Um, maybe you'd like to move to my hometown in western Pennsylvania where my mom still lives. A few years ago all the residents received a notice saying the town was building a new sewer system and everyone using a septic system was required to hook up to it, at a cost of $15,000 per household. There was a public outcry where everyone demanded a meeting with the town council. My mom attended and told me how a number of older residents came to the microphone and told the members of the board that they can't afford this. Do you know what the respone was? "If you don't like it, move." Nice, huh? My mom's neighbor, a 73 year old widow, had to cough up $30K because she owned an empty lot across the street. I called my town hall here in Mass and told them that story and asked if it would happen here, she said heavens NO, that would require a vote from the residents — heck, a vote is required just to pass an override to raise property taxes (my poor mum just gets a bill in the mail). But yeah, the grass is always greener...
And vote they do. Property taxes in Massachusetts have soared in the past decade, despite Cadillac Deval's campaign promise to lower them. If you live in Boston, at least you get proper city services. In small towns like mine, we are laying off so many of our public employees that we can no longer guarantee police and EMT service 24/7. If your poor mum lived in my town, she might not get an answer on the other end of her 911 call. Good that your mum doesn't live there, but my 76 year old mum does, and I worry about her.
Um, maybe you'd like to move to my hometown in western Pennsylvania where my mom still lives. A few years ago all the residents received a notice saying the town was building a new sewer system and everyone using a septic system was required to hook up to it, at a cost of $15,000 per household. There was a public outcry where everyone demanded a meeting with the town council. My mom attended and told me how a number of older residents came to the microphone and told the members of the board that they can't afford this. Do you know what the respone was? "If you don't like it, move." Nice, huh? My mom's neighbor, a 73 year old widow, had to cough up $30K because she owned an empty lot across the street. I called my town hall here in Mass and told them that story and asked if it would happen here, she said heavens NO, that would require a vote from the residents — heck, a vote is required just to pass an override to raise property taxes (my poor mum just gets a bill in the mail). But yeah, the grass is always greener...
The corrupt family tree, led of course by the "corrupt Midget" former Senate President William "Billy" Bulger (yes, brother of notorious FBI Most Wanted Whitey Bulger).
Location: Auckland, New Zealand (former Boston native and Atlanta transplant) Gender:
Posted:
Dec 2, 2010 - 10:04pm
BasmntMadman wrote:
All this stuff comes from the Boston Herald. Yeah, I know...the only paper in MA that's fearless enough to expose the awful corruption...
It's odd that such awful government should exist in a land of such incredibly intelligent, highly educated people. After all, there's Harvard and MIT in MA, not to mention a slew of prep schools and lesser, but still excellent, universities. Plus, there's that Protestant Work Ethic, and all that cultural residue from the Puritans, not to mention all that depressing Calvinist crap.
Certainly superior to those of us below the Mason Dixon line, who indolently loll around drinking our mint juleps, watching the field hands in the cotton fields, every now and then enjoying a good football game or war for sport and culture. Oh, I've caught the Northeastern attitude towards the South, believe me.
And now you say that Massachusettsians are incapable of selecting decent leaders, uncritically in the thrall of a political machine? Huh...what a bunch of dummies.
All this stuff comes from the Boston Herald. Yeah, I know...the only paper in MA that's fearless enough to expose the awful corruption...
It's odd that such awful government should exist in a land of such incredibly intelligent, highly educated people. After all, there's Harvard and MIT in MA, not to mention a slew of prep schools and lesser, but still excellent, universities. Plus, there's that Protestant Work Ethic, and all that cultural residue from the Puritans, not to mention all that depressing Calvinist crap.
Certainly superior to those of us below the Mason Dixon line, who indolently loll around drinking our mint juleps, watching the field hands in the cotton fields, every now and then enjoying a good football game or war for sport and culture. Oh, I've caught the Northeastern attitude towards the South, believe me.
And now you say that Massachusettsians are incapable of selecting decent leaders, uncritically in the thrall of a political machine? Huh...what a bunch of dummies.
If you noticed, I posted an editorial from the Boston Globe here and the article about election fraud comes from the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, a Massachusetts newspaper owned by the company that owns the NY Times. Neither of these papers are known for conservative bias.
Because you don't live in Massachusetts, I can forgive you for only knowing the state for being the home of MIT and Harvard. True, these are great institutions, but we don't elect anyone from their faculty to run our state government. At least not in great numbers.
