On Saturday, Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts unveiled a statue of Martin Richard, the 8-year-old boy killed in the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing. Both of Martin’s parents graduated from the University, and Martin wanted to go there also. What made the unveiling an truly special event were the actions of Martin’s younger sister, Jane, who as the photographer was taking pictures of the statue of her brother, gave her brother bunny ears. The gesture was simply an example of what Jane and Martin would be doing if he had not been killed in the attack. Jane was also injured in the attack, losing a leg.
Tag Archives: Massachusetts
The Sad Part Of This Is That It Is True
Violence is a problem in America (just as it is in most countries). Gun violence is often the problem cited because it is the most obvious. Some of the people who want to fight gun violence seem to have lost the concept of common sense.
This is a chart from a website called Gun Facts:
There is a lot of good information on the site. Here are a few of the facts cited:
Fact: 60% of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they knew the victim was armed. 40% of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they thought the victim might be armed. 7
Fact: Felons report that they avoid entering houses where people are at home because they fear being shot. 8
Fact: 59% of the burglaries in Britain, which has tough gun control laws, are “hot burglaries” 9 which are burglaries committed while the home is occupied by the owner/renter. By contrast, the U.S., with more lenient gun control laws, has a “hot burglary” rate of only 13%. 10
Fact: Washington DC has essentially banned gun ownership since 1976 11 and has a murder rate of 56.9 per 100,000. Across the river in Arlington, Virginia, gun ownership is less restricted. There, the murder rate is just 1.6 per 100,000, less than three percent of the Washington, DC rate. 12
Please visit the site to check the sources on the footnotes.
All this brings me to a story from CBS Boston posted on Thursday. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Police Commissioner William Evans have formulated a plan to reduce gun violence in Boston. The first step of the plan involves sending a letter to all gun owners.
The article reports:
The letter will give gun owners information about reporting a private gun sale, loss or theft. It also advertises a free gun lock, a program that offers a $200 gift card if a firearm owner turns in their weapon and advice on gun storage.
“As a legal gun owner, it is important that you also do your part to ensure that guns are stored safely, and kept out of the hands of children and criminals,” the letter states.
Deadly shootings have dropped 30 percent compared to this time last year, but the city has seen more non-fatal shootings, police say.
“We must think creatively in order to reduce the amount of illegal guns and violence on our streets,” Walsh said.
The city will also reach out to gun vendors about preventing illegal firearm sales.
I fully support safety courses for people who own guns, but the people who legally own guns are not the problem. Statistics show that crime goes down when more people legally own guns. Boston’s problem won’t be solved by buying back guns–it might be solved by allowing more of its upstanding citizens to own guns and ending the hassle Massachusetts puts you through to get a gun permit. Sometimes you just wonder who comes up with these ideas.
The Public Does Have A Voice
Yesterday, Wicked Local Newton (Massachusetts–you understand the name of the paper if you have ever lived in New England) posted an article about the United States Olympic Committee pulling the Boston bid for the games. All well-informed Massachusetts taxpayers breathed a sigh of relief. The Olympics in Boston were going to make the Big Dig look like a fiscally responsible undertaking.
The fact that the bid was withdrawn was due to the work of a group of people including Newton resident Evan Falchuk, Chairman of Citizens for a Say, and Marty Lamb and Rep. Shaunna O’Connell, Co-Chairmen of Tank Taxes for Olympics.
The article reports:
“The many elected officials in Boston 2024’s corner looked the other way for months, even when it became clear that Boston 2024 had been less than truthful about what it wanted from taxpayers. What those officials couldn’t ignore was the real, credible threat of a binding vote, which is what ultimately led to the USOC pulling the bid,” said Falchuk. “If Boston 2024 could have produced a plan that did not rely on a taxpayer bailout, they would be still in the running for the 2024 games.”
“As a taxpayer I am relieved. Taxpayers would have been paying for the Olympics for decades to come,” said Lamb. “Last week’s revelation about Boston 2024’s first bid documents showed they did not want a ballot question. To suggest it would take $1 million to get on the ballot was blatantly false. I’m sure when the USOC found out we were serious about protecting taxpayers, that sent a strong message.”
“This is good day for Massachusetts taxpayers. The Boston Games would have resulted in a multi-billion taxpayer funded bailout. It would have hurt our state’s bond rating, taken tax dollars from necessities and forced huge tax increases,” said O’Connell. “We are a world class state without the Olympics. We don’t need to spend billions of tax dollars to prove that fact.”
Citizens for a Say along with Tank Taxes for Olympics have filed with the Attorney General a ballot question to prohibit tax dollars for the Olympics. The coalition was the only group pursuing a legally binding effort to protect taxpayers.
Concerned citizens can make a difference–even when they are up against serious money.
