Should I run for Selectman?

As you've read, two slots on the BOS are up, Esty and Sisisky. As far as I know, Harold Wolfe is the only person collecting signatures for a run at them, as an independent.

I'm taking a poll to see how our readers feel about the performance of the board and if they are satisfied with the direction they have taken the Town.

My own thoughts are, we've spent to much money, and continue to spend to much money on high priced lawyers and lawsuits, police details, the war on drugs and endless studies. The BOS are, a group of separate egos, running the Town separately, ignoring anyone who is not a supporter, making questionable decisions and not holding the legislature accountable for many of our problems.

Thoughtful rants would be appreciated.

The MBTA, and Solar Power

From the Globe: A Superior court judge ruled this week that an attempt by the 22 labor unions at the T, to block the biggest cost saving measures in transportation reform, which take effect on Jan 1, found the plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits of their complaint.

The bottom line is that the lifetime free health care for retires will end. The Unions are claiming cuts in benefits are unconstitutional and violate existing contracts. While the fight is not over, the 30 million in savings is something we can cheer about next year, if the unions don't get their way.

The 68 million dollar Commonwealth Solar fund, expected to last 3 or 4 years, ran out in October, that translated into 1,200 projects. The new fund, 4 million a year will run for the foreseeable future, according to Mass Department of Energy. Although still very expensive, getting some incentive from the State should help keep the solar industry moving and help homeowners reduce the cost of investment. The utilities are mandated to buy back whatever electricity you don't use.

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree....

For those of you who put your Christmas tree out to be picked up by the Town of Framingham: the week of Jan 11th is the week to put it out with your regular trash. Please do your best to remove all decorations, tinsel, etc and there's no need to bag the tree either.

As an alternative to trashing your tree, try setting it up outside in your yard, it makes good cover for small birds to hide in. Or, chop it up and put it in your compost pile, Or, as I do, burn it in the spring on top of the garden.

Holiday Wishes

Steph and I wish all of you, not matter what political or religious persuasion, the very best of what makes these Holiday's so special, family and friends. Many of us may not have what we had last year or in past years, but whatever circumstances that have been bestowed on us, we will still survive, adapt and overcome and look forward to better days in the near future.

Merry Christmas to all

tax payer bottled water, Mass Pike revenue drops

For those who have heard my rants on the biggest scam to take our money, a non profit group has found that Mass has spent 527,000 dollars on bottled water. Mostly for the 5 gallon jugs. Senior organizer Deborah Lapidus for the Corporate Accountability International says that 'beyond the actual money spent, it's also a question of support for public water systems". Deval has signed an order back in 07 requiring the State to consider environmentally preferable purchasing practices. Out leadership is under water on this I think.

No big surprise here, toll revenue is down. If things continue on this way, it will be twice in 52 years that revenue has gone down along with toll road usage. This means, Mass Pike revenue is down by 8.7 million this year, a drop of 3 %. Mass Pike transactions (every time you pay a toll) is down by 2.5 million.

It doesn't take a PhD to assume that with half a million people are unemployed residents in State, less people are driving to work. But some of the decrease must be attributed to all of us who are trying not to travel the Pike, the price of gas and perhaps cut out wasteful driving.

All well and good, but with that much loss in revenue, especially now with us already 600 mill in the whole for just this year, one has to wonder, when the gas tax will come up. And I'll bet it does very soon, unless Deval does something drastic.

Remembering the homeless who have died

Framingham Street Ministries and the Salvation Army are hosting a memorial service for the homeless who have died in the past year today from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the park on Concord Street across from the Salvation Army.

There will be a donation box for coats, hats, gloves and blankets.

Milk, bread and walking on eggs

For those who may have missed the debate on raw milk sales at Mr. Stephan's farm in Framingham, need not worry. The BOH held two hearings and really did their homework. I was very pleasantly surprised with how well they listened to both sides of the issue and made a reasonable decision, that benefited all the health conscious consumers who buy raw milk now, from far away, and will help the farmer with his income and strong desire to keep farming alive and well here in Framingham. What was at stake was more about our freedom of choice, in my mind, than it was for the safe purchase of raw milk.

