Auld Lang Syne 2007

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
And here's a hand, my trusty friend
And gie's a hand o' thine
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne

Listen

Michael E. Leahy 1954 - 2007

Michael had four older brothers and I was the oldest of three and in those days our two families joined together for holidays and regular weekend get-togethers. It was great adventure when we went off to visit with our Leahy cousins in Neponset, not always pleasant but usually educational. Like the time I foolishly tried on a pair of boxing gloves and quickly found I had several eager volunteers to demonstrate their use. Like many fleeting aspects of life, I have come to realize the significance of these years and recognize what a precious time it was.

Michael was born on January 15, 1954 which would have made him six months old when my father Frank, brother to Michael’s mother, Bridie, passed away at 43. And while I didn’t realize it at the time, Frank’s death would also mark a fork in the road, after which, our gang of eight would cease to be. Oh, we would see each other at the requisite family affairs like weddings and funerals, but we all were busy getting on with our lives to worry about the days of May Processions and Easter dinners. Fortunately for all of us, the blood bond has managed to endure, even in the face of our demanding lives.

As the years continued to pass, my brothers and I moved around to places where a family get together involved one or more airline flights. Our address books were always kept in pencil to accommodate the frequent changes. Erase Atlanta and write in New York or San Diego or even Atlanta and New York, once again.

The brothers Leahy followed a different path. Except for Denis, who God called home at a much-too-young age, they settled in, and near, St. Ann’s parish and raised families according to the values they learned at their parent’s knees, each in his own way helping to make their home town a better place. I admire their demonstrated commitment to their roots. It was in this tradition that Michael, his wife Pat and their two sons, Denis and Conor, made their home in the house on Port Norfolk Street that had been originally purchased by his parents. This was the house where so many of our family get togethers took place and it fills a warm niche in my memories.

Yesterday, Father Tom Foley celebrated Mike’s funeral mass and spoke of Mike's large heart and solid family values. For those few who didn't know Mike, I invite you to read the article that appeared in yesterday's Boston Globe or the vivid remembrance in the Dorchester Reporter written by his niece, Ann Mc Gough. Father Tom also talked about the importance of families and all those who have gone before us. I found myself remembering those days when we all piled into my father's car for a Sunday excursion. I remember how good it felt, blessedly ignorant of knowing how brief that time would be.

Yesterday, St. Ann’s was packed with mourners and our collective hearts went out to Mike’s wife Patricia and his two son’s, Conor and Dennis. All of the brothers, Mike’s and mine, know the pain of losing one’s father. And while there is little that can be done to shield them from their grief, I pray that the love and solidity of their extended family will help them bear their tragic loss.

Michael Leahy, R.I.P.

Christmas 101

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the City of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her first child and she gave birth to a son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them "do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. and this will be a sign for you; you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

"Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on
whom his favor rests."
Luke 2

Paygo Blinks on the AMT

Having just taken the US Congress to task for its lack of accomplishments this year, I was pleased to see that the House finally did pass another "patch" to help taxpayers stave off the AMT monster for another year. For a brief moment it was fun to dream of one's pen (or keyboard) having the power to sway governments and that my humble blog had prodded those rascally Dems into action. Don't worry, I know a dream when I see one.

The Alternative Minimum Tax has been around since 1969 and was originally designed to go after a few very fat cats who managed to shield most, if not all, of their income from the tax man. Since it was never indexed to inflation, it has gradually expanded its impact to the point where it now is the effective tax system for millions of Americans, many of whom are a far cry from fat catdom. But rather than fix the ATM permanently, the Congress plays its annual game of passing a one-year fix, Sort of a fiscal stay of execution.

This year, the House Democrats threatened to adhere to their newly-adopted "Paygo" scheme which purports to tie a tax funding mechanism to every new program. You might recall that the SCHIP Bill, that was vetoed by the President, was going to be funded fully by American cigarette smokers. In the present case, they wanted to raise taxes to offset the loss of revenue that would result from fixing the highly unpopular AMT.

Let me get this straight. We have a tax, which everyone with any sense agrees has grown, through the long-term effects of inflation, to become something that it was never intended to be, but in order to fix it, we need an offsetting tax increase? This is what passes for logic in the vacuous world where Nancy Pelosi reigns and Charlie Rangell runs Ways and Means.

I suppose that we should be thankful to at least get the patch for a year, but I suspect it was passed only to get the President to sign the spending bill containing almost 9,000 earmarks at a cost estimated at $8 billion. Somehow I don't think that Paygo is part of the conversation among those pork aficionados as they line up at the trough. And this is with a veto-wielding president trying to hold against the tide.

Mitt Romney Meets the Press

Today, former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney, went one-on-one with Tim Russert and emerged looking confident, articulate and, well…, in a word, presidential. Russert, who is well known for his even-handed administration of tough-love journalism, knows how to ask the tough questions and persists until he gets a cogent answer. But to his credit, Russert focuses primarily on those questions that are prominent in public discussions. He is very good at what he does and is head and shoulders above his journalistic peers.

One of the knocks on Romney, of course, is that his current positions on an assortment of issues have changed, especially since his days on Beacon Hill. Russert emphasized the point by waving a pair of colorful flip flops at Romney. I guess what goes around comes around. We still have our pair of John Kerry flip flops from 2004. God save us from cutesy slogans.

But Russert is a professional and, as usual, he was well-prepared with video clips to illustrate a position where Romney is thought to have lately changed his views. The issues included: abortion, stem cell research, gay marriage, gun control, and immigration. Romney readily admitted that some of his views have changes and painstakingly spelled out where appropriate how those changes evolved. Some of the answers were complicated, but then, these are complicated issues. I thought his response to the criticism he has received concerning the people who work on the landscaping of his Belmont home was particularly succinct. This is, by itself, is a silly “gotcha” flap, but it speaks to the larger issue of immigration which may end up being one of the most important issues of the presidential campaign. Some people demand simple declarative solutions to complicated questions, but simple answers aren’t always the best. By the time the interview concluded, I felt that he had fully addressed all the questions. More importantly, Tim Russert, who does not suffer weasel answers gladly, seemed satisfied.

I had only two criticisms of the program and they apply to the subjects of the questions asked. Entirely too much time was spent was spent discussing Romney’s faith. There are some people who, under the guise of enforcing the separation of church and state, would like to banish any trace of religion from our culture. But we remain a country built on a tradition of faith and I, for one, admire individuals possessing strong beliefs, but see no need to examine those beliefs, or the church from which they are espoused, to judge their merits. I would also have like to hear more of Romney’s views on international affairs. With the exception of one brief exchange dealing with Mike Huckabee’s criticism of President Bush for what he calls an “arrogant bunker mentality" in foreign affairs, there was little discussion of foreign relations. Romney, by the way, rejected Huckabee’s assertion and thought, rightfully so, that he owed the President an apology.

Well done, Mitt.

Animal House on Capitol Hill?

In addition to its listing in the VFPR's list of favorite films, Animal House was used today as an apt metaphor in a Wall Street Journal Article commenting on the inability of the US Congress to achieve closure on a long list of issues that seem to have fallen prey to internal squabbling.

The use of humor to make a political point is tricky business as many Op Ed cartoonists demonstrate regularly. There is a stinging reality attached when we realize that real issues are at stake. In a recent POST, I commented on the low ratings currently being enjoyed by the congress. The bad marks are more understandable when we note the list of important issues that the Congress just can't seem to resolve.