Buried In The Story Is The Cause For The Change
Channel 5 in Boston posted an article today about the fact that the number of great white sharks off Massachusetts shores is rising.
The article states:
The resurgence of the gray seal population has driven the increase in white shark sightings here.
“White sharks in excess of 9 to 10 to feet switch their diet to larger prey: seals, sea lions and scavenged whale carcasses,” said Skomal.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act passed by the U.S. and Canada in 1972 helped bring back the gray seals, whose numbers in the Gulf of Maine to Massachusetts are estimated at between 300,000 and 400,000, with a major nesting area for seal pups on Muskeget Island between Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, said Skomal.
About 2,000 pups were born on Muskeget in 2008, four times the rate in 1999.
Last September in Cape Cod waters, Skomal’s team filmed a white shark feeding on a freshly killed seal. The video shared Wednesday night depicted a bloody and violent scene.
The italics are mine. I don’t have anything against gray seals, I wish them well; however, when man decides to change the rules for one part of the animal population, he invariably impacts another part. Sharks have to eat, too.
You can bet that some pseudo-scientist will come along very quickly and blame the increased number of sharks on global warming. That’s just the way things work these days.
What It Means To Invest In A Town
I love what Jeff Kinney (author of the Wimpy Kid books) is doing for Plainville, Massachusetts. He has removed an eyesore from the center of town and replaced it with a wonderful bookstore, but he hasn’t stopped there.
The Attleboro Sun Chronicle posted a story today about his latest contribution to the town.
The article reports:
The Kinneys were at a book conference in Los Angeles, where Julie Kinney found a booth staffed by Write Brain Books publishing company.
The firm publishes children’s book with illustrations, but no text. Children are expected to write their own stories to go with the drawings.
Julie Kinney brought four of the books to Wood School in Plainville, where fourth-grade teacher Devon Almeida turned them into a major project for her students.
Now, their versions of the books have been published and are going on sale at An Unlikely Story bookstore in Plainville, which is owed by Jeff Kinney.
The children presented their stories to parents Wednesday at the school. Write Brain founder and CEO Meredith Scott Lynn flew in from California for the occasion.
I love the fact that the books the students wrote will be sold at An Unlikely Story bookstore. Thank you, Jeff Kinney, for all you are doing for Plainville.
Sometimes I Just Miss New England
ESPN is reporting that the Eagle Brook Saloon in Norfolk, Massachusetts, (a great place to eat or drink) now features the Free Brady Blonde IPA on its menu.
The story reports:
As a die-hard New England Patriots fan and season-ticket holder, Chuck Horne needed to do something to support his favorite quarterback, Tom Brady.
So the man who owns a bar less than three miles from Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots play, called up the microbrewery that makes some of his bar’s beers and asked them if they could supply him with a blonde IPA.
…Despite the $6.75 price point — most of its microbrews cost $5.25 — many patrons haven’t flinched. In six days, Horne said, the bar has sold more than 500 glasses of the beer.
“We just feel like the NFL is taking a shot at the big guy on the block to make a statement,” Horne said. “It’s ridiculous.”
Sometimes I just miss New England.
Sharing Success
I lived in Plainville, Massachusetts, for thirty-five years. When my family originally moved there, there was a store in the middle of town called Falk’s Market. The children in the town rode their bikes there to buy penny candy, and the growups knew that Falk’s was the best place to buy steaks to barbeque. Over the years Mr. Falk grew old and the store fell into disrepair. Eventually it was sold to someone who didn’t seem to know how to bring it back to its glory days. Then, a few years ago it was sold to Jeff Kinney, who wrote the Wimpy Kid books. Mr. Kinney knew how to bring back the glory days of the market in the center of Plainville.
The New York Times posted a story today about the bookstore in Plainville that will be opening soon.
This is what Falk’s Market looked like when Mr. Kinney bought it:
This is the new bookstore:
The New York Times reports:
Now, in a risky and ambitious next act, Mr. Kinney will start selling other people’s books. He’s opening a bookstore, called An Unlikely Story, in his adopted hometown, Plainville, Mass., about 40 miles south of Boston. And while he doesn’t want the store to resemble a “Wimpy Kid” theme park, he’s willing to use the popularity of the series to draw in customers. Mr. Kinney will work at the cash register and in the cafe on occasion, and he plans to teach a cartooning workshop at the store.
Thank you, Mr. Kinney, for loving Plainville enough to build a bookstore there.
The Supreme Court Gets One Right
The Attleboro Massachusetts Sun Chronicle is reporting today that the Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Robert Kosilek to have the taxpayers pay for his sex-change operation. Robert (now being called Michelle) is serving a life sentence for killing spouse Cheryl Kosilek at their Mansfield condo in 1990. He then placed her body in her car and drove her to Emerald Square Mall in North Attleboro, and took a taxi home. He then reported her missing.
