Adding Insult To Injury

On September 4th I posted a story about the Massachusetts taxpayers being required to pay for a sex change operation for Robert, now Michelle, Kosilek, who murdered his wife in 1990.

Today the Boston Herald reported that U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf has ruled that the taxpayers of Massachusetts should also reimburse Michelle Lynne Kosilek for years of legal bills.

The article concludes:

Kosilek has survived two suicide attempts and has threatened to castrate himself over his gender distress, according to Wolf, who ruled that sex-reassignment surgery was the only remedy for Kosilek’s “serious medical need.”

It was not immediately clear how far back Kosilek’s lawyers are eligible to recover costs and fees. He has been suing the DOC for surgery since 2000.

I am sorry that Michelle Kosilek is so emotionally messed up. I am sorry that he killed his wife in cold blood, but it seems as if things are getting a little out of hand here. A person in the private sector would have to pay for this surgery themselves, why in the world are the taxpayers paying for the surgery and the court costs?

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What Are The Rights Of A Private Vendor ?

Today’s Boston Herald posted a story about Andrea Taber, owner of the Ever So Humble Pie Co. in Walpole. Ms. Tabor sells her pies at the Braintree market on Fridays. She has caused a controversy by refusing to accept Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards as payment for her pies at the market.

The article reports:

“I don’t think American taxpayers should be footing the bill for people’s pie purchases,” said Andrea Taber, proprietor of the Ever So Humble Pie Co. in Walpole, who peddles her wares at the Braintree market on Fridays and now finds herself in the middle of the state’s raging fight over welfare benefits.

The article concludes:

Businesses must apply and be approved to accept EBT cards, and normally are not obliged to do so. Department of Transitional Assistance Commissioner Daniel Curley said the state wants welfare recipients to “access healthy food,” but he declined to weigh in on whether farmers markets that choose to accept EBT cards can compel their vendors to take part.

I have very mixed emotions on this issue. I would like to think that EBT cards are used to make healthy food purchases, but I really don’t like the idea of anyone being able to control another person’s food purchases. The issue is complicated by the fact that the taxpayers are paying for those food purchases, but it still feels intrusive to me.

It will be interesting to see how this controversy ends.

 

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Using Taxpayer Money To Support Democrat Candidates

Howie Carr posted a story today in the Boston Herald about the voter registration forms that are being sent out with welfare checks in Massachusetts. What is being done in Massachusetts may be technically legal, but it definitely does not pass the smell test.

The Boston Herald reported yesterday that the group behind the plan to send out voter registration forms with welfare checks is headed by Elizabeth Warren‘s daughter. Elizabeth Warren is the Democrat candidate running against Republican Senator Scott Brown. This little exercise in democracy will cost the Massachusetts taxpayers $275,844. A letter and a voter registration form is being sent with every welfare check issued in the State.

The article in yesterday’s Boston Herald reported:

Demos, a group founded in the late 1990s to counter conservative think tanks, also counts President Obama as a founding board member.

The Herald reported today that the group recently forced the Bay State to send out nearly 500,000 voter registration cards to those on welfare at a cost of $276,000. Demos also has sued nine states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Louisiana.

The Bay State lawsuit, filed in conjunction with the ACORN offshoot New England United for Justice, comes as Warren faces a tight battle with Brown in a nationally-watched battle that could decide which Party controls the Senate.

Brown said he supports allowing all legal voters to register, but said officials shouldn’t do so with taxpayer dollars.

Note the ACORN connection. Unless all of us learn to fight for the integrity of our elections, these people are not going to go away.

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The Massachusetts Fourth Congressional District

The Republican primary in the Massachusetts Fourth Congressional District has three candidates–Elizabeth Childs, Sean Bielat, and David Steinhof. The Democrat primary candidates are Rachael Brown, Joseph Kennedy III, and Herb Robinson. Of the six candidates, Joseph Kennedy III is the only one who has raised over a million dollars.

