Worcester County Freedom Trail

My daughter recently came home from her Western Civilization class with the following fascinating insights from her teacher. According to the teacher, the three most harmful statements of today are:

-  Always look at the glass as half full.

-  Don’t judge others because there is no right or wrong.

-  Everyone has their own perception; there are no facts or truth. (The history teacher made a great point here, if there are no facts, how can the theory that there are no facts be true?)

You might recognize these as the basis of what is today called “postmodernism,” a key component of which is moral relativism. The goal is to be skeptical of everything and, as a result, redefine human existence so that there is no right or wrong. We no longer have to make hard decisions and live with the consequences as there are no universal moral truths. We can just go with what feels good and makes us happy now. (Man, I’m having a major flashback to the 1960’s!)

But there’s nothing “postmodern” about this philosophy. In fact, it started at least as early as ancient Greece where philosophers, such as Protagoras (c. 481 – 420 BC), claimed that “man is the measure of all things.”

And there is nothing helpful about postmodernism or moral relativism. Evil does exist and we must fight it with truth and facts. We must also fight our selfish instincts to be lazy and let the other guy carry the heavy load while we enjoy the moment. One of the biggest man-made disasters this country ever faced was The New Deal. With the creation of these “welfare state” programs, FDR almost single-handedly undermined the bedrock of American society — the family. Without the stabilizing influence of the family, children have become uncontrollable, crime has run rampant, the number of unmarried and teen births continue to rise, and abortions have risen into the millions.

As the State Farm insurance commercial says, “Now what?”

My teenager showed me this information and I was quite surprised. After all the ranting PETA does about how cruel people are to animals, it looks like they are among the worst. They take in money and animals for adoption and instead end up killing the vast majority — 97.4% in 2006 alone. How can this be?

This from the PETAkillsanimals.com web site:

From July 1998 through December 2006, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) killed over 17,400 dogs, cats, and other “companion animals.” That’s more than five defenseless creatures every day. PETA has a walk-in freezer to store the dead bodies, and contracts with a Virginia Beach company to cremate them. Not counting the pets PETA spayed and neutered, the group put to death over 97 percent of the animals it took in during 2006. And its angel-of-death pattern shows no sign of changing.

Apparently PETA has other financial priorities.

PETA rakes in nearly $30 million each year in income, much of it raised from pet owners who think their donations actually help animals. Instead, the group spends huge sums on programs equating people who eat chicken with Nazis, scaring young children away from drinking milk, recruiting children into the radical animal-rights lifestyle, and intimidating businessmen and their families in their own neighborhoods. PETA has also spent tens of thousands of dollars defending arsonists and other violent extremists.

PETA claims it engages in outrageous media-seeking stunts “for the animals.” But which animals? Carping about the value of future two-piece dinners while administering lethal injections to puppies and kittens isn’t ethical. It’s hypocritical — with a death toll that PETA would protest if it weren’t their own doing.

The gay lobby has begun pressuring Beacon Hill for a record $2.9 million – specifically for homosexual programs targeting children – in the upcoming 2009 budget. This represents nearly twice as much as they’ve ever had before ($1.5 million under Gov. Paul Cellucci) and nearly five times the amount in the current year’s budget ($600,000).

According to MassResistance:

In a recent email to their supporters, the Mass. Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus (MGLPC) made it clear that this is now a top priority for them. They bragged that they are “working every day . . . inside the legislature to gain [this] additional funding.” They are also organizing other groups, such as the Massachusetts Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth (CGLBTY) to stage a full-scale emotional effort on the Ways and Means Committee to get this money put in.

Last month, the Governor released his budget recommendations. At this point there is “officially” $550,000 of direct earmarks for homosexual activism in the public schools, broken down this way.

7010-0005 Dept of Education . . . . . $200,000
“Programming to ensure compliance by schools with the Board of Education’s recommendations for the support and safety of gay and lesbian students”

4590-0250 Dept of Public Health . . . . . $350,000
“Commission on gay and lesbian youth”

(This does not include non-earmarked money, which could be up to a million dollars or more, but takes a little more time to uncover.)

The MGLPC email outlined the parts of the budget that they’re targeting. They apparently want to add more homosexual “earmarks” to those budget items so the totals get beefed up. (This is an old political strategy of the gay lobby – to divide the money between the Dept. of Education and Dept. of Public Health. This time they’re also adding a third item.)

