Election 2012: Make Calls at Home

With just a few days until Election Day, all of the candidates are seeking assistance in their campaign efforts.  Those who have limits to their time and mobility, one option could be making calls from home.  Systems are available to provide the ability to make calls in the same manner as call centers.

To inquire and make arrangements you may email the Mitt Romney campaign at mittromney.com/call-home-landing or the Scott Brown campaign at scottbrown.com/make-calls-at-home.

Tufts Students should Vote for Notable Alumni

By Bennett F. Gillogly

When Scott Brown was running for Senate he promised that he would go to Washington to be an independent thinker and reach across party lines to solve our country's problems.   Two and a half years later Senator Brown has kept those promises of independendence and bipartisanship.

Although he may be socially liberal, Senator Brown has remained a steadfast fiscal conservative.

The dichotomy between Brown and Warren in the US Senate race could not be clearer.   Professor
Warren believes that no one built their business without the help of the government.  Therefore she can justify increasing taxes any time the government needs money.  Senator Brown on the other hand, believes that level-headed bipartisan cooperation is the key to resolving America's problems.

Bennett F. Gillogly is a junior majoring in international relations.  He is the President of the Tufts Republican Club and can be reached at Bennett.Gillogly@tufts.edu.  To read the entire article see The Tufts Daily of Thursday October 25, 2012.
 
     

Election 2012: The question to ask doubters

When you are attempting to convince a confused, or even worse, an ignorant and stubborn voter you need to pose the question:  Do you  believe that things will be better in four years - compared to what it is now - or perhaps what it may be on Election Day ?

Election 2012: Poll Watching on Election Day

Election day is fast approaching and our Country and Party needs your help and that of anyone who has the opportunity to help.   The MA GOP is putting together an aggressive poll watching effort for the general election.   We will need hundreds of people to get this done here and accross the State.

Poll watching is easy.  People will be sitting inside the polling locations (warm and cozy) making sure nothing out of the ordinary happens.   If they see something that does not look right, they can call one of the lawyers in the area that can show up and take it from there.

Poll Watching trainning on the North Shore will take place on Monday October 22nd in the Danvers headquarters of the Massachusetts Victory Campaign.  If you think you could donate a few hours at one the local precincts and help protect the integrity of the election, please call Matt Cocciardi on his cell phone at 978-766-7274 or e-mail him at mcocciardi@massvictory.com.

 

Occupy NY: Who is Brookfield Properties ?

Do you know the name of the park that the Wall Street protesters were occupying - it's Zuccotti Park.  The New York Times on October 13, 2011 investigated and published a report that helps your reporter better understand the occupy movement and the efforts to effect the November 2012 presidential election.

Did you know that the park is not owned by the City of New York ?   It is owned by Brookfield Properties.  Did you know that Brookfield Asset Management received an Obama Department of Energy Loan guarantee of over $160 million dollars within 10 days of approving the takeover of the park ?  Brookfield Properties is a Canadian company with assets, according to their own website, of $70 billion.   Knowing that it begs the question - why is the US taxpayer quaranteeing a loan to a very wealthy Canadian company ?

Here are some interesting facts:  One of Brookfield Properties attorneys is Vice-Presdient Joe Biden's son.  One of the members of the Brookfield Board of Directors is Mayor Bloomfield's live in girlfriend.   And, did you know that Brookfield Properties received some of the distributions from the last Obama Stimulus dollars.

On a completely unrelated note, Wisconsin is shaping up to be one of the important swing states in the 2012 presidential election, quess who owns the company that will be tabulating the electonic votes in Wisconsin ?   Thats right, the biggest contributer to Obama, the puppeteer George Soros.
What a coincidence.  Remember what Joseph Stalin said:  "It's not the people who count.  It's the people who count the votes."  

Remember this when November gets here.

'Strawman' Returns

Tom Tierney of Framingham is running in the November General Election as a "Republican."  Tierney bested Frank Addivinola and Jeff Semon in the Republican Primary after running a stealth campaign and conducting a last minute 'Phone Tree" electronic campaign against the less widely known candidates.

