Worcester County Freedom Trail

Great article from Michelle Malkin on the wastefulness and arrogance of the UAW. Maybe Gov Deval Patrick should talk to the UAW about borrowing $1B to bailout his administration’s spending mess?

So, let’s see how the UAW spends their members’ money (and how they’ll be spending your hard earned bailout dollars in 2009)…

Nero fiddled while Rome burned. The UAW golfed. While carmakers soak up $17 billion in taxpayer bailout funds and demand more for their ailing industry, United Auto Workers bosses have wasted tens of millions of their workers’ dues on gold-plated resorts and rotten investments. The labor organization’s money-losing golf compound is just the tip of the iceberg.

Earlier this month on my blog, I noted that the UAW owns and operates Black Lake Golf Course — a “championship caliber” course opened in 2000 that’s part of a larger “family education center” and retreat nestled in 1,000 acres of property in Onaway, Michigan.

Curious about how the UAW will be spending my money and yours, I sifted through the union’s most recent annual report filed with the U.S. Department of Labor (which you can find at unionreports.gov). Who knew hitting the links was so central to the business of making cars?

In May and November 2007, the UAW forked over nearly $53,000 for union staff meetings at the Thousand Hills Golf Resort in Branson, Missouri. In September 2007, the UAW dropped another $5,000 at the Lakes of Taylor Golf Club in Taylor, Michigan and another $9,000 at the Thunderbird Hills Golf Club in Huron, Ohio. Another bill for $5,772 showed up for the Branson, Missouri golf resort. On Oct. 26, 2007, the union spent $5,000 on another “golf outing” in Detroit. In May and June 2007, UAW bosses spent nearly $11,000 on a golf tournament and related expenses at the Hawthorne Hill Country Club in Lima, Ohio. And in April 2007, the UAW spent $12,000 for a charity golf sponsorship in Dearborn. In August 2007, the UAW paid nearly $10,000 to its for-profit Black Lake golf course operator, UBG, for something itemized as “Golf 2007 Summer School.” UBG had nearly $4.4 million worth of outstanding loans from the union. Another for-profit entity that runs the education center, UBE, had nearly $20 million in outstanding loans from the union.

Perhaps, the union bosses might argue, they need all this fresh air and exercise to clear their heads in order to make wise financial decisions on behalf of their workers. If only. UAW management has proven to be a money-squandering corruptocracy with faux blue-collar trim. Former UAW head Yokich, who built the Black Lake black hole is also responsible for bidding $9.75 million of workers’ funds in a botched bid to purchase the gated La Mancha Resort Village in Palm Springs.

And while the UAW and carmakers cry poor, they’ve operated massive joint funds for years that have paid for lavish items such as multi-million-dollar NASCAR racer sponsorships and Las Vegas junkets. The dire economic downturn hasn’t changed the behavior of profligate union bigs at the front office or the shop floor. Local Detroit TV station WDIV recently caught local UAW bosses Ron Seroka and Jim Modzelewski — both of whom make six-figure salaries — on tape squandering thousands of hours of overtime on such important labor security matters as on-the-clock beer runs and bowling tournaments.

At least the groveling Big 3 CEOs gave up their corporate jets. Where’s the public flogging for the greed-infested UAW fatcats reaching into our pockets to keep them afloat?

OK, last piece on the 2008 year end wrap up.

My husband asked me an interesting question about Worcester the other day. “If you were to magically stop the founding of Worcester way back in 1713, then lifted that spell in 2009, what would develop here?”

So I pondered. We have no major (or even minor) port. Several major highways pass by and through the city, but would they if Worcester wasn’t here until 2009? Would our colleges be better off if they were located closer to Rt 495 or maybe even Rt 128? The Central Mass region is in need of resources to serve the more rural communities, so UMass might crop up here. Then again, it might be better off located further south, say lower Grafton, at the intersection of the Blackstone and Quinsigamond Rivers. But is the river deep enough to support any kind of serious transportation? Maybe Worcester should be further north, say in the Clinton area?

But I digress. Back to today and our year end wrap up.

Most Original Thinker
Definitely Roberta Schaefer and the crew at Worcester Regional Research Bureau. They are beholdin’ to no one, not politicians or unions. So the research they produce on the health of the city is unbiased and often eye-opening.

Enough Already
Here I have to briefly complain about what appears to be the near constant moving of polling locations. I a Warden at one of the sites in Worcester. This last election, we had a lot of people wander in because we were the closest place to vote. Many were major annoyed to find out that we were not their polling location. Have voting locations become victims of the ridiculous politics of redistricting? Sheesh, enough already. Find a location and stick with it.

