Blue Mass Group

FULL DISCLOSURE: This is being simulcast on RedMass, BlueMass and chimpschumpspolitics, and in a modest number of North Left Coast Newspapers.

“May the Force be with you.” This line, from the Star Wars series of films, has long resulted in various plays on words, and tongue-in-cheek advice to various officials. Herewith, I trot it out and aim it at Dubya.

The Senate, having shown that its Democratic ass is on just as backwards as that of the House, passed more or less the same money bill for the War in Iraq as did the house. Strings attached, the bill provides for limited continuation of the US effort there, said strings being a fixed, predetermined withdrawal date.

Let’s draw a parallel. Your team is playing in the Super Bowl. You share ownership in that team, with, say, 99 other Senators owners. That team has a whole bunch of pretty savvy assistant coaches, trainers and various other hangers-on, to whom you guys pay Big Ugly Bucks. That team also has a BRILLIANT coach, one who took over in mid-season, led the previously mishandled team to a series of spectacular victories, and wound up today in the Ol’ Super Bowl! You don’t like this guy very much, in fact you DETEST him, but he’s a winner, so you pay HIM Big, Ugly Bucks. Finally, your players are the best, and you pay THEM Big Ugly Bucks, and give them the best possible equipment.

There are a vast number of bills subject to hearing next week – way too many for me to post about. If you go to http://www.mass.gov/… you will see there are pages of bills scheduled.  Probably it is lobbyists who mostly pay attention to particular bills, not citizens.  However, what happens on the first of May will REALLY determine, for example, if Massachusetts participation in the Northeast Regional Green House Gas initiative really happens. It will also affect whether seniors get property tax relief, and how the new health care law will work…and much much more. Like most of you, I have to work.  I have to be very selective about attending hearings and am mostly monitoring issues affecting child welfare law, since I cannot do it all.

25 members of Sign and Pictorial Local 391 were forced into an unfair labor practice strike on March 19th, after Texas based Clear Channel Outdoor abandoned negotiations and unilaterally implemented severe cuts in wages and working conditions.  Massachusetts Lt. Gov Tim Murray, Democratic Party Chair John Walsh, and Fifth Congressional District candidate Jamie Eldridge joined 1000 union members at an April 19th rally in Stoneham to mark the one month anniversary of the strike and to send a message to the company: “No Contract, No Union, No Billboards”. 

(Lt. Governor Tim Murray)

I saw this today and thought it’d be a good post to share with this group, from Leonardo Da Vinci (the original in Italian, of course): “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing.  Knowing is not enough, we must apply.  Being willing is not enough, we must do.” My non-partisan contribution for the week.

Two interesting articles from newspapers you probably rarely if ever read: Active-duty Lieutenant Colonel openly discusses defeat in Iraq; trashes nation’s generals.  In the Armed Forces Journal, Lt. Col. Paul Yingling makes one of the boldest statements yet from inside the military about how the military’s top brass has, well, completely screwed up in Iraq.  Here are his introductory paragraphs; the whole thing is well worth a read. For the second time in a generation, the United States faces the prospect of defeat at the hands of an insurgency. In April 1975, the U.S. fled the Republic of Vietnam, abandoning our allies to their fate at the hands of North Vietnamese communists. In 2007, Iraq’s grave and deteriorating condition offers diminishing hope for an American victory and portends risk of an even wider and more destructive regional war. These debacles are not attributable to individual failures, but rather to a crisis in an entire institution: America’s general officer corps. America’s generals have failed to prepare our armed forces for war and advise civilian authorities on the application of force to achieve the aims of policy. The argument that follows consists of three elements. First, generals have a responsibility to society [...]

Hello– I’m trying to find people who were at the State House Thursday night to talk about the discussions. Any watchers? You can email me or call 617/676-8105. Thanks!

Last year the company I work for dropped Blue Cross from the available health care “options” and replaced it with United Health Care.  From the start it was crystal clear the difference would be like going from a BMW to a Yugo. The list of “in plan” doctors in United’s plan was meager at best.  The second clue was the lack of printed materials distributed and the lack of the usual health care seminar which outlined the “benefits”.  Everything is “online” which means nobody is really home and this gives them the added benefit of instant benefit “revisions”. Anyway a ten minute search on United Health Care turns up a wealth of information about my future medical prospects. http://www.nowpublic… http://www.ama-assn…. http://www.aishealth… The RICO suit started in 2000 and by my casual accounts is still in court. Further Googling can be done on William McGuire the former CEO of United.  He left essentially for wrecking the company yet his stock options are 1.7 billion and that is after his obscene compensation.  This week one employee posted an email about having problems with claims to United.  Several others also answered with similar complaints.  United denies a claim.  You then have to complain, [...]

Is anyone else starting to wonder how Frank Phillips of the Boston Globe knows what’s going on in the Patrick administration even before its members do?  Sure, he’s been a political reporter for years, and he must have important and knowledgeable contacts. But how does he find out about phone calls from the Governor’s office AND emails from the Transportation Secretary’s office? Ever since publication of the story about the phone call from the Governor to CitiBank regarding Ameriquest, I’ve been bothered about the means by which this reporter learned about the call.  One would think that only the caller, recipient, and perhaps two secretaries would have known that it happened, and why would any of them “leak” the facts of a call to a reporter who is known to be unfriendly to the Governor? And today (“Transport chief seeks advice from inside trade,” Boston Globe) we have Frank Phillips getting access to emails sent to individuals who were invited to a meeting–even before the meeting.  The story claims that the emails were made available by one of the ten individuals who’d be in attendance.  Why would any of them leak the details of the meeting to this reporter? In [...]

I was at the local garage having my car serviced yesterday.  I started a conversation with the “guys” who are always there shooting the breeze.  This being North Carolina, there was talk about John Edwards, John McCain and Willard (who, by the way, had signs up on the highways in SC heading towards Bob Jones University and the debate locale:  Mitt Romney Strong New Leadership).  ROTFLMAO! 

Party loyalty being key to how people intend to vote here in NC, there was consensus among the guys at the local hang out that none of the current Presidential candidates represents the everyday voter.  I mentioned Mike Gravel, and not one person had heard about him.

Mike Gravel is a SENIOR STATESMAN.  As he said in the debate last night when he was ignored in question after question, he’s not a “potted plant”.  He has had more experience in government than any other candidate on the stage. When he said that he was “afraid” of the answers by the “top tier” candidates, he was speaking for me and the guys down at the garage in NC as well. When he spoke about the dead in Iraq, he echoed the sentiments of  those who are not on the campaign trail.  He thrust reality into politics, as I expected.
 

Today’s Globe has an article about the legislature’s budgetary process, which takes place behind closed doors, out of the public view.  Apparently, the leadership does not want the messiness of open debate. (Someone should explain to them that democracy is messy.) 

Sometimes I feel like I am living in a autocratic state.  When is the legislature going to stop patronizing the public and realize that we have a right to know how the budget is put together?  Assuming there really is a concern that open debate makes the process too long and burdensome (yeah, right), then change the parliamentary rules to control debate, but keep it in the open.