The Dems have been in charge for almost a year and the results are substantially less than sterling. Perhaps if the members spent more time working on important issues over which they actually have some control instead of second guessing the State and Defense Departments, we might have seen more progress.

In the meantime, get that checkbook ready for tax time when the sneaky stealth AMT takes another bite out of your income. Resolving the AMT is one of the many items that the Congress didn't quite get around to fixing this year.

Sailor Joe

Maybe we are over analyzing the motives of those that sidle up to Hugo Chavez and his cheap oil. Maybe the lure might be as simple as a ride on an oil tanker. Joe Kennedy seems to really be enjoying himself at This week's reception for Venezuela's latest oil shipment.

Hat Tip to Harry at Squaring the Globe

As If on Cue

Just when I needed a follow up to yesterday's piece regarding the anger of Muslim societies to emissaries from the West telling them, in the name of "women's rights" that their centuries-old religious beliefs are doing it all wrong, along comes the Boston Globe with a report of Hillary Clinton's answer to the question: What difference would it make if a woman is president? I found the second part of her answer interesting in light of yesterday's article:

"You know, when I gave that speech in '95 in Beijing, it was meant to be a kind of call to action about women's rights. And we've made some progress in the last 12 years, but we haven't made enough, and we can see how suppression of women is directly tied to extremism, to anti-democratic forces. I think that having a woman president. . . you know, I'm not running as a woman. I'm running because I think I'm the best qualified and experienced person to do the job, but having a woman president is a tremendous statement to the rest of the world that I think would be to America's advantage, and would help us more than any policy would on a lot of the forward movement that we need to have within societies when it comes to women."

Clinton's assertion that suppression of women is directly tied to extremism is in direct conflict with the argument put forth by Dinesh D'Souza and others that it is rather the fear of attack by the West on Muslim values that pushes traditional Muslims toward more extreme positions.

The Enemy at Home

Several Months ago, I marked the sixth anniversary of 9/11 with an article recalling my experiences on that day as well as my continuing frustration at understanding the perpetrators’ motivations. In spite of all that has been written about 9/11, its causes have remained stubbornly elusive, for many of us.

Earlier this year, Dinesh D'Souza published a book called The Enemy at Home, which does an excellent job of connecting the dots as it comes to grips with some of the underlying causes and effects of that great tragedy. Mr. D'Souza is the Rishwain Research Scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, an author of several well-known books, and a frequent contributor to National Review. He is considered by many to be one of the leading conservative thinkers of our time.

In the months since its publication, a firestorm of debate has erupted around the book as readers chime in on the issues raised. The Book department at Amazon.com currently shows 125 Customer Reviews, many of which have sparked lengthy chains of follow-on comments, all of which amounts to quite a robust debate.

Interestingly, one thread that seems to recur through all of it is a question as to how many of the commentators have actually read the book. This is not just a shallow put-down. Many, it seems, have reacted to reports of particular portions of the book without the benefit of a thorough reading. While it is very well-written and tightly reasoned, these qualities do not make it an easy book to read. The ideas are powerful and readers often find themselves stopping along the way to ponder the points it raises

The book’s subtitle, The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11, reflects the book’s premise that the dissemination of liberal values through the export of our popular culture elicits negative blowback from Islamic Traditionalists. While this might be a difficult premise, especially for those on the left, I would suggest that much can be learned from one’s critics. Moreover, regardless of ones political orientation, a careful reader is guranteed to come away from this book with a better understanding of the dynamics and underpinnings of the War on Terror.

Whether you agree or disagree with traditional Koran-inspired Muslim tenets, it is important to understand what values they provide to their believers. But before looking at specific values, it is important to note the key role that Muslim law, or Sharia, plays in Muslim life as devout Muslims look to the Koran for guidance in virtually every aspect of daily life. This is in sharp contrast with American culture which goes to great lengths to separate the religious from the secular, a trend which has accelerated in recent times as religious influences are increasingly removed from public institutions.

D’Souza draws another distinction that is important to note and that is the difference between Traditional Muslims who seek nothing more than to be allowed to live according to their chosen rules, and the Radical Muslims who have twisted Muslim thinking to justify terrorist activities. In many ways, the key to winning the War on Terror depends upon our success in limiting support for the radicals among the Traditionalists. Put another way, what sort of pressures drive the Traditionalists toward the Radical camp?
Like many subjects, this answer to this question has many facets. One example, however, provides an interesting cause and effect. The Muslim faith, as most of us know, takes a very conservative stance on moral issues such as abortion, homosexuality, extra-marital sex, and modesty, to name a few. At the same time, the only image that millions of Muslims have of Western culture is that portrayed in our movies and TV shows, which typically contain themes and events that fly in the face of their beliefs.

In addition, they bristle at efforts made to introduce changes to their culture in the name of Women’s right, Gay Rights, Reproductive rights, etc. that are carried out through the aggressive programs of Western governments as well as Non Government Organizations. Here again, before debating these “causes” on their own merits, it is worthwhile to consider how the Muslims see such programs as a threat to their way of life. Also, this is but one example of the many causes of distrust between the Muslim and western worlds.

To this point, I have attempted to steer a neutral course in arguing that both ends of the political spectrum can learn something from D’Souza’s book. But as a concerned American, I need to take this discussion one step further. It is outrageous that my country is judged by others solely on the basis of the decadence spewed out by Hollywood and the values of the political left. I think we all have to ask ourselves if we are doing all we can to counter these trends.

I recommend that you get a copy of The Enemy at Home and spend the time to read it. I guarantee you will come away with a much better feel for the underpinnings of the War on Terror and the disturbing role of the cultural left..

The Oil Man Cometh

What is it about the US Congress? In spite of abysmally low ratings by the American People, they insist on an expansion of their role into areas where other parts of the government have prime responsibility.

Most recently, a press release from our own Bill Delahunt’s office announced that he is co-sponsoring House Resolution, H.J. Res. 53 which would modify the 1973 War Powers Resolution to provide for increased congressional approval for military action. Do we really need to have an additional 535 Commander-in-Chiefs?

Constitutional law is a murky subject and probably best left to experts, but it seems to me that some responsibilities are fairly clear, especially those vested in the Executive Branch. In addition to military leadership, the President also has full responsibility for our diplomatic efforts through the State Department. Why then would House Speaker Pelosi think it was a good idea to lead a congressional delegation to Syria? Her amateurish efforts, in April of this year, at "helping" the mid-east peace process ended up in muddled confusion and acted to undermine American diplomatic strategies.

Similarly, Bill Delahunt’s efforts at cultivating Venezuela strong man, Hugo Chavez have served to blunt the effectiveness of the Administration’s foreign policy. Having secured a supply of under-priced oil from Chavez to be distributed to low-income American citizens is, on-the-surface, a positive move. The specter of poor American’s shivering through a cold winter is sobering to be sure. At the same time, however, it is important to look behind the curtain at the source of this largess. The oil discount that Chavez is providing is being funded by a country with widespread poverty, much worse than anything in the Massachusetts Tenth Congressional District. Moreover, one does not have to be a diplomat to recognize that this gesture by Chavez is a blatant attempt to buy off American critics. If providing low-cost oil to Americans is a priority, then perhaps the Congress should develop a program that does not depend on the largess of a political thug.