The Banking industry is poised to make 500 BILLION dollars in profit this year. The BILLIONS in bonuses are projected to be higher than last year, this time, when our economy was beginning to retract badly. Almost all the big boys who got TARP monies have paid them back, with interest, just so they could avoid any restrictions on bonuses and pay raises. I would suggest that we all work in Banks.

If ever you wanted to see why adult men can't compromise in a joint effort to get things done, just tune into cspan, senate. Two wars, not funded, with just hours left to the dead line, health care, medicare and every other major piece of legislation, are being used as fodder in the egocentric war of parliamentary gadgets deployed to delay, push back and ignore any attempts at making a decision on anything. Both sides seem to be equally culpable. This must be a genetic thing, something in their DNA makes them act like children in a sand box with one toy. The two parties should hang their heads in shame and while something might happen before Christmas, it almost seems like, The R's are hoping to take these debates into 2010, just in time for the elections, when millions of dollars will be pumped into both sides by those who are for change and those would don't want any and accomplish just what they have already.... not much.

Senator Galluccio and other offenders

Not that I want to kick a man when he's down, but Today the Cambridge Senator will spend the next six months in home confinement where he can’t touch a drop of booze, but will still be able to attend formal Senate sessions, according to the Herald.

He pleaded guilty this morning to an Oct. 4 hit-and-run accident that injured two people, including a 13-year-old boy.
Under the sentence Nestor handed down, Galluccio also loses his license for five years, must abstain from driving, abstain from alcohol, submit to random drug screenings and pay a $1,000 fine.
Galluccio will be allowed to leave his home to attend formal sessions of the Senate or take a vote and attend church services on Sunday morning with his mother.
Nestor rejected a request from Galluccio’s lawyers to let him attend State House committee and constituent meetings.
“When I mean home confinement, I really mean home confinement,” Nestor said.
“This is a person who should be put to a higher standard,” said Ham. “I am asking for a tough and reasonable sentence because of who he is.”
Galluccio agreed.
“I agree with the Commonwealth. I am held to a higher responsibility,” he said. “I should be held to a higher responsibility.”

The question is... will he resign or asked to leave?

The an accused child rapist’s two-page rap sheet and history of defaults did not stop a district court judge from setting a low $10,000 bail in August - even though the suspect’s own lawyer never objected to the $200,000 bail prosecutors requested, a courtroom audiotape reveals. I won't go into all the gory details, other to say, what the hell was that judge thinking? This case reveals what everyone recognizes as a problem, and yet, nothing is done. IF, this accused rapist had not made bail, another child would have not been harmed, it's that simple. Drug offenders are usually held with extremely high bail, but not a suspected child rapist. They're ought to be a bounty on their heads.

Good news from the Fed

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve has decided to hold interest rates at a record low and pledged to keep them there for an "extended period" to keep the recovery going and drive down double-digit unemployment.

A huge relief for those of us who have adjustable rate mortgages due to expire Jan 1, 2010. This move will also help home sales and new credit card applications.

The Education Bill.... and what was taken out

Thanks to the Teachers Union, a provision to allow superintendent to fire a teacher at a failing school, regardless of job performance was taken out of the bill. The watered down bill now goes to the House where it has already been labeled a bad bill and will do nothing to help the failing schools. Not since 1993 has the State had any changes to the way education of our children is being done. Keep in mind, that we (Mass) has only a few weeks left to get our act together to qualify for the Fed's 250 million in stimulus money. The Unions will also fight an amendment baring Towns from setting up charter schools without union approval.

While I don't think tax dollars should be taken away from primary schools, only to fund charter schools, I do think there needs to be some way of measuring the performance of the teachers in failing schools. I do believe it's more social economic related in many areas of our state, but to not be held to some standard, like the rest of the working class, doesn't seem fair. It's estimated that there will be 300 and 400 amendments the House will have to contend with on this one bill. All this.. .while they are on vacation. Down to the wire is what we will see, just like the Fed's with Health Care Reform now, a mad dash by the unions and their lobbyists to buy their way out of reasonable legislation that helps the masses.