The article reports:
The inmate has waged a lengthy fight for the surgery she says is necessary to relieve the mental anguish caused by gender-identity disorder.
Last year, a divided federal appeals court in Boston overturned a first-in-the-nation court order for the state to provide the sex-reassignment surgery. Courts around the country have found that prisons must evaluate transgender inmates to determine their health care needs, but most have ordered hormone treatments and psychotherapy, not surgery.
It does not concern me whether or not Robert has the operation he desires. What does concern me is that a murderer expects the taxpayers to fund optional surgery. It is obvious that Robert has some serious issues, whatever they may be, but I do not think it is up to the taxpayers to resolve them with extreme elective surgery. I am also not convinced that anything will resolve these issues. It is one thing to want a sex-change operation, it is quite another thing to murder your wife and try to get away with it. This is one case in which I wish Massachusetts had the death penalty. Mr. Kosilek needs to be shown the same amount of mercy that he showed his wife.
A Waste Of A Talented Athlete
WCVB.com (Boston) is reporting today that former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Odin Lloyd. Hernandez will spend the rest of his life in prison without the chance of parole. He will serve his time in MCI Cedar Junction in Walpole, less than two miles from Gillette Stadium.
The article reports:
He was also found guilty of charges of illegal possession of firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.
In Massachusetts, a first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He will serve his time at MCI Cedar Junction in Walpole.
“Odin was the backbone of the family. Odin was the man of the house. Odin was his sisters’ keepers,” his mother, Ursula Ward, said in a victim impact statement.
Through tears, Ward said she has forgiven those involved in her son’s death.
“I forgive the hands of the people who had a hand in my son’s murder — both before and after. And I hope and pray that someday everyone out there will forgive them also,” she said.
Hernandez had a bright future in the National Football League. It is a shame that his lack of moral fiber will mean that he spends the rest of his life behind bars.
One Way To Deal With The Bullies Among Us
The Ever So Humble Pie Company in East Walpole, Massachusetts, has been getting harassed because they are one of the sponsors of the Howie Carr show, a conservative talk show broadcast in Massachusetts. The leftist thought police would like to see Howie’s show go away, so they are harassing Howie Carr and the sponsors.
The story is told on the Facebook page of The Ever So Humble Pie Company:
“OCCU-PIES!” Are here!
As many of you know, we have been receiving harassing phone calls from someone claiming to be from the “Occupy” movement and the “Boston Chapter of Black Lives Matter”. They made baseless accusations that Howie Carr is a racist and they want him off the air. And because we advertise on his show, they want to hurt us, too. Well, the only way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them! Howie’s listeners suggested we make “Occu-Pies” to poke some fun at them so we did – and 50% of the proceeds will be donated to Fisher House Boston! Pies cost $5.25 eaqch or 4 for $20. Whoopie are $3.50 each or 3 for $10. Here are the pies –
“Bye Bye American Pie “- Apple
“The Harry Reid Black & Blue Pie” -Blackberries & Blueberries
“If you like your pie, you can keep your pie” – Strawberry Rhubarb
“The IMPEACHment Pie” – Peach
“The Moon Bat Pie” – Chocolate Whoopie Pie
Buy a pie and get a FREE copy of Howie’s book RIFLEMAN! (while supplies last).
This is how you handle the thought police.
We Seem To Have Become Wimps
Sorry if that statement offends anyone, but indications are that it may be true. Dr. Roy Spencer, formerly a Senior Scientist for Climate Studies at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, where he and Dr. John Christy received NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal for their global temperature monitoring work with satellites, posted a story on his website today about the “Historic Blizzard of 2015”–it actually ranked #41, or a weak “Category 2″. The article includes a chart showing the Blizzard of 2015 in comparison to the storm ranked Number 1, which occurred in March of 1993.
The article states:
The ranking is based upon societal impacts, so if the worst storm on Earth in the last 10,000 years hit where no one lived, it would not even rank.
So, the NESIS scale for Northeast snowstorms isn’t well suited for talking about climate change. It’s not clear that more snowstorms in recent decades aren’t just from a slight shift in the storm track bringing Northwest Atlantic winter storms (of which there are many…Greenland routinely gets clobbered) closer to New England.
As someone who lived in New England from 1967 to 2013, I was glad not to be there during snowstorm Juno. I would like to point out that this is the first year I remember naming snow storms. I was in Rhode Island for the Blizzard of ’78, and we never named it. There were 48 inches of snow in about a day and a half, and no one thought about naming the storm. We have become wimps.
My warmest thoughts go out to my friends in Massachusetts as they endure the weather expected over the next week. I think you should name the first sunny day “Fred.”
