Here's a PREVIEW of OBAMA, AmeriKa!!
And I actually voted for him for governor two years ago?
"Possible transport pick stirs criticism; Aloisi role as Big Dig counsel worries some" by Frank Phillips and Matt Viser, Globe Staff | December 17, 2008
Governor Deval Patrick is considering naming former Big Dig chief counsel James A. Aloisi Jr. as his transportation secretary, a supremely controversial appointment that his critics and even some supporters say would embrace the insider political culture that the governor has publicly denounced.
Related: Big Pit Getting Deeper
Aloisi is a tough political fighter who has ingratiated himself with both Democrats and Republicans in state government. His connections, institutional knowledge, and transportation expertise could fill a major void in Patrick's push for a transportation overhaul, including toll increases and a major reorganization.
But those skills and background come with baggage. As a key lawyer working on the Big Dig, Aloisi was part of the team that kept a cloak of secrecy over the true cost of the $15 billion project. He has been a staunch defender of the combative former Turnpike Authority chairman Matthew J. Amorello, praising Amorello in a book he wrote about the project. Aloisi has moved with agility among the Big Dig's changing regimes, all the while making millions in legal fees.
Yeah, he's JUST WHAT WE NEED! You couldn't find anyone else, huh?
It is a history that critics, including Patrick's early supporters, will seize upon if the governor brings Aloisi into his administration. Patrick's aides said the governor would have no comment on any reports about the potential appointment of Aloisi. Aloisi also did not respond to requests for comment....
******************
In a further indication he is line for the post, Aloisi went to the State House yesterday to meet with Senate President Therese Murray. He is scheduled to meet in coming days with House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi....
Then he's getting the job. I just may quit reading the paper and posting about Massachusetts. I can't ake this anymore.
Picking Aloisi would be a clear turnaround for Patrick, who, during his 2006 campaign, targeted the management of the Big Dig as Exhibit A in what was wrong with Massachusetts government.
"The failure of the Big Dig, in other words, is a failure of politics-as-usual," Patrick wrote in a Globe op-ed one week after the 2006 tunnel collapse that killed a Jamaica Plain woman in an airport-bound car. "It is the failure of leaders to do the jobs they were elected to do. The Big Dig culture of Beacon Hill allowed corners to be cut and oversight to be lax. The culture is a failure to take the role of government seriously."
Patrick, pushing his antipolitical image, aired television ads during the campaign vowing to clean up that "Big Dig culture." "I bring that outsider perspective," he said at an October 2006 debate in Springfield.
Oh, our BOY WONDER, CHANGE GOVERNOR LIED, huh?
Aloisi's possible appointment has rattled some of Patrick's core constituency, reform-minded Democrats who were energized by his 2006 rhetoric.... Patrick's critics in the Republican Party were harsher.
"It's the most puzzling move I've seen the governor do in his two years in office," said Senator Robert L. Hedlund, a Republican from Weymouth and the longest serving member of the Transportation Committee. "We're at the most critical transportation juncture in the state's history, and to pick a person who has been partially responsible for putting us in the problems we have is just staggering."
"I can't believe there's not someone somewhere out there with the talent to do this without having to resurrect a ghost of Big Dig past," Hedlund said. "Anyone who thinks we've got a reformer in the corner office . . . is going to be sadly disappointed."
I AM!!!!
As both its general counsel and later its outside counsel, Aloisi played a critical role in creating the finance mechanisms to pay for the $15 billion Big Dig project. Critics say the system has failed to provide the revenues to pay the bills, leaving the state to choose among a higher gas tax, larger tolls, or a combination....
I'll give you one guess which one you will see, Mass. residents!
And we are not done yet, oh no...
"Plea to cut killer's life term is denied; Patrick rejects parole board view" by Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff | December 17, 2008
Governor Deval Patrick yesterday denied the first commutation petition to come before him since he took office, concluding that a man serving a life sentence for shooting a Boston political aide to death in 1971 received "just punishment."
The inmate, 56-year-old Arnold King, had received unanimous support for commutation from the state Parole Board, as well as support from the Massachusetts Black Legislative Caucus, academics, ministers and community leaders. During his 36 years behind bars, King earned undergraduate and master's degrees, mentored fellow inmates, and participated in programs counseling youths about the pitfalls of drugs and violence.
Look, I'm glad the prisoner is rehabilitated, because that's what they go there for; however, WHERE is the STATE when it comes to the TAXPAYERS KIDS and THEIR EDUCATION?
And how about the guv, huh? Keeping ONE of HIS OWN in the clink. and a ROLE MODEL to boot! If ANYONE SHOULD GET OUT, it is THIS GUY!!
Unless CLASS runs deeper than... the guy killed was a POLITICAL AIDE, you say?
Aaaaaaaahhh!
