Worcester County Freedom Trail

The Bay State, especially Central Mass, has been bleeding manufacturing jobs off and on for years. It’s no wonder given the low labor rate in developing countries. For instance, manufacturers of metal goods in India pay their laborers the equivalent of about $1 per day. That means that US manufacturers are stuck competing on price unless their products are significantly different.

In the last couple of years, China has become the big threat. As they gear up to industrialize their farming populations, manufacturers from around the world are looking to those Far Eastern shores as a source of cheap labor as well as a monstrously large market.

The problem is, as China gears up to compete in worldwide commerce, how do you encourage it to play by the rules, especially when it’s pretty well known that they have little respect for intellectual property rights (IP)?

Case in point, toolmaker Diamond Machining Technology of Marlborough. A Chinese firm had the audacity to copy DMT’s products, then bring them to the US to sell right under DMT’s nose. So the US firm had to incur added legal expense to protect its business. And while the US courts have upheld DMT’s rights, how do you get the offending firm to comply? According to the Worcester Telegram:

U.S. District Court judge has ordered a Chinese company to stop infringing on Diamond Machining Technology Inc.’s patented sharpening technology in a case that began when DMT discovered copies of its tools at a Las Vegas trade show.

Judge Kent J. Dawson of the U.S. District of Nevada ruled last month that Jing Yin Lixin Diamond Tools Factory, a business with headquarters near Shanghai, infringed on a DMT patent. He ordered Jing Yin Lixin to stop its copying and pay DMT’s legal fees, according to online court filings.

Will the US prevent the Chinese firm from importing to the States? Does the Chinese firm even care, given that it can still sell to the rest of the world? The story points out that the Chinese firm didn’t even bother to retain counsel. They sent a fluffy little letter asking for “a fair, reasonable, and light judgment.”

Eventually, capitalism and the global economy will have a significant impact on the lives of China’s citizens, providing job opportunities and pressuring China’s communist leaders to lighten up. But in the meantime, it’s going to get messy, both here and there.

Although the SJC took the easy way out earlier this week by finding no basis to force the legislature to vote on the people’s petitions in the Constitutional Convention, they did strongly rebuke our elected officials who are violating their oaths of office. Hadley Arkes at National Review has a great piece on the marriage amendment and the intent of Article 48 in the Massachusetts Constitution that states the legislators MUST vote:

The constitution provides that a proposal to amend the document “shall … be laid before a joint session of the two houses,” and shall be voted upon in the form in which it was introduced, unless such amendment is amended by vote of three-fourths of the members voting thereon in joint session, which vote shall be taken by call of the yeas and nays if called for by any member.”  

When the provisions for initiative were enacted, in 1917-18, the question was raised as to what would be done if the legislature failed to act and respect the mandate of the constitution.  But the one who raised the question, a Mr. Quincy, answered it himself: “I do not believe we need to consider seriously that contingency or a defiance of the provisions of the amendment by either of these two branches of the General Court.” As Justice Greaney concluded then for the court, “Enough has now been said about the requirement to vote on the merits to place the proposition beyond serious debate.” He acknowledged that members of the legislature had professed to be in doubt as to whether the constitution (in Art. 48) actually required the legislature to vote on a petition properly presented. But Greaney remarked, with more charity than was warranted, that “Today’s discussion and holding on the meaning of the duty lays any doubt to rest. The members of the General Court are the people’s elected representatives, and each one of them has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the Commonwealth.”

No more excuses from the 109 legislators who voted for a recess on November 9, 2007. It’s time to take a vote.

For those of you who can, we urge you to attend the Constitutional Convention on Tuesday, January 2nd. Busees are leaving from Stoneham, Arlington, Chicopee, New Bedford, Leicester, Taunton, East Sandwich, Marlborough, and Georgetown. For more information, see the bus schedule at VoteonMarrriage.

Visiting dignitaries in Iraq usually are overwhelmed with attention from the troops. Not so with our very own Senator John Kerry, who apparently was not a welcome visitor. This from military blogger, Ben of Mesopotamia, a Harvard PhD who was called back to active duty:

On Saturday night, a colleague emailed me and told me to bring my camera, as Senator Kerry was scheduled to give a press conference here in the Palace. At 2100, he entered a conference room wearing his leather flight jacket. Unfortunately, there was no media there, except for the enlisted soldiers from AFTN (Armed Forces Television Network) who had to be there. His aide looked around, saw that this just wasn’t happening, and quickly escorted Kerry out before I could take a picture.