Speaking at the United Nations in September, 2006, Chavez, in his abrasive manner, referred to President Bush as the devil, a widely held symbol of unmitigated evil, “Yesterday, the devil came here—right here, right here—and it still smells of sulfur today.” Where was the outrage that a head of state could come to our shores and insult our president? We certainly can debate the issues and we, as a country, are stronger for our consideration of differing opinions. But what kind of message are we sending to the world that we would tolerate this gibberish. In fairness to Delahunt, he did label Chavez’s comments, “silly” and “inappropriate.” I guess that told him.

Undeterred on the diplomatic front, Delahunt helped lead a congressional delegation to Cuba the very next month. Again, in contrast with the Bush administrations efforts at eliciting change in this Communist country, located 90 miles off our shores, Delahunt and his group proposed alleviation of the long-standing trade and travel sanctions against Cuba, which the American Government has used as a lever for social and political changes on the island. It’s not clear what Mr. Delahunt finds so inviting in these repressive regimes.

In the meantime, while congress is playing at diplomacy and defense management, a recent Gallup Poll shows that in response to the question: “Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?” 69% of the respondents answered no. Go figure.

Author John Fulton to speak at the South Shore Writers Club

The South Shore Writers Club is hosting a talk by writer John Fulton on Saturday, December, 8, 2007 at 11:00 am at the Abington Public Library.
All are cordially invited to attend. Light refreshments will be served.

Fulton's latest book, The Animal Girl, is a collection of two novellas and three stories. He has also written a collection of stories called Retribution and received a ‘Push Cart’ prize for the story, Hunter. Fulton is a Professor in the MFA program at U-Mass, Boston.

The Abington Public Library is located at 600 Gliniewicz Way, Abington, MA 02351

Kingston's Casino

The well-chronicled Christmas shopping rush is on as is the all too familiar logistical downside to this annual shopping frenzy as the crowds and traffic add stress to our daily lives. And nowhere is the impact greater than at the local mall and Independence Mall, located in bucolic Kingston, Mass. is no exception. But Lost in the shuffle, so to speak is a disruption wrought on the gambling venue at the east end of the mall's food court.

The dozen or so tables abutting the back of Dan's Hennessy News kiosk that are usually held down by serious-looking people carefully marking their Keno tickets are feeling the seasonal crush as hungry shoppers are forced to migrate there to find a place to wolf down their slice of Regina's Pizza. This is putting pressure on the regular denizens who find themselves boxed out. When I first saw an elderly couple sitting side-by-side at the four-place table, I thought it heart-warming until I realized that this was merely a way for both to view the big Keno monitor on Hennessy's back wall, where every three minutes a new game of Keno pops up amid animated flourish. It has lately become so crowded, that Hennessy’s regulars are forced to use the buddy system with one partner holding the table while the other fetches new betting slips or makes the occasional visit to the cashier. Ditto for bathroom breaks.

Given the hardships being faced by Keno aficionados during the shopping crunch and with an eye to the possibility of the gigantic casino planned for a few miles away in Middleborough, management might want to start thinking about a few upgrades.

First, they should consider separating the gamblers from the eaters by walling off the gambling area, which could then be made more casino-like with softer lighting and appropriate background music. With access constrained, a liquor license and smoking area could give it a real casino feel, but those changes are probably far off in the future.

One important change, and one that could be made immediately, would be to re-locate the lottery cashier operation to the back of the kiosk where it would face the “action.” This would also make the cashier more accessible to gamblers trekking up to place bets, or, as sometimes happens, collect their winnings, which are almost always taken in the form of lottery scratch cards. Hennessey's may sell a dozen or so different newspapers, but it has numbered slots for as many as forty eight different scratch cards. No wonder the sales are brisk for Lucky Fast Scratch Tools at only 99 cents. It’s probably a tribute to the cleaning staff that the area isn't ankle-deep in scratch card scrapings. Separating the gambling and merchandise traffic would also help to alleviate the cashier congestion that happens as non-gamblers line up with the punters to make a purchase from Hennessy's limited assortment of soda and chips. For now, these are the chips that you eat, not the ones you place on the table games, but who knows what the future might bring.

The Governor’s plan is to put a casino within easy commuting distance of every Massachusetts resident. Why not go one better and put one in each shopping mall. We already have a good start at Independence

Federalist Society, Happy 25th

As part of the View's long-standing quest for intelligent discussion of the issues of the day, we are pleased to give a Hat Tip to Jeff Jacoby and his article about the Federalist Society and its contribution to civil discourse. The Society's critics on the left might spend a little more time emulating its thoughtful approach and less time trying to cast it as a secret conservative cell.

As Jacoby writes:

"At a time when so much of what passes for public discourse is poisonous and extreme, the Federalist Society's commitment to fostering dialogue and intellectual diversity is a priceless resource."

The issues which we face today are too important to be dealt with via demagoguery.

The Long Slog to Dissent

For the remaining eight members of the Plymouth Charter Commission, the relief of completion must be heavy with ambivalence as they release the proposed town charter for consideration of the voters while recognizing that it lacks a consensus of its own members. Three of the Commissioners having submitted a dissenting minority report.

Sixteen months is a long time to spend in meetings and hearings, studying the vagaries of municipal government while trying to discern the structure that best meets the needs of Plymouth. In addition to the normal day-to-day issues faced by most other Massachusetts municipalities, Plymouth must also act with full regard of the Town it could become in the future when its vast tracts of open land are subject to development. These open tracts collectively equal, in round numbers, the average total size of an existing Massachusetts municipality.

One would have to believe that each of the commissioners stood for election to that post in May of 2006 with an earnest commitment to make our town government better, more efficient, and responsive to the citizens’ needs. As a starting point, the Commission analyzed the current Town Government to determine what parts needed tweaking and what parts should be preserved. Input was gathered from far and wide, from experts and concerned citizens alike. Unfortunately, the volume of input from the latter seemed lacking.

Some of the comments heard repeatedly during the Commissions’ deliberations were calls for simplicity, transparency and accountability, desirable aims all. Many Plymouth citizens bristle with straightforward demands such as lower taxes, more responsive services and, above all, simplicity. Commissioner David Buckman, perhaps showing the strain of the past sixteen months, offered the following: “You want simple government. I’ll give you simple government. I’ll give you the Third Reich. It was simple, it was efficient and it was evil.” He might have sought out a less-despicable example but his point is well taken. Even a benevolent dictatorship might be easy to understand, but it typically doesn’t do much in recognizing dissent by the governed.

Unfortunately, designing a Town charter in these times is not an easy task nor does it lend itself to simplicity. The challenges with which a Town must deal are varied and complex and must accommodate substantial state and federal regulation. While it is now too late to change the proposed charter, voters would be well advised to spend some time studying the issues. A good place to start would be the Charter Review web site. In the final analysis, the voters might decide that reforming the board of selectmen into an executive committee that includes a mayor with limited powers does not provide improved accountability while it adds complexity; ditto for the creation of a second Planning Board, even though many might agree on the importance of this function. Should this be the case, we may just find ourselves back at square one with our existing government. The old saw, people get the government they deserve, may be true as far as it goes, but they also tend to get governments they understand.

Rush to Casinos

It is interesting to note that when Massachusetts State Reps, Michael Morrissey and Brian Wallace proposed that a question be added to the state’s presidential primary See Globe Article that would allow voters to express an opinion on the Governor’s proposal for establishing three state-sanctioned casinos in Massachusetts, Senate president, Therese Murray was quick to indicate her enthusiasm for bringing the proposal to debate in the senate. Since all of the above-mentioned are on record as being casino supporters, it is safe to say that they expect the answer to the question:

“Do you support the establishment of up to three resort casinos in Massachusetts?” will be strongly positive.

