NellyBelle's Blog

OMG.. this is getting really really stupid.  What's next...McCain leads with people who have bunions?  Who writes these polls?  Is it really important that people without pets prefer Obama to McCain?

I think it is going to be a very, very long way to November.

Even if you put lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig...My niece (not in MA), has excellent grades, is a CITIZEN and cannot afford "in-state" tution in her state....how many CITIZENS are not going to get to go to college because an ILLEGAL immigrant took their spot.  And to make matters even worse....IT IS OUR TAX DOLLARS that are paying for illegals to go to college, after we paid for them to go to high school.  Our LEGAL citizens are getting ripped off huge.  I am real sorry I voted for Deval. 

BOSTON —  From "Libertypost.com

After backing off his endorsement of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, Gov. Deval Patrick is again supporting the controversial measure as part of his Readiness Project, the education reform plan unveiled this week.

"It makes good sense for us economically, and for me it's just a matter of simple justice," Patrick said during a lunch with reporters yesterday. "We don't say to these kids they can't go to state colleges and universities; they can go. What we say to them is that they have to pay a different rate from the kid who sat across the aisle from them all through middle school and high school."

Patrick emphasized that to be eligible for the lower, in-state rates, students would have to pass the MCAS, graduate from a Massachusetts high school, qualify for college admission and be on a path toward citizenship.

"Governor Patrick's education plan should be called 'The Camouflage Project' because the governor is simply trying to slip through unpopular ideas in a fancy new package," state Republican Party Executive Director Rob Willington wrote in a statement yesterday. "Governor Patrick should figure out how to provide his promised property tax relief instead of spending taxpayer dollars on illegal immigrants."

A Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation report in 2006 said that giving tuition breaks would not cost the state money but prompt hundreds of illegal immigrants to enroll in public higher education, earning the state millions of dollars in tuition..

In January, Patrick said he was looking at ways to circumvent the Legislature to provide in-state tuition, but later decided not to take action.

The final readiness report, a product of a yearlong study by a team of more than 200 education experts, also recommends a statewide contract for teachers, financial incentives for schools with improved performance, free community college, longer school days, universal pre-kindergarten and early intervention for at-risk students.

Among the recommendations is a pay increase to bring state college professor salaries in line with those in other states.

The professors, whose contracts expire June 30, have picketed the governor's events to call attention to stalled contract negotiations and the state's failure to make a financial offer.

"It's frustrating that an offer hasn't been made at the table yet, so it's very difficult to know what to make out of this proposal," said Robert Donohue, a Framingham State psychology professor and president of the FSC chapter of the Massachusetts State College Association.

Massachusetts public college professors make about 10 percent less than their counterparts in other states, according to an independent study commissioned by the Department of Higher Education and conducted by Sibson Consulting. That gap is even wider in areas such as foreign language, psychology, and business and marketing.

"I don't think that the faculty expect that we'll be able to close that gap in one contract or one fiscal year, so obviously that's a real-time issue that we'll continue to work on," Patrick said yesterday.

Although he has an idea of how much the readiness reforms may cost, Patrick said he would not reveal the price tag until a separate finance commission reports how the commonwealth should pay for the 10-year plan in November.

Asked whether he will refile his casino bill, which the Legislature easily defeated this session, as a way to pay for the expensive reforms, Patrick said a property tax increase is the only funding option not on the table.

After the finance report is released, the administration plans to file several bills to begin implementing the changes.

"You might think that it would be ideal to implement all of the ... things immediately because it's systemic, it's an overhaul, but that would overload the system even if we could afford the luxury of doing that, which obviously we can't," said Education Secretary Paul Reville. "So we're going to take it in chunks and it's going to be delivered over a 10- or 12-year period."

In response to former Gov. Mitt Romney's comments Tuesday that Patrick should have devised a payment plan before the reforms, Patrick said, "That's an approach; this is a different one.

"It's built on collaboration, it is a transformative vision, it is built on long-term governance, and it's ambitious," Patrick said.

My husband and I are avid hikers, and we are fortunate to live in an area where there are a LOT of great trails for taking walks.  The problem is that the local kids and their ATV's and 4 wheelers are destroying the trails.  Last year, we were run off one of the trails behind the Ipswich reservoir by 3 dirt bikers (teens) and this year,an ATV nearly ran my husband and I over.  We heard him coming, stepped off the trail, I grabbed the puppy on her leash close to me, yet he still almost ran us over.  Alot of folks walk these trails with their children and dogs, as well as the horse folks.  The damage to the trails is extensive.  We report the dirt bikes/ATVs everytime we hear them on the trails to the police, but they can do nothing because they cannot go into the woods to get them.  We have contacted the various departments and/or trail associations, and they have been no help.  And guess what, the kids know this!  That's why they disregard the signs warning them no motorized vehicles, run folks off the trails and tear up these precious woods.  Because they know no one will stop them.  I blame the parents, mostly, for buying these destruction things for thier kids when the kids have no where else to ride them but on the trails.  Most of these trails are conservation areas.

