Heading for Home

The Southern Command tent is being folded, the car loaded up like the Joad mobile with a full gas tank. Soon our only view of palm trees will be in the rear view mirror. The great migration is about to commence and we plan to be back at The Rock by Good Friday. Our time in the sun has been grand and productive, but great events await: Opening Day at Fenway, Town elections, the beginning of the golf season and the warmth of the summer sun on Plymouth Beach.

As that noted philosopher, Dorothy, is oft quoted, "there's no place like home." Right Toto?

The Town Hall Readers Series

Life here at the tail end of Florida, with its balmy weather and gentle breezes, has a way of lulling one into a semi stupor, especially if you don't turn on the television and put those broker statements in the drawer to read later. So when the Town Hall Series of Distinguished Speakers brought P.J. O'Rourke to town, many of us saw it as an opportunity to hear this conservative/libertarian /writer/journalist hand it to the Democrats and listen to a master satirist throw cold water on the persistence of Obamamania. O'Rourke, is a witty, nay funny and eminently quotable writer who knows how to stick a sharp pin in the left wing's hot air balloon. Putting him in front of an audience of right wing fat cat (the poor folk weren't buying tickets at these prices) retirees, many of whom also shell out extra to attend an elbow-rubbing drinks and dinner event after the talk, had slam-dunk written all over it. Think of the cocktail party chatter spawned from this get together, as in: "As I said to P.J. O'Rourke the other night,........"

The talk began with some red meat as O'Rourke asked if it were too soon to begin discussing the failed Obama presidency? This was followed by some analysis of why the Democrats were on the wrong track, but mostly he cited the fact that they are, well, Democrats. It was shortly after this that the talk began to take on the tightly knit syntax of one of O'Rourke's columns. Moreover, due to the two huge monitors flanking the dais, we were able to see clearly that our boy appeared to be reading his remarks. Hmmm. His rapid fire delivery was entertaining, but taking notes became a challenge.

In preparing this post, I found that my notes were a little sketchy and I needed some additional background to flesh the piece out. Imagine my surprise when I found O'Rourke's November 17, 2008 ARTICLE from the Weekly Standard and realized that a large chunk of his talk consisted of him reading this article, verbatim. Now don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of P.J. and the man can write entertaining prose, but on some level, especially given what I had shelled out for the ticket, I felt like I'd been had. I expected better.

At the start of the evening, Co-Producer of the event, Rick Borman, spoke at some length about the intense quality of the Speaker Series and how he feels that it is one of the best such series in the entire country, and certainly better than those poseurs up in Sarasota. Clearly, this was an effort to placate the first few rows of the audience who had shelled out $4,000 to be at the Benefactor-level. He then went on to near ecstasy about the fact that President George W. Bush and his brother Jeb, were already booked as speakers for the February 16, 2010 event. get those subscriptions in right away.

I wouldn't mind hearing George Bush speak and I know that Jeb was a popular governor here in the Sunshine State. But I wonder whether they will deliver well-crafted, incisive and informative talks, or will they read excerpts from their mother's dog book? who knows. In addition, the other three speakers for next year are not yet announced. Given that one of this year's speakers was Mia Farrow, that might be additional information one might want to have before firing off that subscription renewal. Oh well, nothing, I guess, is perfect, except, perhaps, the Naples weather in non-hurricane season. But as I was saying to P.J. O'Rourke the other night,.........

Conflicting Reports from Venezuela

When Bill Delahunt returned from his meeting with Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, in Caracas last Thursday, SEE STORY he indicated that he and Chavez had shared a "very positive and constructive conversation. To wit:

Delahunt, who has visited with Chavez previously, says he came away from the meeting at the presidential palace on Thursday night "feeling better about the possibilities between the United States and Venezuela."

Moreover,

The congressman won’t speculate about the possibility of an eventual Chavez-Obama meeting. But he says there is a desire on Obama’s part "to have a good relationship" and says he’s confident Chavez also wants good relations.