What you say about North/South attitudes don't seem relevent to the discussion, as there was no Mason Dixon comparison anywhere in the articles, but I guess that was your own personal perspective.
All this stuff comes from the Boston Herald. Yeah, I know...the only paper in MA that's fearless enough to expose the awful corruption...
It's odd that such awful government should exist in a land of such incredibly intelligent, highly educated people. After all, there's Harvard and MIT in MA, not to mention a slew of prep schools and lesser, but still excellent, universities. Plus, there's that Protestant Work Ethic, and all that cultural residue from the Puritans, not to mention all that depressing Calvinist crap.
Certainly superior to those of us below the Mason Dixon line, who indolently loll around drinking our mint juleps, watching the field hands in the cotton fields, every now and then enjoying a good football game or war for sport and culture. Oh, I've caught the Northeastern attitude towards the South, believe me.
And now you say that Massachusettsians are incapable of selecting decent leaders, uncritically in the thrall of a political machine? Huh...what a bunch of dummies.
However, the good news is that over the past several elections, my county has turned from traditional blue to red. The state rep seat that I ran for four years ago went to a Republican.
It seems like the rich Dems in the cities and affluent suburbs are dictating our political leadership, but not forever. We gained seats in the state legislature and we'll eventually turn the place red. With bankrupt leadership from Deval and Co., it won't take that long.
Hopefully, the opposite will happen here in SC. The state has been in a steady decline economically, even when compared with other states, for years now. Historically, SC had low unemployment (it's a right-to-work state with no unions, and with a lot of international companies having locations here); however, the state's unemployment is now pushing 11%, well over the national average. The Republicans in charge (both the joke-of-a-Governor Mark Sanford and the GOP-controlled state congress) has done nothing for years to try and combat the problems, yet the state continues to vote straight-party GOP every election. As The Who said, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss", I guess.
That is what I get. If he actually succeeds in doing anything other than being a pompous ass, I'll be surprised. Of course we have party-line nobs in the Wyoming delegation who get re-elected year after year when all they do is vote the way the party tells them to. I cannot see where any of them do any work in committee or on the floor that justifies the expense of sending a warm body there.
Of course, on the pompous ass scale, John Kerry makes Scott Brown look like Gandhi. I have met and spent time with both of them, and can tell you that Kerry deserves all of the media negativity about his personality, for it is accurate. He is a rich lord of the manor, and the rest of us peasant taxpayers are his servants.
Scott {Brown} {} is a pompous ass (I don't like him personally)
That is what I get. If he actually succeeds in doing anything other than being a pompous ass, I'll be surprised. Of course we have party-line nobs in the Wyoming delegation who get re-elected year after year when all they do is vote the way the party tells them to. I cannot see where any of them do any work in committee or on the floor that justifies the expense of sending a warm body there.
He is the most real thing coming from Massachusetts since the 2004 Red Sox.
He is one of the few elected officials that we have that we don't think will steal us blind and/or get indicted.
Scott is a pompous ass (I don't like him personally), but he is an honest man and that is a commodity of short supply in Massachusetts these days. I would not share a beer with him but I would trust him with my vote in Congress. Ted Kennedy, on the other hand, is someone that I would have loved to party with but would not be able to trust my hard earned pay to.
Laugh all you want. My friends and neighbors back home in Massachusetts are trying to do everything they can to get out. It is a sinking ship. Go there and you will see. Please tell me if I have the facts wrong on any of these stories and prove the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald wrong. The corruption is there and cannot be denied.
Laugh all you want. My friends and neighbors back home in Massachusetts are trying to do everything they can to get out. It is a sinking ship. Go there and you will see. Please tell me if I have the facts wrong on any of these stories and prove the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald wrong. The corruption is there and cannot be denied.
Here is an example of how a corrupt regime perpetuates itself. "Activist groups" manipulate elections in their own favor. Where is Jimmy Carter (who monitors elections and exposes election fraud abroad) when you need him??
Voter fraud charges alleged Activist group singled out By Nick Kotsopoulos TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF nkotsopoulos@telegram.com
WORCESTER - Poll observers who worked city precincts during the Nov. 2 state election have brought the Election Commission a number of allegations of voter fraud they said they witnessed at the polls.
In sworn affidavits presented to the commission last night, most of their allegations were leveled against the community activist group Neighbor to Neighbor. The poll observers said they repeatedly saw representatives of the group accompanying people into voting booths and telling them how to vote.