Tax rates in Framingham, DeLeo blinks, H1 vaccine recall

If anyone was watching the poorly produced Selectman's meeting last night, you saw they approved hiking our taxes to the limit of prop 2 1/2. Homeowner rates will increase by 1.70 for 2010, making our rate increase about 248.00 a year more. Business took the whack harder again this year with an increase of 4.23. Business pays 43% of the total tax levy while commercial property accounts for 24% of the tax base.

Selectman were saying they liked the idea of encouraging resident input into the tax process in hopes of finding ways to cut tax rates, which would encourage commercial growth. More placating and no clear vision on how to trim expenses.

Mr Speaker has agreed to an audit... but the auditor is not an outsider. The 4 reps who have pushed for this audit are still holding up house business and hopefully, they will not blink. We can no longer trust any insider to account for anything, especially how our money is being spent.

For those of you who had concerns over the testing of H1 vaccine, take heart, you were rightfully concerned. We learn today that 700,000 doses are not as effective in strength as once thought. And.. they don't know why. The short of it is now, if your child had been given the recalled vaccine, there's no need to get another shot, according to the CDC.

The plots thicken on the Hill

So... we now have 4 house reps who will block any action on the Hill unless Deloe fesses up and accounts for the 378,000 in legal fees (our tax dollars) which are being paid to lawyers to defend DIMasi. These four reps, who supported John Rogers as speaker last year have requested an independent, outside audit of the fees charged by the attorneys. So far, 30 members of the house have meet and are questioning DeLeos lack of planning and goal setting.

By last night, DeLeo aides circulated a letter that accompanied a subpoena for House records from the US attorney. The letter said, “You are hereby requested not to disclose the existence of this subpoena,’’ and aides implied they were not releasing details of the legal bills because it would provide details of the subpoenas. The letter, though, stated they were not required to comply with the request.

The dissension is expected to continue today. Representative Matthew Patrick, Democrat of Falmouth, said he would introduce another order today and vowed to shut the House session down if he cannot get a vote. Under the rule, any member can block action when the Legislature meets in informal session.

Look for this to take down DeLeo very soon as he leaves the State House for other opportunities in State government.

The Patrick administration filled more than 1,300 state jobs this year - including a librarian for cons, a painter for hospitals and a “game biologist” - in a hiring frenzy that has watchdogs questioning whether the governor has a tight grip on hiring in the face of a dire fiscal crisis.

A Herald payroll analysis also indicates scores of the lucky job-seekers also gave generously to Gov. Deval Patrick’s election campaign.

The hiring flurry is alarming state budget observers who slammed the governor for dishing out plum posts - including 20 that carry salaries of $100,000 or more - with no apparent rhyme or reason.

The list of new hires obtained by the Herald shows jobs spread out across executive offices:
# A $78,000-a-year teacher and a $47,400-a-year librarian for the Department of Correction, two of 200 prison employees hired;
# A $31,000-a-year painter for the Department of Public Health, which also added a physician specialist for $210,500 - the top-paid hire this year;
# A $44,307-a-year game biologist for the Department of Fish and Game;
# And a $206,000-a-year commissioner of higher education and a $117,000 elementary education administrator.

In all, the state has added $46 million in new hires from January to November, the Herald review shows.

The governor’s aides defended their actions, noting that the administration has since laid off 236 of the recent hires.

Pay as you go.. with Deval. What is he thinking?


A state investigation has concluded that staff engaged in “pervasive, systemic cheating’’ on MCAS tests at a Springfield charter school where scores skyrocketed last spring, the state’s commissioner of elementary and secondary education said yesterday.

Another black eye for the MCAS supporters.

A Scientifically compiled Ranking of Drugs

From the Globe: The top drug adviser for the UK, Dr. David Nutt, who was fired in October for stating in a lecture, that "alcohol is more hazardous than many outlawed substances, and that the UK might be making a mistake in throwing marijuana smokers in jail". His comments are based on a scientifically ranking of drugs from experts in chemistry, health and enforcement, which was already published in a prestigious medical journal two years earlier.

