Iraq War

 Iraq War

Urge

    Scourge

        Urge

            Surge

                Urge

                    Splurge.

D I R G E!

Thanksgiving 2006

Americans are truly a fortunate people to live in a country where freedoms and rights are guaranteed in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We are blessed with an overwhelming majority of good solid citizens who form the united strength that has held our country together in the past and who hold out the hope for its future. There is much Americans should be grateful for on this Thanksgiving. Hundreds of things we take for granted are still unattainable dreams for millions of people on this tiny planet. In addition to our health, our families, our friends, our prosperity, our country and our rights and freedoms we should be especially thankful for:Parents who care for and inspire their children;

Teachers who are devoted to training our youth;

Doctors, nurses and other medical workers who care for our sick;

Policemen, firemen, and other public employees who risk their lives in service to their communities;

Members of the military who protect and defend;

Religious leaders who give comfort and encouragement and who strive to instill and preserve moral and spiritual values;

Political leaders who seek serve their fellow citizens;

Public spirited individuals who donate time, energy and financial resources to the less fortunate.

Yes, there is much to be thankful for, but we do not live in an earthly paradise and we face continuing challenges. We have a responsibility to take up our God given blessings and use them to make life richer and more meaningful for ALL human beings. We live together; we must work together;

To end war, eliminate prejudice in all its forms, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and create jobs for the unemployed.

Rid the country of corruption and scandal, improve educational opportunities for all peoples.

Eliminate the pollution of our natural resources and reduce global warming.

These are but a few of the challenges that await us this Thanksgiving. The resolution of these and many other problems require our finest efforts if we are to fulfill the dreams of our founders.

Finally, let us strive to achieve peace in our world. Peace in Asia, peace in the Middle East, in Europe, in Africa, in South America, in our country, our state, our towns and cities. Peace in our families and in our hearts.

This is a large order, but a necessary one. There is no better time to start than this Thanksgiving.

Equal Rights for ALL

Wirt & King: Local politicians and the gay marriage question
By Tobin Wirt and Robert King/ Guest commentary

Joe Burns, columnist for the Upper Cape Codder newspaper, per usual was right on the mark when observing the absurdities of the Romney Administration and those who do his bidding. The Liberty Sunday gay-bashing rally in Boston that Joe wrote about (“Who Cares,” Oct. 19) for us is just another example of the blurring of lines between church and state.

Thomas Jefferson is widely quoted on civil and religious matters. In the preamble of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, Jefferson proclaimed, “Our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry.”

The fact is, where there is more religious freedom one finds a society withmore religion. The Romney style of civic government would seem to curtail religious freedom by narrowing the diversity of creeds (or no creeds) in civil society.

Given the recent allegations that Romney is using his Mormon connections in Utah to advance his presidential aspirations, we hope that timing will ultimately derail his hopes for the presidency. Americans seem to be reaching an end point with awareness and alarm at the religious overreach into politics. We feel Romney fooled and misrepresented his views to the voters in 2002 and postured himself a moderate on most social issues but then swiftly moved to the right when the corner office was secured and Iowa and New Hampshire became more important to his future. Bashing the Bay State on his many trips around the country does not endear him to many proud Massachusetts citizens.

Locally, our state representative, a nice guy with many supporters, does Romney’s bidding in lockstep. Rep. Jeff Perry has never met a gay-rights bill he could vote for except one. It funded elderly gays as part of a larger bill tied to funding elderly affairs. It was unanimously passed in both houses, hardly a leap of courage on his part. Perry has reassured gay groups and us personally that he is supportive but is beholden to the views of what he says is the majority of his constituents and therefore votes against any advancement of gay rights. Most troubling are Mr. Perry’s votes, which are consistently against funding programs that help teenagers deal with the ever-present difficulties they encounter in our public schools. While wanting to give Jeff the benefit of the doubt with his assurances of support, we feel his voting record speaks for itself.

