Political Disaster in Massachusetts

Yes; Massachusetts was a political disaster. The ground literally shook throughout the state as Ted Kennedy's seat fell to the Republicans. Was this a case of the Republicans being smart or was this a case of the Democrats being dumb. I think I chose the latter.

While the Republicans gloat and the Democrats point fingers, both parties are demonstrating how incredibly dumb they really are. First, the Democrats. I have never seen such arrogance and ignorance displayed in a campaign as was displayed in this case. Martha Coakley was not only a bad campaigner, but her lack of instinct has to be legendary. At least Sarah Palin has some political instinct. To arrogantly state that she should not have to stand out in the cold at Fenway Park, shake hands and ask folks for their votes cost her the election. That stupidity not only cost her hundreds of thousands of votes, it caused large groups of minorities to lose the will to vote. Coakley lost this election because she simply could not turn out her base. Frankly, I'm surprised that the election was as close is it was.

Now to the Republicans (Please note that this section has been changed from its original posting because of the correct comments from a frequent reader)! Republicans will have to work long and hard to start to chip away at minority voters. You can't begin to do that by defeating health care. Four years from now when there has been little or no change, Democrats will be able to lay blame on the opposing party. Western Massachusetts was totally blue in this election for Coakley. There have been many elections in the past when this rural territory looked red. Western Massachusetts supported William Weld and Paul Celluci but was not warm to Mitt Romney. Many communities in this part of the state voted over 70% for Coakley and gave little consideration to Brown.

This election told me that voters are mad and apathetic. The Democrats were largely apathetic while the Republicans are just plain mad. The anger is aimed at both parties and the election was not a positive step forward for anyone.

If Scott Brown wants to make a real impact in politics into the future, he should negotiate with Democrats and not join the party of "No". Scott Brown should start the party of "Know". People want significant change to health care in this country and if Brown provides the roadblock, he will pay for it.

tomtoak

Linc Chafee for Governor

Lincoln Chafee announced his intention to run for Governor of Rhode Island yesterday. I'm sorry I missed the official kick-off, but I had a long time friend spending a few days with me. Linc chose a most unusual way to announce his candidacy. He spoke directly to the people of Rhode Island. You won't find others in the race that will speak honestly.

Linc started his campaign by outlining a sales-tax plan that will result in more goods being covered by a two-tiered sales tax program. He was right when he suggests that people can make personal decisions to buy things, but increasing the property tax in this state leaves people without choices. Practical, honest and sincere are words that come to mind when reading the news of his announcement. Linc will be far more able to achieve this structural change than the right wing plans designed to end government as we know it. I think Linc Chafee will be able to get some things done.

What Rhode Islanders constantly hear from the Republicans in this state is that Rhode Island has the 2nd highest sales tax rate in the country. What Republicans fail to tell you is that most states have sales tax on a much wider variety of goods than does Rhode Island. Maybe Linc can actually get some sales tax out of the state's richest citizens that line Narragansett Bay with their yachts.

The Republicans will continue to tell us that government needs to be smaller. They have an uncanny ability to never look at the big picture - the bottom line so to speak. While the Carcieri crowd has attacked state employees and now municipal employees as being the problem, they continue to grow the budget in unprecedented ways (9% increase this year). Republican spending is all about putting our money in the hands of their few connected friends. Once again, I will reflect on the bottom line of the state's budget. Carcieri's budget called for $7.8 billion, an increase of almost $1 billion from the previous year. The entire cost of paying state employee salaries, benefits, pensions, etc. is approximately $1.3 billion annually, a mere 17% of the entire state budget.

So to you Carcieri lovers out there that think that he knows what's wrong with government, think again! There's plenty of cost savings to be found, but don't expect the Republicans to find it because they are not going to take it away from their well connected friends that spend half the year in Florida. Lincoln Chafee appreciates the work of state and municipal employees and understands the need to balance government's needs with the needs of those that pay the bills.

Lincoln Chafee for Governor!

tomtoak

Radom Reasonings XVI

An occasional column of random thoughts and observations.

• Wait until the age of 50 to have a mammogram? Any government money going to the researchers that came up with this trashy recommendation should lose their connection to Federal money immediately. Think about it; how many woman do you know that were diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 50?
• Is there a health care conspiracy going on here? Remember the report from last year that recommended changes to the age guidelines for the PSA? I personally know a few people that had their prostate cancers found at a young age because of the PSA.
• Alan Grayson is a great American who is telling it like it is. If you don't know who he is, shame on you - Google him.
• In a recent poll, 38% of Americans indicated that Sarah Palin is qualified to be president. In a parellel poll, 38% of Americans have been determined to have the intelligence of a telephone pole.
• Last week, when Palin was asked which blogs she reads, she responded by saying; "I read them all". I'm so happy that Sarah has paid a visit here. God! She does not even know what the f**k a blog is. Then again; 38% of Americans probably don't know what a blog is. The hardball questioner was the Katie Couric like, Sean Hannity. A fox in the hen house?
  