Federal Regulations Are Creating Economic Hardship For People As Wages And Net Worth Are Declining
On October 29, a website called Renewable Energy World posted an article asking the question, “Are Environmental Regulations Causing US Utility Bills to Surge?”
The article points out:
U.S. electricity markets face years of higher prices as clean-air regulations shut more coal-fired power plants than earlier forecast, cutting supply and forcing producers to rely more on natural gas.
…Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc., or MISO, which manages the electricity network that runs from Manitoba to Louisiana, expects its power reserves to fall short of targets by about 2,000 megawatts by 2016, with deficits mounting after that. Even with the shale boom that’s cut gas prices, power generated with the fuel costs $30 to $35 a megawatt-hour, compared with about $25 for coal, according to Brattle.(the Brattle Group, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based consulting company).
Please note that this is the result of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations–not the result of any law passed by elected officials. The EPA is accountable to no one (except possibly the President) and does not have to worry about elections. The EPA does not have to deal with the consequences (intended or unintended) of its actions.
It is time for Americans to take their country back. We need to be a country where laws and regulations are made by people who are accountable to the voters. The only way to stop the runaway train of over regulation is to elect Congressmen (and a President) who respect the U.S. Constitution and are willing to abide by it. If we don’t take our representative republic back soon, we will never be able to take it back. We will have to explain to our children and our grandchildren how and why we gave up their freedom.
The North Carolina Academic Standards Review Commission
The North Carolina Academic Standards Review Commission met today in Raleigh, North Carolina, to discuss the Common Core Mathematics Standards.
The Academic Standards Review Commission was established by General Assembly of North Carolina Session 2013 Session Law 2014-78 Senate Bill 812.
Section 2(c) of the Bill states:
SECTION 2.(c) The Commission shall:
(1) Conduct a comprehensive review of all English Language Arts and Mathematics standards that were adopted by the State Board of Education under G.S. 115C-12(9c) and propose modifications to ensure that those standards meet all of the following criteria:
- Increase students’ level of academic achievement.
- Meet and reflect North Carolina’s priorities.
- Are age-level and developmentally appropriate.
- Are understandable to parents and teachers.
- Are among the highest standards in the nation.
(2) As soon as practicable upon convening, and at any time prior to termination, recommend changes and modifications to these academic standards to the State Board of Education.
(3) Recommend to the State Board of Education assessments aligned to proposed changes and modifications that would also reduce the number of high-stakes assessments administered to public schools.
(4) Consider the impact on educators, including the need for professional development, when making any of the recommendations required in this section.
The Commission shall assemble content experts to assist it in evaluating the rigor ofacademic standards. The Commission shall also involve interested stakeholders in this processand otherwise ensure that the process is transparent.
Today was the second meeting of the Academic Standards Review Commission I have attended. The last one (last month) dealt with the Common Core Language Arts Standards. Today’s meeting dealt with the Common Core Mathematics Standards. The presentations at both meetings were done by people from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI)(a department that is strongly supporting Common Core). There has been (so far) no discussion of any alternate standards. It was also mentioned in today’s meeting that the Commission does not have any money allocated to it, and thus cannot call any experts who might refute the value of Common Core.
I have never been so disappointed in government. When the North Carolina legislature passed the legislation that created the Commission, they passed it in response to complaints by parents about the Common Core standards (and the curriculum that goes with them). The parents were not looking for a worthless commission that would do nothing but hear from supporters of Common Core, put a rubber stamp on it, and go home. (I do need to say at this point that there were some members of the Commission that were asking genuine questions and were trying to look past the one-sided promotional presentation they were subjected to.)
All in all, the meeting of the Commission was a well-orchestrated and controlled dog and pony show that accomplished nothing except to show the extent to which the North Carolina DPI supports Common Core. I would strongly suggest to the Commission (and to the DPI) that if you truly want to improve the education level of North Carolina students, you study the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) program instituted in Massachusetts during the early 1990’s. Massachusetts has more than ten years of test scores that show that MCAS works. Common Core has no reliable test scores that show that has actually accomplished anything. Normally, I would never suggest North Carolina follow the example of Massachusetts, but this one time Massachusetts got it right, and they should be listened to. I would also like to note that many of the local school boards in Massachusetts have opted out of Common Core in favor of MCAS.
An Exercise In Futility
On July 16, 2014, the North Carolina General Assembly ratified SB812 (follow link for full text). The bill charges the State Board of Education with the task of conducting a comprehensive review of all English Language Arts and Mathematics standards adopted under G.S.115C 12(9c) and propose modifications to ensure that those standards will improve the students’ level of academic achievement, meet and reflect North Carolina’s priorities, and other goals. The law sets up the Academic Standards Review Commission composed of eleven people who are charged with reviewing current standards and making recommendations. Unfortunately the way the law is written, the Commission is simply going through the Common Core standards line by line (by hearing a presentation of the Department of Public Instruction [DPI], which supports Common Core). There is no objectivity in the presentation, and there is no factual information at this point that indicates Common Core does anything to raise academic standards.
