WHOOPS!

On May 26, 2011, the Massachusetts Republican State Committee dissolved the Brockton Republican City Committee, reducing its membership from 205 to 26. The alleged purpose was to allow the Brockton Committee to avail themselves of a quorum (previously 21, now 3), which they had been unable to attain for several years in order to perform their business.

As a result, one of the 7 Brockton Ward Committees (Ward 5) has been sent to outer space since only one former member was present at the May 26 meeting. The other 6 Ward Committees now have a total of 26 members instead of 205.

Wow! What an opportunity for ANYONE from ANY WARD to sign up 35 members for his/her ward, thus stacking the vote for the Spring 2012 election, and thus guaranteeing him/herself the chairmanship of the Brockton Republican City Committee. This is true since the 7 Ward Chairmen of the constituent committees of the City Committee have not shown themselves to have the energy, incentive, ability, or interest in political events to advance their party in Brockton.

After almost superhuman efforts to rid itself of a felonious prior Chairman, the State Committee has now committed the City Committee to voluntary suicide and surrender to nefarious parties who will now take over all the functions of the City Committee. It is beyond the comprehension of this observer why our leadership would do such an act and deprive the Brockton Republican City Committee of any advances that have been made over the past 50 years. We are now obliged to observe Bylaws imposed by an authoritarian State Committee instead of following our own Bylaws written at great effort 25 years ago, which have shown no faults in the past.

Mark my word, one year from now the Brockton Republican City Committee will be chaired and run by a group we have spent the last 5 years trying to expurgate. You can count on it. The Brockton City Committee will not recover from this fatal error.

New incentive for profiling?

Click here to read the latest news about crime in Brockton and the latest reason not to celebrate our town's "diversity."

ALL IS LOST!!

Obama and the king of Saudi Arabia

ALL IS LOST!!!

From the Boston Globe, October 20, 2010:

"Hamas must be given role in peace efforts, Carter says" (Page A3).

Former President Jimmy Carter, in Syria with an international group of statesmen, said that "1.5 million Palestinians are held in a cage or prison while their human rights are taken away."

"Plane with Saudi students diverted, searched" (Page A2).

The three students spoke little English and had just arrived in the United States from Saudi Arabia to study aviation. Smoke was found coming from the lavatory.

"Taliban elite joining talks, officials say" (Page A4).

Taliban commanders from the highest levels are secretly leaving their sanctuaries in Pakistan with the help of NATO troops to join peace talks with the inner circle of President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. US officials admitted that talks between Afghan and Taliban leaders are underway.

From the Boston Globe, October 21, 2010:

"US influence in Iraq is dwindling" (Page A20).

A party led by anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr appears poised to play a major role in the Iraqi government eventually to be formed by Prime Minister al-Maliki. Iraqis are turning to Iran for guidance. An Iraqi lawmaker said that the Iranian ambassador has a bigger role in Iraq than US Vice President Biden. Iraqis measure US influence largely by military presence, which is rapidly declining.

Are we still admitting Saudi students into US schools of aviation? Have we learned nothing? After losing thousands of American lives to install democracy in Iraq, are we encouraging a return of Muslim theocracy? After missing our target in Afghanistan, and after a troop surge to defeat the Taliban, are we providing helicopter support so the Taliban can resume stoning teenage women? Did our President for years follow a Chicago clergyman whose best-known philosophy is "God damn America"? Does a former US President truly believe the terrorist Hamas murderers are susceptible to bargaining with Israel? After all of this, is it surprising that a well-known commentator was fired for stating he was nervous about Muslims on airplanes? Where is our country headed?

Unbelievable.

Obama's Islamic agenda

I am appalled at the prospect of our Islamic president Obama visiting Hiroshima 65 years after President Truman's proper and courageous decision to use the atomic bomb to end World War II.

There is no doubt whatsoever that our illegally-installed president would apologize to the world for our former President Truman's decision to end the war by dropping the bomb. This would be the ultimate betrayal of the public that would be conceivable, and would constitute a full betrayal of the duties of American citizens and especially of American diplomats to defend the principles of American citizenship.

There is no question that Mr. Obama's ultimate goal is to inflict sharian law upon the United States, with its dismemberment of thieves, stoning of women at the slightest provocation, and completely unacceptable punishments for misdemeanors.

To add to this deplorable objective his complete subjugation to the wishes of the unrepentent Islamic community would be the worst possible outcome of his presidency.

There is no way that this traitor to his country should be given the opportunity to disgrace us by apologizing for winning World War II! Keep him away from Hiroshima and Nagasaki!

Now is the time to organize an effort to defeat this attempt at disgracing us. If anyone has an idea how to organize an effort against this traitorous goal, please reply to this message. We need to to put together something to prevent this from happening.

Health Care Lunacy

There have been no postings to this site in several months. My excuse is that local and national matters of interest have reached such a state of lunacy that I haven't known where to begin. This week, however, marks the high point of lunacy with the assumed passage of health care "reform," more accurately to be considered the death knell for sensible health care in America. Most disturbing is the fact that the bill is disliked and even feared by a majority of US citizens. Nothing short of dictatorship will assuage the craving of our president for power.