• Sarah Palin last week; "the presidency is not on my radar screen". Was it later reported that 38% of Americans intend to buy Sarah Palin's book? There is stupid and then there is stupid!
• Is Rhode Island's I-Way really the "bridge to bankruptcy"? Has anybody in this damn state figured out the future costs associated with caring for miles and miles of new bridge work? At least the old road went over the solid ground with a few over and under passes.
• For those 38% of confused Americans, Obama has decided to try key terrorists in New York because they killed and targeted civilians. The terrorist being tried in military tribunals were classed as military combatants. There is a difference and it is so easy to see.
• The State of Alaska should open up an immediate investigation to determine the fitness of Sarah Palin to keep her kids. I'm not kidding - what Palin is doing is a sin and is very harmful for her children. I fear for her children. If you did not know, she has the young kids traveling with her again for her book tour; this just after having them leave school to travel with her for a 5 month long campaign. She continues to use her youngest as a prop and expose this child to H1N1 all over this nation. Her kids belong in school!
  
• Palin the quitter not only quits at her job as governor, she has quit parts of her book tour, she quit at a road race in Washington state yesterday and she has quit on her kids. I have a feeling she will find a way to quit on 38% of Americans.
• I can't tell you how disappointed I am in the left wing of the Democratic Party. These Democrats need to lose the argument on abortion in the health care bill. As I've said before, abortion is but a single medical procedure performed in a limited number of health care situations. Let's get health care done and find a way to fund abortion for those in need later.
• Chris Mathews was absolutely correct in his questioning of Rhode Island's Bishop, Thomas Tobin. Was Chris tough? Yes; he was very tough but sometimes you have to shake up an institution that is travelling far outside of the pulpit. Bishop Tobin; put it in the church where it belongs!
• If you put 100 Americans in a room, how many of them would you have to use to screw in a light bulb? Come on now, this is not a hard question.
• The answer is not 38. The answer is 39, as 38 would be too stupid to figure out the puzzle while the 39th would get the job done.
• We all know that Governor Donald Carcieri is not the 39th American in the room.
• The Secret Service agents at the gate for Obama's first State Dinner are also not the 39th Americans in the room.
• Obama has to move forward in Afghanistan as he promised during the campaign. Osama bin Laden and his capture has to be a top priority - unlike the bumbling Bush administration priorities.
• Rumsfeld, Bush and Cheney (aka: Rummy, Dummy and Scummy) could never have been the 39th American in the room.
  
• OK; I'll make it easy for you, for more on Alan Grayson, click here.
  

tomtoak

Wisdom from the Woods XI

Wisdom from the Woods is an occasional column that outlines complex issues.


What the hell is President Obama going to do about employment issues this country is facing? Today I am bringing my class to a favorite spot in the woods to discuss recreation and the problems associated with maintaining public lands. You see; governments are not providing the human resources required to maintain the millions of acres in the conservation system. My favorite spot is a great place to demonstrate the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from the 1930s.

In today's world nobody seems to want to get their hands dirty. Nobody wants to foul up the keyboards of their computers. We do need to have people working in our woodlands as the CCC infrastructure that is still providing services to this day is now starting to fail. Our public lands are in deplorable shape and Governor Nothing (Carcieri) could care less. So we have a problem maintaining our conservation lands and we have a severe unemployment problem. Can't we put the 2 things together again.

I'm not suggesting that we recreate the CCC; but I do believe that there is a ready resource of talented people that could lend a hand to conservation agencies across this country. I think people can be put to work without spending much money. Today's unemployment benefits are continually extended as they should be. I contend that the first 6 months of benefits should remain as it is. After 6 months, why not utilize that unemployed work force to improve conservation infrastructure and to assist natural resource agencies collect data for critical monitoring programs. In other words, keep providing unemployment benefits but require individuals to work 3 days a week for those benefits. The remaining 2 days a week could still be used for employment search. There are many other areas of government that could use a helping hand.

Some will say that searching for work is a full time job. In a normal economy I would argue; yes. Today we do not have a normal economy and let's be realistic, many unemployed folks don't want to find that job until the benefits run out. In my former role I could have put dozens of people to work and I did during the downturn through the Carter years. The Emergency Job Unemployment Act(EJUA) as well as the CETA program provided multiple opportunities to get conservation work done. If the unemployed are getting paid anyway, let's find a way to utilize their talents.

tomtoak

The Politics of Sport

OK; this is a political blog, but I find the need to talk about what everyone in New England has been talking about during the past week. I want to give my impression of the Patriots loss to the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday night. There have been more discussions surrounding this game than there have been over the all important health care debate in the Senate.