7010-0005 Dept of Education . . . . . $797,000

4590-0250 Dept of Public Health . . . . . $1,843,000

new line item – Commission Admin Support . . . . . $260,000

This is wrong on so many levels, among those that the state budget is already in crisis according to Gov Patrick. Contact the House Ways & Means Committee ASAP as the deadline for their amendments to the Governor’s budget is April 16, 2008.

House Ways and Means Committee: 617-722-2380
Rep. Robert DeLeo is Chairman

This worked out well as the Worcester city budget has no room for a new voting system this year. But wait til next year! Looks like we’re going to have to foot a $350,000+ investment before the next election cycle.

According to the Telegram:

The city has a reprieve from having to make a significant investment this year in a new or leased system to count election ballots.

LHS Associates of Methuen, the company that provides technical support for the city’s ballot-counting system, has informed local election officials it is extending its support through the end of this year for the generation of Accu-Vote hardware and software used by the city.

The company had previously indicated it was going to cease providing such technical support as of July 1. That had city officials most concerned because of the age of the city’s Accu-Vote system, which has been used in all local elections since 1993.

In light of LHS’ decision, the city will be able to use its existing ballot-counting system for the Sept. 16 state primary election and the Nov. 4 presidential election.

Without the technical support from LHS, City Clerk David J. Rushford said the city would have had to buy or lease a new system for this year’s elections. He said it would have cost the city $350,000 or more to buy new equipment.

Because the loss of technical support was something that was not foreseen by city officials when this year’s municipal budget was put together a year ago, there is no money in the budget to finance such a purchase or lease.

“(LHS’) withdrawal of technical support for our voter tabulation system was a major concern because of the age of our equipment,” Mr. Rushford said yesterday. “This gives us a little breathing room. With LHS agreeing to continue servicing and supporting our ballot machines and tabulating software through the end of this year, we temporarily avoid having to spend $350,000 or more on a new purchase. But it is still something that we will have to look into next year.”

Mr. Rushford credited the Election Commission for playing a role in getting LHS to reconsider its previous decision.

He said the five-member commission asked the secretary of state’s office to intercede because LHS’ decision was forcing the city and 41 other communities in the state to upgrade to a newer Windows-based software system that has multiple security flaws and a hefty price tag.

The city paid $293,000 for the Accu-Vote System, which replaced a punch-card voting system it had used for nine years. With the Accu-Vote System, the vote-counting process has often been completed two to three hours after the polls close, depending on the turnout.

I figured this would be old news by now, but the City Council is still whining over whether they should be looking at the salaries of Worcester’s top wage earners. And now Mayor Konnie Lukes is pushing for a wage freeze for FY’09 which, not surprisingly, the City Council is finding all sorts of reasons to fight.

So I have two questions:

•  If the Worcester City Council isn’t going to bother paying attention to where our tax dollars are being spent, who is? I doubt it’s going to be the people who are benefiting the most from these public funds.

•  Why does the City Council think it’s atrocious that the Mayor has asked for consideration of a wage freeze? Are their memories so bad that they’ve forgotten the $21M deficit for this year? And the economy doesn’t appear to be getting any better in the short term. So where does that leave us for FY2009? According to the Mass Dept of Revenue, it looks like 46.3% of our city’s monies will come from State Aid — $254,998,704 estimated for 2008. Gov Patrick is already whining deficit, so we shouldn’t be holding our breath on getting additional funds at the state level.

Pay attention City Council. This *is* what we pay you for. Responsible, fiscal management, not politicking and expelling a lot of hot air. That you do on your own dime!

Here’s what got this all started, “Police Chief on Top of Salary List” in the Worcester Telegram.

Rep Karyn Polito (R-Shrewsbury) and AG Martha Coakley (D) are digging in over Jessica’s Law, a bill that would force tougher sentences on child rapists. This from Saturday’s Telegram:

The state’s leading supporter of a new law for stiffer mandatory minimum sentences for child rapists and the top law enforcement official in Massachusetts clashed this week over the Legislature’s reluctance to pass the bill adopted in many other states, known as Jessica’s Law.

State Rep. Karyn E. Polito, R-Shrewsbury, fired off statements criticizing Attorney General Martha Coakley after Ms. Coakley made comments outlining her concerns that the proposed law could work against prosecutors trying to lock up violent pedophiles.

