DD4RP on Jan 05, 2009 06:02PM

DiMasi Scandals Hushed Up

Suffolk clerk postpones Richard Vitale arraignment
By Hillary Chabot
Monday, January 5, 2009

A clerk delayed the arraignment of House Speaker Sal DiMasi's former accountant Richard Vitale this morning, and, in a highly unusual move, declined to accept a detailed description of the case.

The description has even more information about the ticket-scalping bill Vitale pushed, and could shed additional light on Speaker DiMasi's involvement only two days before the speaker is up for re-election.

"The safest thing for me to do is not file this because then it will become public record," Clerk Magistrate Gary Wilson said at Suffolk Superior Court this morning....

http://www.bostonherald.com/ne...
*and*

Arraignment of DiMasi friend delayed
Jan 5, 2009
By GLEN JOHNSON, AP...

...Also Monday, DiMasi said he won a victory when the State Ethics Commission agreed last week not to seek some documents from him that DiMasi had argued might be constitutionally protected because they involve legislative speech and debate....

http://www.examiner.com/a-1777...
What can I say here that hasn't already been said?
Anyone here shocked that this happened 2 days before his re-election?

EaBo Clipper on Jan 05, 2009 05:44PM

First Reuters, now AFP: Is Obama Plane Disembarkation Doctored?

You may remember back in 2006 that Reuters got caught doctoring photographs of the bombing of Beirut.  I think the Agency France Presse has just done the same thing with a photograph of Barack Obama disembarking from a plane.  I first saw the picture below on the front page of the Drudge Report.

Something about the picture just doesn't seem right to me.  First the Air Force would not fly a plane with the seal of the President in the door way, if the President wasn't on board.  And, as full of hubris I think Barack Obama is, I don't think he would put the seal on his plane.  

Now look at the picture.  How did Barack Obama get off the plane without whacking his head on the seal.  The seal seems to go completely across the entrance Obama just came out.  If the circle was on the wall of the plane inside the plane it would look askew as perspective would make it do so.  This image looks to me as if the AFP put the Presidential Seal in the opening with photoshop.  Below you'll see a picture of Bill Clinton disembarking from one of the smaller planes in the executive transportation fleet.  The door opens outward and the seal is on the bottom right.  Is this a bit of editorializing from the AFP?

EaBo Clipper on Jan 05, 2009 05:24PM

Deval Patrick: Aloisi quite the grave digger

In his most extensive comments on the subject to date with Blue Mass Group, Governor Deval Patrick defended his pick of Jim
Aloisi by saying he "knows where the bodies are buried".  Here's what the the Governor had to say about his favorite grave digger.

One thing that is helpful to me is that he[Aloisi] knows where the bodies are buried. And you know, the sad reality is that we have to dig up a lot of those bodies, and bury them properly. You know, I wish it were more glamorous, but this is an unbelievably complicated thing. I mean, the financing is complicated enough! But you have layered on that all kinds of politics. You know, there are some agencies ... where the nickname is that of their legislative sponsor. And people in communities know that if you want something from that agency, like a job [for a relative] ... There are all kinds of guardians and old relationships, and arrangements that were arrived at to solve some problem that you can't know about unless you were there. All that stuff needs to be unwound and brought into the sunlight. And it is so helpful to have someone who understands all that to be on the team and to be on our side.

Deval Patrick campaigned on opening up government, isn't that exactly what the much ballyhooed "civic engagement" model was?  If we are to believe that Governor Patrick truly meant that, I'm assuming he is going to have a Secretary Aloisi write a report detailing where all the bodies are.  In the spirit of open government I would expect nothing less of a Patrick administration appointee.  

If Aloisi doesn't come clean, I would hope that Martha Coakley would go to the courts to force Aloisi to do so.  We know have it on good authority, the Governor, that Jim Aloisi in fact does now things about the Big Dig that we the ordinary taxpayer don't.

Governor Patrick, when can we expect that report?

plymouth99 on Jan 05, 2009 12:19PM

Lawmakers - 1,000 Great Places Commission?!?! WTF!

http://www.boston.com/news/loc...

Can you think of 25 great places in Massachusetts? Probably. But how about 1,000?

