Gov. Deval Patrick Set to Curb Public Employee Retirement and Health Benefits and “Double Dipping” – Unions Quietly Balk – As Goes Massachusetts – so goes the Nation.

Pictured: Deval Patrick, Barack Obama (background), David Axelrod (mentor, campaign manager and adviser to both). From Black and right.com, article: the Last Black President

Governor Deval Patrick has set what some have noted as a very ambitious agenda in his, self-stated, final term as governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In fact, if one looks at the majority of the proposed changes to the way the State runs, one would think Patrick was more of a Republican than a Progressive, especially when dealing with Public Employee Unions. If Patrick were to announce next that the State would be become “right-to-work” it would not be surprising, considering the focus on public employees.

The first step came last year, when Governor Deval Patrick, approached by two dozen municipalities, including Amherst, MA regarding the growing problem with municipal funded unemployment benefits, called for a study which was a real eye-opener. . The Springfield Republican headlined this past week: “Deval Patrick plan looks to stop municipal unemployment insurance abuse in Massachusetts” which will stop the practice of those employees “double-dipping”, or receiving retirement pensions, working several months, then collecting unemployment. Those who are collecting benefits, including teachers, safety workers, election officials and school bus drivers, have done so within the current letter of the law. Yet the cost is, to say the least, in the millions each year, and has becoming increasingly burdensome to those towns and cities, where keeping a taxpayer is growing increasingly more difficult. Massachusetts is not the hot destination for those seeking employment, etc. to relocate, in fact just the opposite as Massachusetts loss in population cost a Congressional Seat as a result of the 2010 census, and most likely will stand to lose another within the next 10 years. Therefore, to keep the ship afloat, there has to be cuts in government spending.

Patrick decided to start with the Municipal Employees, where, as proven in bankrupt states and cities (See California) elsewhere in the U.S. are largest expense of a state, municipalities, other than, in Massachusetts, the entitlement programs.

Next on the agenda The Springfield Republican headlines: “Gov. Deval Patrick unveils plan to overhaul Massachusetts retiree health insurance for government employees” , whereby the Governor plans to change the retirement age, upward, increase the “time-worked” in order to be eligible for benefits from 10 to 20 years, and also includes the notion that public employees pay for part of their insurance benefits. The towns and municipalities insist this does not go far enough, as they are spending a rather large percentage of their budget on the current system. According to the Republican article, the state and municipalities now face a 46 Billion bill due on unfunded retiree benefits. The unions are not particularly pleased: WWLP (Local NBC Affiliate), suggests that the Nurses Unions is “upset” that the Governor is forcing municipal workers to pay more for their health insurance(and making them work an extra 10 years to be eligible for benefits, and so on.).

Unlike Republican Governors in other states where measures to curb Union excesses have resulted in massive demonstrations, none are taking place in Massachusetts. On the contrary, it is quiet on the Western Front.

It’s possible that there may be a kick back of sorts for the Teamsters (employees of the Mass Turnpike system) in the Governor’s plan, that will be announced today, to Overhaul the Public Transportation Financing(Boston Herald). Then again, perhaps not, given the fact that Patrick has crossed the line in public retiree benefits. Those who are heavily vested in Public Transportation in Western Mass, are hoping for “investments” from the State when the plans are released, and ways to pay for those investments, including higher gasoline taxes, and possibly a raise in the stales sales tax. (The sales tax was increased within the last two years, sending scores of residents to New Hampshire to shop). That said, it was noted in the Republican (Mass Live) article that those asking for increases in state funding, “are aware of the distaste for Government spending”. Apparently that distaste is also present in Massachusetts.

Further, Patrick is ready to consolidate and eliminate state agencies to cut costs! As noted in Metro-West’s editorial, “And that’s just the first week”.

Those reading these articles and following the Commonwealth’s Governor, may feel they woke up in Texas, or at the last Wisconsin following the series of suggested “reforms”. Some commenting on the articles suggest that perhaps Deval Patrick plans a run for the Presidency in 2016, perhaps, but more likely perhaps not. It may be that, as in the past, Massachusetts is used as “testing ground” for national programs and campaigns (from “Yes we can” (2006 Deval Patrick Campaign for Governor and the Massachusetts Health care Plan – now known as “Obama-care – to name two that might ring a bell). Therefore, it is not a stretch of the imagination to suggest that perhaps, just perhaps, there may be an overhaul of the Federal system, and or other states with huge state and municipal employee dept, should Patrick quietly succeed with little or no pushback from the unions. There is also little found on these "reforms" broadcast outside of the Commonwealth.

