Pre Vacation Post

John Kerry (D-Gigolo) has managed to outdo even his usual blather by his pronouncement on the general intelligence of the electorate. Too bad this tax evading yachtsman was not up for election since it would be a slam dunk he’d be off to writing his memoirs while ensconced in his Louisburg Square Beacon Hill “cottage.” Kerry has displayed both contempt and a clear inability to grasp that folks are just fed up with the way government is being operated.

Continuing in the vain of the clueless is one Barney Frank who is seeking something like his 49th term in Congress. Barney is an expert at the full spittle reply when confronted about both his behavior towards those who disagree with him and his compliance in the fiscal meltdown. I expect that Frank will be elected - again - so just maybe that will give some credence to the Kerry remarks.

President Obama has decided to take on quite possible the largest special interest group in the nation - the unions that represent teachers. I never did in all my years of questioning receive a reply as to how the have handed out my dues on a state and national level with their various public interest groups. Obama has stated he wants bad teachers removed. How does the administration plan on determining a bad teacher? I can usually tell by observation and the primary source - the students. Be surprised how objective and clear cut they can be in their evaluations.

Notice that the teachers union in Massachusetts has contributed $560,000 to fight the reduction in the sales tax. For years I asked the national, state and local associations where they were funneling my dues? Exactly what causes were they “fighting” for? Never managed a reply. Never.

One of the real keys to the economy is something called consumer confidence. It has not presented a pretty picture for sometime.

The Bush tax cuts will expire and that is in the lap of Reid. Reid decided not to move on with extending the cuts despite bi-partisan support and it will potentially hit most of us. Amazing when it is mentioned we can’t afford the tax cuts but can support a failed stimulus bill or two…or three.

Liberal Democrats (AKA - Moonbats) now prefer to call themselves “Progressives” a term grabbed from those Republicans of a 100 or so years ago who actually targeted the excesses of - you guessed it - Democrats! Well…the progressives still stand for lack of personal accountability and responsibility, big government as a cure all and the endless look for more revenues. In their world all businessmen are robber barons and anyone to their right is a bigoted reactionary in lock-step with the Tea Party.

The “Progressives” had a nice meeting at the National Mall in D.C. over the weekend and titled it “Power To The People.” IMO this was the usual collection of “activist,” “organizers,” and “union leaders” with one clear thread in common - they get their bucks from the taxpayer. Naturally it is a show of survival as the TP and most of America is on to this long running con game which has ultimately given us the former “community organizer” as president. Ah…just the thoughts of ACORN.

If somehow the Republicans managed to take control of the house will that mean the outgoing collection of moonbats will put forth a flurry of social engineering bills? I somehow think enough Blue Dog Democrats will prevent this.

Patrick has still refused to addresses his exact position of benefits for illegal immigrants.

Massachusetts will probably lose another member of Congress once the census figures are final. If we were really, really lucky we would lose all ten.

Charlie Barker (R-HMO) is just about tied with Deval “One and Out” Patrick in the race for governor. Tim Cahill is hanging around and Green Party or whatever they call themselves candidate - Jill “I’m an MD so I know everything” Stein - is at 4%. Deval is attempting to drift a bit further to the right on certain issues to feel he is more in tune with the general electorate. I’m still waiting for my property tax relief.

Tim Cahill (I- Long Gone) is now hanging on by a thread in the race for governor. His Lt. Governor candidate defected to the Republicans much like Cahill did from the Democratic party. His poll numbers are starting to approach those of Jill “I’m from Harvard so I know best “ Stein. Both will soon be passed by blanks.

Ken Burns is back at baseball with “The 10th Inning” that is a must for the fan and non fan. Lttle sappy but still a nice trip down memory lane.

Now we have the latest Tea Party babble coming from Senate Prez Murray who did the BB thing over the TP. The tired old song and dance about “nut jobs.” It seems the only criticism I read is the name calling. No one seems to mention anything about the base root of the movement which seems rather simplistic to me - fiscal sanity, immigration reform and leaner government are common themes. When you run scared the only thing you have is to take the low road.