A seemingly purposeful omission on Perry’s Web site under Political Philosophy, where all the perfunctory groups who are protected in this Commonwealth against job and housing discrimination are listed, there curiously is no mention of sexual orientation. When asked why, Rep. Perry claimed that he hadn’t updated the Web site since the gay marriage issue had come to the forefront. While believing him at his word, it seems odd since civil rights protections have nothing to do with the ongoing marriage question. Those protections have been on the law books since the early ’90s for sexual orientation. Why then didn’t he include sexual orientation with the others to begin with? Reason would bring one to question if he does indeed support the state-mandated protections in jobs and housing for gay citizens (let alone gay partnerships of any kind). Mr. Perry said he was thankful for having the omission pointed out and that he would “re-evaluate” his Web site after the election. However, a check of the Web site last week showed that on Oct. 2 the site was altered and the references of the aforementioned in the Political Philosophy link are gone.

Cape Cod has witnessed an odd juxtaposition of stances on gay marriage by three GOP hopefuls in elections this fall. You have Aaron Maloy, 4th Barnstable District, an openly gay man who is against gay marriage but for civil unions. You have to wonder how much this guy wanted to win when he is willing to throw his gay brothers and sisters overboard to solidify “separate but equal” status on them.

Next we have Rick Barros, running for the Cape and Islands senate seat, a decent, good man of color who also says marriage is between one man and one woman and that the people should be allowed to vote on it. In the not so distant past (in the ’70s) only one out of three Americans supported interracial marriage and it was the courts that ultimately ended that bigotry, not the voters. Mr. Barros acknowledges his engagement to soon be married and it will be an interracial marriage.

Lastly, Rep. Perry, a gracious and respectful man who speaks openly of a close gay family member, continues to do the work of the people who demonize gay people, apparently forsaking people in his district as well as those close to him. We feel he eludes accountability for this.

Mr. Perry will be asked to vote again on whether to advance the anti-gay marriage petition at the Constitutional Convention. And despite his past verbal assurances that he could probably not support this petition (which he expressed over a year ago to a small group of people of which one of us were in attendance) he has since backtracked and is on record already as voting to throw it to the populace for a vote.

We encourage all constituents to contact Mr. Perry’s office if you agree that he is wrong-headed on the matters of gay rights. Recent attempts by his office to poll citizens in his district regarding gay marriage predictably supported his anti-gay stances. We implore Upper Cape voters to speak up if you haven’t had the chance to do so thus far.

Too many politicians are sounding like kids

When we listen to political debate lately we are reminded of the days when our kids were young. Just like our kids, politicians who get caught in a mistake — or doing something wrong — often argue that others have done the same. It’s the old “He did it too” defense.

When the Abramoff scandal broke, and several Republican Congressmen were implicated in wrong doing, the defense was “The Democrats are just as bad,” and they pointed the finger at Congressman William Jefferson (D- Louisiana ) who was caught with $90,000 in his freezer.

And when Congressman Foley’s inappropriate activities came to light, Republicans immediately invoked former Cape Cod Congressman Gerry Studds’ name.

This “they do it too” argument usually launches a fruitless discussion about who is worse, Democrats or Republicans, thus taking the focus off of the current wrongdoers.

We want to say the same thing to the politicians who do this as we used to say to our young kids: “The fact that others do the same kind of thing does not excuse you. You did something wrong, and you have to pay the price.” We believe that being a grownup means taking responsibility for your own behavior.

But there is a defense that is even worse than the “He did it too” argument. If you have kids, you may recognize it. We call it the “It’s all his fault!” argument.

This approach has been used for many problems by the Bush administration. They blamed Clinton for the recession that justified their tax decreases, for example. Then they blamed him for not killing “Osama Been Hiding,” which (they imply) would have prevented 9-11.

Now the Bush people are trying to pin their problems with North Korea on Clinton. If only Bill had not made that crummy deal with “Dear Leader,” they say, all would be well on the Korean peninsula today. It’s all Bill’s fault.

A huge amount of time has been wasted arguing over these matters. Clinton made headlines refuting the bin Laden argument in an interview on Fox TV just recently.

We say: “Enough already! Can we please start acting like grownups?”

For example, whatever Clinton may or may not have done wrong, the fact is that the Bush administration has been in power for nearly six years now (with a Republican Congress for much of that time), and it is time for them to take responsibility for what has happened on their watch.