Btw, the move of Ward 5-4 to the Super Stop and Shop was a disaster. The room was way too small, the stairs were a pain. The only up side was that the in-store Dunkin Donuts did bang up business on election day!

Best News for Worcester
Here I’m going to go with Biotech Park. Kudos to WPI for putting in a major effort to develop a downtrodden section of the city. And kudos to the City Council for not messing this up! I’ve worked with Kevin O’Sullivan of MBI and he has done yeoman’s work cultivating biotech entrepreneurs and moving them along the road to success.

Future of Worcester Airport
None, at least not as an airport. Let’s get the College Consortium to use the space for training facilities or an executive retreat for local businesses.

Best Person to Watch
Here I’m going to go with Ted Coughlin. I first met him years ago on a project with Jack Healy and the Manufacturing Advancement Center, MassMEP. Ted is an inspirational guy, always looking for ways to better the community. His role in getting the new Worcester Voke School funded and well-stocked with cool manufacturing equipment is just one example of his ability to make useful things happen.

Excellent summary of the wild and wooly Web 2.0 world and where it’s taken politics. From NextGenGOP:

Every New Year marks one of the most fascinating times in the news: the yearly wrap-up, in which the top 10 stories/events in a particular category of the past year are featured. Today, we’re going to hop on that bandwagon as we present the Top 10 Political Technology Stories of 2008.

10. Senate Candidate Raises Money via Twitter
9. Twittering Election Results
8. McCain Campaign Asks Supporters to Produce Campaign Ad
7. RNC Launches New Online Platform Discussion Site
6. Members of Congress Provide Government Transparency via Twitter
5. Barack Obama Announces Biden Pick for VP via Text Message
4. “The Network” Beats “The List”
3. The Obama Campaign Used Grassroots Data and Computer Modeling to Allocate Resources in Real Time
2. This is the Era of Personal Politics
1. Barack Obama Raises $500 Million Online

Btw, if you’re on Twitter, follow me at sharilee.

Continuing a prior post on the best and worst of 2008, let’s move on to a few more topics.

Most Under-Reported Story
The problems in the Worcester Public School system. According to the Worcester Regional Research Bureau’s report, Benchmarking Public Education in Worcester 2008, student enrollment dropped 8.2% from 2003 to 2007 while the budget grew 11.41%. In what world does that make any kind of sense? The city has to get control of spiraling retirement costs (up 29.13% from 03 to 07) and health insurance costs (up 72.57% over the same time period). For instance, why in the world aren’t our teachers provided with a health insurance option like the much more affordable Group Insurance Commission, which is available to state employees? From what I’m told, the teacher’s union is dead set against this as they use health insurance as a way of hiding pay raises and other teacher benefits.

Best Political Drama
Without a doubt, the corruption on Beacon Hill. House Speaker Sal DiMasi’s accountant indicted, former State Senator Dianne Wilkerson arrested for taking bribes, Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner arrested for taking bribes...need I say more?!? Oh, I almost forgot State Senator Jim Marzilli and his arrest on multiple counts of assault, disorderly conduct, and something in the lewd behavior category!

Worst News for Worcester
The supposed development of CitySquare. Developer Young Park is dragging his feet, the City Council looks like a bunch of boobs in their negotiations with his firm, and the dual tax structure is killing downtown.

Btw, extra boos to City Councilor Michael Germain who had the gall to chide the business community for “not engaging the council on the tax-rate issue until the night of the tax classification hearing.” (Telegram, Nov 26, 2008). I’ve been a Worcester resident for over 20 years and ever since I moved to town, businesses have been complaining about the dual tax structure that was put in place in 1984. In what sand dune has Mr. Germain been sticking his head?

Best Use of Local Taxpayer Money
Give it back to the taxpayers! Speaking of which, what happened to the property tax relief Governor Patrick promised throughout his campaign? That’s all he talked about for months on end. Even when the budget looked good, he cried “poor man” and turned his backs on the taxpayers. Is anyone surprised?

And here’s a fun roundup of Worcester Online 2008 by Jeff at Wormtown Taxi.

Thanks to Brock Cordeiro and the SouthCoastGOP for hosting the fisrt forum for the MassGOP Chair race. The two candidates are Mike Franco, long-time Republican activist from Holyoke, and Jennifer Nassour, a new State Committee member from Charlestown.