The TP has put forth their collective complaints and have a rather rapt audience but they seem a wee bit short on substance. I’m just wondering what the master plan is for scaling down government or tax policy? From what I have been able to gather this is more of an emotional movement at this point rather than one with a solid platform. A lot of sound bites in their rhetoric. So I’d venture a guess that most of their positions will be weaved into the Republican Party platform in fine detail. Personally the less one says the better the chance of not doing a Kerry. Might be more advantageous to talk in slogans. With Obama I said he couldn’t be worse than the last guy but has managed to put that notion to rest. Could always happen again.

The famed Amish Mantel are now being advertised in the paper as winter nears. These are manufactured by the Chinese branch of the Amish community.

Comedian Stephen Colbert - a sidekick of Jon Stewart - recently appeared before Congress to give “testimony” on Immigration. Unfortunately he did this in character and I imagine that in the small minds of those who dreamed up this stunt that passes for legitimate testimony. Both of these well past their shelf life entertainers appear on “The Daily Show” a comedy take on news with a left wing slant. I have not watched the show in years simply because in became a flat joke after awhile. You could sense the punch lines. Think SNL. IMHO this was done significantly better by TW3 (That Was The Week That Was) many decades ago. Better writers, better performers and satire not mockery. I guess his appearance may be appropriate since the ultimate joke has been in office now for almost two years.

Marriages and down and records are being set for food stamp requests. Gaps between the rich and poor continue to escalate. Now rich is defined as that 20% making 100K or more a year of which the top 5% earn 180K or more per year. I guess that recession is over!

Southwest and Air Tran are now going to be one. As a frequent traveler both these carriers are high on my list to avoid. With Southwest I have rarely found their advertised fares available. I have flown them twice and on both occasions I felt I was in the Wal Mart of airlines. That the corporation is solid is beyond doubt and they do pay rather well but it is just not for me. Air Tran is the reincarnation of ValuJet that was involved in a horrific crash in the Everglades about 15 years ago. I have flown Air Tran several times since Houston - Hobby Airport is a key route and have found the level of service an abomination.

The Red Sox are officially dead but they did manage to hang on until the last week of the season. Even with inconsistent pitching and a sloppy defense a healthy team would be printing playoff tickets right now. It was there’s for the taking but just didn’t happen. It will be interesting to see if they sign Beltre (doubt it) and Martinez (50/50) and renegotiate a lower dollar deal for Ortiz. Papelbon has little trade value and I wonder if they just might not tender him an arbitration offer? They need some serious bullpen upgrades and I would love to see them get Brandon League from Seattle and sign potential free agent Dan Wheeler. Bard looks like he is capable of closing and the rest of the bullpen is unreliable and dispensable.

The “Stat Monkeys” are making a big push for a Cy Young Award for Felix Hernandez despite his 13-12 record for the worse team in baseball - Seattle. I don’t buy that total metrics argument. As the commercial goes “You play to win the game” and that is exactly what David Price, CC Sabathia and Jon Lester have done and done under the pressure of a race in the toughest division in baseball. I’d have “King Felix” third on my ballot.

BOS had a flag issue as it turns out they had a protocol violation for flying the flag under another symbol. Next week I will go to Texas where the state flag flies adjacent to the American flag since Texas was an independent nation when it entered the union. Vermont is the only other state to fall into that grouping.

Town Meeting time in Middleboro and this is “The purest form of special interest” one can find. I don’t recall any earth shaking warrant issues so you will not see the usual parade of groups interested in their own pet agenda. I remember back in the day when I placed value on this only to watch groups of teachers or firefighters or town employees vacant the TM after their issue was decided.

Off to Texas next week and to see how a real state operates. No comparison to Massachusetts. We lack well behind in the common sense and manners department. The really big cities like Houston and Dallas are the exception but the rest of the state is truly a fascinating place especially Hill Country. I’d have relocated there years ago but these decisions are two way and my wife - The Lovely Cynthia - changed her mind about relocating as in “I love the winter.” On this trip we shall spend some time in Austin which is the moonbat capital of Texas. Plenty of liberals - oops - “Progressives” in Austin. Been to the LBJ Library before and it is excellent but the ranch is a bore.