Mr. Tierney has run as a Republican several times, the last time being 2010, when he made headlines complaining that many local Republican City and Town Committees had ignored his efforts to reach out and seek support.   When he was accused by several committees of being a diversion to confuse the voters with fabrications while actually running on the same platform and supporting the same issues as his declared opponent Ed Markey he faded out of sight.

When Tierney made a surprise appearance at the Winchester Republican Women's Club and Town Committee's  annual cocktail party on September 29th he was allowed to speak to those assembled. 

After inviting questions from the audience, former State Committeeman and current Medford City Committee Chairman Bernie Green, confronted Tierney on the issue of once again acting on behalf of Ed Markey by pretending to be a serious Republican opponent, but really being only a 'Straw' working to ensure Markey an easy re-election as a member of Congress. 

After failing to answer the charge Green urged those in the audience to ignore Tierney by blanking the ballot section for  Representative in Congress and focussing their interest and support for other races on the Ballot.

Obama imposes 21 New or Higher Taxes

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, released a list of Tax Hikes by the Obama administration some of which have taken effect and others yet to be phased in.

To see complete report click here.

MA Republican State Committee discusses adoption of national party platform

The Massachusetts Republican State Committee listened to a presentation by Patricia B. Doherty, State Committee Woman from the Second Middlesex District, on the question of adopting the national party's platform at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee which will take place after the November election.  The speech drew mostly favorable comments including remarks made by the State Committee Chair and applause from those in attendance.

The State Committee had previously voted to schedule a discussion at the September meeting on embracing the national platform, which does not embrace gay marriage, late term abortion and does not contain exceptions for rape or to save the life of the mother.  That language caused controversy nationally and in Massachusetts, where some Massachusetts candidates have found success on socially moderate stances.

Richard Tisei, a Republican candidate for the Sixth Congressional seat who is openly gay, urged the State Committee to reconsider taking up discussion of the national platform.  Other Republicans said they feared that a battle over internecine values would alienate activists and conservatives who can get out the vote for Republicans in an election year.

Party spokesman Timothy Buckley caused a stir with Globe Reporter Stephanie Ebbert when he barred her from the meeting at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester which was otherwise open to the public and press.  Ebbert has been a frequent critic of the MAGOP.  After the meeting, Buckley declined to provide details, saying, "It was discussed. That's all I got."

Several participants recounted the events of the evening; including State Committee member Patricia Doherty, who proposed adopting the national platform and detailed to the Globe reporter the speech she had given inside.

Political Operative accused in false Facebook pages

A political operative was ordered to appear in court recently, accused by fellow Republicans of stealing their town committee's identity by setting up a Facebook page to tout a candidate he favored in a contested central Massachusetts primary race.

Ralph Zazula of Bedford appeared in a clerk magistrate's hearing in Ayer District Court, where Shirley Republican Town Committee members presented their complaint.   Previously, Committee chairman Kevin Hayes went to the Shirley Police claiming Zazula had set up a Facebook page that purported to represent the views of the town committee without permission.

Hayes said Zazula's posting made it appear that the town committee was backing Tom Weaver, who was running against Jon Golnik for the Republican nomination for the third congressional seat currently held by Nicki Tsongas (D-Lowell).  Police confirmed they investigated the matter, and advised Hayes to take the matter before a magistrate.

Marlboro Republican City Committee chairman Paul Fero, meanwhile, said he wants to get control of a similiar Marlboro-related Facebook site which he said "gave the false impression that the we were supporting Weaver.  We were not intending to endorse anyone."

Zazula informed the Boston Herald that he started more than 27 pages that were identified by a town name and included the words GOP.  He said none of his sites used the actual names of the committee's Republican committees.   Zazula, defending his actions, claimed that he "created these pages because I had an interest in making connections to the community.   Zazula said he believed that the matter will thrown out of court because it was not a violation of the law."

A spokesman for Weaver, who lost the Republican primary to Golnik, said the former candidate is standing by Zazula.