Meanwhile, back to the Republican primary. Holly Robichaud posted an article at the Boston Herald today about the voting history of Elizabeth Childs. According to the article in the Herald, Ms. Childs did not join the Republican party until eleven days before filing the paperwork to begin her run as a candidate. Ms. Childs has been endorsed by former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman and ex-Massachusetts Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Nassour,

When Ms. Childs spoke at the local Republican Town Committee, she described herself as a fiscal conservative and a social moderate. She also mentioned that she supported federal funding of abortion. That is not the position of a fiscal conservative.

I am a former Democrat. I voted for George McGovern in 1972. It is obvious that my politics have changed over the years. The contrast between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan had a lot to do with that change. Ms. Childs does not seem to have any explanation for her sudden political transformation or the timing of that transformation. That seems to be a problem with Republican voters in the Massachusetts Fourth.

Sean Bielat seems to be leading in the primary, but both Sean Bielat and David Steinhof have ideas that are much more in keeping with traditional Republican views.

 

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When Elected Officials Ignore The Wishes Of Their Constituents

No, this is not an article about President Obama and healthcare–it is an article about the misuse of the cards given to welfare recipients. In Massachusetts we have what are called EBT cards, which allow people collecting welfare to purchase food for their families.

The Boston Herald is reporting today that Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick vetoed the reforms of the EBT card laws.

The article reports:

While signing the state’s $32.5 billion budget yesterday, Patrick rejected an outside section containing the welfare benefits card reforms that had been hammered out with bi-partisan support in the House and Senate — an effort spearheaded by House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop).

The reforms would have banned EBT buys of guns, porn, tattoos, jewelry and manicures. He allowed the banning of EBT cards in tattoo parlors, gun shops, casinos, cruise ships, strip clubs and adult entertainment centers, saying the independent EBT Card Commission had ruled out the idea of banning specific products “for reasons of feasibility, enforceability (and) cost.”

The purpose of the EBT card is to allow people in need to provide food and necessities to themselves and their families. To allow these cards to be used for non-necessities is unfair to the taxpayers who may be going without these luxuries in order to pay their tax bills!

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Calling For Sunlight

Today’s Boston Herald posted an article about the Cape Wind Farm Project and the lack of transparency in the approval process.

The article reports:

In a letter provided to the Herald, the alliance cited a trove of bombshell internal Federal Aviation Administration emails that suggest the agency buckled to political pressure and downplayed fears that the 440-foot tall spinning turbines would interfere with radar and ensnare small, low-flying aircraft.

The Herald reported Saturday that FAA documents obtained by Parker’s group through a public records request contain repeated references to political support for the proposed 130-turbine project five miles offshore of Cape Cod.

“You’ve got a very clear green agenda from the Obama administration, and very clear agenda from the Patrick administration, wanting to have America’s first offshore wind farm, seemingly at the expense of public safety,” Parker has told the Herald. “It’s like offshore wind at any cost.”

The article and the comments remind us of some of the problems with the Cape Wind Farm Project. Aside from the question of whether political pressure played a part in its approval, there is the fact that it will raise the cost of electricity significantly for Massachusetts residents. There is also the fact that the life of a wind turbine is approximately 25 years before it will need to be removed. What a mess! This will never be a practical project–it will never save consumers money, and we will still need carbon-based back-up electricity to ensure that Massachusetts residents have electric power 24 hours a day! It would make much more sense to refine the technology for natural-gas generated electricity (which is extremely environmentally friendly) and save consumers money and generate jobs in America (America is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas).

Man has been looking for the perpetual motion machine since the beginning of time (that is one of the few things I remember from high school physics!). Green energy is simply another reflection of that quest. At some point in the future, there may be viable green energy, but the government will accomplish nothing by forcing the issue!

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The War On Cupcakes In Massachusetts

When California schools put in place a strict ban on any kind of junk food vending machines in their schools, young entrepreneurs quickly got busy and made a fortune selling twizzlers and Hersey bars. Are the new Department of Public Health rules going to create a legion of young brownie bakers? Well, Massachusetts may have slightly more common sense than California. (Really???)

The Boston Herald reported today:

State lawmakers overturned a controversial ban on school bake sales this afternoon after a fierce public outcry over school nutrition guidelines that also prohibited pizza, white bread and 2 percent milk.

