Worcester County Freedom Trail

Governor Mitt Romney joined with Cardinal O’Malley and a group of church officials to urge the state legislature to honor the July 12, 2006 vote that will bring the definition of marriage one step closer to a vote of the people. Romney stated today:

“Our elected representatives in the Legislation will soon hold a historic vote. It regards the institution of marriage. But it will not be a vote for or against same sex marriage. No, it will be a vote for or against democracy.

“The people here today have followed the law, followed the process established in the Constitution, and gathered an astounding 170,000 signatures. Their effort means that the people, the citizens, will be free to choose how marriage is defined in Massachusetts. This is democracy, pure and simple.

“Of course, democracy can be squashed. Only one fourth of the legislators must vote for democracy, for this question, this choice, to be given to the people. But it is conceivable that some will try to block a vote by the people by blocking a vote of the legislature.

“We are here speaking for democracy and the rule of the law. Whether you agree that marriage should be reserved for a man and a woman or not, surely you can agree that the course of democracy, established by the Constitution, must be followed. Is there anything more fundamental to this Commonwealth and this country than the principle that power is reserved to the people, that government is the servant, not the master?

“We ask for one thing: the constitutionally prescribed vote of the Legislature. Let the people speak.”

If the legislature’s leadership decides to undermine the vote, Gov Romney has the legal authority to send the State Police to each legislator’s home and bring them back to Beacon Hill to hold a legal vote. Romney has indicated he will do just that, if necessary. I think it would be great fun to see DiMasi dragged back to work in the middle of his summer vacation

Jay Greene has written an excellent article on the myths surrounding our education system. It’s amazing how much wrong information is out there. If we’re going to fix the problems in our nation’s public schools, we’ve got to start dealing with the facts. Here’s the first of several serious myths Greene addresses. You can read the rest at The American Enterprise.

If people know anything about public schools today, it’s that they are strapped for cash. Bestselling books, popular movies, and countless lobbying groups portray urban schools as desperately underfunded, and editors of the New York Times write without fear of contradiction that “providing quality education for all America’s children will take…a great deal of money.” Bumper stickers declare, “It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.” No matter what aspect of education is being debated, activists generally find the solution in more school spending.

This is the most widely held myth about education in America–and the one most directly at odds with the available evidence. Few people are aware that our education spending per pupil has been growing steadily for 50 years. At the end of World War II, public schools in the United States spent a total of $1,214 per student in inflation-adjusted 2002 dollars. By the middle of the 1950s that figure had roughly doubled to $2,345. By 1972 it had almost doubled again, reaching $4,479. And since then, it has doubled a third time, climbing to $8,745 in 2002.

Since the early 1970s, when the federal government launched a standardized exam called the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), it has been possible to measure student outcomes in a reliable, objective way. Over that period, inflation-adjusted spending per pupil doubled. So if more money produces better results in schools, we would expect to see significant improvements in test scores during this period. That didn’t happen. For twelfth-grade students, who represent the end product of the education system, NAEP scores in math, science, and reading have all remained flat over the past 30 years. And the high school graduation rate hasn’t budged. Increased spending did not yield more learning.

This big-picture evidence is strongly confirmed by academic research. Though you’d never know it from the tenor of most education debates, the vast majority of studies have found no sustained positive relationship between spending and classroom results. Economist Eric Hanushek of Stanford University examined every solid study on spending and outcomes–a total of 163 research papers–and concluded that extra resources are more likely to be squandered than to have a productive effect.

Still, countless people assume that our schools are underfunded. One explanation is that people don’t want to believe that large amounts of public money have been used without producing significant results. There’s plenty of room for debate on how best to reform our school system, but the sooner Americans realize that lack of resources is not the real problem in our schools the sooner we can have a meaningful debate on how to make education more productive.

This tidbit comes from an American Family Association alert. Thanks to Mark Worthington, Worcester, for the heads up.

Teacher’s union begins plans to promote homosexual marriage in public schools

The National Education Association is set to endorse homosexual marriage at their convention coming up in Orlando June 29 through July 6.The new NEA proposal essentially says schools should support and actively promote homosexual marriage and other forms of marriage (two men and one woman, three women, two women and three men, etc.) in their local schools.

Boy, where have I been? This is the first I’ve heard of these inspirational and musical events, but they sound great. Check one out in your area:

Proud 2B Catholic features some of the best Catholic musicians, speakers, and celebrities. Highights include:

JULY 15, KENNEBUNK, ME: Father Terry Messer

AUGUST 12, FRAMINGHAM, MA: Former Ambassador to the Vatican, Raymond Flynn, Father Stan Fortuna, and a special appearance by Ayla Brown of American Idol

AUGUST 19, SULPHUR, LA: Sean Forrest, SpiritandSong.com’s Jose Blakesley, and more.

For more information, go to Proud2BCatholic.com.

Remember David Parker, the dad who asked a Lexington school to stop teaching his kindergartener out homosexuality? He’s put up a great fight over the last year and has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school system. But if you thought his fight was tough before, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! The story has taken an even nastier turn.

According to MassNews.com, “On May 17 — the two-year anniversary of same-sex ‘marriage’ in Massachusetts — David Parker’s first-grade son was dragged and beaten at the Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington during recess, receiving multiple blows to the chest, stomach, and genital area.”