  

Grassroots Effort Wins in Wisconsin

Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus in remarks made on Twitter noting that the Recall win by Governor Walker was made possible by the crucial support of dedicated volunteers stated: "In less than four years after Obama won Wisconsin, Democrats lost an election of their own making.  That's because the GOP excelled at our ground game, now giving us a significant advantage for the presidential race." Priebus argues, "Working with the Wisconsin GOP, the RNC ran joint voter contact Victory operations and opened 26 statewide offices.  Since January our volunteers made over 4 million voter contacts, more than the GOP did in the entire 2008 campaign and substantially more than Democrats and their union allies in this election... In the process,more than 3,400 Wisconsin volunteers have signed up to help the Party.  And the data collected by door-to-door volunteers for Governor Walker was all properly added to the RNC's data center, thanks to the use of iPads, iPhones, and iPods."

 

Test of Fire: Election 2012

The Roman Catholic Church has come out with a very powerful ad.   It is a compelling video, and a must see.

To view video, click here.

Rest in Peace

We are saddened to learn of the death of Adelaide (Landi) Penta of Medford, beloved wife of the late Anthony N. Penta on Friday May 4th.   She was the mother of Richard M. Penta and his wife Irene, Medford City Councilor Robert M. Penta and his fiance Susan Conley, and Anthony J. Penta and his wife Mary.   Adelaide was also the mother-in-law of the late Linda Penta.

Regrets and sympathies are extended to on behalf of the Committee to former City Committee Chairman and Ward Eight member Robert (Bob) Penta and to the rest of the entire Penta family on their loss.

 

Winchester Star Stifles Writer's Free Speech

Lynne Eagle a conservative journalist from Winchester who has contributed articles regularly to the Winchester Star has been informed by the Editor that "she may not submit political pieces during election season because it is unfair to those who disagree with [her]."

This action by the Winchester Star appears to be yet another effort to stifle views that the mainstream media would prefer not to be discussed or revealed in public by persons they do not agree with.  'Letters to the Editor' have historically been the public soapbox available to all.

The question that remains is who will be allowed to express an opinion on issues or reveal facts about candidates for public office?

Letters to the Editor

Congratulations to Richard Grant and Mark Cresse for their expressions of support for US Senator Scott Brown in the April 19th edition of the Medford Transcript.  Both submitted 'Letters to the Editor' that were published.  Their efforts are not just expressions of defense against unfair partisian criticism but well written commentary.

State Committee Elections Mixed

With 79 elected and re-elected State Committee members in attendance, and one vacancy, barely a handful of votes decided two highly contested elections during the organizational meeting of the Massachusetts Republican State Committee which took place on Thursday April 5th.

The election process began with a highly emotional race for Republican National Committeewoman in which former Lt. Governor Kerry Healy was elected over activist Channel Prunier. The election became very fluid after the incumbent Jody Dow withdrew from the race the previous week and Healy entered the contest.

Healy's election was quickly followed by the unanimous re-election of Ron Kaufman for Republican National Committeeman.

The other highly watched election, the election of Vice-Chair of the State Committee, followed. Jean Kangas was re-elected by a slim-but-firm margin over new State Committeeman Steve Alyward.

In other officer elections, Brent Anderson was re-elected as Treasurer of the State Committee, Angela Davis was elected as Secretary, Elizabeth Mahoney was elected as Assistant Treasurer and Bonnie Johnson was elected as Assistant Secretary. Each of the four were elected without opposition.

Show ID to Vote Effort Continues

Raplh Zazula of Concerned Citizens USA of Westford continues to lead the grassroots effort to change Massachusetts law to require everyone to show proper identification to vote spoke recently at a Medford meeting of the Greater Boston Tea Party.

During his remarks Zazula gave a detailed description of the various requirements that must be met by persons who wish to observe activities inside polling stations. Ralph emphasized that by law everyone has the right to observe.

Zazula is hoping to increase the number of volunteer observers who can give some time during the Presidential Primary on March 6th, and at primaries and elections during the spring and summer and at the General Election in November.