With the Governor touting nearly half a billion dollars of projected tax revenue and thousands of new jobs, this reaction is easy to predict. So, seeing the outcome of this proposed public response going her way, Murray is jumping on the bandwagon of soliciting public support. This is, of course, the opposite course she took when over 170,000 Massachusetts citizens petitioned to put the question of gay marriage on the ballot. In that case, she, and her colleagues, took the tack that the legislature knew better and that the question was too “sensitive” to be put before the people as they denied access to the ballot for this issue. On the other hand, the Morrissey-Wallace proposal is for a non-binding referendum, so its results can easily be ignored if necessary.

In the meantime, Rep, Tom Calter (D-Kingston) who represents the Middleborough precinct that would be home to the proposed Wampanoag casino has announced his opposition See Article to that planned facility, primarily on the basis of the impact of an estimated 50,000 additional cars on the already congested local roadways. While clearly not a blanket opposition to the larger issue of casino gambling for Massachusetts, it is at least a start at looking at all aspects of casinos and not just blindly chasing elusive revenue projections.

On the face of it, casino gambling may look like a perfect solution. Casino attendance is voluntary. If you don’t want to contribute, stay home. Gambling, or Gaming as it is called, is being promoted as just another entertainment option. And the litany of fuzzy rationalizations goes on and on. But it’s not a free ride. Casinos will bring its baggage that will change forever the environs in which it is situated. Since the Governor’s proposal calls for at least three casinos, established on a regional basis, this means the environs will include the whole state.

Check out the Casino Free Mass website, especially the “talking points” section. Make no mistake about it, this organization is against casinos, but their arguments make interesting reading, even for gambling supporters.

Veterans Day 2007

Winston Churchill might seem like an unlikely source for a quote offered in tribute to The United States Military. But he had an American mother, and say what you will, the man could speak the English language. In August of 1940, speaking in the House of Commons in tribute to the Royal Air Force, he said:


"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

On this day of remembrance, these words take on new meaning as we recall and honor the sacrifice of our military personnel some of whom who continue to protect our beloved country and our way of life.

No Iron Lady

Peggy Noonan possesses a rare talent for cutting through the bovine effluence and getting to the heart of the matter. Writing in the Wall Street Journal might limit her exposure somewhat as most of the lefty media tries to ignore the Journal’s existence, let alone its editorial opinions. But for producing tightly reasoned and balanced analysis, it has few peers. What better place to showcase the talents of Peggy Noonan. Moreover, the Journal is very good at getting its message out via the web.

In her recent piece, Things Are Tough All Over, Ms. Noonan cites Margaret Thatcher as an example of a strong and highly-effective leader who never needed, and probably never considered playing anything resembling the gender card. Mrs. Thatcher sought no special quarter from those with whom she dealt and all the while carried her femininity with ease and dignity. And Ms. Noonan cites several other examples of effective leaders who happen to have been women. The article is a great read.

There is a larger point than Hillary whining about how the “boys” ganged up on her in the last debate and that speaks to the need for candidates to provide an honest and forthright articulation of their positions on the important issues. If candidates utilize the strategy of avoiding taking a position so as to avoid future criticism, and Mrs. C is not the only candidate that answers questions with non-answers, they will leave voters scratching their heads as they try to drill down beyond the sound bites to discern just how a candidate might handle the demands of the presidency. Watching Mrs. C. try to avoid taking a position on Elliott Spitzer’s plan to issue drivers licenses to illegal aliens was agonizing and frustrating. How many of us yelled at the screen, "answer the damn question."

The issues are large and complicated. War is easy to hate. What’s to like? And yet we are faced with real and serious threats from dangerous enemies that do not play by the old rules. The United States is a compassionate country that tries to meet the needs of its less-fortunate citizens. But we must ensure that a balance be struck between government control and the self-reliance that has made this country great. As a son of an immigrant, I have special reason to appreciate the opportunity that America has offered to new comers over the centuries. At the same time, if we do not deal constructively with the flood of illegal immigrants in our midst, we run the risk of unraveling the very fabric of our way of life. These, and similar issues, are complex and their solution will not come from fence-sitting non-answers. Would that we had more writers like Peggy Noonan to guide us through the obfuscation.

A City and a College

Thanks to our brush with Noel over the week end, we managed to be out of contact via the internet for several days. Modern Technology is surely a wonder, but is still susceptible to a tantrum from Mother Nature. In the meantime, several new developments have occurred that are hereby worthy of mention:

Fitchburg, MA- This week Fitchburg voters overwhelmingly elected Lisa Wong as their next mayor. Wong, a political neophyte, won handily over local businessman, Tom Donnelly. In another time, the mayoralty might have been Donnelly’s by succession. A well-known Fitchburg native who has served for many years on the City Council, Donnelly would have been a shoo-in. Suffice it to say, these are different times as this old city, along with many of its counterparts in New England, struggles to survive in the face of years of decline stemming from the loss of its old-economy industries. Its downtown is neat and pleasant, but there are entirely too many vacant stores and offices. Apparently the voters felt that it was time to try a fresh approach and decided to give Wong a chance to produce on her campaign emphasis on new business development and economic revival.

One of the bright spots in the local scene is the vibrancy of Fitchburg State College. In addition to being one of the areas largest employers, it also supports the local economy through the scores of visitors to the campus for academics, sporting events and cultural activities. The strength of the College’s commitment to its community is best reflected by its College/Community Partnership program. Led by its dynamic president, Bob Antonucci, the college has also reached out to the local communities through a variety of programs. When a new athletic complex was built a few years ago, the old gymnasium building was turned into a Boys and Girls Club for the local kids. The Center Stage program provides an annual series of top cultural events open to all. The college regularly hosts academic and athletic events for the region’s high school students.

Last Saturday, amidst a Noel-induced downpour, I attended a reunion of my fraternity, formally known as The Esoteric Society, at the FSC campus. Fraternities, in general, have a well-earned reputation for marginal behavior and perpetual partying. And while there may have been some of that over the years within Delta Phi Pi (nee, Phi Delta Pi) it also has produced many strong and lasting friendships that have survived the rigors of graduation, families and careers and, in the case of some of us, retirement and beyond. These are some of the best people I know and I am proud to be an Esoteric. As we move forward, we will be investigating the possibility of endowing a legacy scholarship at FSC. At this point, this is only an idea, but if anyone can make it happen, these are the guys.

What Hillary Really Said

The View has tried, with marginal success, to go easy on the Hillary articles, at least until it is clear that she is to be the Dem’s candidate of choice for the 2008 presidential election. Let’s just say that her candidacy, if it occurs, is sure to be a target-rich environment, so why jump the gun. But last Sunday, the Boston Globe proved once again that there is no length to which it will not go to demonstrate its partisan support. Using its lead editorial, the Globe rushed to defend Mrs. C. because, in its opinion some of the remarks she made during an interview with the Globe editorial board on October 10th were so “badly twisted” and “magnified” that it felt compelled to reprint a segment of the interview transcript in an attempt to straighten out the record.

