The case for Chief Trask

There are some who insist the Mayor has circumvented the system in appointing Steven Trask from acting police chief to police chief. The unions are trying to run Trask out of town by way of a non confidence vote of the chief. Taxpayers should pay no attention to what the unions have to say about the Chief. They hold this town hostage every year in salary negotiations and are the reason why we are forced into arbitration at almost every contract. A few facts are in order. One is that the Mayor and Council could only extend the appointment until Oct 1, per the charter. The Mayor had, (since taking office) plenty of time to change leadership at FPD, but some how was convinced by COO Kezer to hire a PR firm to have an overall looksee at FPD. The PR firm was to give the Mayor a verbal report as of Oct 1. Since the Mayor took so much time deciding what to do at FPD, she forced herself into a corner and had to appoint Trask, since she never went outside to look for any other candidate when she said she would. For that I'm grateful. What our town does not need is another out of towner, male or female, black, brown, yellow, red or white to come in without the necessary knowledge and historical reference of Framingham, to run FPD. Now I'm absolutely sure, there's way more going on behind the scenes that no of us will ever know, but I am sure that Trask is the right guy to lead FPD. The unions are still trying to get even with the administration over a court ruling that sided with FPD, that they (FPD) could reassign someone to another duty.
Some may disagree with the process but that's not going to solve anything at this juncture. Time ran out for the Mayor and she had no choice but to appoint Trask IMO. It might be some what amusing to hear what the 20,000 dollar PR person JFlagg has to say late this month as she has asked for extension.

How big is the OT scandal at the State Police?

It just got bigger. The corruption just doesn't seem to be coming to an end. I think we all know that the unions have unlimited power in this State and we will know shortly how deep and who is behind some of the campaign contributions and who received them. Want to bet that Baker's name comes up? DeLeo and company, I hope Spilka's name is not one of them.
In another bit of good news, the secretary that was convicted of stealing 29K from the State Police will NOT be getting her pension.. hooray.

From the Globe:
The president of the union that represents Massachusetts State Police troopers has resigned amid a federal investigation into possible illegal reimbursement of campaign donations by union members.
Dana Pullman, who led the powerful State Police Association of Massachusetts for six years, stepped down Friday, citing “personal reasons.” Union Vice President Kevin Fredette will take over until a vote for a permanent president takes place next week.
Pullman departs as his union, known by its acronym SPAM, is becoming entangled in the same US attorney’s investigation that has already led to federal charges of overtime abuse against six current and former troopers.

In July, the leader of the overtime probe, Assistant US Attorney Fred Wyshak, subpoenaed all financial records of the union including bank account information, according to someone with firsthand knowledge. He also sought all documents related to political donations made by the 21 members of the union’s executive board.

The Kavanaugh hearing

I was lucky to be able to watch in real time the hearing yesterday. Mrs Ford had me in tears as did Judge Kavanaugh. How we got to this point still confuses me. Aside from what credibility each one has, and I do believe her, the entrenched 2 parties have shown how ugly things are on capital hill. It seems less about any truth, but more about political idealogs digging in their heels. We should be fully vetting anyone at that level of importance. A life time appointment means just that, a Supreme court judge will have lasting effects on our lives way past my check out date.

This whole affair has made the case once again that the two party system we have now is and has not been working for Americans. A President that most Americans don't like or have faith in is out of control and the other side just wants to get even. Excutive orders are now the way the White House does things. We've allowed this to happen by chosing not what is good for the country, but what is good for a party.

The mid term elections could drastically change the make up on Capital Hill which will, either way, either create more dysfunction or crate more dysfunction. In any case Americans will be forced to accept this as they have for the past decade or so.

Democract Gonzalez wants to fire State Police and public saftey leaders

Finally someone is asking Gov Baker to fix the State Police disaster.  A good move on Gonzalez's part as he is facing a well liked Governor in November. Gov Baker's response to the State Police scandal has been tepid at best. Hiring now an outside firm to investigate the matter of overtime fraud. This subject should be a talking point in any upcoming debates. Note, I'm not a fan of either candidates, but something must be down at the highest levels of our State government. Federal prosecutor Leeling is busy indicting State cops and there's more on the horizon IMO. No one at any level wants to take on the State Police in an election year, but this self entitlement attitude of law enforcement must be stopped.