An instruction video and printed worksheets are available and training sessions can be arranged. To inquire about the program, arrange a training session or presentation at your meeting email Ralph Zazula at www.ShowIDtoVote.com or snail mail to Concerned Citizens USA, P.O. Box 485, Westford, MA 01886.

Dead Voters, RIP

Liberals love to laugh off voter fraud.

Its "a made up problem invented by GOP operatives," Robert Koehier, a self-termed "peace journalist," snickered in the Jan 5 Huffington Post. Regarding ballot hijinks, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz chuckled: "There is almost none."

But recent news is not so funny. One probe caught on tape shows how easily anybody can vote on behalf of dead Americans. Elsewhere, the total ballots cast by the dead exceeded the winning margins in several high-profile elections. These cases confirm the urgent need for all voters to prove they are alive and to correctly identify themselves via photo ID - just as Americans do on non-election days.

James O'Keefe, the conservative video journalist whose hidden-camera sting operation doomed the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), struck again during the New Hampshire primary. O'Keefe's organization, Project Veritas, dispatched three videographers to the Granite State. On Jan 10, they visited precincts in Manchester and Nashua and asked poll workers, one by one, if their voter rolls bore the names of several deceased people. The poll workers handed out 10 ballots, never once asking for a photo ID.

"Live free or die," a poll worker reassured one investigator she thought was Reynold Caron, who died on October 14, 2011. "This is New Hampshire, No ID needed."

O'Keefe's team members never cast these ballots. They returned them, unmarked, to precinct workers. New Hampshire Democrats seem unconcerned that their voter rolls contain the names of dead people and, absent ID rules, fraudsters conveniently could vote the ballots of the expired. Instead Democrats want to indict these whistleblowers.

"They should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, if in fact they're found guilty of some criminal act," Democratic Governor John Lynch to WMUR-TV in Manchester.

Republicans, however, consider this deadly serious. Following Project Veritas' revelations, Granite State legislators recently began debating two photo ID bills. The easiest way to disenfranchise the dead is to require every voter to show photo ID. Those who lack identification should get it for free and reasonable accomodations can be made for the infirm.

Let's not hear liberals' scratched record about how mandating a photo ID for voters is step one on the road to lynching. If true, then demanding a photo ID at America's airports would make the TSA equivalent to the KKK. Liberals' oft-cited claim that blacks are too befuddled to possess or aquire photo ID is pure racial profiling. Just how lame do they think black Americans are?

ID cards would help cleanse America's increasingly soiled voting system. Photo ID's would allow people to rest in peace rather than rush to the polls every Election Day.

Another Reason Why Texas Prospers

Rodger A. Keats has it right in his letter of Jan 14 ("Protecting the Election of Democrats") when he describes how a minority-anglo Texas has ruffled the National Democtratic Party. In my 49-year stint as a resident in Texas, I witnessed a 100% Democratic state in the 1950's change to one of the reddist of red states today. Among other states, its economy and job creation are beyond comparison. It has become the absolute opposite of California; it does not need nor require a state income tax;and it pays for a substantial homestead exemption on resident and senior-citizen property taxes.

It appears that Sam Houston had it right in his negotions with the U.S. Congress over the 1845 Treaty of Annexation when he reportedly said in essence that Texas is going to keep ownership of its public lands or we are not going to join, thus laying the groundwork for its economy to become unique among the 50 states. Texas doesn't have a significant share of its area under federal control, as many other states do, and it is able to profit from royalties on state lands on which it encourages development.

Teacher Unions defend the Incompetent

They have trouble with spelling, grammer and showing up to class on time - and we're not talking about the students.

The City of New York tried to expel 26 teachers from the classroom last year for gross incompetance - such as English teachers who couldn't write or speak the language properly.

But officials maintain that stingent union rules prohibited them from succeeding in just half those cases - even when hearing officers actually agreed with the principal's assessments.