The case in point involved Hillary’s contention that while she has many ideas for new government programs, she recognizes the need for fiscal responsibility and claims to have a funding scheme for each program. Ideas? She has a million of them. How about the $5,000 baby- bond for every baby born in the United States? Oops, never mind. And while she makes several references to “her” capacity to pay for them, we all recognize that it will be the taxpayers who ultimately foot the bill. What she really means is her ability to earmark specific tax revenues for her own proposals.

Putting its best spin on the interview, the Globe claims that what Hillary was actually saying is that she “opposes big government spending.”

The Clinton strategists recognize the need to run a centrist campaign so as to appeal to the moderate voters as well as the liberal base. Politicians of all stripes have long used similar strategies to broaden their appeal. But in her case, the veneer of the new moderate Hillary has a monumental task in papering over a long and well-documented history of left-wing orientation. The voters, of course, must look beyond campaign rhetoric to try to determine just what a particular candidate’s true values might be, a handy thing to know when you are voting someone into a powerful office for four years. To do so, we rely on an un-biased media. By leaping to Hillary’s defense in this case, rather than letting her comments stand on their own, the Globe not only does a disservice to its readers, but also lends support to the long-held contention of many that the Globe is a shill for the left.

This campaign, which already seems to have been going on forever, still has a long way to go. There will be ample time to frame the choices voters will face. At the same time, be careful, be very careful, where you get your information. In the meantime, for a good critical analysis of just what the globe did print Click Here

and read what Harry at Squaring the Boston Globe had to say.

A Win-Win on Health Insurance Costs

Criticizing government has long been a major-league sport in the Bay State, so when something positive comes out of Beacon Hill, we need to pay attention. In July, The Governor signed a bill that allows for cities and towns to join with state employees in electing coverage under programs provided through the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission. According to all sources, the state program, using the leverage of its large number of covered employees, is able to provide quality health insurance at a substantial savings over plans written for individual municipal employee groups. In addition, the GIC’s record of annual premium cost increases has been substantially below those of most individual arrangements.

Due to the timing of the legislation, it has been difficult, so we are told, for municipalities to take advantage of the new option by its October deadline. The Town of Saugus, one of only a handful of towns that have signed up for this year, estimates possible savings of between $1 million and $1.5 million per year. At a time – is there ever not such a time?- when cities and towns are struggling to keep property tax growth under control, here is a true win-win opportunity. Municipal officials and employee groups should take advantage of this opportunity to show their willingness to achieve significant savings on the spiraling health insurance costs without any loss off benefits. Such opportunities don’t come around too often. The remaining municipalities now have a year to decide whether or not to go the GIC route next fiscal year. This would seem to be ample time for officials, municipal workers unions and other employee groups to embrace this cost-saving approach and, in the process, perhaps gain some taxpayer good will.

cc: Editor, Old Colony Memorial

The Man from Pinpoint

In his new book, My Grandfather’s Son, Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas, breaks his long-standing silence and produces a poignant memoir of his upbringing, his educational experiences, and the events that helped mold his personal philosophy of independence and self-sufficiency. Much has been written about Thomas, especially since his contentious 1991 confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, about this man that liberals love to hate because of his conservative views on many social issues. In reading this frank and revealing book, I was struck by how his life’s journey had dovetailed with the emergence of the modern Civil Rights movement which provided him a unique vantage point from which to hammer out his own point of view.

Born in 1948 in the tiny village of Pinpoint, Georgia, Thomas entered a world where black people still lived a segregated existence and during his early years, he had ample experience of the limitations such a system imposes. He came of age just as the budding Civil Rights movement emerged with all of its exciting potential. Thomas had an insider’s perspective as young blacks found themselves surging ahead into uncharted waters. Fortunately, he had been raised with a strong set of values that helped him chart his own course.

Thomas was raised in Savannah by his maternal grandfather, Myers Anderson, whom he called Daddy. A stern man, Anderson used his own brand of tough-love to teach his belief in self-reliance, hard work and tenacity. While the young Thomas bristled under Daddy’s discipline, he found ample opportunity in later years to fall back on these values. Another powerful influence came from the catholic nuns who taught at the segregated parochial schools that he attended. In addition to providing him with strong academic foundation, the nuns were also instrumental in helping him attend The College of the Holy Cross that he entered following several years of wrestling with the strength of his religious vocation in the seminary.

Thomas worked hard to graduate from Holy Cross as well as Yale Law School. And while his strong academic skills stood him well, he struggled financially, especially in law school where he was a married student with a wife and child. But the more telling struggle was the one he waged with the emerging battle for Civil Rights. As an undergraduate he was part of the black student movement and experienced the heady rhetoric and activism that sought to right century-old wrongs. While Thomas had plenty of firsthand experience of life under the old ways of segregation, he was troubled by some of the new ideas being put forth, especially those that stressed separatism and rejection of white society. He also disagreed with some of the new social theories, such as forced busing to achieve school integration. He felt that while this solution allowed for statistical “progress”, it did not do enough to address the issue of providing quality education for all students. He distrusted the disturbing trend towards increased emphasis on government programs rather than stressing self-reliance as a means of improving one’s lot in life. His experience with Affirmative Action left him bristling over the fact that when he went in search of his first job, he found that his hard-won Yale Law degree was devalued in the marketplace by the assumption that black graduates had not been held to the same standards as other students. At the same time, his efforts to build a career, trying to balance the needs of his family against his determination to achieve a measure of job satisfaction should resonate with generations of young people, especially those who lacked a strong support system, who sought to make their way in the world.

In 1991, President George Bush nominated Thomas to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Among the qualities that supported his nomination was his hard won conservative philosophy that made him an attractive candidate for the Republicans. Unfortunately, it also made him a marked man for the democrats who quickly geared up to block his appointment. The chain of events is well documented, but it is important to recall that the charges brought by Anita Hill came by way of a supposedly confidential FBI investigation that was leaked to the press by committee staffers. In spite of the fact that the Judiciary Committee had already passed his nomination to the full senate, the hearings were re-opened to air Hill’s lurid uncorroborated charges in the public arena. And while, in the final analysis, it boiled down to his word against hers, Thomas brought a spotless record to the table while Hill’s employment record detracted from her credibility.

Fortunately, there were enough tough minded supporters who refused to let Clarence Thomas get Borked. But for a man who had struggled to live his life in a just manner, he realized that Hill’s charges would stick to him forever. Yes, he was eventually appointed to the Supreme Court, but he was left with a besmirched reputation that, in some quarters, will never be retored. In an attempt at blocking the appointment of a man who’s only sin was his conservative views, his detractors, left wing liberals all, stooped to the old segregationist trick of accusing a black man of sexual impropriety. It was more than ironic to watch members of this same group rush to defend Bill Clinton a few years later when was impeached for lying about using the Oval Office as a lair for sex with a subordinate.

On October 9th the Boston Globe ran an editorial by Derrick Z. Jackson’s that I thought at first was a review of My Grandfather’s Son. After reading the article, however,I realized that Jackson, in all likelihood, hadn’t bothered to read the book, which he neglected to name. He simply used snatches of the book to do a hatchet job on the Supreme Court Justice who, according to Jackson, should just forget about Hill’s charges since he had “won” in 1991. The Globe added editorial balance by running a cartoon next to the article depicting Thomas’ car spinning mud on Anita Hill posing as an innocent bystander. Nice Touch. If any of these journalistic wizards had bothered to read the book, they would have realized that the recalling of anecdotes of Hill’s employment were an effort at understanding why she made these charges which Thomas labels sees as totally false.