…State Rep. Brad Hill (R-Ipswich) offered the amendment, which leaves it up to local school committees whether to adopt the Department of Public Health rules, after hearing about an Ipswich school arts group that would have had to cancel bake-sale field trip fundraisers and fielding complaints from the local football Boosters concerned about their concession stands.

The bill now has to pass the Massachusetts Senate and be signed by the Governor.

I am just not convinced that this is the correct approach to obesity. Two percent milk is not a major cause of obesity. When the generation over fifty grew up, most of us drank whole milk–we were generally not obese children. Every Friday, the school served pizza for lunch. Generally white bread was the most popular kind. What has changed? How about ending recess, banning tag, banning dodge ball? Did those things have more of an impact that two percent milk? I suspect they did. Video games have not helped either (although I am probably addicted to angry birds.)

Don’t do away with bake sales–I suspect that those foods baked at home are healthier than those foods bought in the store. Also, I love the chocolate chip cookies!

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The Massachusetts Senate Race

Scott Brown, Republican U.S. Senator represent...

Scott Brown, Republican U.S. Senator representing Massachusetts, at a U.S. Senate campaign event on December 31, 2009, in Plymouth Massachusetts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Senate race in Massachusetts is going to be interesting. Scott Brown took the seat in a special election in 2010 after the death of Senator Kennedy. He was embraced by the Tea Party and traveled the state extensively to win votes. Senator Brown has not voted in line with the wishes of the Tea Party, but has definitely been his own man. I have not always agreed with his votes, but will be voting for him again–he is an honest man, and I believe he is trying to vote in the best interests of Massachusetts and America.

The other candidate for the Senate seat is Elizabeth Warren, currently a law professor at Harvard. Ms. Warren has made a few misstatements in her campaign that may be a problem for her.

Today’s Boston Herald reports:

Despite claiming she never used her Native American heritage when applying for a job, Elizabeth Warren’s campaign admitted last night the Democrat listed her minority status in professional directories for years when she taught at the University of Texas and the University of Pennsylvania.

Other than the fact that the statement calls into question Ms. Warren’s basic honesty, it really is no big deal.

The Herald further reports:

The Herald reported Friday that embattled Harvard Law School officials touted Warren’s Native American heritage — she reportedly has ancestors from the Cherokee and Delaware tribes — as proof of the faculty’s diversity.

The Warren campaign has said the U.S. Senate candidate never allowed Harvard Law to claim her as a minority hire. Warren herself has said she could not “recall” ever listing her Native American background when applying for college or a job.

It really is no big deal whether or not Ms. Warren was hired because of her racial background or not–it is a concern, however, that she feels necessary to lie about it during the campaign.

 

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Sometimes Politicians Do Things That Are So Arrogant It’s Almost Funny

The State House in Boston

The State House in Boston (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On Thursday the Boston Herald reported that a six-member conference committee of lawmakers in Massachusetts charged with creating a bill to boost government performance, accountability and transparency and increase oversight of spending have decided to hold their meetings in private.

Representative Peter Kocot (D-Northampton) stated:

“Holding open meetings, during which negotiators would discuss differences and seek common ground on bills overhauling government administration and finance laws, might inhibit frank negotiations.

“If you look at the rules of committees, the joint rules, conference committees are not included in those rules. Conference committees operate under a separate set of rules and typically it’s been very common practice in the Legislature to close conference committees so that the members of the conference committee can have a frank and open discussion of the merits of the bills.”

Good grief!

Massachusetts is a one-party state. If you would like more transparency and more honesty in the Massachusetts government, you need to make it a two-party state. Even if you don’t agree with one of the parties, having two parties in government tends to make government more accountable.

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Does This Bother Anyone Else ?

Today’s Boston Herald reported that a bankruptcy judge has approved nearly $370,000 in bonuses for certain employees of Solyndra LLC.

The article reports:

Solyndra, based in Fremont, Calif., wanted to award bonuses of up to $500,000 to as many as 21 employees but scaled back its request after discussions with its official creditors committee.

Gee, that makes me feel so much better.

