Government + Common Sense = Non existent

The title of this article comes as no surprise to anyone as I have spouted out such topics in the past.  But stories this past week have just shown how government officials just do not get.  There is no reason why elected officials need to comment on or try to fix every social problem out there.  There comes a time when society needs to fix itself, and there are just times when you have to live by 3D's motto, you just can't fix stupid.  There were two stories this week, one local and one national, which just had me scratching my head.

The first is the local story of the Massachusetts legislature banning bake sales in local schools.  So basically what the government did was take a national problem of child obesity and told parents that they were not doing a good enough job controlling it and that they would take over.  But the problem doesn't stop there.  In these tough economic times school budgets has been slashed to a point where teachers are teaching in larger classrooms.  At my umpire association meeting last Monday we were told a local JV team could not comply with the MIAA bat safety rule because the school and parents could not afford the new bats.  So the state decides to take the biggest source of school fundraising and said no, figure it out.

I could totally understand if statistics showed that school bake sales were leading to an increase in allergic reactions during school hours, but that's not the case hear.  But the state has decided that children are just obese and that parents are doing nothing about it.  I'm sorry but it's not illegal to have a fat kid, it's not ideal, and in some respects it's not right, but it's not illegal.  So, unless you plan to ban brownies from store shelves, which in Massachusetts would not surprise me, this ban on bake sales doesn't work.  Just like every other unreasonable ban on things in Massachusetts, all it does is divert the funds to other places rather than where it should go.  Luckily, some sort of common sense came about the next day and Massachusetts House of Representatives is moving to repeal this latest ban in the Nanny State.  Hopefully, the Senate and the man who thinks I am a racist, Governor Patrick do the right thing and repeal this.

The second story that just had me saying "why?" was President Obama and Vice President Biden supporting gay marriage this week.  There was absolutely no reason for it.  I am one that supports the civil union of same sex citizens even though it goes against my church's beliefs, I am a big boy, and I can deal with them.  The main reason I support same sex civil unions is that it has no impact on my life whatsoever; it would not change my daily operations or the people I talk to.  It would definitely make the gay people I am acquainted with very happy.  I digress.

I shake my head at this story because, it was made a story.  The problem with the gay marriage is the emphasis on the word marriage.  Leave that up to the churches.  Call them civil unions and call it a day.  But the President made it a story this week, mainly because Vice President Biden put him on the spot in a recent interview, forcing his hand.  Where the President stands on this topic is not my main concern in the upcoming election and it looks like the President and the media is wagging the dog.  One interesting point to note is that President Obama was against gay marriage before he was against.  That is starting to be the mantra of this election.  The government should leave this issue alone and leave it to the states, just like health care.

The President saw an opportunity to revive a disengaged voter base that carried him to election in 2008 and he took it, that's all.  Nobody really thinks he will propose legislation to define marriage nationally, do they?  That issue gets all the legislators running for the hills when it comes up so nothing will ever get done.  If you think I am wrong try this.  Call up Congressman Jim McGovern one of the most "progressive" reps out there and ask him to sponsor a gay marriage bill or resign from office, see what he does.

I do want to state that the people of North Carolina have spoken their mind, twice, and that needs to be respected, whether you agree or not.  They should not be ridiculed for their decision.  There was a process, it was followed and the outcome did not come out favorable for some people.  It's time to move on, but don't think there will ever be a national law on this, it just won't happen.  Sorry!

3D

Coming Right Atcha

Really Deval?

It's been a while since I have been able to post here.  It took a racial claim from our clueless Governor to get my writing juices flowing.  For those of you that don't know, my wife gave birth to our second daughter a few weeks back, and I had minor surgery on my back.  It is also baseball season and as an umpire this is my busiest time.  But our Governor made comments this past week that not only got me all riled up but was borderline offensive.

I live in Massachusetts and I have grown accustom to certain things.  Massachusetts is the most liberal state in the union.  For God sake Robert F Kennedy's grandson is the favorite to win Barney Frank's vacated seat just because his name is Kennedy.  Massachusetts is also a nanny state, the government knows best, it takes care of people that not only can't take of themselves, but have no desire to.  It bans products and practices like it was a high school principal.  It all comes from the top in the Governor’s office.  Sure, Massachusetts has always been like this, but Governor Deval Patrick is extremely arrogant about his positions, taking his cues from the resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

I'm not talking about the Cadillac he decided to take on the taxpayer’s dime when he became governor.  I'm not talking about the absurd amount it cost to decorate his office and I am not talking about filling no-show positions that have been vacant for years with six figure salaries.  He is a politician and this type of stuff happens on both sides of the isle.  If you don't believe that then you are much more naive than you lead on.

All I have grown to accept, what offended me this past week from Gov. Patrick was his remarks regarding a growing sensitive issue in not just Massachusetts but the United States.  It's the issue of illegal immigration.  Over the past year we have seen an illegal immigrant, or as Gov. Patrick likes to classify them, undocumented citizen, kill his girlfriend and her son and then was able to flee to his native Ecuador, where ironically he was convicted and now he can't come back to face the crime he committed before he left.  We have also seen an illegal immigrant, while driving drunk, hit a man on his motorcycle and then dragged him to his death.  So the tally is two illegal immigrants, two murder/manslaughters and three deaths.

But when Gov. Patrick was yet again asked about his opposition of the Secure Communities Act he responded "“The actions of various states to take matters into their own hands have been ham-fisted, self-defeating, and even racist,’’

I'm sorry, what???  Asking our elected leaders and local law enforcement is racist?  Is he serious?  I understand that the Governor doesn't want to be the elected official that actually does his job other than taxing the rich to give to the poor.  But to criticize the officials that risk their lives on border of the United States combatting these criminals and call them racist, shame on you Gov. Patrick.

Governor Patrick took it a step further by saying “The public discourse about immigration is as toxic today as McCarthyism or Jim Crow were in their time,........Now, like then, the debate seems to be based more on emotion than reason, more on slogan than fact.’’

Did the Governor just compare me to an anti-Communist and a Separatist???  Did he also say I don't understand the facts?  As a Naturalized Citizen who threw away his "Green Card" for a U.S. Passport, I understand the facts much better than the Governor and the fact is the Governor is absolutely clueless when it comes to this.  It's not just the Governor that is obtuse to this issue but state Attorney General Martha Coakley during her U.S. Senate bid when asked about this issue said "it's not illegal to be illegal".

Instead of bothering to come up with a solution the Governor decided to insult the people that oppose his view on the topic and deflect his inability to face the victims of crimes done by "new Americans".  As an immigrant of Italy I don't resent the F.B.I. for carrying out RICO investigations. 

So my message to Governor Patrick is this.  Mr. Patrick, you don't know me and have never met me but I am NOT a racist.  I just want a level playing field.  You think a level playing field is taxing people that had worked hard for their money and giving it to someone who has no desire to work.  You also want to reward these "Undocumented Citizens" with entitlements that not all Massachusetts residents qualify for.  

So before you judge me, learn who I am first.  You pre-judged me, I am much better than that.