Instead of wasting time blaming Clinton for his problems, Bush should be doing everything he can to leave the world a better place when he retires. History won’t blame anyone but Bush if, when he hands over the presidency in 2009, Social Security and Medicare are heading for a crash; the national debt is out of control; bin Laden is still hatching plots in the hills of Pakistan; and the situations in Iraq, Iran and North Korea have shown no improvement.

Maybe we should stop trying to “save” Otis AFB

Now that the F-15’s have been ordered out, almost every Cape Cod elected official is engaged in trying to “save” Otis Air Force Base and Camp Edwards for exclusive military use.

Before we go all the way down this road, I think we should take a careful look at what’s been going on at Fort Devens, in Ayer, Mass. After 79 years as one of the larger military bases in New England (I used to go there for summer training in the late 60’s), Devens closed in 1996, after a long and unsuccessful fight to keep it open.

That “failure” was the beginning of an incredible success story.

The stage was set by 1993 state legislation setting up a planned community. The community is governed by the “Devens Enterprise Commission,” a panel of six local residents and six representatives from the region’s business community. The Commission’s operations are supported by permitting fees and two percent of property taxes paid by Devens’ businesses and residents for municipal services.

The Commission has taken advantage of Devens’ large quantity of open space and good location to create an impressive mixed-use community. Not only does it have hundreds of units of housing, along with beaches, recreation areas and a golf course, but, thanks partly to its rapid permitting process (90 days or less) it has already enticed more than 80 companies to set up shop in the community.

Right now more than 4,000 workers are employed at Devens – twice the number of civilians employed by the Army when it ran the base. And Bristol Myers/Squibb recently announced that it will locate a $660 million manufacturing plant at Devens.

Wouldn’t Cape Cod be better off if something similar happened at Otis?

First we could move the Barnstable airport (along with it’s multi-million dollar federal subsidy) to Otis, which has much longer runways. This would allow the Coast Guard to stay at Otis and, at the same time, provide much better passenger service from the Cape. Planes could take off from here, fly to Green in Rhode Island and then go on to destinations all over the country.

For those who are worried about the noise, I can be reassuring. I volunteer at an office right off the end of a Barnstable runway and I am near the approaches to Otis. One F-15 taking off or landing is many times noisier than any four civilian planes added up!

With the airport right there, many businesses would be attracted to Otis. Add a quick permitting process, as Devens did, and we can expect hundreds, maybe thousands, of new jobs to be created.

Then there is the chance to add hundreds of units of residential property. I suggest small condos and rental properties to provide reasonably priced workforce housing for young families. This will keep hundreds of Cape Codders from having to cross the bridge to find good jobs and a reasonably priced place to live.

Is this something on which the Cape Cod Commission could do a feasibility study?

Time for Teamwork?

The Associated Press report of the semifinal basketball game between the U. S. and Greece, “Greek teamwork cramps U.S. style” in tne Cape CTimes could well apply to the Bush administration’s approach to virtually everything they have done.

“The U.S. put on a jam session for the fans … the Greeks lined up at the other end and shot free throws.” “The U.S. has dazzling skill; the Greeks are a dazzling team.” Coach Krzyzewski, for whom I have the greatest respect, said, “We learned a lot because we played a team that plays amazing basketball and plays together.”Greek guard, Papaloukas said, “… we’re not very good athletes like them, but we know how to play the game. We are very clever.”

The Times article continues, “No matter what defense Krzyzewski tried, the Greeks found open shooters beyond the 3-point arc or open lanes to the basket.”

Now we try for Bronze.

Isn’t it time the Bush administration played a little teamwork with others before we all end up playing for Bronze or worse?

Dangerous Intersection

The most recent accidents on Route 130 at the intersection with Route 6 should serve as a wake up call for action. It is encouraging there is universal agreement that the intersection is very dangerous and that the State will finally study it and hopefully change the design. But while we wait, I have to wonder just how much effort it would take and how much money it would cost to lower the speed limit in the area from 40 MPH to 30 MPH? How much to add a couple of “CAUTION DANGEROUS INTERSECTION” signs to alert drivers to the risks? How much to trim the branches off the trees that block the existing signs? How much to add curbing to the north side of 130 in the area to restrict parking and illegal passing on the right? Might not a small investment save someone from injury or catastrophe?

