Tag Archives: The Boston Globe

Staying Safe While Putting Others In Danger

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On Monday, Fox News reported the following headline:

Hamas terror chief exposed as living in London public housing project, funded by UK taxpayers

The article reports:

A Hamas leader was discovered living in a government-subsidized London home, despite previously running the terrorist group’s operations in the West Bank, U.K. media is reporting. 

Muhammad Qassem Sawalha, 62, is a designated Hamas member, according to Israel’s Ministry of Defense, who has been living in the U.K. for decades, a report from The Sunday Times detailed. Sawalha managed to flee to England in the 1990s and secure a British passport in the early 2000s, but continued working for Hamas, according to the report. 

Sawalha is a wanted man in Israel and would be arrested if he returns to the nation due to his designation as a member of Hamas. 

The report details that he and his wife, identified as Sawsan, 56, were granted a roughly $136,500 discount on a nearly $390,000 two-story state-funded home in London. 

On October 17th, The Boston Globe reported:

Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush issued a blunt demand to Afghanistan’s Islamist dictators, who had long sheltered Al Qaeda’s top officials.

“Turn [Osama bin Laden] over,” the president said. “Turn him over, turn his cohorts over, turn any hostages they hold over, destroy all the terrorist camps. … This is nonnegotiable.”

In the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel, President Biden should be issuing a similar message to Qatar. The rich Persian Gulf sheikhdom has for years underwritten Hamas’s control of Gaza, funded its killing operations, and shielded its senior leadership. That makes it a key collaborator in what Biden called the “pure, unadulterated evil” of the barbaric Oct. 7 slaughter of at least 1,300 Israelis and the abduction of at least 199 hostages.

Israel was the foremost target of the bloody Hamas rampage, but those killed by the terrorists included 30 US citizens too. As many as 13 Americans may be among the captives held in Gaza. Which means, as Biden said, that the campaign to destroy Hamas is necessary not just for Israel’s welfare but for “the security of the United States.”

The article also notes:

To begin with, Hamas’s main headquarters and top leaders are located in Doha, the Qatari capital. Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas, resides in Qatar. So does Izzat Al-Risheq, who oversees Hamas’s media operations. Neither the regime in Doha nor Hamas makes any secret of the fact that Qatar harbors some of the worst terrorists on earth. “Footage last week showed Haniyeh, 61, smiling and praying from the comfort of his air-conditioned Doha office to celebrate the slaughter of Israelis,” The Telegraph reported this week. “In the video, Haniyeh and 12 of his henchmen are seen dressed in freshly pressed suits as they watch the horror unfold on a widescreen TV.”

It’s time to reassert American energy independence and let the countries in the Middle East go bankrupt. That is one way to exert pressure without bloodshed.

How To End Gun Ownership Without Actually Saying You Are Ending Gun Ownership

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The Massachusetts legislature is currently considering HD 4420.

According to The Boston Globe on Friday:

Representatives will gather in closed-door meetings next week to hold “candid discussions” about a 140-page gun reform bill that Speaker Ron Mariano wants to win House approval by the end of the month.

With the omnibus bill idling amid a House-Senate procedural dispute and national gun safety groups applying new pressure on legislative leaders, Mariano’s office scheduled a pair of private events for representatives and staff to talk about the proposal.

The bill stretches across a wide range of firearm-related issues, including where guns can be carried, the licensing process, the state’s existing ban on assault weapons, rising numbers of untraceable “ghost guns,” and training for gun owners.

Mariano told reporters on Thursday that his goal is to win House approval for the omnibus bill (HD 4420) before lawmakers take a traditional break in August. Asked about how the House plans to navigate a procedural disagreement with the Senate that has stalled the bill’s early progress, Mariano said, “I’ll look at the different options that are at my disposal” and try to pick one.