The graph that they refer to.. I can't cut and paste on the blog. If you wish to see it, you may be able to get at it from, http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/12/13/you_cant_handle_the_truth/?page=1

The British study compared the harmfulness of 20 substances, rating physical harm, risk of dependency and social costs. The short of the graph is that Heroin is the top ranked hazardous drug, followed by cocaine, barbiturates, street methadone, ALCOHOL, ketamine, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, TOBACCO, buprenorphine, CANNABIS, solvents, 4-MTA, LSD, methylphenidate, anabolic steroids, GHB, ecstasy, alkyl nitrites, khat.

The list, printed as a chart with the unassuming title “Mean Harm Scores for 20 Substances,” ranked a set of common drugs, both legal and illegal, in order of their harmfulness - how addictive they were, how physically damaging, and how much they threatened society. Many drug specialists now consider it one of the most objective sources available on the actual harmfulness of different substances.

That ranking showed, with numbers, what Nutt was fired for saying out loud: Overall, alcohol is far worse than many illegal drugs. So is tobacco. Smoking pot is less harmful than drinking, and LSD is less damaging yet.

British law allows up to five years imprisonment for marijuana possession, a penalty Nutt called “infantile and embarrassing.” McLellan, the White House drug adviser, echoed him, saying jailing pot smokers “is idiocy, a really bad use of resources.”

This type of honest, scientifically based information will be shunned by the drug warriors, but anyone who has witnessed drunks in the past would know, alcohol abuse is doing more damage to society, than pot would ever do. And now... for the first time since the early days of the start of the war on marijuana, our government is taking steps to end it.

It's official, State Reps work part time

News of newly elected mayor of Lawrence, State Rep. Willie Lantigua, will not be leaving the State House to be a full time mayor, at 100,000 a year, but that will be above his already full time pay of 61k as a State Rep.

The bigger news for the working class in this State is that on TV the other day, the Mayor/State Rep Lantigua, when asked how he would do both jobs? his reply was that the State Rep's job is PART TIME at best.... Ladies and gentlemen.... we finally have validation of what everyone in this State already knows, State Reps are part time positions with full time pay. Now it will be very interesting next year, when the mantra of the ruling elite here in Framingham, who have for decades proclaimed that this Town needs full time representation at the State House, watches one of their own be a full time Mayor of a big dying city.

I wish him well in both endeavors as his road is uphill, gravel and filled with pot holes, but will make the case for part time legislators if he succeeds in being a mayor at the same time.

Feds target iIlegal Immigrants with criminal pasts

A sore subject that continues to make us all crazy, illegal immigrants who are known criminals who continue to hurt people. From the WSJ, In Calif, the feds in the largest crackdown ever conducted by the feds, rounded up 300 foreign nationals, of which over 200 were previously convicted in the US for rape, armed robbery and other serious crimes. Only six of the 286 individuals arrested didn't have a formal criminal conviction according the ICE chief John Morton. There are 104 fugitive-operations teams across the country. Obama wants to focus on employers rather than whole sale raids on the employees themselves... and I couldn't agree more. Targeting those who are here illegally and have violated the rules on this ground should be sent back to where they come from, never to return.

The shifty Coakley

Our AG is asking for ALL candidates to be included in the upcoming debates.... to include our friend Joe Kennedy, going so far as to suggest, she won't agree to any if Mr. Kennedy is not included. He's the only other candidate, other than Brown on the ballot.

Now... this sounds like a good thing for the working people and Coakley stops short of saying if she would not do all 8 debates if Kennedy were not included... but consider this, as the Globe points out, the AG is recognizing Joe's ability to get on the ballot, saying "if people can get the votes and get the support, they're allowed to get their message out to voters, he has done what Mass says he needs to do to be on the ballot, in that sense he put's himself out as a candidate.

But consider this,Coakley refused to debate a R opponent in the 2006 race for AG, saying "until he says something true or worth debating, I'm not going to waste my time. Now, having run in a race where the D refused to debate me and have watched other D's mostly refuse to come out of their caves to debate, I think a case could be made for strategy on Coakleys part.

