By Rick Greeley
Republican State Committeeman (2nd Plymouth and Bristol District)
When is enough, enough? Every week it seems that another story surfaces surrounding the lunacy of yet another "zero tolerance" policy gaffe. Government agencies, most notably public school districts, often employ so-called zero tolerance policies in order to deal with a particular issue. The purpose of these policies is to appear to lay down the law, as if to say this particular behavior will not be tolerated at all, no ifs, ands or buts about it. And we deal with those who break the rules in such a harse and impartial manner that it will deter others from doing the same.
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Sunday, June 12, 2011
Editorial: Stop the Code of Silence!
Weeks into the DiMasi trial the Democrats are desperate to change the subject. In Federal Court, we have seen the way business gets done on Beacon Hill. There is a code of silence in the Democratic machine. They think if they don't talk about it, it will go away. Well, it's not going away. We've already been through Wilkerson, Galluccio, Buonomo, and Marzelli. Up next after the DiMasi trial will be the probation department scandal and the mess in Lawrence City Hall. The DiMasi trial has shown us how state contracts get rigged, and the probation scandal will show us how political contributions grease the skids for state jobs.
The legislative leaders who voted to re-elect DiMasi as speaker even as federal agents were closing in cannot hide their vote. Those legislators who promoted applicants for state jobs with one hand and took campaign cash with another will not be able to hide. Those who supported the election of Mayor Lantigua in Lawrence, including Governor Patrick, Lt. Governor Murray and House Speaker DiLeo, will need to explain their continuing support and failure to act in the face of a federal investigation.
The legislative leaders who voted to re-elect DiMasi as speaker even as federal agents were closing in cannot hide their vote. Those legislators who promoted applicants for state jobs with one hand and took campaign cash with another will not be able to hide. Those who supported the election of Mayor Lantigua in Lawrence, including Governor Patrick, Lt. Governor Murray and House Speaker DiLeo, will need to explain their continuing support and failure to act in the face of a federal investigation.
Editorial: Mr. Markey - Let my People Go!
The next time Joe Kennedy delivers oil to the elderly and the poor on behalf of his Citizens Energy, he should invite Congressman Markey to accompany him. For several years, Congressman Markey has been in the forefront of opposition to offshore and onshore oil drilling and oil and gas exploration studies. He has also voted against the construction of new oil refineries (there are no oil refineries north of New Jersey). Several years ago, he tried to shutdown the Seabrook nuclear plant but Congress voted against his proposal.
For "protectors of the environment" (who must delight OPEC) like Representative Markey, drilling in Alaska is a no-no, even though it could provide the nation with several years of crude oil independence and an eight-year supply of natural gas. All this by providing access to only 2,000 of Alaska's 20 million acres, - a mere 1/10,000th of the total area.
It should have been no surprise that drilling out a sea at depths at up to 5,000 feet is more dangerous and prone to catastrophe than doing so in the hundreds of safe sites closer to shore that Markey, Pelosi and their allies made off limits.
Weaning ourselves off foreign oil is essential to our national security. Last year, the U.S. consumed 300 billion gallons of oil, nearly two-thirds imported. About 86 percent of the world's oil is produced by foreign state-owned oil companies (as in Egypt and Libya). Exxon Mobil, the world's largest privately-owned oil company, owns only 1.08 percent of the world's oil reserves. Yet Markey consistently attacks them and hampers their oil exploration.
As the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, he circulated a memo to reporters in February stating: "Global unrest shows that oil is still a global commodity, with supplies still concentrated in the Middle East. Increased drilling in the United States would do nothing to immediately impact prices." Maybe so, Representative Markey, but with heating season only four months away how long would you like us to wait?
For "protectors of the environment" (who must delight OPEC) like Representative Markey, drilling in Alaska is a no-no, even though it could provide the nation with several years of crude oil independence and an eight-year supply of natural gas. All this by providing access to only 2,000 of Alaska's 20 million acres, - a mere 1/10,000th of the total area.
It should have been no surprise that drilling out a sea at depths at up to 5,000 feet is more dangerous and prone to catastrophe than doing so in the hundreds of safe sites closer to shore that Markey, Pelosi and their allies made off limits.
Weaning ourselves off foreign oil is essential to our national security. Last year, the U.S. consumed 300 billion gallons of oil, nearly two-thirds imported. About 86 percent of the world's oil is produced by foreign state-owned oil companies (as in Egypt and Libya). Exxon Mobil, the world's largest privately-owned oil company, owns only 1.08 percent of the world's oil reserves. Yet Markey consistently attacks them and hampers their oil exploration.
As the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, he circulated a memo to reporters in February stating: "Global unrest shows that oil is still a global commodity, with supplies still concentrated in the Middle East. Increased drilling in the United States would do nothing to immediately impact prices." Maybe so, Representative Markey, but with heating season only four months away how long would you like us to wait?
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