Blue Mass Group

Solar IS Civil Defense – what we are all supposed to have on hand in case of emergency – flashlight, cell phone, radio, extra set of batteries – can be powered by a few square inches of solar electric panel. Add a hand crank or bicycle generator and you have a reliable source of survival level electricity, day or night, by sunlight or muscle power. This is also entry level electrical power for the 1.5 billion people around the world who do not yet have access to electricity. Civil defense at home and economic development abroad can be combined in a “buy one, give one” program like the Bogolight (http://www.bogolight.com) which is a solar LED light and AA battery charger. Solar IS Civil Defense and could be much more. ————————- I wish the mainline environmental groups had been broadcasting practical material like this for the last twenty years or so instead of devoting almost all their advertising to scaring us about climate change. Originally published at http://solarray.blogspot.com/2012/04/solar-is-civil-defense-what-we-are-all.html

The rabidly right wing Eagle Tribune reports: “ANDOVER — Former state Rep. Barbara L’Italien appears ready to give up a $100,000-a-year state job in an attempt to reclaim the Massachusetts House seat she lost to Republican Jim Lyons in 2010. L’Italien has taken out nomination papers to challenge Lyons for the reconfigured 18th Essex House District, according to the secretary of state’s office. She had served four terms as state representative for the 18th Essex House District before being defeated by 847 votes.” http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x1521924539/LItalien-collecting-signatures-to-run-for-old-House-seat Lyons is a grandstanding anti-choice, anti-”illegals,” anti-tax, ice cream shop owner who cheated on his taxes for years. He staged a sit-in in the House chambers last November demanding the Patrick administration produce hidden secret records about health care provided by the state to “illegals” – information evidently he could’ve just looked up himself, Lyon’s is also the fellow called out by the Democratic Party Chair for “playing petty political games.” http://andover.patch.com/articles/democratic-party-chair-criticizes-lyons-budget-opposition “The 18th Essex House District includes parts of Andover, Boxford, Georgetown, Haverhill, Methuen, and North Andover. Under redrawn voter maps, the district loses Georgetown, Haverhill and Methuen but will pickup a portion of Tewksbury come January.” The tax cheating story: http://www.eagletribune.com/election/x1744211440/Tax-woes-come-back-to-haunt-candidate-for-state-rep The GOP candidate [...]

People should pay tax to buy higher education and college degrees. Colleges are now exposed as evil corporations, overpaying their CEOs and star faculty, underpaying their actual workers, and overcharging their customers and the government, and blatantly misrepresenting the cost and value of their diplomas, and they pay no taxes, not even a property tax. Screw them! A nice steep progressive tax on tuition would curb the trend of ever-rising tuition costs, and take the money from the schools, not the taxpayers. Yes, the increased cost of the tax would cause people to either pay it if they could, or choose a cheaper school, but soon I think the tax would eventually be absorbed by the schools, who would immediately have to lower their tuition rates to continue to attract students, and so they would have to cut salaries and research programs and new building projects and land grabs. Ooh, and we should grab back some of that land, just to sell it to developers to make money, as per Kelo. We know where the money is, we can see all the new expensive buildings going up and see the Lexuses and BMW’s at the end of long perfectly manicured [...]

Ex-Westford politician can no longer vote in town Former Selectman and past Republican Town Committee Chairman Angel Connell can no longer vote in Westford after the Board of Registrars unanimously voted Tuesday to remove him from the voter registration. Connell was re-elected to the Republican Town Committee in the March 6 primary as a write-in candidate. Connell bought a home in Cumberland, R.I., in 2006; however, his address listed in the voter registration was 25 Keyes Road. Connell said during the hearing he had no documentation to prove he lived in Westford. The evidence the board weighed in its decision included the facts that Connell owns a home in R.I., he has a Rhode Island driver’s license, his vehicles are registered in Rhode Island, he spends most of his evenings and nights in Rhode Island and he filed nonresident tax returns in Massachusetts. It also says the Board “agonized” over the decision.

Submitted for your approval. Does Mitt Romney think pink ties are gay?  Check out this video clip, shot while Romney and Sean Hannity were yakking prior to taping a show.  (The video – you can see the whole thing at this link – was made public by the now-unmasked Fox News mole who published at Gawker.) Here’s a transcript – sorry the audio isn’t better: ROMNEY: You get to change ties. HANNITY: I don’t think so. ROMNEY: Ha ha ha. HANNITY: Why do I gotta change ties? OFF-CAMERA VOICE: Finley wants you to ’cause this is for tomorrow night’s show. ROMNEY: This is for tomorrow night … oh, I’ll take the pink one. [makes funny face] Ha ha ha. HANNITY: Oh, you’re changing one too? ROMNEY: No. I’ll just look like a shlep who wears the same tie two days in a row. That’s all right. HANNITY: I think this is silly, but…. Now, this isn’t a huge deal. But what’s with the “oh, I’ll take the pink one,” and then sticking his tongue out through pursed lips? Is that a little “pink ties are gay” jokey-joke between two strapping hetero dudes? Also of note is Romney’s use of the [...]

Becoming a delegate to a convention is somewhat of a mystery to some folks.  Also sometimes natural human curiosity wants you to be a fly on the wall on unfolding events.  I am hoping to do this as a newly elected Alternate Delegate to the 2012 National Democratic Convention from the 6th CD in Massachusetts(Rep John Tierney’s district).  I have already started a blog and can be reached at:  http://oetkb.wordpress.com/  Feel free to comment or ask questions.  I’ll try to keep you interested as I travel and attend or maybe even get to inject some humor at times.  Woody Allen noted that showing up is 80% of life. This will be perhaps the other 20%.  Charlotte here I come!

Retiring Republican Senator from Maine,  Olympia Snowe seems to be taking a parting shot at the right wing extremism currently infecting the G.O.P. She recently said that she will not necessarily give her $2.36 million dollar war chest to another Republican. Quoting an article from the Kennebec Journal “outgoing Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) may be using her campaign cash to aid candidates of her choice rather than her party. In a letter written last week but released Tuesday, Snowe told campaign donors that she planned to give leftover cash to candidates in the “sensible center” rather than pledging that money to Republicans, signaling that the eventual GOP nominee may not be moderate enough for her taste.” Snowe’s profile in courage in standing up to radical rightwing extremism was picked up by the leader of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, a guy named Matt Canter, who opined: “Mitch McConnell and national Republicans have disenfranchised moderates in Maine and across the country…So it should not be a surprise that Sen. Snowe is questioning whether to give her money to support the extremist, right-wing Republican agenda.” Few would deny that Olympia Snowe has the courage of her convictions and she can only be [...]