Bill Belichick was right. Belichick made the right call on fourth and two with little time remaining. If he makes that play, the Patriots win. He has the best quarterback in the business and the best 3/4th down player in Kevin Faulk. Belichick was not showing disrespect for his defense; God, he never has done that. As a matter of fact, if Belichick had little faith in his defense, he would have been far more likely to kick the ball. On the ensuing series by the Colts, a Belichick lacking faith in the defense would have told his defense to let them score so they could put the ball in Brady's hands with over a minute to play. Belichick put total faith in his defense and had them make a stand. It did not work. Bill Belichick will make that same call many more times in his career and it will work more often than not.

If there is any criticism of Belichick, it has to involve the lack of time outs the Patriots possessed at the end of the game. That was very unlike a Belichick team. It probably had to do with the crowd noise in that closed in stadium. Lacking the time out made it impossible for Belichick to throw a red flag on the Kevin Faulk advance of the ball on 4th and 2. Film breakdowns have shown that Faulk made the play even though he had an initial juggle of the ball. The Patriots just caught a bad break. The worst bit of luck for the Patriots was the horrendous call by the Ref of pass interference when clearly the defender as every right to the ball. That replay shows from every angle, the defender turned ready to receive the ball and no contact with the wide receiver. That call was egregious and I certainly hope that the Ref gets disciplined for a remarkably bad call that cost the Patriots the game.

Enough already! Get over it and stop talking about it. You win some you lose some. Go on to the next game where I can assure you, Bill Belichick will have all 3 of his time outs left at the end of the game (at least 2 anyway).

There are a lot more games being played that are far more meaningful and most of those games are occurring in Washington DC. And I don't mean Redskin games.

tomtoak

Kelo v. City of New London Revisited

Do you remember the landmark Supreme Court case of Kelo v. New London, Connecticut when the court ruled that lands taken by eminent domain could be transferred to other private concerns? In this case 7 homeowners had their property seized for commercial development. David Souter was the deciding vote in a 5-4 decision.

Well; after the court ruling and the destruction of all property, the land was cleared for the construction of a new Pfizer pharmaceutical plant. Yesterday the pharmaceutical giant backed out of the deal. New London is left holding a vacant lot without any consideration of the "public good". Truth be told, the confiscation of this land was never going to be in the public best interest. Contrary to popular belief, when commercial and industrial development occurs, the taxes of citizens in the community always goes up. While jobs may be good for some people, the benefit to the community as a whole is negative.

I think it unfortunate that the lawyers for the plaintiffs in this case did not have their hands on the tax study done by the Southern New England Forest Consortium, Inc. and the Trust for Public lands in Connecticut's case. Please view my April 15, 2009 post that graphically presents the case against the public good when commercial and industrial development occurs. That post was my tax day protest. The studies conducted clearly show that as the commercial and industrial taxable value increases in any community, the effective tax rates for residents always go up.

Yes, there may be good for some; however, the "public good" should be considered as this requires that everyone benefit. Private transfer of land to private concerns does not meet that simple litmus test. There is a clear and direct correlation between growing your commercial and industrial base and the subsequent increase in property taxes. Those unaffected by the development are damaged when their property tax increases. Taking lands by eminent domain requires that everyone benefit, not a corporate giant.

You may recall that there was a movement in New Hampshire to take away David Souter's cabin in the woods by eminent domain to build a rustic hotel and vacation destination. It's too bad that never happened. For those of you that believe that this is a liberal thing, think again. This action was taken because of corporate greed. I stand with the homeowners that had their life crushed by the hands of government and blame conservative thinking for this disaster of public policy. I sincerely hope that the landowners get their property back and succeed in pursuing further legal action against those involved. It's too bad you can't sue the Supreme Court. It's not often that such a bad decision becomes so painfully obvious so quickly. I hope there is a lesson in this for everyone. I was steaming when it happened and I'm still steaming over the injustice to the individuals in this case.

tomtoak

Abortion, Health Care and the Catholic Church

I urge all of Congress to get on with the health care legislation and eliminate the possibility of federal money being used for abortions. Liberals need to make sure that their own strongly held beliefs don't get in the way of passing this historic legislation. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater- so to speak. I'm sick and tired of hearing the endless fighting over the abortion debate. Abortion is but one single health care procedure. Americans need health care for the other thousands of medical issues that we all face in our daily lives. Abortion rights advocates just need to back off and find other ways to fund necessary procedures.