It is not hard to see how liberals can disagree with Clarence Thomas, but throwing fabricated dirt on his Supreme Court nomination is a far cry from a thoughtful debate on the issues. Don’t make the same mistake as the Globe staff. Read this book and you will come away with an appreciation of the ordeal that Clarence Thomas underwent and the inner steel that allowed him to survive it.

President's Veto Prevails

Thanks to the fortitude of those republicans, and two democrats, who refused to be strong-armed by the “For the Children” chorus, The U.S. House of Representatives voted yesterday not to override President Bush’s veto of H.R. 3162 that would have expanded coverage of the Child Health Insurance Program which provides federal money to the states to fund health care coverage for children of low-income families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid.

The plans for expansion would add approximately 3.8 million additional children to the program bringing the total to 10 million. The expansion would result primarily from raising the maximum allowable family income for recipients to four hundred percent of the poverty level, or $82,600 per year. Does this sound like low income?

The bill, which calls for an increase of $35 billion to bring projected costs to almost $60 billion over the next five years, has a number of other defects which its supporters gloss over. Moreover, this bill clearly goes way beyond the program’s original intent of helping low income children access health care and is clearly part of a pattern for expanding government control over health care.

It is important for all of us to realize that the health care issue will be a featured part of the current presidential campaign. It will be important for all to look beyond the rhetoric to the facts behind the proposals.

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Congratulations to Jim Ogonowski and the great effort he made in the special election for the Massachusetts Fifth Congressional District . Jim garnered forty five percent of the vote, placing second to winner, Nicki Tsongas who registered fifty one percent. These impressive results, running against a candidate with a highly recognizable name and in a heavily Democratic district shows the potential of getting out the message. Well done, Jim.

A Frank Libertarian?

According to Barney Frank (D-MA), if people enjoy an activity, there is no reason not to allow them to engage in it, as long as it causes no harm. Case-in-point: Casino gambling, which Frank supports for Massachusetts. If we follow this logic, couldn’t the same case be made for legalizing prostitution and other “victimless" crimes? The State of Nevada, where prostitution is quite legal, certainly thinks so. But I digress, as it’s not clear how gambling qualifies as an activity that causes no harm given the concerns about crime, addiction, traffic, and other social problems that come along with casino gambling. And in spite of the countless studies that have shown legalized gambling to be a nasty regressive tax on the poor. Frank argues that the government has no business telling people what to do with their money. Think about that statement coming from one of the bluest of the blue man group, known as the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation. But even if you accept that on face value, the state, by legalizing casino gambling is actively promoting a vice-riddled pass time within close proximity of its citizens. Think of the advertising currently done by the Mass. Lottery that clearly encourages people to participate. I can't wait to see the ads for the new casinos.

Frank thinks casino gambling would be a plus for Massachusetts as it would, he reasons, bring a supply of good jobs. In fact, he would like to see a casino located in the Fourth Congressional District, which he represents. And while he bristles at those that might look down there noses at casino-related work, it is important to question whether these are the types of jobs that our government should be promoting. Are these the types of jobs that involve the development of a skill base through education and experience that will help the worker thrive in an increasingly competitive work place? With few exceptions, casinos employ mostly unskilled workers in jobs with little advancement opportunity.

The Democrats, led by Governor Patrick, are proposing a watershed change to the cultural fabric of our state, rationalized by the endless quest for more tax revenue. What we need is careful and thoughtful analysis, not specious comments posing as leadership.

Eagle-Tribune endorses Ogonowski for Congress

In a refreshing contrast with the "progressive" blather emanating from Morrissey Boulevard, the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune has endorsed Jim Ogonowski for the congressional seat representing the Massachusetts Fifth District. Citing both his business and military experience, the paper goes on to draw the sharp contrast between Ogonowski and his major opponent, Democrat Nicki Tsongas, who’s primary body of experience stems from being the wife of the late Paul Tsongas.

Backed by the usual laundry list of Union backers, Tsongas is poised to chime right in with the fully Democratic Massachusetts Congressional delegation and its commitment to providing a governmental solution to every problem. Jim Ogonowski, by contrast,brings a thoughtful and creative approach to the issues of the day.

Read the endorsement and its incisive analysis of the clear choice facing Fifth District Voters. May clearer heads prevail.

http://www.eagletribune.com/puopinion/local_story_284115543

Globe Endorses Tsongas for Congress

The mighty Globe has examined the campaigns of Democrat Nicki Tsongas and Republican Jim Ogonowski and has concluded that Ms. Tsongas is the better candidate to build on the progressive leadership of former Congressman, Marty Meehan, whose resignation set the stage for next week’s special election in the Massachusetts Fifth Congressional District. If progressive means liberal, and I assure you that it does, The Globe is correct. Nicki Tsongas is definitely singing from the lefty hymn book.

Ms. Tsongas is four-square behind the push to over turn President Bush’s recent veto of the bill that would expand the State Children’s Health Insurance program. Jim Ogonowski is taking a more cautious approach as he is concerned about some of the provisions in the bill, such as the possibility that benefits might extend to the children of illegal aliens, or as the Globe calls them, undocumented immigrants. Not to worry says Nicki. Nor is she apparently concerned about the cost of this massive expansion of government health care. This giant step towards socialized medicine deserves a more thorough examination beyond the mantra, “it’s for the children.”

Tsongas is also said to have the most-clearly defined plan for reducing US involvement in Iraq. If the Fifth Congressional District ever decides to declare war on, say, Vermont, this brand of expertise should come in handy. In the meantime, she can join the congressional Greek chorus criticizing the President.

The Fifth is a blue district and perhaps any republican would face an uphill slog to election. At the same time, however, a serious discussion of the issue deserves more than an analysis of which candidate is more progressive.

A Literary Salon in Norwell

A new Norwell salon is creating quite a buzz on the South Shore and beyond. Developed and operated by our friend Kathleen Cosgrove, The Peacock Style & Color Lounge, located at 707 Main Street, not only provides cutting edge (pun intended) salon services, but also has a bit of a literary flair. How many salons do you know of that have a cast of characters? If you want to find out just how the adventures of Penelope Peahen, her sister Flo and Flo’s husband Ernest play out amid this state-of-the-art styling emporium, you’ll just have to pay them a visit.

We met Kathleen through our membership in the South Shore Writers Club where she balanced her writing interests with her career in the corporate arena. When she opened the Peacock, she achieved a long-held entrepreneurial goal. We are glad to see that she is not leaving her literary talents behind.

Take a look at the website, catch up on Penelope, then come on down and re-do your do.

http://www.peacockstyle.com/

A Voice of Reason

With the rush to establishing Massachusetts as a casino gambling Mecca, our own Vinny deMacedo has emerged as one of the few voices of restraint and reason. According to an article in the September 22nd issue of the Old Colony Memorial, State Representatives Vinnie de Macedo (R-Plymouth) and Tom Calter (D-Kingston) attended the monthly meeting of the Plymouth County Selectmen’s meeting on September 20th,to discuss the issue of allowing casino gambling in Massachusetts. DeMacedo made it clear that he is against the establishment of casinos anywhere in Massachusetts, and particularly in Plymouth County. Rep Calter indicated that he has not yet made up his mind on the issue. State Senate President Therese Murray, who was not present at the meeting, is known to be a supporter of casino gambling. Once again, Vinny de Macedo is demonstrating his clear thinking brand of leadership on an issue that could potentially change the culture of our home state for all time.

