Transportation Follies Part I.

This is going to be a long post because Cap’n needed time to digest all of this.

Backstory:

Sometime earlier this year, the People’s Republic Transportation Committee started to float trial balloons  about improving the transportation infrastructure. This of course came after Premier Patrik was elected. The word that was put out by the committee was that there was a $20 billion shortfall in funding infrastructure repairs and improvements over the next 20 years. Shortly thereafter the this committee started to release proposed recomdendations about hiking the gas tax, raising tolls on the Pike, and establishing new tolls on other non-toll highways. Needless to say, the resounding response from the plebiscite was “Hell No!”

Flash forward a few months. After the implosion of the Middleborough Indian Casino deal, Sec. of State Tim Cahill and Patrik quickly ratcheted up the retoric about allowing more than one casino in the Commonwealth. Debate went back and forth, and Patrik kept his cards close to chest about his final decision. Then this past week, the Transporation Committee formally recomended the following to fund the infrastructure improvements: via Casey Ross at the Herald.

A special state transportation commission recommended increasing taxes and tolls by $18.7 billion to pay for the road and bridge repairs over the next 20 years. An 11.5-cent increase in the gas tax, new “open road” tolls that would charge 5 cents per mile on all 10 interstates, streamlining MBTA pensions and fringe benefits and eliminating road-work police details are being eyed as ways to save $2.5 billion.

Of course these recommendations has the effect of righteously pissing off the entire population of the Bay State, not to mention the police and MBTA unions. So, what does Premier Patrik do? He steps in and announces that by having at least three casinos in the People’s Republic, the gas tax will not have to be raised, jobs will be created, tourism will increase, etc. By floating this plan right at the same time as the Committee report, Patik is playing off one bad idea for another and the end result is that the taxpayers are going to be screwed again.

Now to fully understand the casino shenanigans, please check out Media Nation for  the entire story and excellently sourced material.

So what did happen?

1. The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe may have engaged in improper or illegal actions in their planning for their casino. See Peter Kenney at Cape Cod Today which throws their plans into chaos and allows the People’s Republic breathing room to get their own deal going before the tribe becomes the only game in town.

2. It is reasonable to assume that the gaming lobby has been bending Deval’s ear and has sold him on the notion that casino revenue will “solve” the infrastructure problems. According to several sources, Deval only sought or listened to pro-gaming  interests.  Now, the Cap’n believes that Patrik has national ambitions and that out of state casino money in his campaign coffers is much better than the local moonbat union money which comes with a multitude of strings. Keep in mind that after Deval left the Justice Department he worked for the boards of Texaco, Coca-Cola, and AmeriQuest as the stereotypical minority friendly hire.

3. This consolidates his power big time. Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi does not want to depend on casino money to fund infrastructure and provide local aid. He, along with the clergy and business leaders, know that the social ills brought by the casinos are not outweighed by the benefits. In essence, DiMasi recognizes the plan for what it is, profit to the gaming industry and revenue to the state form sources that the state would have received anyways.

4. Patrik consolidates his power even more by fostering even more union solidarity. Think about it, to be elected in the Peoples Republic a candidate has to be vetted by the Cops, Firefighters, Teachers, Municipal Workers, and the Trade Unions. The Transporation Committee recommends ending police details at construction sites. Needless to say, the cops are not going to be to thrilled about losing that gravy train. Patrik is selling the prospect of building 3 resort destination casinos located in Western Mass, Boston, and Southeastern Mass. Can you imagine the amount of construction jobs that will be created?

3.  The Union Gravy Train. Think about the following; as stated the cops will do everything they can to hold onto the detail benefit, thus they will be on the side of the casino. The trade unions are salivating at the possibility of building 3 casino resorts. The state will have to create some sort of gaming commission under the auspices of the State Treasurers Office which will translate to more workers in their union. Their combined membership will be pushing hard for this. It is reaosonable to assume that if the state will be licensing the casinos, it will strongly encourage or make it a condition that the casinos be a union shop, so one can also assume that the service workers union (which is partnered with the Teamsters) will also be lobbying hard.