Here are the videos from the event. They are broken up into 9 minute segments for easier viewing:

The total viewing time is less than 90 minutes and each file, listed chronologically, is approximately 9 minutes in length. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKVc8aNhAUU   (Nathan Pierce, emcee & Joe Manzoli)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUtbV8iOT0c   (Manzoli & Jennifer Nassour)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kO-LtVH6yw   (Nassour)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W2kgQ6OZZE   (Nassour)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1GnmoaGykM   (Nassour)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vthUhZT7L8I   (Nassour & Mike Franco)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY73FxXeQhk   (Franco)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSmH12pw3KY   (Franco)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxxi247y6xg   (Franco)

The next MassGOP Chair forum will be hosted by the MFYR’s on Thursday, January 8, 2009, 6:30pm – 9:30pm, at The Point, 147 Hanover Street, Boston, MA.

From Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading) in today’s Telegram:

Despite last week’s nasty storm, I hope everyone in Central Massachusetts will have a happy and healthy holiday season. It’s busy up at the State House, as the new two year legislative session which begins on January 7 grows closer. As House Minority Leader, I’m working closely with all of our Republican members as we prepare to tackle the challenging times, both around the state and up on Beacon Hill.

As you have heard the House Speaker has indicated local aid may be slashed in the next fiscal year by up to 10%. We find this unacceptable and disrespectful to the hard working taxpayers of Massachusetts. Local aid is one of the most important state programs we fund. A reduction in aid will result in higher property taxes and a loss of local services. The entire Republican caucus joined together and voted against the budget back in May and July because we knew the budget was unsustainable and would result in mid-year 9C cuts by the Governor.

Cutting local aid is not an option, and should be taken off the table. The Democratic controlled legislature must first rein in spending, cut the pork from the budget and get its own house in order before making cuts to already struggling cities and towns.

Additionally, the Republican caucus stands firmly against any increase in the gas tax and tolls. Had the Majority party embraced some Republican ideas, we may not be in such a tight situation today. We suggested a number of cost cutting measure, including merging the Massachusetts Turnpike with Mass Highway and selling off the service and rest areas along the Pike while the property market was in better health. Taking more money out of taxpayers’ pockets will only worsen our struggling state economy.

While we applaud the Governor for exploring the option of merging the Pike and Mass Highway, we are equally aggravated that we have yet to see a concrete detailed proposal from the administration. Instead all we’ve heard is empty rhetoric. Additionally, we find the Governor’s request to refrain from discussing turnpike proposals in public offensive and ridiculous. We serve at the will of the people, and our constituents deserve to be informed as to the happenings surrounding the Pike proposals.

These issues should certainly be discussed and debated in a transparent and public manner. There’s a black cloud hovering over Beacon Hill and trust for public officials is at an all time low. Major issues such as these should not and cannot be decided by a few people behind closed doors. The public has every right to know what we are doing and we will continue making our case to the public. The solution is not in raising tolls and taxes and cutting local aid.

It’s clear the results of one party government are hazardous to the taxpayers’ fiscal health. We in the Republican caucus will continue to fight for and offer better alternatives to the taxpayers of the Commonwealth and fight for fiscally responsible behavior on Beacon Hill.

A new report is out that takes an in-depth look at the information being displayed in Washington DC’s new Capitol Visitor Center (CVC). Amazing how many mistakes were made. Sad how many were obviously politically motivated.

The National Motto
The CVC had incorrectly indentified “E pluribus unum” in its Unity display as our national motto. Since 1956, our national motto has been “In God We Trust.” The CVC text had previously stated, “The nation’s motto, E pluribus unum–Out of many, one–expresses the ideal of our Union: many states, one nation. Representing all of the states, Congress has promoted national unity through a process of inquiry, debate, compromise, and consensus. These documents record the continuing legislative efforts to meet the broadest needs of the people.”

After congressional members pointed out the error and asked that the display be corrected, the words, “THE NATION’S MOTTO” were plastered over.

Additionally, after objections raised by several members, the words “IN GOD WE TRUST” were added above the replica of the Speaker’s Rostrum in the Virtual House Theater in order to accurately portray the actual Speaker’s Rostrum in the House Chamber. The words were not included in the originally approved CVC text.

The 1824 Presidential Election
The CVC text states: “The 1824 presidential election was the first one to excite high public interest and participation.” Without an equivocation, it was the presidential election of 1800 between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson that was “the first one to excite high public interest and participation.” In that election, the two-party system matured to full operation, with the Federalists of Adams being tossed over in both the House and the Senate in preference for Jefferson’s Republicans, or Anti-Federalists. Both newspapers and pamphleteers were in full swing for that election, and some of the most outrageous news coverage and electioneering ever to arise in any presidential election occurred in the election of 1800.