That's because the city has to prove not only that the teachers can't do their jobs but also that they have no shot at ever improving. "What happens is every single thing is litigated or grieved or has had a fuss made about it," said Mayor Bloomberg, who, along with Governor Cuomo, has demanded statewide adoption of new teacher evaluations.

Environmentalism's Appeal: Slow Industrial Progress

In turning down the Keystone XL Pipeline the President has uncovered an ugly little secret that has always lurked beneath the surface of environmentalism. Its basic appeal is to the affluent. Despite all the professions of being "liberal" and "against big business," environmentalisms main appeal is that it promises to slow the progress of industrial progress. People who are already comfortable with the present state of affairs - who are established in the environment, so to speak - are happy to go along with this. It is not that they have any greater insight into the mysteries and workings of nature. They are happier with the way things are. In fact, environmentalism works to their advantage. The main danger to the affluent is not that they will be denied from improving their estate but that too many other people will achieve what they already have. As the Forest Service used to say, the person who built his mountain cabin last year is an environmentalist. The person who wants to build one this year is a developer.

Environmentalism has spent three decades trying to hide this simple truth. How can environmentalists be motivated by self-interest when they are anti-business? Doesn't that align them with the working classes? Well, not quite. You can be anti-business as a union member trying to claim higher wages but you can also be anti-business as a member of the aristocracy who believes "trade" and "commercialism" are crass and not attuned to the higher things in life. Environmentalism is born from the latter, not the former. It has spent decades trying to pretend it has common cause with the working people. With the defeat of the Keystone Pipeline, this is no longer possible. Too many blue-collar and middle-class jobs have been sacrificed on the alter of carbon emissions and global warming.

I-93 Border Toll will be Considered to Fund Transit

State Representative Sean Garballey on Tuesday announced that the legislatures MBTA caucus will consider adding a NH/Mass Border Toll to raise funds to help pay for transit funding shortfalls that includes expansion projects such as the Green Line extension into Somerville and Medford.

Click here to read full story.

GOP has first candidate for 9th District seat

By Brian Boyd

A Plymouth businessman has announced he will seek the Republican nomination for the new 9th Congressional District.

Christopher Sheldon, a management consultant and Plymouth County Charter Study Commissioner, has formed a campaign committee, he announced in a news release Friday.

"Like many from the South Shore, South Coast, Cape and Islands, I am very concerned about the direction of our country and especially our economy," Sheldon said in the release. "I believe in the American dream and I believe that, if we start now, there is still time to get our nation back on track."

He cited professional politicions and partisanship as impediments to solving problems in Washingron, and he said there is a need for someone with business and economic experience who is willing to work across party lines. Sheldon has tentatively scheduled a formal announcement of his candidacy and a campaign kick-off event for March 30.

The new 9th district, created as part of the redistricting process following the 2010 census, encompasses Cape Cod and parts of the South Shore and South Coast, including New Bedford.

U.S. Rep. William R.Keating, D-Mass, who currently represents part of the new district, and Bristol County and District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter are seeking the Democratic Nomination.

Additional Dates for Town/Ward/City Bootcamps

The MassGOP has added more Boot Camps in addition to the January 28th Boot Camp which was completely booked shortly after the date was announced. The training is intended for Republican Town, Ward and City Committee leaders that want to grow their committee with new members and fresh ideas. The program is completely new and updated for 2012.

The program is being offered by the leadership of the Attleboro Republican City Committee, which has a long history of local Republican success. Elected Republicans representing Attleboro include two State Representatives and a State Senator, the Mayor, the leadership and majority of the members of the City Council including the President, and the leadership of the School Committee.

The Massachusetts Republican Party partnering up again with Howard Bibeault and Susan Blais of the Attleboro Committee is inviting the leaders of the local Town and Ward and City Committees to attend a full day of free training classes. In one day participants can learn how to GROW their Committees with new members and new ideas on how to get Republican Candidates elected.