With three candidates on the ballot, the anyone but Martha voters .. might pick Kennedy over Brown. Jeo Kennedy's positions makes Brown's differences look pale and those who couldn't stomach voting for either, for hundreds of good reasons, help Coakley in the end. The media has also denied or marginalized anyone who is not a D or an R in the past and has not included Joe Kennedy in the upcoming debate on Jan 11 at the Ed Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. A consortium of the Boston Globe, NECH, WGBH, and WBUR did the invites and if they decide NOT to include Jep Kennedy, I say, they are a major part of voter disinterest and ruling elitism that dominates the working class.

In the entire piece in the Globe, almost half page, he has 20 lines of speech, the rest is all about Coakley and a smigant of Brown, but little that meant anything at all.

Mr Kennedy on Dec 7th turned in 13k in signatures... I applaud his effort and has my vote. http://www.joekennedyforsenate.com/

Got medical insurance?

Well if you don't, you're in the minority in this State. More than 96% of you have it, while last year, 45,000 tax filers did not and paid a fine of 76 dollars a month for every month you didn't have insurance. This year, the fine goes to 89.00 per month for 2009.

Based on a sliding scale matched to your income is how they figure you can pay for it. Around 8,000 people have appealed their fines based on hardship. With so many losing their jobs, over 500,000 so far this year, I can't imagine how many will end up paying a fine for not having health insurance at tax time in April.

It's not to late to get insurance... but it will cost you. You can get a quick quote from Commonwealth Connector, (on the web)

DiMasi.. and others cost our State dearly

The House has paid attorneys representing DiMasi around 378,000 according to the Globe. He even picked the law firm just days before he resigned. Only one Rep has called attention to this latest little secret buried away in the budget.

The 17 year veteran firefighter who was beaten badly by rouge cops who tired to cover up their pitiful actions during his arrest last year, will sue the City of Boston, the cops who beat him on civil rights violations. The firefighter was acquitted of all charges that were leveled against him, resisting arrest, etc etc. The firefighter in black of coarse

Thanks to a drug case here in Mass, the Supreme Court has ruled that defendants in drug and gun cases, should be able to cross examine the states forensic experts. Up to now, prosecutors just present evidence without the defendant being able to cross examine. A dozen or so drug and gun cases have already been overturned and I'll bet, many of the 46,000 drug cases in just 2007, will be appealed. I'm not a lawyer, but I wonder why no one has brought this up before. And in the end, it will cost us big bucks and as we already know, the forensic people have not enough time to have DNA samples tested, let alone, a few grams of coke or pot.

Who replaces who?

Now that the D's have picked their best candidate for Ted's chair, all kinds of sickening things will happen here in Mass. When she leaves for Washington, the House and Senate get to pick her replacement, by secret ballot. Secretary Galvin wins and is appointed to the AG's office, DeLeo takes his place as secretary... That means a new Speaker has to be elected, or Senate Pres Murray may not call a joint legislative session, which will leave the AG position open for the next in line David Freidman. A handful of D's are circling the wagon to run for her seat as are a few R's.

The down and dirty of Massachusetts politics will be at hand come Jan 19th when Coakley wins and leaves the State. None of which, will help anyone in the State, excluding the ruling elite, as they always come out on top. Look for this subject to dominate an otherwise boring polictical winter.

The R's go at it on GBH

The only televised debate between Brown and Robinson was on last night with Emily Rooney on GBH. There are stark differences in the hard left in Brown, and the moderate middle of fiscal conservativeness of Robinson. I agreed with Brown on just two points: one is that Deval is holding back on stimulus money to shovel ready projects to boost his re election efforts for 2010 and the other was to get that money out there now, as it was intended. Brown's opposition to Cape Wind is a killer for me, but he seemed well informed on all the subjects in Washington. Brown's condescending attitude towards Robinson was clear and doesn't play well in Peoria.

Robinson was clearly prepared to stand somewhere near the left center and would even agree with him when he made a point of trying to enter into a dialogue with the Tali bin. His historical points of reference seem to be true, when talking about Afghanistan, the war and tax cuts. He makes more sense to me.. than the hard left of the ticket.

The obvious media snubbing of the R's is shameful and does not bode well for increasing voter interest. They are.. in essence, controlling our choices...that narrows our exposure to what might well be better for us in the long run, but they know better than we I guess.