Further complicating the problem are the numerous directional signs located on 130 directly across from the Route 6 exits. The objective of these signs is to direct travelers to specific businesses in downtown Sandwich. Over the years the number of signs has increased and their maintenance has fallen off. I wonder if they are not a dangerous distraction, especially to those not familiar with the intersections. Wouldn’t it make sense to make the signs larger, uniform and perhaps list the businesses in alphabetical order so they could be quickly read? Let’s not be victims of the old “shoulda, coulda, woulda and the accompanying heartache.

Wakeup Global Warming is Here

FIRE AND ICE

by Robert Frost

 

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

Recently I saw Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, which details the changes in Earth’s atmosphere resulting from the increase in carbon dioxide levels. In the movie (and in his book with the same title,) Gore carefully details the problems our planet faces as the average temperature increases. He points out that virtually ever credible scientist accepts global warming, and man’s contribution to it, as fact. He asks if our leaders are “resisting the truth because they know that the moment they acknowledge it, they will face a moral imperative to act? ” Still President Bush resists, and says that any efforts to reduce carbon dioxide on our part, will “impact OUR economy.”

Meanwhile, the runoff from melting glaciers is raising sea level and altering thermal ocean currents that create climatic changes. Low lands will be inundated, forcing humans and animals to relocate and compete for higher elevation. In some locations higher temperatures cause wetlands, lakes and ponds to evaporate making it difficult and near impossible for life to exist. Animal species are becoming extinct at amazing levels. Unspoiled water is likely to become a more severe emergency than any oil crisis man has ever seen. Insects, viruses and diseases that for centuries existed only in the tropics are moving northward into higher populated areas raising concerns for infestations and plagues . Increased carbon dioxide is making the oceans more acidic, actually dissolving the shells of snails and most likely other shellfish. The frequency and severity of storms and wildfires are on the rise. Hotter climates directly impact agricultural production in America’s breadbasket and increase supermarket prices. And the list gets longer with every sunrise.

The message is clear, and it may be inconvenient, but how are people to be convinced?

Perhaps we simply need to stop whining about global warming and instead focus on the positive aspects of the changes. Warmer winters will allow the Cape to be a year round playground. “Snow Birds” will stay on Cape instead of driving south to Florida. These sun-chasers will save gasoline, tire tread and other travel expenses and spend that money here on Cape Cod. Fewer exhaust emissions from their cars will even help reduce the carbon dioxide level.

Warmer winters will mean less snow, less plowing and thus more money in government coffers, allowing for lower taxes. The need for heating fuel will be reduced. Coupled with the gas savings mentioned above, our dependence on Mideast oil will be reduced and terrorism eliminated.

Rising sea levels increase beach areas and more homes will have direct access to water views. Warmer winters will allow farmers to establish citrus groves. Locally grown oranges will allow children to have really fresh juice and improve their health, thus lengthening lives and reducing medical and health insurance costs.

So what if the ocean is more acidic and dissolving shells, just imagine the excitement of eating “oysters on the no shell”. Perhaps chicken and burgers will actually cook themselves on the way to your New Year’s Eve party.

We all know that where orange trees flourish, palm trees are plentiful and many folks think of these areas as a tropical paradise. Now we can have our own, real close. It’s not beyond belief to imagine that with our warm winters and higher water levels some of our harbors could become home to huge fleets of cruise ships. Vacationers will fill our stores and cash registers.

So, if you are not yet concerned about global warming, just think how warm those summer days winter days will really be.

Legal gay marraige isn’t what you might think.

About ten years ago I visited my daughter in Northampton, not long after she had ended a difficult relationship with her live-in boyfriend.

As we sat in the restaurant having lunch my daughter said, “I have something to tell you.” Being the pessimist I am I started thinking about all sorts of terrible things. Was she a drug addict? Had she committed some crime? Maybe she was moving to South America?

Then she said, “I’m gay.”

At first I could not even process the information. My brain spun. Words failed me. This was totally unexpected. Terri had recently been living with a man.

As I was able to focus on the situation, I found that my only concern was that Terri was going against the grain of society, and society would make her pay a price for that. I was right.

