the big automakers to fail would be too much of an economic hit for the nation, Inhofe said reality must be accepted. "If we keep on nursing a broken system, then we can't expect to have a different result come later on,'' he said. "I just think we have to draw the line someplace, and the time is here.'' Jim Myers (202) 484-1424 jim.myers@tulsaworld.co

The Schools Bus Bill

2008-11-16T19:14:00.004-05:00

It was brought to my attention over the weekend that the School department spent almost 10,000 dollars to but the Athletic teams to out of town games in the month of October. Apprently our Union Bus drivers refuse to work after hours.

Is this true?

Comments are welcome.

Edit 11/17/08 Mkreyssig

Turns out this may actually be for a special needs student.

Article from American Thinker: Obama's Anger

2008-11-16T14:00:00.002-05:00

Michael kreyssig (mkreyssig@verizon.net) wanted to share the following article with you:

Obama's Anger - http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/obamas_anger.html

American Thinker