Voting in the Primary tomorrow

OK.. it's here. Time to pick your horse.... for the race to Washington. Regardless of the predicted low voter turn out and the wishful thinking of the ruling party elitists that the race is won by you know who, your vote, no matter the candidate, shows that you do indeed care about the process. Places around here are open from 7AM to 8PM. What would the talking heads say if the dark horse, Kazi were to upset the applecart, after all, he's the only candidate who publicly says he won't take pac or lobbyists money.

-Hemenway School, located at 729 Water St., for Precinct 1.

-Potter Road School, located at 492 Potter Road, for Precinct 2.

-George P. King School, located at 454 Water St., for Precincts 3 and 5.

-Brophy School, located at 575 Pleasant St., for Precincts 4 and 7.

-Juniper Hill School, located at 29 Upper Joclyn Avenue, for Precincts 6 and 9.

-McCarthy School, located at 8 Flagg Drive, for Precincts 8 and 13.

-Keefe Tech, located at 750 Winter St., for Precincts 10 and 11.

-Memorial Building, located at 150 Concord St., for Precincts 12 and 14.

-St. Tarcisius Parish Center, located at 562 Waverley St., for Precincts 15 and 18.

- Woodrow Wilson School, located at 169 Leland St., for Precincts 16 and 17.

Freedom and political correctness in Homeowners Associations

A nation wide correctness has engulfed those ruling elitists who have made by laws to limit ones freedom of expression. In Virginia, a homeowners association has given an extra week to a man, who is 90 years old, a Medal of Honor recipient, who has fought in THREE wars, WW11, Korea and Vietnam. Col Van T. Barfoot erected a 21 foot flag pole and flies his stars and stripes and has been told to take it down or face legal action.

Col Barfoot is quoted as saying, there's never been a day in my life or a place I've lived in my life that you couldn't fly the Amercian Flag".

We saw this very same action from a homeowners association here in Mass last year, when an elderly women was told she couldn't display her stars and stripes on her front porch.

Take away the symbol that millions have went to war over, have died over and families cry over and you have lost the war. Displaying or flying the Stars and Stripes should be exempt from all homeowner associations and their unpatriotic nonsense.

Facts on the Beacon Hill furlough

As Deval wrestles with the House and Senate on whether to come back and get some things done at the Sate House, Speaker Deleo has issued a statement to the House Reps about the mandated furlough. He has asked all 160 members to take 5 unpaid days off, starting now through June of 2010. The Speaker suggests this move would save 620,000 dollars and avoid more lay offs at the State House.

In the speakers memo, he asks for the furloughs to be voluntary, as under state law, they are not required to do so. The memo states that, "under a constitutional amendment passed by voter referendum, legislators salaries are tied to Mass median household income and CANNOT be involuntarily altered".

The facts: According to the Secretary of the State, legislators have always been able to voluntarily choose to take as many unpaid days as they want, without any furlough program in place, as long as they file the necessary paperwork before June 30, 2010.

As of Dec 3, 139 Reps have opted to take a 5 day furlough, 21 have not. 20 D's and 1 R. Richardson, Sannicandro and Linsky have agreed to take the furlough, which means they will loose 1,100.00 out of the 58K plus they draw as a salary.

This move is more about politics than anything else. Deval wants increased power to cut their salaries, to help balance the budget, but DeLeo and Murray are not having it.... making us believe that 5 days off without pay is all the House can do, when in reality, they all need to be paid a part time salary without the perks. At very least, a 20% cut in pay would be in order, considering, there are 507,000 unemployed residents in Mass out of a work force of 3.1 million.

Tax collections up in Mass, Mortgage rates at all time low

We are experiencing a slight bump up in tax revenue here in Mass in November.... 33 million over the same time period last year. Before you run into the streets, keep in mind, in this current fiscal year, we are still down 369 million and may go higher in January when we stop buying for the holidays.

And if there is anyone looking to buy a house now....the rate 4.71% is the lowest since 1971. This rate reduction is the feds way of trying to keep the housing market going. Great idea...

Now if they can only help the millions who may loose their home starting Jan 1 of 2010.

More details on the 2 mill scam at the probation department.