this blog hits 100,000 page veiws

In October of 2008 I started this blog. After taking 2012 and 2013 off, the total page views since 2008 is over 100,000. I want to thank all of you who have stopped by to read what I have written and have commented since 2008. This is the only place one can go and practice the hopes of free speech with no pop up ads, no hall monitors and completely anonymous if one chooses to be.  Hard for even me to imagine, but the numbers don't lie. A few interesting points below:

Pageviews today

39

Pageviews yesterday

81

Pageviews last month

2,271

Pageviews all time history		100,070
Latvia	20
Germany	19
South Korea	10
China	7
India	6
Portugal	3
Russia	3
Brazil                                               2

It's 6 pot shops

Last night's Council meeting was as expected. Grove and her reefer madness got shot down on the moratorium extension, and going to the ballot box to ask voters how many shops there should be in Town. Giombetti ignored me the entire night, nothing new there, but Suze, Bill, Caroline, Mr. Judd and others made a convincing argument for our side.  Kathy McCarthy, Audrey Hall, and Gerry Bloomberg were pushing for a ballot vote, but they too were shot down. What was the second most shocking event came when anti pot Pam Richardson stood up for the voters. I was impressed with her resolve. The most shocking event occurred when our Mayor stood at the mic (at 24:38) and said that she felt the Task Force made up of Police, Fire, BOH, education AND a "Citizen at Large" did their work. There was no appointed citizen at large and she knew that the advocate that was appointed by Giombetti did not advocate at all. Shame on her for twisting the truth and shame on the Council for letting that crucial point die. 

So the number of shops will max out at 6, but with the overlay district, there will be no more than 2 on Rte 9, one east bound and one west. They passed an amendment to allow agriculture for land owners of 15 acres or more.


http://207.172.210.8:5002/cablecast/public-site/index.html#/show/1562?channel=1

Marijuna heals bones? what will they discover next?

A new study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral research reveal some amazing benefits and proven facts about this THC.

https://insighthuman.com/cannabis-heal-brokenbones-new-experiment-confirms/

Researchers from Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University performed this study, according to the study marijuana will heal your broken bones faster and even make the bone stronger.

“We found that CBD alone makes bones stronger during healing, enhancing the maturation of the collagenous matrix, which provides the basis for new mineralization of bone tissue,” researcher Yankel Gabet said. “After being treated with CBD, the healed bone will be harder to break in the future.”

Human Bones contains some special receptors that are literally meant for THC, So marijuana which having primary chemical THC is so effective in treating and increasing bone health. Those Special receptors are called Cannabinoid receptors and they are all throughout your body.

My comments: I know some of you would like to read less about marijuana here.. but I truly feel compelled to share some good medical news from far away. Israel is and has been decades ahead of our country when it comes to marijuana research. Imagine for a moment a few years from now... when dozens of FDA approved drugs (with no side effects) are prescribed for dozens of aliments.
 News Week sums it up nicely from last year.
https://www.newsweek.com/israel-marijuana-research-laws-us-fda-cannabis-706515

POW MIA Recognition Day

The United States’ National POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed across the nation on the third Friday of September each year. The date this year is Friday, September 21^st. Many Americans take the time to remember those who were prisoners of war (POW) and those who are missing in action (MIA), as well as their families.

National POW/MIA Recognition Day is not a federal public holiday in the United States but it is a national observance.

Americans across our country pause to remember the sacrifices and service of those who were prisoners of war, as well as those who are still missing in action, and their families. All military installations fly the National League of Families’ POW/MIA flag, which symbolizes the nation’s remembrance of those who were imprisoned while serving in conflicts and those who remain missing.

Veteran rallies are a part of this national day of recognition, and here in Framingham we will be holding the 2nd annual POW/MIA Recognition Ceremony on Friday, September 21st at our POW/MIA memorial statue at 6pm.  The address for this event is 15 Blandin Ave, Framingham at the MWRTA Station.

There are 1,594 service members nationwide still listed as MIA.  Of those, 39 are from Massachusetts.  We will be honoring each of those brave men, who gave all in service to their country, and will be reading their names and lighting a candle in remembrance for those 39 from Massachusetts.

Speakers for this event include:  Vietnam Veteran Ed Carr

The National League of Families’ POW/MIA flag symbolizes the United States’ resolve to never forget POWs or those who served their country in conflicts and are still missing.
In capital letters on that flag are the words: “You Are Not Forgotten”. Please join us for this solemn and important event as we live up to those words.