State lawmakers say it can be done, and they want to establish a commission that would anoint 1,000 attractions across Massachusetts as official "Great Places." Brainstorming has already produced some ideas.

What the heck is going on?  I thought we had an economic crisis?  I thought we had state senators being arrested.  I thought we had problems in the state and we had to tighten up our belt, and we waste time on this crap?

But just as the state budget gets larded up with pork, there would be something for everyone. A thousand is enough to give each of the state's 351 towns nearly three great places. Put another way, there would be one great place in every 10 square miles of the state.

Unbelievable

garrett3000 on Jan 05, 2009 09:20AM

RNC Chairman's Candidate Debate LIVE BLOG

ATR is streaming the RNC Chairman's debate live here.

You can submit questions at that site, too.

My question for the candidates:

"The RNC has historically depended on traditional fundraising. What will you do specifically to expand our online fundraising base?"

If you could ask one question of the candidates what would it be?  
1:08PM - Oh look a debate on the internet...I guess I'll watch.
1:09PM - Katon Dawson...that is a cool name. Katon. South Carolina chair.
1:10pm - Ken Blackwell
1:12pm - Saul Anuzis, Michigan...
1:12pm - Uh-oh feed trouble...
1:13pm - Um...hello?
1:13pm - Well I missed all of Anzuis intro..and now I got The Saltsman
1:14pm - State Income Taxes? Hey remember when all the Republicans got behind Question 1...oh wait they didn't...
1:15pm - The Huckabee campaign did some incredible things at the grassroots level and people should take notice.
1:16pm - Mike Duncan...I am gonna go out on a limb here and guess that he is not going to get reelected.
1:17pm - "REBUILD THE PARTY IN AMERICA" accidental plug?
1:18pm - I love Grover. Great question about limiting government expansion...
1:19pm - Blackwell "They ran like jimmy Carter and then governned like Jimmy Carter. They ran like Reagan and governed like Jimmy Carter.." Good point. Roughly, sums up the last eight years.
1:20pm - Accountability...wow this deep stuff. GET A MIC THAT WORKS!
1:21pm Saul had some decent answers...too bad I couldn't make out all of them.
1:21pmSaltsman...answering...talking about cutting spending not raising taxes at the state and local level. "In the tough times you earn your stripes as a conservative and Republican."
1:22pmHow many Chairman do you know that are precinct captains too? That is cool.
1:23pm - Steele
1:24pm - Charlie Smith, Chair of YR...Question about bringing and retaining young people in the party.
1:24pm - Saul, Party for Free Markets & Free Minds...we need to attract young people at the very earliest levels.
1:26pm - Saltsman Don't use the words that drive them crazy "You're the future of the party." They're not the future of the party they're heart and soul of the party. The provide the energy and do do a lot work.
1:27pm - Duncan wants to create a Center for Republican Renewal. "The" Facebook, twittering, I like, I like it.
1:28pm - Steele - Everything sounds good here, but why haven't we done it? The internet isn't the be-all-end-all. We need face time. We need to do stuff in people's backyards...
1:29pm - Katon...I was inspired by Reagan...I think I might start keeping a Reagan counter..."We got to change the music in the Republican Party..." So to do that you need a new DJ
1:31pm - Everyone loves Reagan as their favorite president.
1:31pm - The worst Republican President ever..."It's safe to go with the dead ones," Grover...
1:31pm - Blackwell nails it by naming Hoover who was is similar to Bush in setting the stage for a massive expansion of government power with an incoming Democrat.
1:33pm - Oh Patrick look it's your favorite person Patrick Ruffini,
1:34pm - Open Sourcing...boxes...less one-way communication...it's not all about email lists.
1:35pm - Steele - Our Campaigns are gonna be our blackberrys in the future.
1:36pm - It's a grassroots party and that is what will bring us back to victory.
1:37pm - Anuzis "Creation of organic organizations" We need this to be part of everything we do and we need to make it part of everything we run.
1:40pm - What will Republicans unite around as a cause similar to what Democrats did with the war?
1:40pm - Duncan - The Fairness Doctrine? Are you serious?
1:41pm - Steele - Movement to what? We have Republicans scratching their heads right now saying, 'who are we?' We need to explain what this cause is about...
1:42pm - The next fight is for the Senate and Executive mansions. Katon.
1:43pm - Move voter vault to open source...I think this question has veered a little off course.
1:44pm - Saul - One of the uniting factors for us will be CardCheck, Spending, Governors are the future of our party.
1:45pm - be right back.
1:51pm - Blackwell, "The RNC can no longer be a social club."
1:51pm - Ron Paul Question..."If they want to be part of the Republican Party we have to welcome them. If we welcome them with respect it will benefit the party."
1:52pm - Saltsman - If only found one politician I agree with 100% of the time nad that is me. We need to have many voices in this party, etc.
1:53pm - I believe we need to bring the people in...
1:54pm - Hahaha
1:55pm - Hispanics & Republicans
1:56pm - Katon We are more consistent with the Hispanic community because of our family values and our support in school choice. We can't take any segment for granted any longer.
1:57pm - Anuzis...I am starting to like this guy...
1:59pm - Steele gets that the chairman and the national party can't do everything. Gets decentralization...
2:02pm - Norquist makes a funny about hiphop Republican.
2:04pm - Anuzis, "We became hypocrites" We've become afraid to stand on principle.
2:10pm - Tax payer protection pledge Question
2:10pm - All of them say, "yes".
2:11pm - 50 State Question
2:14pm - More or less yes from everything.
2:14pm - You have to wonder how a 50 state strategy would impact a state like Massachusetts...
2:17pm - Let's brad about how much we tweet and facebook! Grandpa Mike Duncan does not tweet.
2:19pm - Everyone is plugging stuff left and right.
2:20pm - Proposed resolution condemning the Bailout...
2:21pm - Blackwell Supports it
2:21pm - Steele supports it.
2:21pm - Duncan does not.
2:22pm - Question about state chairs meeting...
2:23pm - Closing statements.
2:25pm - This race looks like it is going to come down to Michael Steele and Saul Anuzis  