In May of last year, I wrote an article about the introduction of Common Core in Massachusetts. The article cited a Wall Street Journal article detailing the changes in Massachusetts education during the 1990’s. Education in the state was reformed in 1993, and SAT scores rose for thirteen consecutive years. In 2005 Massachusetts scored best in the nation in all grades and categories on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. They have repeated that performance every time they have taken the test. Massachusetts is doing very well educationally right now.
On October 1 of this year, I wrote another article about Common Core in Massachusetts. The article was about the Lincoln-Sudbury School Board‘s decision to decline a chance to offer the PARCC (Common Core) to students next spring, sharply criticizing the standardized test that could end up replacing the MCAS in the state.
That article quotes a Massachusetts newspaper article that states:
One board member equated the trial run of the exam as making “guinea pigs” out of students, whom he said wouldn’t see any worthwhile benefit from the dozens of hours they would put into practicing for and taking the test.
Lincoln-Sudbury, like all public high schools in Massachusetts, had a choice to administer the PARCC, short for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, in ninth and 11th grade later this year. The new test, which was introduced in a small pilot roll-out this past spring, was developed by a consortium of states to closely conform to the new Common Core standards adopted by most schools in the nation.
…Several committee members also bemoaned the PARCC’s potential effect of putting increased emphasis on standardized testing, arguing Lincoln-Sudbury on its own is able to come up with much more effective measures of students’ grasp of learning standards.
No matter how hard the Department of Public Instruction tries to sell it, Common Core is untested. If the Commission is truly concerned about the education of North Carolina students, they will look to other states that have successfully improved the academic achievement levels of their students. I am sure there are many communities in Massachusetts who would be willing and able to help with this task.
Meanwhile, today’s meeting was a biased, self-serving presentation by the Department of Public Instruction–a department that was not interested in changing anything (except possibly the name Common Core). That is unfortunate.
If the parents and grandparents of North Carolina students are truly concerned about their students’ education, they need to get involved very quickly. There will be a meeting next month in which the DPI will do a presentation of the mathematics section of Common Core similar to the one they did today on the English Language Arts section. So far there has been no public examination of any set of standards other than the unproven Common Core standards. If that continues, the students of North Carolina will be the victims of an exercise in futility that accomplished nothing.
Big Government Protecting Itself
The Boston Globe reported yesterday that Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has quietly transferred 500 of his managers into the state public employee union. Governor Patrick will be leaving office after the upcoming election and the governorship is expected to be turned over to the Republicans. This move prevents the Republicans from downsizing the Massachusetts bureaucracy. Placing the managers in the state public employee union will also qualify them for a series of 3 percent raises and insulate them from firing when the next governor takes over.
The article reports:
While smaller clusters of management positions have been converted into union positions in the past, this is the largest sweep into the union in at least two decades, according to administration and union officials.
Rolling the managers into the 22,000-member union will effectively protect them from any house-cleaning that might occur when the next governor takes office in January — a particular likelihood if Republican Charlie Baker were to take over after eight years of Democratic leadership.
Union employees generally have to be removed “for cause,” while managers serve at will.
Obviously, this move will make downsizing the Massachusetts state government more difficult for the new governor. It will also increase the cost of state government, although Patrick administration officials have stated that the cost to the state would be “less than $500,000.” When did we reach the point where $500,000 was not significant?
A Congressman I Respect
If you read this blog regularly, you know that it has been almost a year since I moved from Massachusetts to North Carolina. I am still learning about North Carolina politics and the people involved in them. Today I had the privilege of being part of a small group that met with Congressman Walter Jones. I was thoroughly impressed.
Congressman Jones believes in the United States Constitution. He votes in Congress based on what the Constitution says.
One of Congressman Jones’ concerns is the rapid increase of America’s national debt. He states that he believes we need to stop raising the debt ceiling and begin to bring government spending under control. He pointed out that the last time the debt ceiling was raised, it was done in a way that did not require the House to vote on increasing the debt ceiling until March of 2015, regardless of how much the debt had risen by then. He reminded us that just as you would not run your household budget that recklessly, the United States budget should not be run that way.
Congressman Jones is currently seeking another term in the U. S. House of Representatives. Based on what I saw today, I will happily vote for him. He stated that he sees serving in the House of Representatives as both an honor and a privilege. It is an honor to be represented in Washington by a man who loves his country and respects the United States Constitution.