Politicians are quick to point to the “need” for additional tax revenue while paying lip service to providing relief for the tax payers. Allowing casinos seems like a painless way of bridging the gap as presumably only those citizens choosing to visit the casinos will be out of pocket. What is being ignored is the seepage of the casino culture into the surrounding communities. If anyone thinks that the casinos will be hermetically sealed cocoons of vice, they had better do some re-thinking.

On the Road, Once Again

A seven-day bus trip is about as hellish as it sounds, but as a way to see some spectacular natural sights, it was well worth it. Traveling through the Grand Canyon and several other national parks and monuments was an amazing experience, especially for those of us who have spent most of our lives on the east coast. The splendor of the vistas, created by nature, was awesome and outdone only by the massive scale. The Grand Canyon is over 275 miles long, which is about the distance from Boston to Syracuse, NY! So it is nearly impossible to see it all, perhaps in a lifetime. Moreover, a given vista changes with the time of day and the play of natural light, so that even a static view offers a changing scene.

Among the many contrasts was the difference between seeing the Grand Canyon exclusively from the rim (no mule rides down to the canyon floor for this cowboy) and the visiting Zion National Park in Utah where we actually stayed down on the canyon floor and were able to view the majestic rock formations from the ground up.

But when it comes to contrasts, nothing could match the wrenching change in traveling from the natural wonders of Zion to the man-made vulgarity of Las Vegas where we spent the last two days. The Tour Company maintained that it needed a terminal point that provided adequate air service to get everyone home. While this might make some logistic sense, it would have been fine with me if they had just dropped us at the Las Vegas airport. This, my first, trip to “Vegas” came at an interesting time in that our state governor has recently recommended the establishment of at least three casinos in Massachusetts as an easy way to generate an expected flood of new tax revenues and create new jobs. While, admittedly, Las Vegas takes the gambling-as-industry concept to absurd heights, a few days in Las Vegas makes one wonder if this the direction we should take. The View will have much more to say on this in future posts.

***

Among the emails waiting for me on my return was a brief message from old friend, and Abington Minister, Stan Duncan, who I met through our membership in the South Shore Writers Club. Stan’s new book, If You Lived Here, You’d be Home by Now, is close to being released. You can get a preview peek at:

www.lulu.com/content/782924

***

The trip, with a few exceptions, was exciting and inspiring, but as Dorothy would say, there's no place like home.

Gone Fishin', So to Speak

See you in October - The View from Plymouth Rock

Smell the Tulips

Apparently, many of the town folk in bucolic Middleborough continue to cling to the belief that the $1 billion casino planned for their town will have little or no impact on the quality of town life. Recently, however, Wampanoag Nation and its developer-partners submitted a business plan to the U.S. Department of the Interior which wields regulatory approval under the 1988 Federal Indian Gaming Act. Some of the details contained in the submission provide some interesting food for thought.

The total project is expected to comprise 850,000 square feet and will include as many as 1,500 hotel rooms and eight to ten restaurants. But the focal point, of course, will be the 400,000 square foot gambling floor. Nine acres! Initial plans call for 4,000 slot machines, which would provide at least 1.67 machines for each of the 2,387 citizens who voted for the casino in the special Town meeting on July 28 th. And those who voted against the casino and are now feeling left out will be pleased to learn that this space can easily accommodate up to 8,000 slot machines, according to gambling experts. Parking? Not to worry. There will be 10,500 parking spaces which roughly translates into a half space for each town resident. But here again, since the casino will occupy 550 acres, there is probably a little room for expansion.

The seven million dollars a year that the developers have promised to the town, in lieu of taxes, may seem like a lot of money. Frankly, it does to me when I check out my IRA balance. But in 2006, Middleborough’s annual budget was $62 million. I suspect it won’t take many years for the “casino windfall” to be absorbed into the budget and the upward pressure on property taxes to start anew. But by then, Rte 44 will have been transformed into "The Strip" of Southeastern Mass.

Reportedly, Governor Patrick is ready to one-up the Wamps and call for the approval of not one, but three full-blown casinos in Massachusetts. The tribe can either bid for one of the state deals, or continue to pursue federal approval for a fourth. So we are now looking at the possibility of four casinos for the Olde Bay State! Think of how a Vegas-style structure (see photo) would liven up those dull, wooded landscapes on the Mass. Pike. Those who worry about the effect on our culture will be pleased to know that the croupiers will all wear tricorn hats and knee breaches. And when a customer hits a big jackpot, the Minutemen could fire off a flintlock volley just like after a Patriot score. The Gov, of course, is quick to note the massive amounts of new revenues this plan will provide and all the marvelous ways the government can spend it. There is also the vision of the thousands of new jobs to be created. After all, think of the numbers of busboys and wait staff that would be needed for just the eight to ten new restaurants at Middleborough. And how about all those chamber maids that will be needed to change the sheets in those 1,500 hotel rooms? Is this opportunity or what?

This rush to a Gambling solution for the state’s spending addiction is starting to smack of the Tulip Bulb mania of 1636. The only responsible adult in sight would appear to be House Speaker, Sal Di Masi with his lonely finger in the dyke.

"You talking to me?"

Hilary Rodham Clinton (D, Wellesley) showed us some of that slick lawyer talk that supports her assertion that she is to be counted among the smartest lawyers, if not human beings, in the US, when in response to the testimony of General David Patraeus to a Senate Committee hearing said:

"The reports that you provide to us really require the willing suspension of disbelief."

Anyone, excepting those clinging to the barest fig leaf of denial will probably parse these words and agree that the Senator and presidential aspirant just called a four star General, with a well-earned reputation for integrity, a liar. Of course, I guess it all depends on what the definition of is is. To the extent that all morality is relevant, this comment probably says more about Hilary than it does the about good General.

And this emerged against the backdrop of a full-page ad run in the New York Times in advance of the General’s testimony. The ad, (booked at a “fellow travelers” discount rate) by those patriots at MoveOn.Org took the grade-school low-road of playing off the General’s name as “Betray Us.” I guess when you have nothing else to say, make fun of the guy’s name.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

What a difference a few hundred years can make. Writing in the seventeenth century, Afghan poet Saib-e-Tabrizi wrote the following lines as part of a poem about his beloved Kabul:

One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”

The Kabul that we see in this modern tale of Afghani life seems to have slipped a bit. A pervasive drought produces relentless dust that even gets into one’s molars. The Kabul River dries so that the riverbed is used as a bazaar. And heat? Welcome to life in a sauna.

Against this backdrop, which would in itself drive most of us to madness, is layered an ongoing civil unrest that rains rockets on its buildings killing its people at random. Adding a third layer of misery is a domestic arrangement whereby nasty Rasheed, the misogynist shoemaker (custom loafers for the upper crust) terrifies his two wives with overbearing, but innovative, cruelty punctuated by regular beatings, and we are not talking the occasional love tap here. Old Rasheed evokes the image of Rocky using a side of beef as a heavy bag. At one point he sticks his gun (even the cobbler is packing) in his younger wife’s mouth.