Based on this assessment, it came as a bit of a surprise, a few days later, when Chavez, speaking on his Sunday TV broadcast, called the U.S. president an "ignoramus". SEE STORY This comment was presumably an amplification of the comments he made in an Al Jazeera interview on Friday where he bemoaned Obama's lack of knowledge of Latin American affairs. He also cited similar remarks made by Brazilian president Luiz Inacio da Silva after a March 14th meeting with Obama in Washington. SEE STORY

For those of us here in the Massachusetts 10th Congressional District concerned about all the time and effort that our congressman spends courting this unbalanced despot, we had at least hoped that those efforts might have made at least a small contribution to toning down the Premiere's toxic, anti-American rhetoric. Given the discrepancy in the above reports, we are now wondering at Bill's diplomatic skills. And maybe, Bill should just spend more time tending the business of the Massachusetts 10th, and leave the international work to the Foggy Bottom crew.

CPA Reconsidered, Caracas Revisited and a Vinny Interview

CPA
The Community Preservation Act (CPA)currently provides a one and one half percent surcharge be added to each Plymouth property tax bill. This money, along with State matching funds, is used for open space purchases, historic renovation and affordable housing. When Plymouth adopted the program seven years ago, the State match was dollar for dollar. Last year, Plymouth taxpayers kicked in $1.4 million to the CPA fund and received $991 thousand in matching funds. Given the severe fiscal problems in the state budget, the matching rate is expected to drop to the 30% range this year.

Those same state fiscal problems are widely expected to fall heavily on municipal budgets, which means upward pressure on property taxes. While the CPA program may have looked like a worthwhile deal during sunnier economic times, it should now be reconsidered amid today's bleak fiscal climate. Precinct 5's Laurie Enos is asking the Town Meeting to send the question to the voters so that they may decide whether or not it should be continued. The View is encouraging the Town Meeting to pass this recommendation. Click HERE for an article about Laurie's presentation to the Selectmen.


ANOTHER CARACAS SOJOURN
The fiscal problems facing Massachusetts are serious, but they pale when compared with the economic problems facing the Federal Government. It is a wonder, then, when we read of our local Congressman, Bill Delahunt, somehow having found the time to travel back to Venezuela to visit his old pal, Hugo Chavez, as was reported TODAYThe banks may be teetering on the brink of disaster, the Auto Makers on the verge of going belly-up, while the new President and the Congress are borrowing money from generations of taxpayers yet unborn and shoveling it out the door. But fear not. Our Congressman is encouraged about the the possibilities of improved relations between the US and Venezuela.

A VINNY INTERVIEW
A hat tip to Red Mass Group for its exclusive interview with our own State Representative, Vinny DeMacedo. There is allegedly a Part II of this piece. I will provide the link when it surfaces. In the meantime, Click HERE to read Part I and appreciate that we have at least one sane fiscal voice in the House.

Tis' the Day

Since the Irish diaspora reached to Australia and beyond, it should be no surprise that it found its way to Southwest Florida, from which, the View wishes its readers that the grace of St. Patrick and the uplifting Irish spirit put a bounce in your step today, and for many days to come.

Our days here in the sun are drawing to a close and we will soon be following the Red Sox 18-wheeler up I-95 as it makes its way back to Fenway for Opening Day. Being away has been fun, but we are looking forward to getting back home

A More Pleasant View

For those readers who keep track of such things, you may have noticed that the frequency of our postings here have tapered off somewhat. Some of this is due to warm weather, enjoying time with our visitors and the various activities that all conspire to keep me away from the keyboard. Exhibit one is the nearby photo of sunset at Naples Beach. Judged by the crowd on hand, we are not the only ones who enjoy watching the sun dip into The Gulf of Mexico. Talk about one of life's simple pleasures? it doesn't get much better. A few minutes to forget about the economic disaster that is hurtling down the tracks.

I have to admit to being depressed by the combination of the relentless bad news, headed up by the stock market's continuing plunge, coupled with the endless TV coverage of the new President, and his cockeyed economics. Many of us knew he would revert to the left once elected, but I don't think that any of us expected this rush to socialism. In some ways, the most difficult part is the lack of a strong chorus of dissent from the right. Perhaps many feel that Obama should get his chance to try his ideas. But such a miscast sense of fairness ignores the destructiveness of many of his proposals. It seems as though Rush Limbaugh is the only public voice to accurately note the way these new programs could cause permanent damage. Given that potential, it makes little sense for anyone to wish them success.

But if the right has been silenced by this onslaught, I must also admit a difficulty in finding my voice. While we make the effort to reorganize our ideas and put forth cogent dissent, we look to those few who have managed to keep up the good fight. I invite you to read Iron Mike's latest BLOG. Thank goodness that we have a few good men and women that can still make our case.