For now, suffice it to say, the Governor, who a year before he was up for his last re-election, went on a “taxing spree”, raising 19 different taxes, the Head of a State where corruption is rampant and double dipping is the least of the problems, suddenly sounds like a Tea-Party fiscal conservative. Or perhaps it’s just a dose of reality mixed with the fact that legacy’s are used to promote larger price tags on speaking engagements (ok, cynical). Regardless, if public employee unions across the nation are thinking it’s going to be smooth sailing from now to eternity in those bankrupt states and the federal government, they may want to think again, if history repeats itself, as it is so often prone to do.

Another School Shooting on the Books – Yet NRA Membership explodes, Gun Sales Up – Common Sense, the Constitution, Medication and Politics.

Is it the guns or the non-moderated use of prescription drugs? Image from chemtrailsplanet.net

There was another school shooting, this time in a small town in California – a “bullied” student grabbed a “gun” that used “pellets” and went to school intent on killing those who bullied him. In the report from a local CBS affiliate, one finds a tell-tale clue: “But people in the small San Joaquin Valley town who know his identity say he was teased for his small stature.

They describe him as smart but say he sometimes said irreverent things that brought scorn from classmates.

Neighbor Trish Montes says her son used to work at the school and tutored the student last year. She says her son felt sorry for him and would sometimes walk with him between classes.(WSPA)

This begs the question, who is watching over the students that are hampered by mental illness, yet under most modern school policy are “included” in the main student body – inclusion is designed to insure that students with disabilities are viewed as “normal”.

There are myriad articles linking the rash of school shootings over the years (and increasing) with the use of prescritpon drugs, such as antidepressants, and those given to students with ADD. (Health Impact News) The common thread between all of the cases of mass shootings and or attacks is the fact that in each instance, the individual perpetrator is also both mentally disabled and on some form of medication, or has used that medication in the past. The fact that prescription drugs are given to these students with no ongoing monitoring by a physician combined with counseling leaves that individual (and their family and the community) at risk. For an interesting take on the link between mental illness and the rise in mass shootings/murders in the U.S., read ”Madness, Deinstitutionalization and Murder written in March of 2012. (Federalist Society)

Yet, despite the constant drumbeat for regulation of guns owned by individuals in the U.S., specifically after the shooting at Sandy Hook school in CT in December of 2012, there has been an increase in both gun sales (Kansas City Star) as well as a spike in memberships to the National Rifle Association.(Newsmax) The later is puzzling those on the left who, as is normally the case, cannot understand or refuse to understand that there is opposition to gun control – therefore, they ponder why , in the wake of horrific mass murders by those with guns, anyone would be against taking guns away from everyone except perhaps for the police and military? They look for conspiracies to explain the rise in memberships to the NRA such as a link between the NRA and the fire arm industry (Huffington Post) that turns a business, lobbying arrangement into some sort of black conspiracy.

Yet, they fail to see the political impact and that fact that gun sales started to rise immediately following the reelection of the President (See Kansas City Star). They also fail to hear that the White House (Obama Administration) is suggesting that they out-organize the NRA (they refers to the government) (Politico)

What they fail to see if the fear, and there is real fear in this nation that the Constitution upon which we rely is being trampled upon daily, and that rights under said document are being ignored entirely. One might be reminded that the President upon his first speech when election results were known in 2008, noted his favorite President as Abraham Lincoln. Those who are familiar with history also know that a study of Lincoln reveals a President who trampled upon the Constitution like no other before or up to the current President.

There are those on both sides of this argument that are vested in conspiracy theories, with grains of truth to both, yet are failing to see the forest through the trees. It is not legal gun ownership that is the problem. Yes, there may be the occasional hunting accident, or crime of passion (those are most often committed not with a gun, but with a knife or other means), yet overall, gun violence and deaths are generally committed by those who do not legally obtain a gun. (See Fast and Furious for a contradiction in Government policy – swept under a rug). Therefore, as the Administration goes to war with legal gun owners, there are millions of unsupervised, medicated, students who are capable of murder or suicide, and left without treatment other than the drugs that may cause the feelings of homicide and or suicide.