Patrick acknowledged the strides made by King and emphasized that he believes "strongly in the power of rehabilitation and redemption, and in the appropriateness of granting executive clemency in exceptional circumstances." But in a one-page statement yesterday, Patrick added that, "while his disciplinary record has improved over time, it has been far from exemplary.
"I must also acknowledge the egregiousness of the underlying offense, in which Mr. King shot an innocent stranger in the face, at point blank range, without provocation, only two days after another state had released him on parole for another violent crime, as well as the impact on and continuing sentiments of the victim's family."
I don't see the problems with his "disciplinary record has improved over time."
Aaaah, what's ANOTHER LIE, 'eh, guv?
Of course, we have guys that have KILLED MILLIONS (like Bush), and nothing is done to them!
Patrick's decision was a deep disappointment for King's supporters, who had hoped the governor would deviate from the path of his Republican predecessors, who last commuted a sentence 11 years ago....
Awwww, his supporters are DISAPPOINTED, are they? Well, SO AM I!!!
And now, MORE DISAPPOINTMENT and MORE LIES!!!!!
"Cuts in local aid to be considered, Murray declares" by Matt Viser, Globe Staff | December 17, 2008
Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray said yesterday that the Patrick administration will not rule out cuts to local aid as part of its broad plan to close a deeper budget deficit than previously forecast....
"No final decisions have been made, but clearly, if you have to cut another $750 million, you have to look at everything," Murray told reporters at a State House press conference after being asked whether local aid would be cut.
This after we were told we needed to KEEP THAT INCOME TAX or our services would be slashed!! Well, we got the WORST of BOTH WORLDS!! RISING TAXES and CUT SERVICES!!
Once again, Massachusetts voters elected to eat a s*** sandwich!
And look whose backs they are balancing the budget with: the blind, mentally ill, kids, and cripples!!
Of course, "one of the governor's pet projects, the $3 million Commonwealth Corporation, is only taking a 5 percent trim."
I mean, it's okay to be "flushing . . . millions of dollars away supporting a highly profitable industry" when it comes to $300 million in taxpayer dollars for Hollywood is o.k., even as the price of a school lunch rises; paying $13 million for a computer software system that could have cost less than $3 million is all right because the winner was a close friend of the House speaker, even as my poorer-than-dirt district "has been struggling to close a $2 million budget gap."; the lottery shelling out "millions of dollars" for sports tickets for "lottery officials, their family members, and friends" is fine, even as schools are closing; making interest payments to banks to the tune of "a staggering $22 billion" for the Big Pit, as we call it around here, is required, even as bridges are neglected across the state; and again, paying off banks like UBS, who can "demand repayment of an additional $2 million a month beginning in January" while also receiving a "$179 million payment," while the state pension fund loses $1 billion dollars -- which still didn't stop the executive director from carving himself a nice "$64,000 bonus on top of his $322,000 annual salary."
And that is not counting the troubles at the Turnpike!
"The authority was attempting to renegotiate terms of a complex financial deal with the banking giant UBS. Known as a swaption, the arrangement could force the authority to pay out a $450 million lump sum"
Oh, and did I not mention the $1 BILLION dollar giveaway to the pharmaceutical corporations, even though "it's never been easy to turn a profit in biotech?" Flush that money away, too, taxpayer. Of course, the war looters were next in line for a handout. And should the state be appropriating money for a "multimillion-dollar reconstruction" of golf courses?
Nor is it RECKLESS to BORROW the STATE INTO OBLIVION so they can PAY INTEREST to BANKS while SITTING ON $2 BILLION DOLLARS!
Need one final insult, Mass. taxpayers?
"Town officials... are trying to decide how much of a property tax break to offer and how they can secure state funding for infrastructure improvements.... although it could take several years for the studio to realize its potential"
Also see: Hollywood, Massachusetts
Hollywood (East) Disses Veterans
More Mass. $$$ to Movie Makers
Sorry, that wasn't it:
"$5m in tax breaks going to IBM for Littleton project
The Massachusetts Economic Assistance Coordinating Council approved $5 million in state and local tax breaks for IBM Corp., which recently began a $63 million expansion in Littleton. IBM vice president Bob McDonald said the company plans to create 42 jobs at the site over the next decade. McDonald said the computer giant, based in Armonk, N.Y., has already begun renovating a building and hopes to move into it next month. McDonald said the tax incentives were important, but the company would have gone forward with the expansion without them. IBM has 4,000 employees in Massachusetts, including about 2,000 in Littleton (Boston Globe October 30 2008)."
Yup, but SERVICES NEED to be CUT!!
That's COMPASSIONATE LIBERALISM?He said the administration would try to preserve the funding, which cities and towns use to pay for programs, from teachers to trash collection, but after the first round of budget cuts just two months ago, "there's not a lot of other places to go."