The Northwest Ordinance, 1787
The CVC text states: “The authors of the Northwest Ordinance believed educated citizens were critical to the success of self-government. Article 3 declared, ‘… education shall forever be encouraged.’ The Northwest Ordinance, together with the earlier Land Ordinance of 1785, set aside a section of each new township’s land for the support of public schools.”

Article 3 of the Northwest Ordinance states: “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”

Very clearly, then, the Framers of the Northwest Ordinance did not indicate in the Ordinance that they “believed educated citizens were critical to the success of self-government”; to the contrary, they stated that they believed that “religion, morality, and knowledge” were critical to the success of self-government. Schools were not the object of the Ordinance (as indicated by the abbreviated quote in the CVC text) but instead were the means of implementing those three items of congressional concern.

And there are many more errors. Read the full report: Reconstructing American History.

We just taped the 2008 year end wrap up show on Central Mass Chronicles yesterday. We had an all-star cast (of course : Allen Fletcher of Worcester Publishing, Democrat Strategist Chris Condon, myself (representing the MassGOP), and host Ben Dobson. You can see the show starting next week on Channel 3.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts. As I’m getting ready for the Christmas travel insanity, this may appear in multiple posts.

Biggest Winner
Holden-Princeton and the towns north of Worcester were definitely this year’s big winner as they took it upon themselves to fight their way out of the havoc left behind by the ice storm. Rep. Lew Evangelidis told me some great stories about residents who weren’t about to wait for National Grid or the public service crews to show up. They fired up their chainsaws first thing in the morning and started digging out of the mess. After all the bailout begging the last few months, it’s nice to see resourceful citizens pull together and make things happen. Kudos also to WTAG for their call-in coverage. This helped many of the people who were stranded know someone was listen and was taking names and locations (hey, kind of like Santa’s list!).

Biggest Loser
Downtown Worcester. The dual tax rate is scaring away businesses and killing our city. In fact, the rate just went up to $28.72 for businesses. Compare this with neighboring towns, like Shrewsbury’s $9.14 or Westborough’s 14.70. We haven’t had a new office building constructed since 1990 (just a few years after the city implemented the idiotic dual tax structure). On top of this, downtown business owners seem unwilling to work together to make a difference. City Manager Michael O’Brien has tried several times to bring these people together to brainstorm and make changes, but no one shows up. Kudos to the Mass School of Pharmacy, though. They are changing the face of downtown for the better, one brick at a time.

Most Unoriginal Idea
I got grief about this from Allen Fletcher, but a lot of people I talk to are not happy with the idea of resurrecting Blackstone Canal. We have to stop trying to be Providence and start being ourselves. The Worcester Common Outlets was a major disaster. Let’s not throw more good money after bad. Kudos to the Worcester Local First small business organization and Steve Jones D’Agostino for heading in the right direction.

Best Photo Op
Definitely the seniors’ rubber ducky prank at Tantasqua Regional High School.

Blogs for Joy

I suppose it was inevitable, given the broad reach of the Internet. Most of us have probably seen one or more of the terrorists’ YouTube videos. Now Wired Magazine reports that jihadists are getting their message out in more Web 2.0 forums. And it’s not just about internal coordination. They’re out to sway public opinion.

Online jihadists have already used YouTube, blogs and other social media to spread their propaganda. Now, a group of internet Islamic extremists is putting together a plan for “invading Facebook.”

“We can use Facebook to fight the media,” notes a recent posting on the extremist al-Faloja forum, translated by Jihadica.com. “We can post media on Facebook that shows the Crusader losses.”

“We have already had great success in raiding YouTube,” the poster adds. “American politicians have used Facebook to get votes, like the house slave Obama.”

Groups like al-Qaida were pioneering users of the internet — to train, share ideas and organize. But some observers, like George Washington University professor Marc Lynch, see a reluctance to embrace Web 2.0 tools like Facebook. “One of the biggest problems for a virtual network like AQ today is that it needs to build connections between its members while protecting itself from its enemies. That’s a filtering problem: How do you get your people in, and keep intelligence agents out?” he asks.

But as Jihadica.com author and West Point Combating Terrorism Center fellow William McCants notes, the proposed Facebook invasion “is not an attempt to replicate [existing] social networks.” Instead, “the members of the campaign want to exploit existing networks of people who are hostile to them and presumably they will adopt new identities once they have posted their material.”

The al-Faloja poster suggests seven “brigades” work together within Facebook. One will distribute videos and writing of so-called “martyrs.” Another will spread military training material. Most of them will work in Arabic, presumably. But one of the units will focus just on spread English-language propaganda through Facebook.