In some instances, they said Neighbor to Neighbor representatives actually went so far as to fill out the ballot for the person they accompanied. .
Neighbor to Neighbor workers also were seen bringing pre-marked sample ballots to the polls that told people they brought what address to give poll workers and whom to vote for, according to the affidavits.
The poll observers contend that wardens at polling sites allowed the activity to go on in many instances, despite objections they had raised. They complained that they received little cooperation from wardens when they tried bringing alleged irregularities to their attention.
Questions also were raised about the need for Spanish interpreters, provided by Neighbor to Neighbor, who accompanied voters into voting booths, since the city has had bilingual ballots since 2001.
Other irregularities brought to the Election Commission centered on voter rolls used at the precincts. The observers said voter registration rolls did not appear up to date and "inaccurate beyond a reasonable amount," as there were many duplicate registrations with some people registered to vote in two or more precincts.
The alleged voter fraud incidents were witnessed at Ward 4, Precinct 3 (Belmont Tower); Ward 8, Precinct 1 (Code Enforcement Department, 25 Meade St.); and Ward 8, Precinct 4 (Webster Square Towers).
Desiree Awiszio, volunteer deputy campaign manager for Republican Martin A. Lamb in his failed bid for the 3rd Congressional seat, said poll observers at two other precincts also witnessed similar alleged irregularities, but those people did not have time to provide affidavits for last night's commission meeting.
"Neighbor to Neighbor does this all the time; it's a very well orchestrated campaign," said Ms. Awiszio, who coordinated the gathering of affidavits on behalf of the poll observers. "What happened at these precincts in Worcester is illegal and needs to be addressed."
Ms. Awiszio, who recruited 200 campaign poll observers on behalf of Mr. Lamb to staff precincts in Worcester, Fall River, Attleboro and Marlboro, went so far as to allege that the Neighbor to Neighbor people worked in concert with some election wardens and poll workers - an allegation to which City Clerk David J. Rushford took strong exception.
"There was no conspiracy in Worcester involving our poll workers and any active organization," Mr. Rushford said. "Our poll workers are a group of very hard working, dedicated people. In any kind of large operation, there is going to be some problems that need to be corrected. I can assure you there was no conspiracy between our poll workers and Neighbor to Neighbor. Our poll workers were not in on it.
"I am very proud of our election operation," he added. "It is very open and can stand up to criticism. This is the first time we heard about many of these allegations. They are very concerning to us and certainly are not standard operating procedure at our precincts."
Election Commission members said they will refer the 12 pages of allegations to the secretary of state's office for review. They said they also will ask for clarification on the issue of "assistance to voters."
Neighbor to Neighbor describes itself as "a progressive organization of working class, multiracial and multi-ethnic people working together to build political and economic power to improve the quality of lives in our communities."
On its website, Neighbor to Neighbor states it has 93,000 contacts with voters statewide.
"N2N was out in force knocking on thousands of doors and making thousands of calls to voters in neighborhoods in Lynn, Salem, Worcester, Springfield and Holyoke," the website says. "As a result, turnout was high in virtually every one of our target precincts and many new voters got to the polls to vote for the first time."
In a sworn affidavit, Jeffrey Rosenberg of Southboro said he witnessed Neighbor to Neighbor representatives, wearing T-shirts identifying themselves with the group, bringing people to his polling site (Belmont Tower) in vans in groups of four to 10.
"(A Neighbor to Neighbor representative) was going to the (voting booth) and helping them to vote and-or actually voting for them," Mr. Rosenberg testified. "She pointed and spoke ‘this one, check here' and she actually carried in a (sample) ballot marked ‘you vote here ... address' and it was filled out with the choices they should make. On more than one occasion the warden had to say ‘you cannot vote for them,' ‘no speaking to the poll observers.' I objected many times."
Mr. Rosenberg said he also overheard people who had entered his polling site with a Neighbor to Neighbor representative say that they had been brought in from a food pantry, and after voting would be given a meal.
"In another affidavit, Cecelia DelGaudio of Hopkinton, who observed the voting at Ward 8, Precinct 1, said she saw several people from Neighbor to Neighbor fill out ballots for voters.
"Voters were telling me they got a call from Neighbor to Neighbor and they didn't know what to do; at least 20 people over the course of the day were shown extensively how to vote by either the warden or one of those Neighbor to Neighbor individuals," she testified in her affidavit.
