Posts Tagged ‘massachusetts’

Voices of the 2024 Worcester Catholic Men’s Conference: Rosalie Berquist Mass Citizens for Life

Posted: March 18, 2024 by datechguy in catholic, special events
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This weekend I attended the 2024 Worcester Catholic Men’s Conference now in it’s 33rd year at the WQPH 89.3 FM table collecting prayer requests and getting so many names for the April Indulgence Calendar that I was able to fill half of May’s

I also conducted several interviews you can find most on Rumble and I will be posting them here this week but today we’re going to start with the one interview I did that was audio only. Rosalie Berquist of Mass Citizens for life

It’s a tough task promoting life in a state that celebrates the culture of death but as Christ said, it’s the sick who need a physician.

It’s Good to be in the NFL Particularly if you break Gun Laws in Massachusetts

Posted: September 6, 2023 by datechguy in News/opinion, nfl
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Massachusetts does not have much of a reputation when it comes to respecting the rights of gun owners in their own state and has even less of a reputation of respecting the 2nd amendment rights of gun owners who pass through Massachusetts.

However there are apparently exceptions:

 New England Patriots cornerback Jack Jones had gun charges against him dropped Tuesday in exchange for agreeing to serve one year of pre-trial probation and 48 hours of community service on other counts, according to court documents.

Jones had been arrested June 16 after authorities at Boston’s Logan Airport said they found a Glock box with two guns and ammunition inside a bag with Jones’ name on it. He was charged with two counts each of unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm, possession of a large capacity feeding device and possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card. He also was charged with two counts of an airport security violation, possession of a concealed weapon in a secure area of the airport. Jones had pleaded not guilty.

Fortunately there was , to my knowledge, no evidence presented during the negotiations that suggested that Mr. Jones had either voted for Donald Trump, protested against abortion or liked a tweet unapproved by the left, or such a deal would not be possible.

The Optional Federal 50% 75% & 90% Tax Rates, An Idea Whose Time has Come

Posted: April 21, 2023 by datechguy in opinion/news
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Today on twitter I saw this rather amusing video from Stephen Moore who covered a press conference of “patriotic millionaires” who joined Democrats in pushing for a 90% tax on those they called the “super rich”.

Their hesitation to do so without the official approval of the state suggests that it’s time for the federal government to import another idea from Massachusetts, one that is much better than turning “RomneyCare” into Obamacare?

Around 20 years ago Democrats in Massachusetts were pushing for a higher tax rate and we saw a bunch of very rich leftists doing what was being done in the video above, namely asking for their taxes to be raised, Barbara Anderson and Citizens for Limited Taxation made a sarcastic suggestion that they state offer an optional higher tax rate to those who wanted to pay more:

“We were just being sarcastic,” she says. “The next thing we knew, the legislature seemed to find our sarcasm relevant and so they passed the idea we had.”

In 2002, tax politics were serious in Massachusetts. Voters had passed a sharp decrease in the income tax rate, and lawmakers decided to slow that down. In that same year, they also passed the optional tax rate — a way to contribute just a little more to the state’s general fund.

Since that time Residents of the state have had the option to pay a 5.85% tax rate if they so choose and every year about 2000 people in the state make that choice, but that doesn’t include at least one pro-tax person you’ve heard of:

Elizabeth Warren wants to raise taxes if she’s elected president, but usually hasn’t chosen to pay more herself.

Massachusetts state income tax forms allow taxpayers to pay a higher rate to help out the state government. But according to tax returns posted on Warren’s presidential campaign web site, she didn’t do so at least nine years in a row.

I think it’s time that this law is passed federally but on a grander scale.

If I’m Kevin McCarthy as part of his debt ceiling deal I’d offer the Biden Administration the chance to include an optional tax rates in the tax code so that those millionaires who want a max rate of 90% can just check a box on their taxes and Viola their federal rate will be 90%.

In fact McCarthy could make it even fairer, he could add 3 optional rates, a 90% rate to satisfy those “ultra rich” and 75% rate for those who think 90% is too high and an economy sized 50% rate for the folks who are rich, but aren’t wealthy enough to be classified as “ultra rich”.

Hey if 2000 people in a small state like Massachusetts voluntarily choose a higher tax rate surely they’ll be able to find 100,000 people in a country of over 330 million willing to pay those higher tax rates. It could be the ultimate virtue signal for the super rich. Heck the Bidens could invite those folks to the White House and honor them for making that sacrifice to help their country and democrats can cite them as heroes of the revolution republic.

C’mon Kevin, let’s give these rich leftists a chance to put their money where their mouth is, literally.

We’ll Miss Charlie Baker When He’s Gone and a Belated Thanks

Posted: January 4, 2023 by datechguy in politics
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Candidate Baker on the trail 2010

Charlie Baker is about to end his term as Governor of Massachusetts.

I had covered him in the old tea party days when he was trying to get traction. As the years went by I took issue with several things, his support for buffer zones at abortion clinics and his Never Trump stance jump out immediately but as his days here end let’s point out a few things we shall miss about him.

Baker was and is an able administrator. The primary job of a governor is to administer the state and Baker handed this part of the job excellently, much better than Mitt Romney who while also a good administrator was too interested in the next rung up the political ladder.

Baker was and is a problem solver. Several issues came up early in his time as governor that he handed well. There is a joke going around the net right now that says: “Pete Buttigieg is so bad at his job that people actually know who the transportation secretary is.” Baker was so good at his that you forgot the state was being governed.

Baker was not shy about making appearances for GOP candidates. In a state where Democrats hold supermajorities one has to walk before one runs. Baker was willing to walk and appear and fundraise for several GOP candidates seeking statewide office. It was a nice change from what we saw before.

Baker is good in a crisis: I think he was overcautious on COVID but taken all in all his handling of various crisis from storms to the T crisis to COVID was above average and that gets me to one personal point I’d like to make.

You might remember during the George Floyd insanity there was a march in Fitchburg, one where stores were boarded up and people including myself were prepared for trouble. It was the first march of this type in the state and had the potential for real trouble, even to the point of the palates of bricks suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

However there was also a strong but unobtrusive police and state police presence and I have one eyewitness who talked about guard troops in the COVID area ready to move if necessary.

It was a delicate balance too much or too visible a force could have provoked a violent reaction not enough would have given those looking to cause trouble a free hand but the moves here were so perfect and so subtle that the march took place without the least bit of incident.

This saved my city and kept my wife and son out of danger. I’ll not forget that.

I suspect that if our incoming governor was in charge at the time, that would not be the case.

All of the qualities I’ve listed about Charlie Baker will serve him well in his new NCAA job and all of these qualities are ones the we residents of Massachusetts will very much miss over the next few years.

People have already been leaving Massachusetts at a pretty good clip:

The Bay State checked in at seventh on the list of most moved from states with 57 percent of moves in Massachusetts last year involving people leaving the state, researchers said.

With a radical leftist in charge and a legislature ready to roll over the people in their quest to turn this state into California east we’ll be moving up on that list. Also don’t be surprised if a lot of conservatives who where screaming for Baker’s head that will be longing for the good ole days of his administration soon.

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