A School Board Doing Its Job
MetroWest Daily News (Massachusetts) posted an article today about the Lincoln-Sudbury School Board‘s decision to decline a chance to offer the PARCC to students next spring, sharply criticizing the standardized test that could end up replacing the MCAS in the state. The PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) is the testing that is part of the Common Core standards.
The article reports:
One board member equated the trial run of the exam as making “guinea pigs” out of students, whom he said wouldn’t see any worthwhile benefit from the dozens of hours they would put into practicing for and taking the test.
Lincoln-Sudbury, like all public high schools in Massachusetts, had a choice to administer the PARCC, short for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, in ninth and 11th grade later this year. The new test, which was introduced in a small pilot roll-out this past spring, was developed by a consortium of states to closely conform to the new Common Core standards adopted by most schools in the nation.
…Several committee members also bemoaned the PARCC’s potential effect of putting increased emphasis on standardized testing, arguing Lincoln-Sudbury on its own is able to come up with much more effective measures of students’ grasp of learning standards.
According to greatschools.org, Lincoln-Sudbury schools are rated a 9 out of 10. The School Board in Lincoln-Sudbury is obviously doing a good job. The median income in the town is $142,614, the median home price is $625,000, and the population is 17,673.
The School Board in the town understands that the Common Core standards have not been tested and there is no proof that they will improve the academic performance of our students. MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) testing is a proven product that has brought up the level of academic achievement of Massachusetts students. There is no reason to swap something that has proven to be effective for something that is totally untested.
The Border Is Not Our Only Weakness UPDATED
ABC News reported yesterday that three Afghan military officers who were in the United States for a joint military mission have disappeared on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The article reports:
They arrived in the country on Sept. 11, and were reported missing by base security personnel late Saturday. They were last seen at the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis, Mass.
A Centcom official told ABC News there is no indication that the Afghan men reported missing pose any threat to the public. Officials said all the Afghan military personnel were fully vetted before they arrived
Base and local police and state authorities are working together to locate the three Afghans. There are still approximately a dozen Afghan soldiers still participating in the exercise, which ends Sep. 24th.
…Just last weekend, two Afghan policemen in the Washington, D.C., for a DEA training program at Quantico, Va., also went missing while on a sightseeing trip to Georgetown.
The two men, who were part of a group of 31 Afghan police officers in the U.S. for the multi-week program, were found safe somewhere outside of D.C., but officials would not say exactly where, ABC affiliate WJLA-TV reported.
According to WJLA-TV, the DEA said the two men left the group because they did not want to go back to Afghanistan.
The term ‘green on blue violence’ is used to describe attacks on our soldiers in Afghanistan by people our military is training to defend the country. The fact that this phenomena has a name is an indication that these attacks are not isolated events. So why are we inviting Afghans to America when there are trust issues with Afghani forces? This makes no sense.
UPDATE:
WCVB is reporting that that the three Afghani officers have been found.
The article reports:
The three missing Afghani soldiers who went missing during a training exercise at a Cape Cod military base this weekend have been found, a high-level law enforcement source tells Team 5.
…The source tells Team 5’s Karen Anderson the men were taken into custody at the Rainbow Bridge Canadian/US border crossing near Niagara Falls on Monday.
They were identified as Major Jan Mohammad Arash, Captain Mohammad Nasir Askarzada and Captain Noorullah Aminyar.
“They were here for a multi-national military exercise which had been scheduled for a long time. They have been here for a couple of weeks. There’s a lot of speculation that within the military they maybe be trying to defect,” Deval Patrick said.
There Is A Price To Be Paid For Telling The Truth–Even In America
Below is a picture of a door at a synagogue in Stoughton, Mass. It is a place that has hosted conservative speakers, speakers who support Israel, and speakers who share valuable information about the terrorist threat facing America. This synagogue and the people in it are one of the things I miss the most about Massachusetts. I spent many nights there learning things that I have shared on my blog. The Rabbi of the temple, Rabbi Jon Hausman, is a courageous man who loves his country and is working to wake people up to the dangers facing America. The door has been defaced with cow manure. The vandalism is most likely related to an event to be held at the synagogue on September 9. (see coming events Massachusetts on this site).
On September 9, Allen West, General Jerry Boykin (Ret.), Gary Berntsen, CIA Station Chief (Ret.), and General Tom McInerney (Ret.) will be part of an Israel Security Summit entitled “The Fight for Western Civilization.” The event will be co-hosted by Rabbi Jonathan Hausman and Tom Trento of TheUnitedWest.
Rabbi Jon Hausman made the following statement about the vandalism:
“In this era of increasing anti-Semitism and burgeoning anti-Israel rhetoric combined with action, we at ATC (Ahavath Torah Congregation) are not taking this lightly and are moving in the direction recommended by the Stoughton Police Department. The Israel Security Summit will take place”
This is happening in America.