So we learn today from the Globe, as far back as 2006, auditors knew something was amiss. While the shear amount of money stolen is beyond my comprehension, for a low level court clerk to steal in front of everyone, it is now dawning on everyone, that much of her stolen proceeds MAY have come from people who pay their fines in cash AND raises seriuos questions on how the department could function with such a large amount of money, NOT going to their budgets. Based on the 30 trips the defendant has made to the Dominican Republic, much of the money stolen has ended up there.

There is also a reasonable idea coming from the very same department, that some of the fine payers have paid extra in late fees or even prosecution.

Someone at the very top of our State government, should demand a complete audit of the entire Probation AND Department of Correction. This type of behavior may be wide spread in these departments and those who are letting this happen, should be prosecuted.

Wind, Full disclosure and Walmart

So the good news is, on the Cape Wind project, National Grid has agreed to buy the electricity generated from the turbines of of Cape Cod.... this is huge folks and should help move the project forward.

It is revealed today that at lease 7 of the 21 companies awarded stimulus money in Mass have failed to report, as the State requires, serious pollution or workplace safety penalties levied against them. The Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University has done the investigating. Prior violations do not dis qualify contractors from receiving the funds, but clearly, those companies who have neglected to be honest with their paperwork will be looked at by the AG's office for possible fraud charges. As we know from past posts, the State was directed to make sure the stimulus money went to fully vetted companies who have complied with ALL the reporting requirements. The lack of oversight in just this matter... is just what many of you have written about all along.... and you were right.

Walmart wins some.. and losses some. Last week in Canada, their supreme court ruled in Wally's favor in closing a store because of Union activity... but the world's largest retailer has agreed to pay 40 million in wages to 87,500 current and past employees in our State, in this states largest wage and hourly class action suite, filed in 2001. In the suite, Walmart is accused of denying workers rest and meal breaks, refusing to pay overtime and manipulating time cards to lower employees pay. Employers across the State should take notice from this as it appears that they are seriuos about violating workers rights and will eventually make the violator pay.

Put the DOC on probation

We learn today from the Globe that the budget for correction agencies has increased over the past ten years and is now larger than higher education, social services and public health. The 1.2 billion spent this year to incarcerate 11,000 in state prisons and 14,000 in local jails. All this while the number of inmates has not significantly increased. It is estimated that around 10,000 inmates are non violent drug offenders.

A probation employee was busted last week for selling OxyContin in a school and park zone. Her man was also arrested and charged with 12 counts of distribution.

Details of a probation officer on the North Shore are still coming in, but it appears that an employee has been charged with embezzling 2 million from the probation department... more to follow

Framingham will NOT be getting any money from the State, as it has in past years, for hosting the woman's prison here in Framingham. In past years, it's been around 75,000.

The entire system needs to be put on probation. Agencies should be forced into accounting for every freaking dollar.

The D's debate on 5..... more war after that

I hope some of you caught last night's love in on Channel 5. Nothing really seperated them from each other in answering the questions by the long winded Harding, one question from Mr. Holmes to AG Coakley about question 2 and her stance on it, was very revealing. Her typical "reefer madness" response was so out of touch with our state's voter approved ballot question of last year, one (even her blind supporters) would have to wonder what else she would stand against, based on no facts and her own foolish bias. The drug war IS coming to an end in this country and it IS coming from the top.. down. Like many of the needed reforms in this country that the president and his cabinet are faced with now, most intelligent voters understand that the drug war has not produced any positive results over the decades other than increasing our prison population.

And just a few minutes later, President Obama outlines his plan for more troops in Afghanistan. 30 billion a year, for the next three years, which is a part of the total war expenses of 90 BILLION a year we are spending now with both wars running. For me, hearing Obama use the very same worn out and questionable Bush and Cheeny excuses why we must be there and for how long just boils my blood. The money we will spend on building... not rebuilding as we are so famous for, after we destroy a country, is beyond my comprehension, with so many threats to our own survival here in the States to deal with.

The military complex and all it's suppliers will be happy over his decision, but as the body count climbs, this year and the next few, I have to wonder, how many parents, wives, children and friends of those lost in a place that even God wouldn't vacation at, with NO assets what so ever, that anyone wants, except poppi, will think it was worth the price. Damm the SOB's who first got us into this mess to begin with.