An all new and updated for 2012 - 65 page Hardcover Reference Book will be presented to each attendee. Subjects covered in the Handbook include:

- GOP History & why we are Republicans
- Positive Energy: It's contagious!
- How to grow a Republican Committee
- Why we need Republican Town/Ward/City Committees
- How to organize, electing your officers, OCPF filings
- Checking Accounts, ByLaws, Membership List
- Membership Recruitment & Membership Drives
- Calendar, Events, Meeting Locations, Agenda and Speakers
- Technology - A world of free tools !
- Candidate Debates, Community Involvement, Voter Registrations
- Fundraising, Donations, Dues
- Finding and supporting Rebublican Candidates to run !
- How to organize your committee (Mandatory by MA State Law this April)
and lots more !

The newly added dates include:

Sunday, February 5, 2012 - 9AM to 3PM (With Lunch and Snacks)
Location: State Senator Ross - Office - 93 Commonwealth Ave, North Attleboro, MA

Sunday, April 22, 2012 - 9AM to 3PM (With Lunch and Snacks)
Location: Labonte's Auto School - 130 Cedar Street, Milford, MA

Sunday, April 26, 2012 - 9AM to 3PM (With Lunch and Snacks)
Location: State Senator Ross Office - 93 Commonwealth Ave, North Attleboro, MA

Saturday, May 19, 2012 - 9AM to 3PM (With Lunch and Snacks)
Location North of Boston Area - Venue to be announced

Anyone considering running for office, and declared candidates and their teams should be planning to attend a Boot Camp ! After noting which boot camp you and your team wish to attend contact the MassGOP at BootCamps@massgop.com.

Time to fix Public Housing

By Raymond Mariano

The current public housing system is a well-intentioned failure. This system, originally intended to provide temporary transitional support to struggling families, has become the housing of choice for multiple generations of the same family. Such a system promotes reliance on public assistance and creates intergenerational poverty.

With each subsequent generation, the lack of motivation to leave public housing becomes more ingrained. Today, children living in public housing are more likely to become adult residents and raise their own children in public housing than in generations past.

Additionally, the intergenerational reliance on public housing clogs the system with the same families. The result is that thousands of families are forced to remain on an endless waiting list.

The current system is based on the mistaken notion that residents of public housing can't do anything to help themselves and that they are destined to fail. We reject that notion. Rather than believing in our residents and helping them get on their feet, our existing system provides a strong disincentive to work and to accurately report income.

The time has come for a bold new approach. One approach aims to break the permanent cycle of poverty and public housing reliance, as well as transform lives by changing the concept behind providing this public benefit.

With close to 80 percent of Worcester's public housing residents unemployed, we propose a requirement for able-bodied residents under the age of fifty to go to work or attend school full time in order to continue to receive housing benefits.

In order to ensure that residents are provided the necessary tools and resources to meet the school/work requirements, all residents will participate in intensive case-management services, and will be provided with access to resources that will help improve the educational, occupational, financial and health needs of each member of the household.

As an incentive to go to work, all residents will participate in an escrow program to allow them to maintain their rents at a pre-employment level. The increased portion of their rent, that would normally result from their increased income, will be put in escrow to allow the resident a greater chance of self-sufficiency when they leave public housing after a few years.

Too many children living in public housing fail and drop out of school. Poor attendance and dismal graduation rates have become the norm. As a part of this new approach, children will be required to attend school on a regular basis and not exceed the guidelines for absences set by the local school district for their family to continue to receive housing benefits.

Although most public and leased housing residents have the desire and motivation to improve their lives, many lack the skills and knowledge to actually do so. Life 101 is a program specifically designed to provide residents with basic but significant life skills, including training related to healthy relationships, parenting, financial literacy, housekeeping, being a good neighbor and conflict resolution.

In general, public housing children lack resources, family support and a positive father/male role model. Lack of education contributes to a lack of sustained employment among our residents.

Ultimately, our goal is to help make residents self-sufficient and motivate them to move out of public or leased housing and take their place in the larger community. We believe that housing authorities should do more than change the windows and doors every few years. In fact, if we are willing to believe in our residents and provide them with the support they need, we believe that we have the opportunity to change lives.

Raymond V. Mariano is executive director of the Worcester Housing Authority.