4. What Next?  Patrk paints a rosy picture stating that the casino will pay for the infrastructure repairs. He would have us believe that the statehouse is going to make sure of this. If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. This is what happens, everyone’s ass is saved and we get screwed again. The social costs are going to be absorbed by local cities and towns that have to deal with the gambling fall out, i.e. drugs, drinking, evictions, domestic violence, etc. State aid that was paid to cities and towns from the lottery may decrease due to the monies being spent at the casinos and the fact that the state will get a diminished return. The hacks and their pensions will be safe now that the pressure is off, so the Turnpike can remain bloated and unaccountable along with the MBTA. Suffice to say, at some point down the road taxes and fees will rise to pay for yet another shortfall.

For some great columns about why Deval is wrong and the hacks are out of their tree, see Howie Carr and Margery Egan’s columns in the Herald.

These three new casinos – they’re for the children, and don’t you forget it.Gov. Deval Patrick, the moonbat music man, says we need ‘em, need ‘em right here in River City. Corruption? Don’t you worry about that, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Step right up and lay your money down – Deval assures us there will be a rigorous and robust gaming commission, sort of like all the other robust quasi-public authorities like the MBTA, Massport, the Pike and the Convention Center Authority.

From three-card monte to three-casino monte, the goal remains the same: dazzle the rubes to separate them from their cash. You can’t win if you don’t play, sucker.

UPDATE:

Today’s Boston Herald has a story that Deval may attempt to slash the payroll at the Turnpike in lieu of a planned toll increase.  Makes sense, everyone hates the Pike and it makes a great sacrificial goat.

Junior’s New Ride

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the press conference yesterday announcing his car number and sponsor next year. Driver #8 will now be driver #88 of the Hendrick Motorsports Chevy Impala SS sponsored by Mountain Dew Amp Energy Drink and The National Guard.

See Jayski for the story and the images. And for the entire press conference go here.

Schadenfreude

From an online dictionary: “malicious joy in the misfortunes of others,” 1922, from Ger., lit. “damage-joy,” from schadenscathe) + freude, from O.H.G. frewida “joy,” from fro “happy,” lit. “hopping for joy,” from P.Gmc. *frawa- (see frolic) “damage, harm, injury” 

An Example:

Hearing a story about a college dipshit who sits for 2 hours listening to Senator John “Do You Know Who I Am” Kerry  (D. Nantucket), decides to make a scene, and gets his stupid ass tasered. Video is here!

Let it Ride

Premier Patrik is expected to announce today that he will be supporting the licensing of three or four casinos in the Peoples’ Republic. Supposedly, the aditional gambling revenue will be just what the doctor ordered for funding the major infrastructure repair. Initially, these casinos will be located in Boston, Southeastern Mass (Indian Casino), and the Springfield area. The Cap’n wonders what the hell is going to happen when instead of playing scratch tickets, degenerate gamblers can hit the local casino and blow the family budget there. One of the nice things of having the casino in Conneticuit, is that the CT casino is a destination for Massachusetts gamblers. Having it far enough away would lead one to believe that it keeps some of the social costs out of the Commonwealth. The Cap’n shudders to think what would happen if Springfield had one, the social costs would be enormous. Additionally, can we trust the hacks to collect and spend the money responsibly?

Sparse Offerings.

Cap’n has been getting back into the groove at Sue. U so the blogging had to be curtailed for a little back, but he is back!

Lord of the Moonbats

September 11, 2001 the United States of America is attacked by Islamo-Facists hell bent on eradicating our way of life. These are the people that believe that submitting to Islam means slaughtering any person that does not submit to their way of thinking. They stone women in Afghanistan, shell Israeli houses, bomb embassies, bomb housing compounds, behead people, etc… So on the 6th anniversary of 9/11 our Governor speaking at the remembrance calls their actions “mean and nasty” and that this happened (the terror) from a “lack of understanding.” Could this guy be any more of a pansy? Please check out Dan Kennedy’s Media Nation discussion on this. Though Dan is kind off a left-leaning guy, the discussion is pretty clean. But the Cap’n still believes that Premier Patrik is wrong on this. Also check out comments from Scotto and Michael Graham on the Blogroll.