Why We Need More Home Schooling
Townhall.com posted an article today by Michelle Malkin about a new trend in education–teaching children social justice. One definition I found of social justice is, “promoting a just society by challenging injustice and valuing diversity.” Sounds pretty good, but somehow I don’t think that is what they mean. Many of our colleges teach social justice, but do they value diversity? How many conservative Christians do you find teaching on the average college campus? But I digress.
The article reports:
In Massachusetts, the John J. Duggan Middle School will open on August 25 with a new name and mission. It is now a “social justice magnet school.” As a hiring advertisement for teachers explained earlier this year, the emphasis will be on “helping students develop the necessary skills to analyze and synthesize information and to generate empathy by looking at multiple sides of important issues facing the world, be that hunger, water quality, racial barriers, child labor or imbalance of power.”
Concise writing, as you can see, is not on the social justice pedagogues’ agenda.
Oh, and forget about memorizing times tables or mastering the scientific method. The new principal says the school’s primary job is teaching “fairness.” Duggan Middle School’s junior lobbying factory is “serious about creating 21st century global citizens, and it begins with understanding who we are as members of each of those communities.”
At the risk of being called a mean, old grandmother, when are we going to explain to our children that life isn’t always fair? When are we going to tell them that everyone encounters some sort of barrier in their life and that the goal is to learn how to overcome those barriers, not wallow in them. Imbalance of power has been with us since the stone age, does teaching the children multiple sides of the issue (assuming there are multiple sides) contribute in any way to their education? Good grief!
How about teaching the children how to read, how to do math facts, and how to solve problems? They will figure out the social justice on their own.
Just for the record, my definition of social justice is allowing me to keep what I earn and allowing you to keep what you earn. If the numbers are uneven, one of us needs to learn how to be a more valuable employee or how to start his own business!
An Announcement From A Friend
Marty Lamb has worked tirelessly to repeal the automatic gas tax increase voted in by the Massachusetts legislature last year. He sent out the following email today:
Today I am announcing that I am leaving the Yes on 1 Ballot Question to Repeal Automatic Gas Taxes.
I still fully support the initiative!
So why am I leaving????
You won’t believe this!
The Office of Campaign and Political Finance says that our ballot initiative cannot tell the public which legislators voted for or against linking the gas tax to inflation. I feel that this a gross infringement on our first amendment rights!
We could fight them in court…
But…
Time is running out for this election cycle.
So today I am announcing the TankTheGasTax.Net PAC which will educate voters how legislators voted on indexing the gas tax to inflation. We will tell voters if their Representative or Senator voted for Taxation Without Representation. We will tell you who is against indexing before they were for it. We will tell you which members voted to take more money out of your pocket while collecting taxpayer funded per diems.
If you agree that the public has a right to know, then please click here to make a much needed donation to kick-off this PAC.
Beacon Hill insiders want to keep us quiet. I am not going to let that happen.
While I am very sad about leaving the ballot group which I help build, I am hoping that you will show your support for my decision by making a donation today.
Your financial support will be immediately used to print handouts that will be distributed to voters regarding their votes to automatically tax us.
Help me hold them accountable!
Please let me hear from you today!
Thank you,
Temporarily this automatic tax increase and government transparency on the tax increase is a Massachusetts issue. Don’t count on it remaining only in Massachusetts.
Senatorial Wisdom From Massachusetts
A Senator from Massachusetts made an insightful statements about the future of our nation. That Senator was Daniel Webster.
Senator Daniel Webster stated:
“There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government.”
Holly Robichaud posted an article in today’s Boston Herald illustrating the wisdom of that statement. She lists the ways you could destroy America from within:
The first step would be to jeopardize the country’s financial stability. Increasing the national debt by $7 trillion is a good starting point, and letting the debt keep growing until it overtakes the country’s gross national product is the death knell.
Another way to unbalance our finances is to encourage everyone to become dependent on government handouts instead of being self- sufficient. When takers outnumber taxpayers, the system will collapse.
The second step would be to destroy U.S. credibility abroad. Spying on our friends doesn’t help our relationships.
…Another step would be to toss out our governing principles. Ignoring our Constitution along with the two other equal branches of government destabilizes the fabric of our society. Changing laws by executive fiat rather than the legislative process undermines our democracy. Our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution so no one person could dictate. The document empowers the branches of government so there are checks and balances. Without them, we become a dictatorship.
Lastly, you would neglect one of the basic principles: protect the people. Thomas Jefferson said, “A nation without borders is no nation.” Allowing people from other countries to hop, skip and jump over the border is a nonviolent invasion.
The obvious conclusion is that our destruction is happening as America watches television and tunes out politics. Unless the American voter wakes up and begins to pay attention and get involved, we will see Senator Webster’s prediction come true.