Finally, the next morning, Senator Kerry ate chow at the Dining Facility. Normally when a Senator/Representative visits, he is joined by a contingent of soldiers/Marines/airmen from his home state. Despite the fact that the MP unit responsible for Green Zone security is an Army Reserve unit from Massachusetts, not a single soldier went to sit with him. (By contrast, Bill O’Reilly, host of that terrible shoutfest on Fox, had over 400 soldiers waiting in line to meet him on Saturday).

I’m tired of being embarrassed by our Senator. Will someone please raise their hand to run against him?

The Heritage Foundation recently released the Lessons Learned from a Do Nothing Congress which reviews the poor performance of the 109th Congress. As the MassGOP goes into its deliberations over its new leader, it should consider the lessons learned from November.

State Committee members should ask the candidates for Chair what their views are on not only abortion, marriage, and passing out needles, but they should also be asking those questions concerning an overall platform to invigorate a moderately conservative and conservative base. In my 5 December post is suggested a platform of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As a part of that posting over regulation is a key component. So questions about over-regulation ought to be among the top questions asked right after life and marriage issues.

I hope those questions get asked, and I eagerly await Friday’s forum and next weeks vote.

Today, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that it won’t force the legislature to vote on people’s petitions for constitutional amendments, including the marriage amendment put forth by the Vote on Marriage organization. Yet two years ago they had no problem instructing the legislature that they had to create a law legalizing gay marriage.

So, the SJC won’t uphold the Constitution, but they’re happy to create new laws?!?! Am I confused or are they?

According to the Boston Globe,

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today that it had no authority to order the Legislature to vote on a ballot initiative to ban gay marriage, but the justices gave Governor Mitt Romney a symbolic victory by scolding lawmakers for shirking “their lawful obligations.”

Again, he’s not even in office yet, but today Gov Elect Deval Patrick decided to revoke the latest round of budget cuts by Gov Mitt Romney. Although Patrick stated repeatedly throughout his campaign that the state of Massachusetts was facing a dire budget shortfall, he now says we have so much money that we don’t need $380 million of the $425 million in cuts made by Romney. According to the Boston Herald,

Romney made $425 million in budget cuts in November, saying the reductions were necessary because of chronic overspending by legislators. At the time, Romney said he was doing Patrick a favor by not saddling him with a huge budget deficit as the governor-elect prepared to move into his State House offices.

But Patrick resoundingly rejected the move today, saying that emerging budget projections show the state has enough money to cover the expenditures planned through the end of June.

So was Patrick lying during his campaign or was he just ignorant of the facts? New Hampshire is looking better all the time.

Merry Christmas and  Peace on Earth!

Here’s a quick list of the candidates for Chair of the MassGOP. They will debate in an open forum on Friday, December 29, 2006, 6:30pm, at the Woburn Senior Center. Only State Committee members can ask questions, but anyone can attend and talk to the candidates before and after the Q&A. The Forum will be moderated by a senior State Committeperson. It will be recorded and posted to the YR’s web site for those who can’t make it.

- William Barabino, billbarabino@aol.com
- Jeff Beatty, jbeatty@totalsecurity.us
- Ken Chase, mdelapaz21@aol.com
- Stephanie Davis, stephaniemargo@yahoo.com
- Joe Manzoli, elzola@townisp.com
- Bob Parks, bob@blackandright.us
- Peter Torkildsen, pgt13@comcast.net
- Ron Vining, rvining@msn.com

The Forum is sponsored by the Massachusetts Young Republicans, Worcester County Republican Club, and Cape Cod Republican Club, working in conjuction with State Committeepeople Cynthia Stead, Cape & Islands; Helen Hatch, 4th Middlesex; Nancy Luther, 2nd Essex; and Shari Worthington, 2nd Worcester.

This is just too good not to post. A tip of the hat to Ted B for this.

Many will recall that on July 8, 1947, witnesses claim an unidentified object with five aliens aboard crashed on a sheep and cattle ranch just outside Roswell, New Mexico.

This is a well known incident that many say has long been covered up by the US Air Force and the Federal Government.

However, you may NOT know that in the month of March, 1948, roughly nine months after that historic day, Albert Arnold Gore, Jr, Hillary Rodham, John F. Kerry, Howard Dean, and Nancy Pelosi were born.

Coincidence?

The four Roman Catholic Ordinaries of the Archdiocese of Boston, and the Dioceses of Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester, have sent individual letters to each Massachusetts state legislator in advance of the Constitutional Convention scheduled for January 2nd, the last day of the 2005-2006 legislative session.  The bishops urge the legislators to bring the Marriage Amendment to a vote, allowing it to be moved forward to the next term.

Read the full letter here.