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October 18, 2007

More waste

Article Last Updated: 10/18/2007 02:33:19 PM EDT

With two Democratic U.S. senators and 10 Democratic U.S. congressmen in Washington, the average citizen could assume that Massachusetts has its political bases well-covered when it comes to watching out for our interests.

Evidently, Gov. Deval Patrick and the state Legislature don't think so.

Last week, the Democrat-controlled Legislature approved Patrick's request to spend an extra $453,292 on the governor's administration office in the nation's capital. The additional funds, Patrick said, would help with lobbying efforts to attract more federal dollars to the state.

Give us a break.

No one has ever accused our state's congressional delegation from shirking on the job.

If the federal dollars are there, they do their best to bring them home.

All Patrick and his aides have to do is dial any one of the state's 12 federal lawmakers and they'll listen and respond. This is what teamwork is all about.

Patrick, however, feels he can be effective with more personal lobbyists doing the state's work.
Pllleeease! Washington doesn't need extra lobbyists, nor does Massachusetts need the extra expense.
This is how big government just keeps getting bigger.

Patrick's expansion of the Washington office is wasteful and unnecessary, especially when the state is fighting through a $1 billion budget deficit.

Patrick needs to focus on Beacon Hill, and leave Capitol Hill to our federal lawmakers.

Stamp of approval

Why not have a stamp with Beat writer Jack Kerouac's image on it? Some argue that because Kerouac had substance-abuse problems, he doesn't deserve a stamp. Yet Elvis Presley and Ernest Hemingway have stamps bearing their images, and they weren't exactly tea-totalers.

We agree with Chelmsford resident Dean Contover who has been fighting for 14 years to get the U.S. Postal Service to put Kerouac's photo on a stamp. Kerouac is an internationally known writer and has helped to put Lowell on the map. His work is held in high regard and is studied by scholars.

We support Contover's efforts and hope newly elected Congresswoman Niki Tsongas will sign on to this endeavor.

Posted by Admin at October 18, 2007 4:47 PM