Since the 2300-page text of the Health Care bill was made public just this morning, March 20, I downloaded it for a quick look-see. I have chosen a few details to explore on this blog for the edification of any readers who may show up, but mostly for my own satisfaction in having stated my opinion once again. As one small example (pages 289 to 307 of the text), I looked at:

REDUCING POTENTIALLY PREVENTABLE HOSPITAL READMISSIONS.

What I found is frightening, and is only a tiny piece of the pie. Do you happen to know who the current Secretary of HHS is? Neither do I, but I promise to look it up. This Secretary, whoever she (or he) might be, will have full power to pay or starve hospitals and physicians upon her whim. I quote in small part:

"ADJUSTMENT TO HOSPITAL PAYMENTS FOR EXCESS READMISSIONS.-

(1) IN GENERAL. - With respect to payment for discharges from a .. hospital .. on or after October 1, 2011, .. to account for excess readmissions in the hospital, the Secretary shall reduce the payments that would otherwise be made to such hospital .. by an amount equal to etc. etc. blah blah blah."

Do you begin to see my point? More quotes:

"MONITORING INAPPROPRIATE CHANGES IN ADMISSIONS PRACTICES. -

The Secretary shall monitor the activities of .. hospitals to determine .. steps to avoid patients at risk in order to reduce the likelihood of increasing readmissions... If the Secretary determines that such a hospital has taken such a step .. the Secretary may impose an appropriate sanction." To summarize, the Secretary of HHS will monitor hospital admissions to see if they are admitting the same patient more often than she thinks is appropriate, and will punish hospitals for trying to avoid such situations. Neat.

Another one:

"PHYSICIANS.- (1) STUDY. The Secretary .. shall conduct a study to determine how the readmissions policy .. could be applied to physicians. (2) CONSIDERATIONS.- (A) creating a new code .. and payment amount .. under the fee schedule .. of the Social Security Act (in a budget neutral manner) for services by .. a physician who sees an individual within the first week after discharge from a hospital ..; (B) developing measures of rates of readmission for individuals treated by physicians; (C) applying a payment reduction for physicians who treat the patient during the initial admission that results in a readmission; and (D) methods for .. payment reductions to the physician ..."

Am I really reading this? If your doctor treats you in the hospital and you are later readmitted, the Secretary can apply payment reductions to the doctor?

These are just a few of the readmission provisions in the huge bill. And budget neutrality is a consideration? If so, why does the bill appropriate $25,000,000 each year just to implement these 19 pages of the bill, out of 2300? I can't wait to see what is in the other 2281 pages.

Thank you for reading all of this!

Power plant stupidity

My octogenarian brain, with 54 years of residence in Brockton, cannot believe the utter and complete stupidity of Brockton government in its attitude toward the proposed power plant.

The Brockton Enterprise of November 6, 2009, has two feature articles: "Somerset power plant to shut down" and "Mall loses another store; Waldenbooks to close its doors ...".

Recently, the proposed 12-screen movie theater for Westgate Mall has been cancelled; we denied access to an entertainment center at Westgate Mall; Westgate Mall itself is bankrupt and is up for auction; a downtown renewal project on Montello Street has been abandoned; the national unemployment rate has surpassed 10% for the first time in 26 years; and meanwhile, our leaders are turning down an offer by Brockton Clean Energy to create 756 new jobs and $368 million in economic stimulus.

Where is the supposed brainpower in Brockton government leading us?

I also may be stupid, but I can point to my Ph.D. degree from M.I.T. as some indication that I might be thinking straight.

I call upon former Mayor Jim Harrington and Mayor-Elect Linda Balzotti to forget their politically motivated illogical opposition to the power plant, and to admit to the common sense of accepting a new power plant in Brockton. Brockton Clean Energy's suggestion that old, obsolete power plants will close if they build a clean natural gas plant, is proved by the Somerset power plant closing to be right on the mark! Without the new plant, the area will be depleted of a huge source of energy.

The proposed power plant will provide $12.5 million annually for the economy of the Brockton metropolitan area - what kind of stupidity will oppose this while boasting of its inefficient, money-draining solar power field that lights up a few rooms at City Hall (when the sun is shining)!

Let's be real, Jim and Linda. And Jim, now that you're out of office, what prevents you from helping the local economy and to hell with the special political interests that compelled you to abandon your initial support and to adopt a stance opposing the plant? The Democrats abandoned you and you owe them nothing. Join with former Mayor Jack Yunits and do us all a favor! Speak up honestly now that it doesn't matter to your political career. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the Teamsters Local Union, the Brockton Education Association, and 24 other local unions support the plant and the jobs it will create. The Massachusetts Energy Facilities siting Board approved the plant by a vote of 9-0. Get with it!

Elect LARRY CURTIS Councilor at Large

We need to have Larry Curtis on the City Council of Brockton to promote the power plant project. If Brockton misses this opportunity to advance its economic growth, it may be another generation before another such chance comes up. Let's support Larry and let him fight for our future!