Ms. DelGaudio said she also witnessed several instances when people were either unsure of their residence or didn't know it all together when asked by poll workers. She said several voters gave their address as 701 Main St., which is the People In Peril shelter.
"Many people came in saying things like ‘I think this is where I vote. I got the call so here I am, but I don't know what to do," Ms. DelGaudio testified. "The warden often took them down the end of the poll booths and helped them extensively, pointing to areas on the ballot."
Mr. Rushford said voters are allowed to have people accompany them into the voting booth. He said nothing can be done as long as the voter does not object to the assistance of that person. But Ms. Awiszio contends that those voters did not solicit the assistance, but rather it was offered to them by Neighbor to Neighbor representatives.
Is Massachusetts becoming more corrupt lately, or are we just hearing about it more?
The below articles were printed over JUST the past few days. These newspaper articles (from the Liberal Boston Globe and the conservative Boston Herald) show:
1. A State Senator (Wilkerson) convicted and about to be sentenced for tax fraud. 2. A Boston City Councilor (Turner) being thrown off the Boston City Council after being convicted of taking bribes. He plays the race card in a defiant tirade on the way out. 3. The exposure of a major scandal involving the state's Probation Department that involves everyone from prominent lawyers, judges, Probation officials, legislators and perhaps even the governor. 4. The Middlesex County Sheriff who killed himself after being exposed for pension double dipping and collecting illegal campaign contributions.
This is only the tip of the iceberg of course. There are many other stories of this naked city that I could share with all of you, but you get the picture.
Massachusetts is a corrupt regime that is decaying from within.
I feel bad for the citizens of my native Commonwealth who cannot escape the grasp of a powerful oligarchy.
Martha Coakley continuing campaign money probe By O'Ryan Johnson | Monday, November 29, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics Photo by Christopher Evans
Attorney General Martha Coakley's office will continue to investigate possible campaign finance irregularities by Middlesex Sheriff James V. DiPaola despite the sheriff's suicide, a spokesman said last night.
"We have begun a review of the matter and that review remains ongoing," said Coakley spokesman Corey Welford.
Welford declined to say what the goal of the investigation is now, whether there are any other individuals who might be targeted or whether any findings ultimately will be made public.
Coakley said she was beginning a probe just days before DiPaola's death, after a Fox 25 news story that featured statements from a former employee that DiPaola was using funds from his successful re-election campaign for personal use.
DiPaola resigned as Middlesex sheriff effective in January amid a tumultuous week in which he publicly reconsidered a double-dipping plan to collect a state pension as well as his sheriff's pay. After he was confronted by a Globe reporter on the matter, he announced he would step down rather than sully his name.
Dianne Wilkerson sentencing set for Dec. 22 By Laurel J. Sweet | Tuesday, November 30, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics Photo by Mark Garfinkel (file)
Former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson opted to plead guilty to attempted extortion rather than undergo a trial, but federal prosecutors may yet try to subject her to a grilling on the witness stand when she's sentenced three days before Christmas.
U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock yesterday set Dec. 22 as judgment day for Wilkerson, 55, who pleaded guilty in June to pocketing - or in one instance, stuffing in her bra - cash bribes totaling $23,500.
Woodlock has set aside an entire day for Wilkerson's sentencing, which is shaping up to be a knock-down, drag-out affair between prosecutors and her defense team as each tries to persuade Woodlock to tip the scales of justice in its favor.
Attorney Max D. Stern acknowledged Wilkerson is guilty "of poor judgment" but suggested at a status conference on the case yesterday that prosecutors, by raising Wilkerson's past history of tax evasion and campaign finance violations, may be trying to convince Woodlock to exceed the government's own four-year sentencing recommendation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. McNeil insisted that barring any "backtracking on acceptance of responsibility . . . the government has made it absolutely clear" the Roxbury Democrat should serve no more than four years in prison, despite her "continuous pattern of law-breaking activity."
But McNeil said he may seek to question Wilkerson under oath about assertions by "several" people she solicited bribes "on repeated occasions" - claims that Wilkerson denies.
Woodlock noted he'll consider giving weight to the fact that Wilkerson's granddaughter was present during one bribe handoff in a Beacon Hill restaurant. Woodlock has received more than 70 letters of support for Wilkerson, but said, "The focus here is not on the good the defendant has done, but the bad. I made it clear to the defendant that I'm going to make my own decision as to what the sentence should be."