After a full month of ignoring the incident, the school system finally decided to investigate. But only after MassResistance, the local group most actively supporting David Parker in his fight with the Lexington school system, took the story to the public. Unfortunately, it appers that the investigation is merely a sham to make the school look like it cares. They referred the matter to the DA, local police, and the DSS. Read the story at MassResistance.net.

The Mass Republican Assembly held it’s annual membership meeting and candidate endoresement convention on Saturday, June 17, 2006, in Marlborough. The following outstanding candidates were endorsed:

Larry Frisoli, candidate for Attorney General

Kevin Hayes, candidate for State Rep, 37th House District

David Singer, candidate for State Rep, 6th Worcester District

Bill Barabino, candidate for Governor’s Council, 6th District

Mike Franco, candidate for Governor’s Council, 8th District

Keith Mercurio, candidate for State Rep, 29th Middlesex District

Isaac Maas, candidate for Registrar of Deeds, Franklin County

Bob Parks, candidate for State Rep, 2nd Franklin District

Jim Rizoli, candidate for State Rep, 6th Middlesex District

Sandi Martinez, candidate for State Senate, 3rd Middlesex District

Joe Rice, candidate for Sate Rep, 14th Worcester District

Bob Thomas, candidate for State Rep, 4th Norfolk and Weymouth District

Matt Kinnaman, candidate for State Senate, Berkshire and Hampshire District

Reed Hillman, candiate for Lt. Governor

Ken Chase, candidate for US Senate

Rick Barton, candidate for US Congress

Chuck Morse, candidate for US Congress, 4th District

Let’s get out there and support these great candidates!

We all know that poll numbers can be deceiving. Here are some typical cases showing what the polls said about protecting marriage in various states prior to the votes and how the citizens of those states actually voted.

The question was regarding support for defining marriage as one man and one woman. The poll number is listed first, the actual vote second.

- Alabama: 64.8% (75%)

- Georgia: 69% (76%)

- Kansas: 56% (79%)

- Kentucky: 71.6% (75%)

- Louisiana: 62% (78%)

- Michigan: 52% (59%)

- Montana: 61% (67%)

- Nevada: 43% (67%)

- North Dakota: 53% (73%)

- Ohio: 48% (62%)

- Oklahoma: 59% (76%)

- Oregon: 50% (57%)

Why such a big difference? According to the Family Research Council, “Polling questions can be constructed to obtain the desired outcome. The slanted poll questions no doubt account for some of the difference. In addition, and probably more prominent, is the intimidation factor. Unscrupulous politicians like Sen. Ted Kennedy rant that protecting marriage is ‘bigotry, pure and simple.’ It’s no such thing, but Kennedy and company want to intimidate people. Some people are fearful of being labeled a homophobe or bigot so they keep their opinions to themselves until they are in the privacy of the voting booth and then, on average, over 70% defend marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”

As of today, 20 states have passed such a marriage amendment. For more, see the Family Research Council.

Earlier this week, Lt. Gov Kerry Healey and running mate Reed Hillman unveiled a proposal to reform the state’s public employee pension system. The plan would introduce fairness and transparency, save municipalities millions of dollars, and stop the current abuses of the system.

The proposed system would switch new state employees to a 401(K) style plan. This would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars every year and, over time, erase the state’s current $13 billion pension debt.

According to a recent study, legislative changes to the pension system provided richer benefits for some and offered early retirement incentives that cost the taxpayers an additional $125 million per year.

That’s the kind of fiscal reform I’d like to also see at the federal level!

We received a letter from Rep. John Fresolo (16th Worcester District) in response to the news stories about his family problems. Here is his reply:

May 2006

Dear Friend:

Recently, there have been some very nasty newspaper stories that commented on my personal life and especially on my relationship with my children. I wish I did not have to write this letter. However, I want to be very clear; the impression created by the news story was simply not true.

Being a parent is the most important responsibility that I have. I love my children very much and I enjoy every minute that we spend together. While I try my very best, like most fathers, I doubt that I am a perfect parent. But, I have never, nor would I ever, do anything to harm my children.

As you probably know, I am no longer married. But, we are trying our best to raise our daughters. Even with our personal differences, we have both tried to put the interests of our children first. We all have been very upset by the misimpressions of the news story and we both have issued public statements indicating that the allegations in the news story were not true (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 5/4/2006, page B5).

As parents, we will continue to support our daughters in every way we can and we ask for the privacy that we need to continue to help our children grow. My children and our family should not be part of anyone’s personal attempt to discredit me politically.

As your State Representative, I have tried my best to represent you at the State House. I hope you feel that I have worked hard and provided you with a level of representation that you could be proud of. This is very important to me. If you ever have any questions about my service as your State Representative, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Most Sincerely,

John P. Fresolo

[authorized and paid for by the Committee to Re-Elect John Fresolo State Representative]

Here’s something fun for motorcycle enthusiasts. On August 7, 2006, 2-3pm, the 21st Century Paul Revere team will ride their motorcycles into Boston to protest the illegal immigration invasion of America. Between 1,000 and 10,000 motorcycles are expected to circle the capitol for an hour. The group will ride into 48 state capitols this summer. The ride began in Denver on May 29th and will end in Washington, DC on August 12th with a massive motorcycle rally at the capital steps.

If you own a motorcycle, they invite you to hang Old Glory from the back and ride with them when they hit Boston. For more information, see www.21stCenturyPaulRevereride.US. Our thanks to Jane Gupta, Mass Federation of Republican Women, for this tidbit.