Therefore, to recap:

School shooting and other mass murders are historically tied to mental illness and prescription drug use, not gun use, take away a gun, and that individual may use a machete. The NRA membership rise is not a conspiracy as suggested by the left, rather fear of Obama. (See Hitler and Gun Control rising quickly as a search on Google). The administration sees nether the fear of themselves, or the tie to mental illness, and drugs, rather a political opportunity. There is zero help for those children, young adults, and adults who suffer from a variety of mental illnesses, their families, and the community, other than doling out drugs that are going to cause them to kill. There are also, sadly, those that , despite the proper care, are going to kill anyway, yet, the only way that person would be treated and the community kept safe, would be imprisonment, which is why a larger than average percentage of our prison population is deemed mentally ill. (Read Deinstitutionalization). Sadly, no one is talking about legislation that might demand that once diagnosed with any form of mental illness, a child should not be prescribed medication without ongoing counseling and monitoring of that individuals progress and health. The problem with that tactic is it would solve the problem, not offer a grand stage for politicians, who would be looking more towards a personal legacy than the health and safety of all Americans.

Cute Article on Dog Mistaken for Lion in Norfolk, VA Underscores the Dummying Down of America

Pictured, the Dog, the Dog and Owner, an actual lion - image from MSN.com

A shop owner, in Norfolk, VA has a pet, the breed is usually known as a “Labradoodle” – or one of the breeds designated as a designer dog. They are mainly affable, energetic and make a great family pet. The owner, also a college sports fan, had his dog, Charles the Monarch, groomed with a lion cut. The dog looks adorable (see photo). The lion cut is also common grooming for a variety of breeds – a fact not lost on most dog owners or those who have watched a bit of programming on a variety of networks – for example: The Animal Planet. Charles has become an overnight sensation, since those living in Norfolk called the police to report a lion sighting. There were several calls made, using the 911 system, where individuals reported seeing a “baby lion” which, these individuals deduced, must have escaped from a local zoo. It’s a cute and funny story, until…one realizes that adults who have been through the education system cannot recognize the difference between two common animals. Obviously, something went missing along their elementary and secondary school careers - science and geography.

One would imagine that most people would be able to tell the difference between a dog and a cat, or a dog and a lion – but, perhaps not. There was a time, long ago, when schools taught basic geography, and the sciences included a segment on the variety of life that exists on this planet. In addition to the general class studies, there were also the occasional assemblies, where a student required written parental approval, to watch a “movie” that depicted – life in the wild. Generally, these films were regarding animal behavior and culture that existed in other countries. One was given the opportunity to learn how a lion behaved in the wild. Every student was expected to attend, unless of course, there might have been a proclivity to avoid violence (thus the parental approval required). The violence was in the form of the given animal portrayed in a film, ability to catch and kill their lunch. Gruesome, but a life’s lesson. Few missed the assembly, or any classes for that matter, and came away knowing the difference between a domestic animal and a wild animal. Those students understood the difference between a horse and a zebra. The United States of America has a world-class educational system.

Fast forward several decades and one finds a curriculum in most schools that does not include history or geography, or culture, rather a combined overview entitled “Social Studies”. This mainly covers indigenous tribes that were murdered upon the arrival of Columbus, the rain forests and global warming, the isms (Sexism, Ageism), social justice, and economic justice and so on. There is little room in that curriculum to teach children about basics. Which, said basics, allow individuals to be able to tell the difference between a lion and a dog.

Call it old fashioned, call it “Conservative”, call it unnecessary - seriously, how many people will ever really need to know the difference between a lion and a dog? That’s the same argument used for decades when it came to learning – Algebra. Really, who uses this stuff in the “real world” - until.

One who is familiar with dogs might not expect the average person, not to appear shocked when they walk up to an adorable beagle, and the beagle bays! “I thought that was a beagle, but what kind of dog is that?!!! – One has to explain that the “bay” is the Beagle’s “voice”. That they do not “bark” like other dogs. That’s a detail, but at the least, they recognize that the Beagle is a dog. Perhaps that is why, for eons, Massachusetts has been known for having a grand educational system in comparison to the rest of the nation. When one looks at the stats from the State’s 4 year graduation rate, Massachusetts does fairly well, with only 50 or so districts showing a rate under 70% - out of approximately 320 someone districts. One might suggest that those statistics should look more like 98% of all districts – which, apparently is a statistic from the past, along with the ability to tell a lion from a dog.

That said watching late night NBC Network’s, Jay Leno and the segment entitled “Jay-Walking” one understands that perhaps this is the new norm. Although done in jest, the questions posed are easy enough for a child to know, however, the teachers, students, and others who participate, clearly have no clue. We, as a nation, celebrate the fact that we as a nation, know more about a given celebrity of the week, than about who the Vice President of the United might be(in the later case, immediately following the process of voting. Therefore, knowing the difference between a dog and a lion – well, how important is that in the grander scheme of things?

Read the comments section from the article: Norfolk 911 calls for 'baby lion' turn up a coiffed dog” - This really is a funny story – in a very sad way.