Anyone Can Make A Difference
NewsMax reported yesterday that the initiative to stop the automatic gasoline tax increases in Massachusetts has made it onto the November ballot. The effort to get this on the ballot was a true grassroots effort.
The article reports:
Having secured a position on the fall ballot and with little money to propel it, the initiative to thwart an automatic rise in the gas tax by linking it to inflation could have an impact on other states if Bay State voters pass it this fall.
As Barbara Anderson, executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation, told Newsmax, “Any time a tax cut passes in blue-state Massachusetts, it gives hope to taxpayers everywhere. In other words, if we can do it, so can they.”
Veteran Massachusetts political consultant Holly Robichaud told Newsmax: “You have to remember that Massachusetts is the birthplace of the American Revolution and citizen outrage against ‘taxation without representation.’ And that’s about what happened here last year.”
She was referring to a vote in the overwhelmingly Democratic Massachusetts Legislature for a $500 million tax package. Buried within the package was the 3 cents per gallon tax increase. But far more significantly, the package also included language stating that the gas tax would now be linked to inflation.
“That means when inflation goes up, so does the gas tax — automatically, and without a vote by elected representatives,” Robichaud explained. “Theoretically, it could rise to infinity and beyond.”
Her view was strongly seconded by veteran tax battler Edward F. King, chairman of King Information Systems, founder of Citizens for Limited Taxation, and a Republican candidate for governor in 1978.
This is good news for Massachusetts residents, but it also an example of how ordinary citizens can undo the mischief that politicians do.
The article reports how it was done:
Although the potentially explosive linkage of the gas tax hike to inflation was largely ignored in the press, Robichaud, with her political ear to the ground, called a meeting at her Scituate home. Over Chinese food, activist Republicans, including former U.S. House candidate Marty Lamb, state Rep. Geoff Diehl, and GOP State Committeeman Steve Aylward plotted how to stop the tax link to inflation from becoming law.
Out of the meeting came language for a proposed statewide initiative that would not repeal the gas tax increase, but decouple it from inflation. As Robichaud explained, “We wanted the debate to be about automatic tax hikes. I think the debate on the principle is more important than 3 cents.”
Without this initiaitve (and hopefully a victory in November), the gas tax would have risen automatically without any legislator having to take responsibility for the increase–a politician’s dream and a taxpayer’s nightmare.
Massachusetts Has Become A Border State
No, the geography didn’t change, just the influx of refugees from the border.
Today’s Boston Herald is reporting that several secret flights of illegal immigrants have made their way to Massachusetts.
The article states:
I guess Attorney General Martha Coakley and state police are out of the loop because they said in recent weeks they had no knowledge of it.
What does that tell you about the politics of this?
The article reports:
We’ve learned from immigration officials that four planes filled with detainees nabbed on the border landed at Hanscom Field and Logan International Airport since April as the U.S. scrambles to cap the immigration crisis.
Three other flights chartered by President Obama’s immigration crew have also stopped in Massachusetts to pick up illegals and deport them.
So why haven’t local communities been notified?
This should alarm everybody in the Bay State, because we don’t know how many illegals are passing through or hanging around; what communicable diseases they may carry; if any are sex offenders, drug-runners, gang members or terrorists.
This operation of moving illegals from Texas to Hanscom to Logan and back again has been shrouded in secrecy, putting our health and security at risk.
It’s unacceptable for the president to run such a risky loop without coming clean with the American people.
The president promised transparency in his administration and that is a flat-out joke. We have a right to know who’s coming into our community.
ICE agents and doctors treating illegals are being told to clam up.
This begs the question: Is something really bad is going on?
This has been a pattern with the Obama administration.
Whistleblowers have been demonized in one scandal after another. Republican Congressional candidate Richard Tisei has come up with a plan to protect whistleblowers … and it can’t come too soon.
In four months, Americans vote on the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate. We need to elect people who will stand up to President Obama and who will protect America.
Another Unanimous Decision By The Supreme Court
WCVB.com is reporting today that the Supreme Court has struck down a Massachusetts law requiring anti-abortion protesters to stay at least 35 feet from patients and staff at abortion clinics.
The article reports:
In the unanimous decision, justices ruled that extending a buffer zone 35 feet from clinic entrances violates the First Amendment rights of protesters.
The ruling signals that states can pass laws ensuring access to clinics, but cannot more broadly ban speech on public streets and sidewalks.
According to the article, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley had a different opinion than the Court:
“It balances the rights of those who need and want access to the clinic. It balances the right and need for public safety. And it balances the rights of those who want to speak and to get their message out,” Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said in January.
The Supreme Court overruled the opinion of Ms. Coakley.