Moonbats

Cap’n was driving home tonite and decided to listen to Valley Free Radio , a local low watt FM station that has “diverse” line of programming. Actually, it is radio made for and by, Midols’ with a few glaring exceptions. There is a lot of talk, and not enough music. But Cap’n digresses. Well, one program was on tonite, and it is essentially Moonbat radio. Cap’n heard this song and just wanted to laugh and deliver a lecture to the songwriter on the real state of the world. The artist’s name is David Rovics, he does have a website, but Cap’n refuses to link it. Enjoy reading this tripe, along with comments by Cap’n.

It was a time I’ll always remember
Because I could never forget
How reality fell down around us
Like some Western movie set
And once the dust all settled
The sun shone so bright
And a great calm took over us
Like it was all gonna be alright
That’s how it felt to be alive
After the revolution

He must have dreamed of a full disability from workmen’s comp

From Groton to Tacoma
On many a factory floor
The workers talked of solidarity
And refused to build weapons of war
No more will we make missiles
We’re gonna do something different
And for the first time
Their children were proud of their parents
And somewhere in Gaza a little boy smiled and cried
After the revolution

Those are union jobs dammit! Cap’n thinks that if a parent makes missiles to smoke the Taliban, then their kids are probably okay with that.

Prison doors swung open
And mothers hugged their sons
The Liberty Bell was ringing
When the cops put down their guns
A million innocent people
Lit up in the springtime air
And Mumia and Leonard and Sarah Jane Olson
Took a walk in Tompkins Square
And they talked about what they’d do now
After the revolution

I see Willie Horton, Sirhan Sirhan, Richard Reed, the Unabomber, and Charles Manson laughing like little girls and having an ice-cream cone. And wasn’t Mumia fried?

The debts were all forgiven
In all the neo-colonies
And the soldiers left their bases
Went back to their families
And a non-aggression treaty
Was signed with every sovereign state
And all the terrorist groups disbanded
With no empire left to hate
And they all started planting olive trees
After the revolution

Oh, I get it. Adherence to Islam-o Facism is not the problem, but America is. So we go home and Osama Bin Laden and his crew form a fair trade Olive Oil Co-op ?

George Bush and Henry Kissinger
Were sent off to the World Court
Their plans for global domination
Were pre-emptively cut short
Their weapons of mass destruction
Were inspected and destroyed
The battleships were dismantled
Never again to be deployed
And the world breathed a sigh of relief
After the revolution

The battleships where retired by 1992  and the United States is not a member of a “World Court”, you freaking douchebag.

Solar panels were on the rooftops
Trains upon the tracks
Organic food was in the markets
No GMO’s upon the racks
And all the billionaires
Had to learn how to share
And Bill Gates was told to quit his whining
When he said it wasn’t fair
And his mansion became a collective farm
After the revolution

Organic food is a consequence of a revolution? I guess chemicals that protect a crop from pestilence is the worst thing in the world. How many people does Microsoft employ? I think Bill Gates lives on the water, so will that be a Salmon Collective?

And all the political poets
Couldn’t think of what to say
So they all decided
To live life for today
I spent a few years catching up
With all my friends and lovers
Sleeping til eleven
Home beneath the covers
And I learned how to play the accordian
After the revolution

And is now a Barista at my local Starbucks. You can’t make this shit up!

Freaking Hippies

As you all know, the Cap’n packed up and moved west to Happy Valley a few years ago. Happy Valley is filled with a plethora of different hippy types of which Cap’n will attempt to describe and discuss.

There is the authentic 60’s hippy, i.e. the hippy that went to UMASS in the 1960’s, protested against Vietnam, and settled down to either farm, teach, work, etc. The Cap’n is not bothered by this type of hippy, they are usually harmless and courteous and almost never have that “in your face” attitude. They really know how to have a good time. While they might seriously hate the current administration in the White House, they love the outdoors, good food, fine ales, and other people no matter how they vote, so long as they are fun to be around. Essentially the 60’s hippy is a kid who never really grew up, and still sees the potential goodness in many things.