Murray made the remarks after announcing that the administration was awarding $8 million to eight regional pilot programs around the state that are working to end homelessness.
Yeah, about that:
"Mass. to spend $8m to help homeless
The Patrick administration is spending $8 million to create eight new regional homeless networks to help find permanent housing for people living in shelters and on the street. The move is part of the state's push to virtually end homelessness in five years. Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray said yesterday the money would help organizations across the state work together to ease pressure on emergency shelters. One goal is to intercept families on the verge of homelessness and offer them support before they end up on the street. The spending comes despite new warnings that state revenues could plunge by another $749 million. Murray defended the initiative, saying that in the long run it will save the state money (AP)."Would have had to anyway, what with all the foreclosures.
Meanwhile, mental health advocates flooded the State House yesterday and confronted Governor Deval Patrick as he entered his office. Carrying signs such as "How the budget cuts stole Christmas," the group was protesting previous cuts to programs that serve those who are mentally ill.
Patrick listened intently, but offered no promises to restore the money or preserve remaining funding in the next round.
"Nobody is enjoying this," Patrick told the group. "This is not simple. It's not easy. It's not obvious what the choices should be. I see you. I see you. I'm not making decisions not knowing that it has a real-life impact on people's lives. I'm trying to find alternatives, I don't have them yet. . . . Whatever I do in one place has an effect someplace else, and you know that."
What an ELITIST PRICK!!!! What a REAL ASSHOLE!!!!!
After ALL I OUTLINED and LINKED ABOVE? Yeahm the CHOICES are OBVIOUS, guv!!
Tell HOLLYWOOD, CORPORATIONS, and the BANKS to GET THEIR TAX MONEY SOMEPLACE ELSE!!!
He's WORSE than ROMNEY EVER WAS!!!!!!!!
Oh, and about that bright light of a universal health plan:
"Glitch delays healthcare money for 38 families" by Kay Lazar, Globe Staff | December 17, 2008
More than three dozen families are awaiting the arrival of state checks to defray their health insurance costs, after a computer glitch delayed 1,100 checks for a month.
Gee, what a coincidence; just when the state is looking to CUT BUDGETS!!!!
What, they hoping you wouldn't notice, Mass. resident?
I wonder if Hollywood and boitechs have to wait for a "glitch?"
The computer problem occurred in mid-November in the state's Family Assistance program, said Jennifer Kritz, spokeswoman for the executive office of Health and Human Services. The program helps 30,652 people with health insurance coverage who might otherwise not be able to afford it, typically by reimbursing a portion of the money deducted from workers' paychecks for their monthly insurance premium. By yesterday afternoon, she said, all but 38 checks had been processed.
I'm getting ANGRIER by the second!
Among those waiting for reimbursement is Amanda Holthaus, 34, a nurse and single mother of three in Hull, who said Family Assistance supervisors have been telling her for a week that nearly $1,000 owed her is in the mail. Since then, her rent and day-care checks have bounced. As of yesterday, she said, the state's check had not arrived.
"That's a good amount of money for a single mother at Christmas," said Holthaus, who asked her father for a loan. "I am a grown woman and it's humiliating to face this when you have done the right thing."
Even when you do the "right thing" this state still fucks you!
Holthaus said she has been working her way off government assistance and was proud to be able to work enough hours in October to qualify for health insurance through her job. The Family Assistance program is supposed to pay $641 a month toward her $700 premium.
But her reimbursement for half of October and all of November never arrived, she said. The December checks are also scheduled to be mailed this week. State workers identified a computer system problem last week in two databases that were not communicating, so checks were not being released from the comptroller's office, said Kritz.
What a WEAK EXCUSE! So why was there no problem before?
They "immediately took action to address the problem as soon as it was discovered, and we are currently updating control procedures to prevent it from occurring again," she said. Holthaus's check is apparently among the 38 being processed.
The reimbursement program saves taxpayers money because it is less expensive for the state to pay a portion of a worker's health insurance premium - with the employer and worker picking up the rest - instead of footing all or most of the bill in a state-funded insurance program.
Yeah, the LACK of a SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH SYSTEM is GOOD FOR YOU, taxpayers!!! You know, if it was not for the OUTRIGHT LYING, I wouldn't get so damn upset!
If it ain't time for single-payer like in Sicko, then WHEN, America?!
Related: Why the Nation Doesn't Need Massachusetts Health Care
Since its inception in the mid-1990s, the Family Assistance program has helped thousands of Bay Staters pay for employer-provided health insurance and has become a "terrific national model," said Brian Rosman, of Health Care for All, a statewide consumer group.
"That's why glitches like this are so disappointing," he said, "because it hurts the credibility of this kind of program." Added Rosman: "We are really pleased to learn the state is taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen again, and we intend to monitor this closely."
Gee, the TIMING was a bit odd, 'eh?