Amid this hellish existence, the two wives overcome their initial antagonism and develop a deep bond. Mariam, the elder wife, whose life was marginal even before she was sent off, at 15, to marry Rasheed, missed her one chance at a sliver of appreciation by virtue of her inability to bear him a son. Laila, the backup wife, does come through on this point, but Mariam soon learns that she didn’t miss much. From this morass, a happy ending of sorts is actually attained after Mariam makes the ultimate sacrifice, courtesy of a sentence levied by a Taliban tribunal and carried out in a soccer stadium, freeing Laila and her children to hook up with her childhood sweetheart, Tariq. (Cue the sappy music)

The story is a good read and I kept turning pages to find out what happens to these poor wretches. But of equal interest was the description of daily life under a succession of repressive regimes, not the least of which was the Taliban. Americans got to know of this gang of Islamic crazies during the military actions against Al Quida, post 9/11. But the portrayal of daily life under these maniacs as they cruised through Kabul in their Toyota trucks checking the male citizenry for proper beard length and other infractions necessitating on-the-spot punishment, begins to shed some life on the bizarre philosophy of the Islamo- fascists It’s easy to see why Osama bin Laden seems to be thriving in Tora Bora.

The View recommends A Thousand Splendid Suns, the second novel by Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, who was born in Kabul in 1965, but has lived in California since 1980. In his spare time, Hosseini is an MD active in refugee affairs with the UN.

A New Day of Infamy

Digitalization has saved acres of trees from being used to record the torrent of words that continue to be written about the terrorist attacks on America on September 11, 2001; the destruction of the World Trade Towers in New York, the damage to the Pentagon and the fiery end of American Airlines Flight 93 in a rural field in western Pennsylvania, where the actions of courageous passengers prevented even more damage and loss of life. These events, and their aftermath, have been recorded, examined, and analyzed to a fare-thee-well with volumes of comments by some of the greatest and not so great minds of our time. But as we mark the sixth anniversary of this terrible affair, the memories, while melded together by the effects of time, are as vivid and clear as they were six years ago and beg to be re-examined.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was sitting in an industry conference at a Mid-town Manhattan hotel when one of the organizers came to the podium in the middle of a presentation to announce that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. With additional information lacking, it was first assumed that a terrible accident had taken place, but the stark truth soon became apparent. With the conference hastily adjourned, I found myself in the hotel bar, which doubled as a morning breakfast room. There, among a group of strangers, we learned of the second plane and watched the first tower fall as we tried to get our minds to comprehend the magnitude of the loss of life we were witnessing in real time on the hotel’s TV. Leaving the hotel, I cut across the Park and headed downtown on Sixth Ave to my office at fiftieth, swimming against the tide of the endless swarm of people moving north on Sixth. The vista over their heads was the long view downtown where huge clouds of black smoke were billowing into the impossibly clear blue sky three miles to the south. Shortly we would begin to see people with their clothes covered with soot and cinders as the first of the Wall Streeters began to arrive in Midtown. More information seeped out. There had also been an attack at the Pentagon and it was reported that additional commercial airliners were not responding. Jet fighters could be seen flying up the East River. Long portions of the day were a blur of trying to assimilate the incremental information which, over time, began to coalesce into a stark reality

When they finally got the trains running out of Grand Central that afternoon, I arrived home and we began to put a more personal face on the casualties. Among the missing was our friend’s daughter, recently married, and newly pregnant with her first child. She worked at Cantor Fitzgerald and along with hundreds of her co-workers was missing We began to understand the reality of just what “missing’ meant in the context of the mountain of smoking remains at what came to be called ground zero and began to taste the bitter futility of dashed hope. In neighborhoods all over greater New York, the tragedy struck painfully close to home.

And long after these events dropped from prominence in the national news, the wreckage at ground zero continued to smolder as crews continued to search for victims and knots of firefighters in their dress uniforms made their way to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for still another heartbreaking farewell to a comrade.


We would eventually learn a great deal about the perpetrators of this horrific crime, their names and faces becoming all too familiar. And we learned how easily they had come to America, taking advantage of our free society, to scheme and plot, even to obtain aeronautical training so as to be able to execute on their vicious plans Our country’s vaunted intelligence agencies, perhaps still organized to fight the old cold war, missed the clues and the chance at prevention but I don’t think many of us had any idea of the presence of those among us with such pure evil in their hearts. We still ask ourselves what kind of people would fly plane loads of passengers into buildings? And the big question remains: why? What did they hope to gain? What exactly was the payoff they were seeking? We learned about widespread desire for martyrdom and the gibberish of its rewards, but the basic question still remains. Why?


They came to the United States, and used covert means to achieve nothing less than a vicious military attack against our civilian population. To try and explain these actions with a rationale of religious, and/or political goals obscures the essential evil of their nature. History has shown that appeasement of such factions has only strengthened their determination. The threat posed by such factions must be met with all the resources of this great country including military reprisals, however unpopular. Those committed to the politicization of our very survival as a nation, who call for passivity in favor of some vague prescriptive for a heavier reliance on reasoning and diplomacy are either implausibly naive or willing to allow the lust for political power to trump even the defense of our most basic values. They must be reminded that it is the aggressive preservation of our way of life that allows them to hold their contrary views, no matter how inappropriate they might be.

A Maine Event

The stated occasion of yesterday’s gathering was to celebrate the wedding anniversary of our friends, Ruth and Dick Coakley, who, on July 6th, had clocked (calendared?) fifty years of marriage. The fact that this event was taking place two months after the fact is the least of the unusual aspects of this affair. At the time, a marvelous gala was held, where the couples’ seven children and twenty grandchildren were joined by a large crowd of friends and family to wish them well in a much more traditional manner. But this was something different. This was a group of old friends gathering to celebrate a grand friendship.

We gathered at Chauncey Creek in southern Maine, a lobster-in-the-rough venue featuring outdoor tables, a BYOB policy and the best lobster in the state. In spite of a spectacular river view, the place falls squarely into the category of rustic dining. But what better place to gather for the group loosely organized under the “Cheap Eats” banner. The “Cheaps” were a group of young women who started throwing an occasional girls night out to gain a respite from the demands of raising young families. The locale would shift among various local restaurants, none of which provided white table cloths or cloth napkins. But the food was always good, the wine supply ample and the premises always able to withstand the barely-controlled hilarity of this fun-loving group. As time went on, situations changed, but the group continued its nights of camaraderie. And on those other occasions, where husbands and other friends were included, we found that same camaraderie through comfortable banter, good conversation and, above all, laughs, many, many laughs. Over the years, some of us have moved away, but the Winchester-based nucleus can always rally the troops. We have gathered to celebrate our children’s graduations, and then, later on, their weddings. We have tried to be there for each other on more solemn occasions, and as of late, ogle the pictures of grandchildren


Dick was a Dorchester boy (St. Mark’s parish) who met Ruthie when he went to work at Boston Edison, back in the fifties. They were married in Winchester’s Immaculate Conception Church on July 6, 1957. Boston Edison marked their marriage by immediately showing Ruthie the door. No married women allowed! So off they went to start their lives which would eventually include their wonderful family. When asked for the secret of such a long successful marriage, Dick answered, “patience”, A concise, and apt, formula for success, especially today where it seems as though all personal needs must be met before the end of the next commercial.

So we talked, ate lobster, drank some wine, and, best of all, had a lot of laughs until finally, the manager suggested that all those potential paying customers clustered on the dock might like the use of a table or two, sometime before first snowfall. So we packed up the cars, and headed back down I-95 under the grey skies of late summer thunderstorms that were unable to blot out the re-kindled glow of warm friendship.