There is a harmful offshoot of the 60’s hippy though, and that is the “Morally Indignant Deranged Older Lefty” type of hippy, also known as a “Midol.” Unlike their free and easy going peers, the Midol has found material success teaching Marxist economic theory at UMASS, running a people’s cafe that charges $5.00 for a slice of cornbread, or a burgeoning psychiatry practice that dispenses the most lithium and prozac per capita in the western world. So with all of this wordly success, it makes them more upset with the state of the world. To compensate they usually protest something on the Amherst common on Sundays, wear a lot of black, and drive a brand new Prious festooned with political stickers promoting diversity, saving Darfur, Kerry-Edwards, Impeaching Bush, sustainable farming, etc. You can spot a Midol from 500 yards away. The Midol looks like it has not had sexual relations for about 20 years. Unlike the 60’s hippy who still knows how to pour a glass of wine, spark some primo ganja, and turn on low lighting for a night of carnal bliss, the Midol spends its’ time at  a local bookstore listening to a reading of another atrocity in some God-foresaken corner of the world. Upon the end of the lecture, the Midol’s congregate at the local free trade coffee house to further talk about how the terrible tragedy so they can feel even worse before going home to pop a pill.

There is the South Park, “Know it All – College Hippy” and they as a general rule, suck. Please don’t lecture me about the benefits of hemp farming, legalizing pot, communes, Bush is Hitler, America sucks, when you live in a house that mom and dad pay for and you are driving a fairly new Volvo wagon. That hippy deserves a swift kick in the ass, repeatedly. The College Hippy will either get a haircut and a job, or will become a Dirty Western Mass Hippy. If anyone needs a righteous beatdown, it is this type of a hippy. What happens with this crowd is that they barely graduate, and then stay in the Valley to smoke pot, drink, and smoke more pot. They tend to focus on something political to bitch about, which makes them “activists” which allows them to gather in groups and smoke more pot, and bitch some more. At some point, the will leaves them and they leave the Valley, but there always seems to be a plethora of shiftless bums in their mid-20’s hanging around downtown Amherst, trying to fit in. With no reason to stay, their existence is pitiful, and deserving of a smack upside the head. Having to pay rent, food, and auto insurance on Mom’s old Volvo can bring them crashing to reality very shortly!

Cap’n wants you to describe your type of hippy!

Botsford Update

Well no surprise, the Governor’s Council appointed Botsford to the Supreme Judicial Court and Cadillac Deval swore her in promptly. However, not everything went off without a hitch at her hearing. Some of the Council members asked some pointed questions and commented on her overall judicial philosophy. This was my favorite take on the hearing:

Before voting against the appointment, Councilor Marilyn Petitto Devaney criticized the administration for holding the vote during a special session scheduled before a holiday weekend and denounced Botsford as too lenient. “No matter how vile the crime is, she has never given a maximum sentence,” Devaney said.

Who is this breath of sanity on the High Hack Council?

In another case she sentenced an MBTA bus driver convicted of repeatedly raping an 11-year-old girl with learning disabilities to four to six years in prison. Prosecutors had asked for up to 25 years. But Botsford said Wednesday she considered herself middle of the road compared with other judges in terms of the sentences she imposed.

The Cap’n is scared to find out what “middle of the road” means in this Peoples’ Republic.  Finally Councilor Manning had the following to say about the latest appointment to the bench.

“So powerful is her political clout that even Botsford’s widely publicized leniency in sentencing vicious criminals and child sexual predators did not affect her nomination,” Manning said. “Of course, it is the governor’s constitutional right to nominate as many hippies to the bench as he wishes.”

Amen Councilor. The rest of the article is here.

Fred In ‘08

It is official! Fred Thompson has formally announced his candidacy for the presidency. Please check out www.fred08.com for further campaign “stuff” and head over the Federalist Society website on the Capn’s links to check out Fred’s political beliefs.