The article further reports:

Solyndra, which has failed to find a buyer to operate the company as a going concern, says it needs to retain key employees with the expertise needed for an orderly liquidation of its remaining assets.

For that kind of money I would volunteer to handle the liquidation! As I reported on January 23 (rightwinggranny.com), the liquidation is not being handled well:

At Solyndra’s sprawling complex in Fremont, workers in white jumpsuits were unwrapping brand new glass tubes used in solar panels last week. They are the latest, most cutting-edge solar technology, and they are being thrown into dumpsters.

This is taxpayer money, and as a taxpayer–I object!

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Have They Really Thought This Through ?

The Boston Herald is reporting today that Massachusetts held a ceremony to mark the passage of a new state law that prohibits discrimination against transgender people in employment, housing, insurance and credit. I am the first to admit that I am not really familiar with whatever issue caused the legislature to believe that this law was necessary. This seems to be an issue that has arisen during the recent past.

The law prohibits discrimination against those who are transgender. I have no problem with the idea that someone should not be discriminated against, but what impact does this law have on people whose religions teach that there is a problem with the concept of transgender?

The article reports:

While hailing the law, supporters said they would also continue pushing for equal access in public accommodations. Critics have suggested that might lead to a breakdown in privacy in single-gender facilities such as rest rooms and locker rooms.

This sounds as if it could get very complicated. One of the comments on the article stated:

New bathrooms,(every school, government bldg in MA) housing, job quotas, separate jail wings, money to pay for all this, panels to implement, money to do sex changes in jail, etc, etc, All on your dime.

I wonder if anyone has thought this through?

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The Cost Of Occupy Boston

The Occupy Boston camp at the Dewey Square section of the Greenway has been removed. Across the nation, the rap sheet on the Occupy Wall Street movement reached 417 as of December 9th according to Big Government. So what is the legacy of Occupy Boston?

The Boston Herald reports today that 46 of the Occupy Boston protesters were arrested as the camp was closed.

The Boston Herald reports:

Brennan (Nancy Brennan, executive director of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy) said the grass, which has turned into a mud pit, will need to be completely resodded, and she fears several trees that have been damaged will have to be replanted.

“Three or four trees might be lost. There’s browning of the foliage, and there are some broken and bent limbs,” she said. “Part of what we need to do is check on the root systems, and that is just going to take a little bit of time.”

Brennan also expects that the sprinkler system was damaged so much it will have to be repaired or replaced. Also in need of replacement are about 20 percent of the shrubbery and the pebbles from a pedestrian walkway that runs along Purchase Street.

She also said the wall of the large air intake tower for the O’Neill Tunnel will have to be power-hosed to remove markings and messages left behind by the squatters.

“The grass crete has really taken a beating,” said Brennan, referring to the concrete-type material covering the delivery truck driveway that allows grass to grow through. “We need to see if we can restore or replace it.”

Brennan couldn’t provide an estimate for what the final repair bill will be, but local landscapers pegged it at upward of $50,000.

My first question is who will pay for the restoration. There were never any permits for Occupy Boston, so there was no deposit to the city for sanitation fees or police detail fees.

WCVB TV5 reported on November 30:

Crime in the Dewey Square encampment of “Occupy Boston” is out of control, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis told Newscenter 5.

“(There are) drugs, vandalism and assaultive behavior,’’ Davis said.

As of Wednesday, taxpayers had paid $723,000 in police overtime to patrol the tent city protest.

I believe in free speech, but what happened in Dewey Square was ridiculous. The Occupiers should have been removed at the end of the first day–not allowed to set up camp and destroy public property. As a taxpayer, I resent having to finance the activities of people who decided it was their right to camp out on public property at my expense without proper permits or sanitary facilities.

 

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The Problem With RomneyCare

Faneuil Hall circa 1890-1906

Image via Wikipedia

On October 27, the Boston Herald posted an article stating that under RomneyCare, free emergency healthcare for more than 52,000 illegal aliens in Massachusetts cost the Massachusetts taxpayers $35.7 million.