I think one of the great strengths of this nation is toleration of diversity. We may not be great at it, but we are better than most (not all) other countries. However, we have a way to go on some issues. Not being heterosexual is one of those situations that still brings out intolerance.

Terri leads a very conventional life. She has been in a stable long-term relationship with a wonderful partner whom we have come to love, and they are planning to have children. It has pained me to watch how much more difficult many things are for her than they would be if her partner had a beard and a deep voice.

For example, Terri’s partner was transferred to Switzerland by her company, and had she been a man, Terri would have had no trouble getting a residence permit. But even though she and her partner had been legally married in Massachusetts, Switzerland, like almost all of the United States, does not recognize gay marriage.

So even though they are married and one partner had a legal work permit for Switzerland, Terri could not get a residence permit without the expensive services of a lawyer and help from her partner’s company. Even so, she was forced to leave the country for two weeks! The whole process took more than a year.

Very recently her partner was transferred to Ireland. Again, lawyers had to be retained, and because the process takes months, Terri had to deny her connection to her partner and enter as a visitor in order to get in. She said the customs officer flirted with her, and she flirted back.

If all goes well the lawyers they have hired will get her a residence permit before her visitor’s visa wears out. If that effort is not successful, Terri will be expelled and her life will be totally disrupted. Why? There would none of this if Terri’s partner had been her husband.

Legalizing marriage in Massachusetts is an important step in tolerance. It helps thousands and thousands of people, and I do not see how it hurts anyone. But it is just a start. Massachusetts marriage has no standing in the rest of the United States and only limited recognition abroad. The world has a long way to go before we can say we have given full rights to all people, including my wonderful, loving, intelligent daughter and her equally wonderful spouse.

More On Fear Issues

 

Sandwich Selectman, Doug Dexter is “right on” when he points out yet another failure of the Bush administration.  However, what he proposes, action at the local level is inappropriate as is the responsibility of the federal government.  Resolution at the local can be accomplished by replacement of the Bush cabal.  If Dexter really wants action he should advocate that change.

 

What is really taking place is just a continuum of attempts to use fear to control Americans.  In this case, those who would spread an alarm failed to cover their tracks and exposed just how the fear operation works.  The fact that Representative Perry introduced legislation to deal with a policy he also sees as a failed federal issue that “has reached the political boiling point in Washington, on Beacon Hill, and now in our local town halls,” at virtually the same instant as Dexter’s resolution and Governor Romney’s call for action is just too close not to have been planned.  Here’s my take on how it must go down:

 

Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye.  Special super duper secret message to all GOPers from Rove and Melman at strategery headquarters.    Y’all know that election time is just around the bend and our numbers are in the crapper.  In spite of all our efforts to take and hold the public attention we stand to lose and that means that some of us will be out of control.  We don’t know about you (well in reality we do, but we can’t discuss that here) but we are not about to give up the ship.

 

We have devised a down-to-earth plan to maintain control.  We simply have to remind our base that “all they have to fear is fear itself.”  We will not only continue to remind folks about our old pals Osama, terrorists, war, flag burning and  immigration and we’ll have them eating out of our hands.

 

Our initial topic will be “illegal immigrants.”  There is some confusion at federal level so we have informed Mitt Romney and others “thinking” about running for POTUS08 that they should sound the alarm at the state level.  Recall that it was in
Massachusetts that the call went out, “The British are coming, the British are coming.”  Mitt simply has to cry out again once, “The illegals are coming; the illegals are coming, and that will start the alarm.  He’ll sound good to that baser instinct.  At exactly the same time Jeffery Davis Perry, will file a bill to prohibit the commonwealth from doing business with any company that would dare to hire an undocumented worked.  Perry will claim that pressure to take action is coming from local towns like
Sandwich.  At the local level we need Doug Dexter, Sandwich Selectman, to enter a resolution that will support Perry’s contention that it’s our base that demands action.

 

It’s cool; no one will ever see that how neatly we have it tied up.  But we’ll scare the crap out of them and than we’ll be ready for the next round.  By election time they will be so afraid to think for themselves and once again they’ll be eating out of our hands.