The attorney general said the proposed law would limit the state’s ability to get plea agreements in cases where prosecutors may face difficulty gaining a conviction through a trial.

“If Jessica’s Law is enacted in Massachusetts, the practical effect of such a law will be that more pedophiles will escape conviction,” Ms. Coakley said.

“Having spent a long career investigating and prosecuting child abuse cases, I know that sexual predators are dangerous and should be investigated, prosecuted and jailed when found guilty of a sex crime,” Ms. Coakley said. However, in many cases, she said, young children cannot testify, are unable to testify or may not perform well before a jury. Also, she said, in many cases there is no physical evidence on which to base a trial prosecution.

“My concern with regard to Jessica’s Law is that any defendant facing 25 years in jail will opt to go to trial, knowing full well that if the victim cannot testify, or does not convince beyond a reasonable doubt, he will go free,” she said.

Ms. Polito, who has sponsored legislation to enact the law here, sharply criticized the attorney general over the comments.

“I am extremely disappointed to hear it reported today that our highest elected law enforcement official, Attorney General Martha Coakley, has publicly denounced Jessica’s Law, a bipartisan measure that would better protect children from violent sexual predators,” Ms. Polito said yesterday.

She said Massachusetts is one of only seven states that have not adopted laws similar to Jessica’s Law, named after a child rape case in Florida that gave rise to similar legislation there. Ms. Polito said the law “would keep dangerous sex offenders who prey on children behind bars with a mandatory minimum sentence.”

She argued it would be one more tool to help prosecutors dealing with what she called “the most dangerous sexual predators” and would help drive up the average 3- to-5-year sentences from plea bargains in child rape cases involving “lenient judges.”

“Massachusetts, and especially our attorney general, should seize every opportunity to protect our children,” Ms. Polito said.

Ms. Coakley countered that the proposed law could misfire on those trying to protect children and that “more pedophiles will escape conviction” if the law is passed.

“Although Representative Polito’s intent in public safety is commendable, in my view this particular statute does not accomplish that goal and will in many instances be counterproductive,” Ms. Coakley said.

The bill is one of several on child rape laws pending before the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.” — John 3:16

[Thomas Kinkade's Garden of Prayer]

It was a busy day on Beacon Hill yesterday. Not only did Speaker Sal DiMasi annoy the heck out of Gov Deval Patrick by trouncing the casino bill, but the legislature also killed a series of bills related to abortion, transgender rights, gay marriage, and more.

I can’t find anything in the newspapers yet, but MassResistance reports that the following bills were sent to study, effectively killing their chances of making any progress during this legislative session:

S800, S1029, H1728: These bills would have allowed out of state gay couples to get legally married in Massachusetts, then go back to their home states.

H1722: This was the transgender rights and hate crimes bill.

H1709: This bill would have repealed our state’s sodomy laws and other “morality” laws.

H1710, S918:  These bills would have legalized gay marriage by changing the marriage statute.

H1735: This bill would have allowed a minor to get an abortion WITHOUT parental consent or judge’s order.

H1734, S831: These bills would have repealed all laws restricting abortions.

That works for me!

Child porn is illegal and if viewed in a public place should be reported to the police. There is no expectation of privacy at a computer   terminal in the library. Kudos to Brenda for doing what’s right. In what sick, twisted world does her arrest make sense?

This from Concerned Women for America:

Last month Brenda Biesterfeld, a Librarian Assistant at the Lindsay, California branch of the Tulare County Library, discovered a patron viewing child pornography on one of the library’s public-use computers. While her supervisor told her that it was something that the library would handle internally, Brenda brought the matter to the attention of the local police. That tip resulted in an arrest. While she should have been lauded as a hero, Brenda was instead fired by the library.

Mat Staver, President of the Liberty Counsel, which is representing Ms Biesterfeld, has more on this unfortunate case, the implications of the library’s policy for child patrons, and their demands on behalf of Ms. Biesterfeld. Hear the details here.

The Upton Republican Town Committee held its meeting to reorganize and elect new officers on March 6, 2008. Congrats to all and a fairly full committee!

Upton RTC

Chair: Ken Glowacki
Secretary: Steve McCaw
Treasurer: Judith McGee

For those interested in getting involved in the Upton RTC, please contact Steve McCaw.