That being said, abortion is a right in this country and must remain a right. It is nobody Else's business! Growing up Catholic, I was always taught that we all have been given a "free will". We are taught that God always wants us to do good. God has not predestined us to do bad things in this world. If my 12 year old daughter were raped and became pregnant, she would be urged to have an abortion. God did not want a 12 year old to be raped and God does not want a 12 year old to be pregnant as the result of a rape. Here is were the true rub is; the Church would have us believe that God is the cause of the pregnancy. In classic form, the church avoids the science of reproduction and lays everything at the hand of God. We know that the pregnancy is the result of the action of man - not God. Believe if you must that God created Heaven and Earth, but God does not create the pregnancy (the exception maybe the Virgin Mary if you choose to believe that).

Pregnancy is the result of the action of a man and a women. When pregnancy occurs from the action of one man using a women (rape), I'm sure God never intended for that life to come into this world (see my April 9, 2009 post). Take for example the case of the 9 year old Brazilian girl that had been repeatedly raped by her step-father. At the tender age of 9, she became pregnant with twins in a country that outlaws abortion. The mother petitions the court to allow this child that weighed 81 ponds to have an abortion. The court agreed and the abortion took place. The Catholic Church's response was to excommunicate the doctor performing the abortion and the mother who petitioned for the abortion. The church did not excommunicate the step-father who was responsible for the surprise pregnancy. That guy thought he could get away with it until the girl got a little older and I guess the Catholic Church is more in tune with the behavior of the step-father.

It's time for the church to stay out of the papers and to preach their beliefs in the churches across this country. Don't you dare tell others what to do - Bishop Tobin! You are not God on earth and you certainly don't have all of the answers. My advice to Bishop Tobin is to pray on that and to pray for the victims of the heinous crime of rape. What a woman decides to do with a resulting pregnancy is her business - not yours. Life in the womb is precious but love needs to be an ingredient of conception and your love, Bishop Tobin, needs to extend to all women that have to make this gut wrenching decision.

As a side note; the Reverend Father Robert Drinan died today. He was the congressman from Massachusetts that had to make the decision of staying as the politician or staying as the Catholic priest. Father Drinan to his credit chose the latter. He must have been asking himself in his later years, what happened to his church? If the church continues to single out politicians, all churches Catholic and otherwise, should be taxed appropriately. The church silenced Father Drinan and then became super political. God speed, Father Drinan!

tomtoak

Radom Reasonings XV

An Occasional Column of random thoughts and observations.

• Did you see where actor James Woods has sued Kent County Hospital involving an incident when his brother died of a Heart attack? That's funny; I thought Republicans believed in tort reform to reduce health care costs. I guess you believe it until it's you!
• What do Rush Limbaugh, Imus and Bob Griese have in common? They have all made racists statements - Limbaugh just seems to always get away with it.
• Is Bob Greise's comment, "he's probably out getting a taco" in the same league as Limbaugh's most famous top ten quotes? How about, "Obama is halfrican American" or how about, "Barack the magic negro" or how about, the time he told the African American women to "take the bone out of your nose" or how about the time he said the NAACP should have riot rehearsals. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies". Greise gets suspended and Rush goes his merry way without consequence. Any ditto head out there is a traitorous idiot.
• As a Red Sox fan, I want to congratulate the New York Yankees. You guys had the best team.
• Do you think Governor Don Carcieri can afford a $7.00 saltwater fishing license?
• Have you seen where Jerome Corsi, made famous by swiftboating John Kerry now claims that the Fort Hood Shooter advised Barack Obama? Truth will usually win out but it may take a little time. Corsi's hateful claims should no longer be news - they should be totally ignored.
• Rush Limbaugh should be ignored entirely by print and broadcast media, except for Fox Noise which is neither.
• Did you see where Massachusetts is considering legislation to require sprinkler systems in all one and two family housing units. How stupid is that? I can see it now - every time I burn the toast I can take my shower at the same time.
• Joe Lieberman is a loser.
• To the folks in Maine, Fox Noise and the Gay community - Obama is not to blame for the defeat of the gay marriage bill in Maine. Obama never supported gay marriage although he has supported gay civil unions. There is a difference and the gay community should take note!
• To Senator Sam Brownback and others that have wasted our time writing legislation to ban the creation of animals that are part human and part animal. Go back to school and instead of reading, writing and arithmetic, try taking a little science.
• To those of you who feel that I think Obama can do no wrong - think again. When the hell is Obama going to propose significant legislation to reign in Wall Street to prevent further economic meltdowns?
• Is the lack of H1N1 vaccine going to be Obama's Katrina?
• Obama is right on when it comes to health care!
• Dick Cheney needs to be carted away like Richard Hatch every time he gives an interview!
• How's this for tort reform? Allow folks to sue insurance companies but limit the claims against the medical profession.
• To the polling firm that called me the other day and asked; "Do you believe in the right to life?"; your game is painfully obvious. You must know that I totally messed with your poll and hopefully your ignorant head. The question should have been, "do you believe in a woman's right to have an abortion?"

tomtoak