DD4RP on Jan 03, 2009 05:14PM

Deval/Dems Raid "Rainy Day" Fund

http://www.mass.gov/bb/h1/fy20...

For Fiscal Year '07 (Written in '06) Romney left Deval Patrick $2,335.0 Million on hand.  Without any Republican influence the spending raid has been on and fiscal responsibility has gone out the window.

Stabilization Fund Balances (in millions)
FY '07: $2,335.0 (Inherited from Romney)
FY '08: $2,123.4 (Official Estimate)
FY '09: $1,867.2 (Official Projection)

In just 2 short years $467,800,000 will be raided.  That's over 20%.

For FY '09 State Revenues are projected to increase by $1.357 Billion.  That's over 5%

DD4RP on Jan 03, 2009 02:38PM

DiMasi Corruption: Defections Begin

DiMasi loses ally in bid to keep post
Reelection vote looms next week
By Matt Viser and Andrea Estes
Globe Staff / December 30, 2008

A top House lawmaker who has flourished under House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi said last night that he would not support DiMasi's bid next week for another two-year term.

Representative David Torrisi, the House chairman of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, said he would vote "present" next week, a decision he labored over for months.

"The allegations are serious, and I think it's time for new leadership in the House," Torrisi, a North Andover Democrat, said in an interview. "Quite frankly, I was hoping he would have stepped down by now...

http://www.boston.com/news/loc...
It's too bad we already did the "Best Democrat" poll.  Torrisi deserves credit for this.  It will be interesting to see how Dimasi moves against him.  Will he lose his chairmanship?

Will this defection be the just the first, or the last?  Will he face a serious opponent for speaker within his own party?  Could the 16 Republicans change the outcome of this race?  Would more elected Republicans make it easier for a less corrupt Democrat to challenge the establishment?

DD4RP on Jan 03, 2009 02:22PM

First Civil Fine for Marijuana Issued

Mass. man gets marijuana fine, has bigger problems

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) A Holyoke man was at least one of the first people fined under a new state law that decriminalizes marijuana.

But Jose Burgos has bigger problems.