An e-mail from a friend reports:

Because of Andover’s Republican Representative Jim Lyons, the Patrick administration recently divulged the startling news that 55,000 illegal aliens received over $93 million in MassHealth emergency health services last year. Representative Lyons temporarily blocked a supplemental spending bill by refusing to leave the House chamber until the tell-tale numbers were made public.

A study by the Beacon Hill Institute (BHI) study suggests that RomneyCare has not delivered the lowered health care costs we were promised. To the contrary, while extending coverage to most residents, $8 billion of new costs were imposed on the federal government, Commonwealth residents and businesses. In addition, RomneyCare has triggered the loss of 18,000 jobs, and a reduction of disposable income.

This is a difficult issue. I do not want to deny emergency medical care to anyone, whether they are here legally or not. However, we need to find a responsible, cost effective way to deliver that care. RomneyCare is not it.

 

 

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This Actually Might Make Sense Somewhere Other Than New England

Shorter 1980s bicycle

Image via Wikipedia

I live in Massachusetts. Sometimes that is somewhat awkward as I truly hate cold weather. I am an expert at hibernating. My car has heated seats. My house has two pellet stoves. Occasionally I do actually get warm.

Therefore, a story in yesterday’s Boston Herald caught my eye. The story reported that Massachusetts Avenue in Boston will lose about 70 parking spaces in order to make way for a new bicycle lane.

The article reports:

The 71 parking spaces on the northbound side of the busy thoroughfare will be eliminated by year’s end to make way for the new bike lane, with construction possibly starting as early as this week and stretching two-thirds of a mile from Symphony Hall to the Charles River bridge, officials said.

I learned to drive in New Jersey, so I will spare you my comments on Massachusetts drivers, but I will say that finding a parking space in Boston at any time of day or night is a major accomplishment. I understand the desire to get cars out of the city, but I am not sure a bike lane in New England is the answer. We have winters of snow, sleet, and freezing rain. I am not convinced that a bike is even safe in any of those conditions. Public transportation is not totally awful in Massachusetts–there are trains, subways and buses–all of which are used by the state residents. The federal government just financed the Big Dig (costing over over $14.6 billion), which provided more access to and through the city for cars. Why, after all that, are we taking away parking spaces–we should be putting up multiple-story parking lots!

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The Government Does Not Create Jobs

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States Hou...

Image via Wikipedia

The government does not create jobs. If the government is working well, it creates an environment where the private sector can create jobs.

However, some of the rhetoric coming out of Congress right now is amazing. Howie Carr at the Boston Herald posted an article today on some recent statements by Representative Nancy Pelosi on the economy. The article reports some of her statements:

Late last month, at a fund-raiser in her hometown of San Francisco, she discussed those wonderful days of 2007, when the Democrats retook control of the House and raised the minimum wage. It hadn’t been increased for a decade.

“It was kept down for the purpose that people would not be able to live on that. They’d have to borrow against home-equity loans, against their mortgages.”

“They’d have to live on credit cards, and what are they doing when they’re doing that? They’re paying fees to the banks.”

“You wonder, do their children breathe? Do they drink water? Why do they not care? But they don’t. But they don’t.”

“Imagine that they are protecting the tax cuts for top 2 percent, it’s really more higher than that, lower than that, I mean a higher number — percentage of people excluded for who they’re looking out for.”

“And it’s a stunning thing because it’s a few people amassing money that doesn’t really make a difference in their quality of life.”

“What more do they want? They have enough homes, the yacht, ya-da-da-da, the tall masts, the whole thing, they have museum-quality art.”

“They want immortality. They want so much money . . . for prestige they could never get any other way.”

Ms. Pelosi made additional comments today on why the unemployment numbers are low. The Hill reports:

“We cannot afford another 241 days of Republican refusal to pass jobs legislation,” Pelosi said in a statement. “The only plans offered by Republicans have not only failed to create jobs — they actually have destroyed them.” 

I don’t like to confuse things with facts, but the Democrats controlled the House and the Senate up until January of this year. The Democrats still control the Senate and the Republicans do not have the numbers to block any legislation. The Republicans in the House have passed budget and plans for the deficit. The only budget suggested by the Democrats was suggested by the President an voted down unanimously.


 

 

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