According to the National Rifle Association (NRA), here are some of the provisions in the bill:

As written, HD 4420:

    1. Institutes a new, broad “Assault Weapons Ban,” including firearms already owned by law-abiding citizens.
    2. Bans all federally legally tax-stamped automatic firearms.
    3. Gun bans on possessing any gun, loaded, or unloaded at:
      1. All state, county, and municipal buildings.
      2. All polling places.
      3. Any private property unless the owner has provided express consent or has posted signage allowing firearms on their property.
    4. Mandates Safe Storage laws.
    5. Mandates new training requirements including costly written exams and live fire training.
    6. Mandates registration of all guns and feeding devices.
    7. Mandates reporting of any modifications or new parts to a gun.
    8. Mandates serializing all firearm parts.
    9. Bans anyone under 21 from acquiring or carrying any semi-automatic rifle or shotgun.
    10. Bans anyone under 15 taking part in shooting sports and training.
    11. Places new mandates, protocols, and training requirements on retailers.

I am not a constitutional expert in any way, but this bill seems to be a way to limit law-abiding citizens’ access to guns. The process that a person would have to go through to get permission to buy a gun would be very costly and time-consuming. Most people would not want to spend the time or the money. The bill also totally overlooks the fact that only law-abiding citizens follow laws–criminals don’t. All this law will do is make more people unable to defend themselves if they need to.

When It’s Not Your Money, You Don’t Always Spend It Wisely

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One of the problems with the establishment in Washington, D.C., is that they do not treat the taxpayers’ money as if it were their own. Actually, the problem is not limited to Washington–how many politicians offices have spend thousands of dollars simply on drapery? Just as an example, in November 2013, The Boston Globe reported that Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who spent $27,000 on new drapes and furniture for his office early in his first term, has authorized a $9 million project to dramatically upgrade the office before he leaves in 2014. The Biden White House has made a recent purchase that illustrates the problem of not shopping carefully.

On March 11, The Washington Free Beacon reported the following:

The Office of Management and Budget spent $2,735 in October for the order and delivery of the 12′ by 9′ rug, the government documents show. The custom Bora Bora rug in the chosen color of “Starfish” was sold to the agency for $1,972, with additional costs attributed to freight, delivery, and padding.

A Washington Free Beacon investigation found that the White House budget office likely got ripped off, and could have purchased an identical rug for far less than what it paid. The Bora Bora rug is manufactured by Fabrica and cut into custom sizes by retailers. New York-based carpet retailer Kanter’s Carpet & Design Center told the Free Beacon it charges just $1,600 to custom-build a 12′ by 9′ Bora Bora rug, a price the company said includes binding, pads, and local delivery.

That may seem like a small thing, but it illustrates how careless the government and its minions are with taxpayers’ money. That’s $1100 that could have been used toward the deficit. It would only be a drop in the bucket, but how many other ‘drops in the bucket’ are out there?

At a time when Americans are being severely hurt by inflation, it would be nice if the White House would curtail its spending a little. 

 

Add This To Your Current List Of Really Bad Ideas

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On Friday, The Boston Globe reported that there was a move to draft Michael Dukakis (former Massachusetts Governor) to run for President in 2016. First of all, Michael Dukakis is 81 years old. I thought the Republicans were the party of old white males.

The article reports:

Max Smith, who describes himself as a Democratic activist from Boston, said this is no joke, that there are political donors from Boston and New Hampshire who want to help fund the effort.

“The [State Department] e-mail revelations are going to rock the Hillary Clinton campaign. We need somebody with stability,” said Smith, who is part of the Draft Dukakis campaign.

But the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee told the Globe that another potential Dukakis versus Bush matchup is not in the cards.

“I am absolutely not a candidate for the presidency,” said Dukakis, who is 81. “Kitty and I are supporting Hillary.”

It sounds like Governor Dukakis is more in line with the mainstream Democratic party than the people who are supporting him. His decision not to run is a very intelligent decision. It’s probably the only political thing he has ever done that I wholeheartedly agree with.

When I first saw this article, I checked the source because I didn’t believe it. I still really can’t imagine what a disaster his candidacy would be. I remember him well as the Governor of Massachusetts.