We caught one kid on an ATV ripping up the woods behind our house and took his picture, the police came but, the cop let him go with a warning.  Enve though we had eveidence of him being on ther trail where he was NOT supposed to be.

So, if you are out hiking, and see these holligans, take their picture and call the police.  They hate their picture taken.  If you have abetter idea (one that is legal) to stop the destruction of our woods...please, post it! 

The weather has been exceptionally nasty this year with tornados, etc.  There were even tornado warnings in Western Ma this week.  Wonder if we should start building storm cellars to hide in.  In the off season, we could use them as root cellars.

Is it just me, or has the weather gotten really nasty this year coast to coast?

OMG-folks sure are uptight these days.  You canot say anything without offending some, being threatened with a lawsuit or boycotted for your comments.  Sheesh.  Let's all grow some thicker skin and find our sense of humor again.  I thought these ads were pretty funny, and the "apology" was even better!  I mean, we do live in a fishing area.....

BOSTON (AP) ? Legal Sea Foods owner Roger Berkowitz says he's sorry for the "fresh fish" ad campaign on the MBTA that offended some train operators. But not really.
 
The ads feature "fresh" wisecracking cartoon fish that deliver lines such as: "This conductor has a face like a halibut."

The MBTA removed that ad after complaints from workers.

In a new radio ad, Berkowitz offers a "solemn apology" for the crack.

He said most conductors don't look like halibut -- some look like grouper, flounder or catfish.

Stephan MacDougall, a union rep for MBTA operators, said Berkowitz is an elitist and insensitive. He noted the new ad comes after the death last month of a Green Line operator in a crash.

He said he's organizing a boycott of Legal Sea Foods.

This morning Gene and VB were right on the mark (6/4/08)...Hillary lost, Obama won..end game.  She is hurting the process more than helping.  Is she hanging on in hopes of getting the VP nod?  All this BLEEP, and I do man BLEEP, about folks who will vote for McCain if Hillary is not VP is just that, BLEEP.  If the soccer momma's who are blindly STILL holding on to Hillary want to vote for McCain, go ahead.  All this whinning about "she got the popular vote"..blah blah blah.  It's over, done, finished.

But it is high time to put aside the primary, it is done, the people have spoken and get into the real issues now.

Would someone please, please,please show Hillary the door, and hold it for her so it doesn't hit her in the butt on the way out.

Again it seems that you guys forgot about the Northshore.  I was watching Fox in the afternoon and there was NO WARNING about the slammer we got hit with.  But there was a weather alert later for the Boston area.  Hey,  up here on the north shore we count too ya know.

But oooooh dear, that was a whopper of a storm.  I had flashbacks to living in Texas during a tornado.  I got a bit nervous.  If this type of storm keeps up around here, I am building a root cellar to hidein.

This story was certainly sad and I feel for the parents.  But the big question I had is..what is a 5 yr old doing near the RR tracks without supervision?  Maybe I am just an overprotective parent, but ther eis no way my child would be anywhere near the tracks unless he was holding my hand and a really safe distance away. 

I notice that the news did not say anything about why the child was near the tracks unatteneded, but did mention the crossing and bells were working fine.  There was a comment about how fast the train goes.  But nothing about why a 5 yr old was near the tracks to begin with?

Dear Senator:

You have served us well and now, with the question of your longevity in the balance...go sailing good man.  Spend the remainder of your life on the place that gives you your greatest joy....on the ocean.  Sail every day that you can.  Drink in the salt air and sunshine.  Relax, put your feet up and feel the wind in your hair.

As we set sail this weekend for our first trip of the season, I will send you wishes of a fair wind and a calm sea.  May you find your Southern Cross.

Wow, did this story TICK ME OFF this morning.  More wasting of our tax dollars while our taxes get raised.  Does anyone else shee something wrong with this?  I wasn't able to get a text version of VB from 4/3/08 (today) and his story about the earmarks and pork, but you can watch the video of it.  Dang this makes me soooo mad.  What the heck is congress thinking?  Or is that the problem, are they thinking?

Is there a way to get the list of the earmarks and pork and who ok'd them?  I want to know who the idiots are.

Thanks VB.  Your a quiet reliable....next time give us links to this kind of stuff so we can send our letters to the jerks....