‘Recommending' applicants isn't part of a legislator's job
December 2, 2010< src="http://cache.boston.com/universal/js/bcom_etaf_scripts.js" type="text/javascript"><>
Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray would have the public believe, steering people into government jobs is not a part of a legislator's role. Legislators have a clear-cut task: to pass and repeal laws. When they dabble instead as human-resources officers for other branches of government, they are overstepping their bounds.
DeLeo and Murray have both argued for an overhaul of the state Probation Department, after the Globe Spotlight Team and more recently an independent counsel documented the agency's largess toward job candidates sponsored by powerful legislators. But the two top legislative leaders deeply undercut any pro-reform message Monday, when they insisted that recommending people for state jobs is part of what lawmakers do. "We get thousands of requests a year,'' Murray said. DeLeo, who recommended his godson for a probation job, insisted that he does not "put any undue influence on anyone.''
But any administrator would have trouble ignoring a recommendation by someone who, in his legislative role, controls the state budget. That's why innocuous-sounding recommendations can be so insidious. Lawmakers see them as an extension of their perks and power. But they result in a culture of favoritism that betrays taxpayers and undermines the legitimate goals of government. Murray and DeLeo shouldn't pretend to be unfamiliar with the history of legislators protecting underperforming employees and treating state jobs as giveaways.
They also shouldn't try to disguise attempts to influence the hiring process as a simple forwarding of résumés. Let's be clear: There is an absolute separation between legislative and executive functions. Legislators should not recommend people for jobs outside of their own offices.
While independent counsel Paul Ware's report did not accuse DeLeo or Murray of breaking any laws, they were among those who made efforts on specific candidates' behalf. In a statement this week, DeLeo said he presumes "that agencies select and employ the best qualified candidates, without regard to who might have recommended the person.'' That doesn't pass the laugh test, especially after the probation scandal, yet it's interesting how he and other lawmakers who steadfastly deny pressuring anyone are nevertheless quick to claim credit for making "recommendations.'' Now-suspended Probation Commissioner John O'Brien's willingness to rig his department's hiring process in favor of legislators' preferred applicants made him popular among lawmakers - so much so that his budget ballooned even as caseloads remained flat and other agencies absorbed deep cuts.
That's profoundly wrong, and a distortion of priorities. The culture of patronage is so ingrained that legislative leaders have trouble seeing what's offensive about it. When Ware's report came out, Murray was traveling, and DeLeo initially said little. But his Ways and Means chairman, Charles Murphy, leapt to the defense of Representative Thomas Petrolati, a key figure in the probation scandal. DeLeo eventually dumped Petrolati from his leadership team and has called for changes at probation. Murray has made vague noises about reforms as well. But legislators must own up to their role in the scandal as well - by getting out of the personnel business entirely.
Things continue as "business as usual" in perhaps the most corrupt state in the Union. Road to corruption By Boston Herald Editorial Staff | Monday, November 29, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Editorials
One thing we have always admired about Senate President Therese Murray is her candor.
So when she said - as she did last week - "Every member of the Legislature recommends people for positions. That's part of what we do," well she couldn't have been more upfront.
"People call and ask for references, and they ask for recommendations, and that's part of our duties of our office," she added.
Murray made her comments when asked about the scandalous issues raised by a special counsel's report on the Probation Department. And they pretty much echo the testimony of House Speaker Robert DeLeo when questioned by counsel Paul Ware.
"I look at it as my role as a legislator to be of any assistance that I can with my constituency, whether it's a recommendation to - for a job, whether it's to give whatever assistance I have because they're down and out."
And, of course, those "recommendations" aren't exactly confined to the Probation Department. Hey, they didn't call the MBTA "Mr. Bulger's Transit Authority" for nothing.
The problem is, of course, what happens when legislators not only "recommend" constituents for jobs, but go that extra mile - say, making sure a slew of new jobs are included in the state budget to be divided among the House, the Senate and perhaps the governor's office as well.
Lucky constituents or relatives or both get the jobs and the rest of us get to pay for them - whether they are needed or not.
When the Supreme Judicial Court and the chief administrative justice for the trial courts began to set up criteria based on caseloads for where court jobs were needed, the Legislature decided when it came to Probation it could do that better. Then it came down not to where the jobs were needed, but where legislators wanted them for all those "needy" constituents.
Then add the element of linking campaign contributions to jobs and promotions and you have, well, corruption. And there's no way to put a pretty face on that.
} is a pompous ass (I don't like him personally)