Police said they found the 29-year-old Burgos with less than a half gram of marijuana on him Friday, so he was fined $100 under a new law that went in effect that day. Those found with less than an ounce of marijuana are now subject to civil citation, rather than arrest.

But police say they also found 119 crack cocaine rocks and 45 heroin bags in Burgos's car after stopping him at about 12:30 p.m....

http://wbztv.com/massachusetts...
I just thought this story was awesome.  Wow.

DD4RP on Jan 03, 2009 01:00PM

Dems Living Fat On "Pay To Play"

Campaign war chests allow local lawmakers to be big spenders Finance reports reveal money spent on meals, flowers, limos
Crystal Bozek
cbozek@eagletribune.com

BOSTON - No one ran against Methuen state Sen. Steven Baddour in November's election, but that didn't stop him from spending $191,000 from his campaign war chest over the past two years....

http://www.eagletribune.com/pu...
Politicians on Beacon Hill use their campaign accounts to pay for their personal expenses.  With everything listed here as completely legal under the current system it really puts the illegal campaign violations in perspective.  Democrats like Wilkerson and Kujawski are beyond corrupt.

Here's a partial list of special interests using pay-to-play to Baddour in 2007 alone:

POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES ($500 max)
Associated General Contractors of MA PAC (80003) $500
Boston Carmen's Union PAC (80577) $500
Carpenters Local Union #33 PAC (80211) $500
IBEW Local Union 104 COPE/PAC (80697) $100
Insurance Agents & Brokers of MA PAC (80077) $100
MA Assoc. of Realtors Pol Action Comm. - MA RPAC (80112) $400
MA Community College Council PAC (80696) $100
MA Retail Lumber Dealer's Assoc PAC (80608) $500
MA Hospital Assoc Pol Action Comm (80312) $500
Machinists Lodge 264 PAC (80558) $200
Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers PAC $250
MBTA Inspector Union Local 600 PAC $500
MBTA Police Association $500
Ninth Decade Fund PAC (80771) $250
Ntn'l Fed of Independent Business-MA Save America's Free Enterprise Trust PAC (80320) $100
Plumbers Union Local #12 PAC (80230) $100
Raytheon MA PAC (80560) $275
Real Estate Bar Association for MA PAC (80580) $200
Retired Public Employees PAC (80153) $500
United Transportation Union PAC (UTU PAC) (80247) $500
Utility Contractors' Association of New England, Inc. (80598) $500
Boston Police Patrolmens Assoc. Pol Action Comm. (80209) $500
Eastern Massachusetts Brick Layers People's Committee (80323) $100
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company Political Action Committee (80745) $500
FMR Corp. MA Pol Action Comm (80267) $250
Ironworkers Union Local 7 Pol Action Comm (80219) $250
MA Hospital Assoc Pol Action Comm (80312) $200
New Car Dealer Political Action Committee (80095) $500
Pipefitters Local #537 Pol Action Comm (80229) $500
Professional Firefighters of MA People's Cttee (80374) $100
Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 17 People's Ctte (80194) $250
State Police Assoc of Mass. Pol Action Comm (80232) $500
Trucking Committee of Mass Pol Action Comm (80416) $500
Utility Contractors' Association of New England, Inc. (80598) $500
Voter Education Fund Local 170 Drive Pol Action Comm. (80359) $500
Total: $12,225

LOBBYISTS ($200 max)
Bernard, Lynda $200
Boksanski, Stephen $200
Brennan, John $200
Cass, William $125
Coyne, William $200
Fleming, F. Jeffrey $200
Giannino, Joseph $200
Malloy, William $200
O'Brien, Daniel $200
Trierweiler, Garrett $200
Total: $1,925

Not bad for an unchallenged candidate in an off-year.

Claude Rhaines on Jan 02, 2009 04:14PM

The Internet is TV. Twitter is the Internet.

Just found this over at Mindy Finn & Patrick Ruffini's blog, The Playbook:

Theory: The broader Internet is now like TV, and Twitter is the new Internet - the medium for scrappy political underdog

Read the rest here.

I think it dovetails rather well with Karl Marx's & The Angelic One's posts on exploiting new means of getting the Republican principles out thee.