Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Peoples Republik of Massachusetts

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Man, we are fast approaching our last days of freedom:
Police to search for guns in homes

Pandering to the parents of kids in high-crime areas, the police are asking permission of parents, to have their kids’ rooms searched for guns.

Boston police are launching a program that will call upon parents in high-crime neighborhoods to allow detectives into their homes, without a warrant, to search for guns in their children’s bedrooms.

The program, which is already raising questions about civil liberties, is based on the premise that parents are so fearful of gun violence and the possibility that their own teenagers will be caught up in it that they will turn to police for help, even in their own households.

Are people afraid of their own kids? So afraid that they let the cops into their homes? And based on such credible evidence as:

Police will rely primarily on tips from neighbors. They will also follow tips from the department’s anonymous hot line and investigators’ own intelligence to decide what doors to knock on. A team of about 12 officers will visit homes in four Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods: Grove Hall, Bowdoin Street and Geneva Avenue, Franklin Hill and Franklin Field, and Egleston Square.

Unfortunately, ratting out a neighbor is fast becoming a way of life on its own; now, it is sanctioned and encouraged.

The program will target young people whose parents are either afraid to confront them or unaware that they might be stashing weapons, said Davis(Police commissioner – ed), who has been trying to gain support from community leaders for the past several weeks.

One of the first to back him was the Rev. Jeffrey L. Brown, cofounder of the Boston TenPoint Coalition, who attended yesterday’s meeting.

“What I like about this program is it really is a tool to empower the parent,” he said. “It’s a way in which they can get a hold of the household and say, ‘I don’t want that in my house.’ ”

Jeez, “Rev” Brown. You have a distorted view of “empowering the parent.” In the home, the parents have the power already. Just parent; it’s a verb, too.

The Boston Police Department has already distinguished itself over the past year, with the paranoia over harmless LED devices, and the blowing up of their own traffic counters.

Idiots.

-k-
[stags]Boston, Massachusetts[/stags]
[tags]Boston, Massachusetts, yearofthechickenshit[/tags]

Hoax Jokes

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From The Free Dictionary:

hoax
n.
1. An act intended to deceive or trick.

Evidently, Bostonians should take this definition to heart, and realize that the cartoon characters left about the city in a perhaps ill-advised marketing campaign, were not a hoax. There was no intent to deceive or trick, and hence there was no hoax. It was a knee-jerk reaction by a bunch of officials, who must by now have remembered through which airport many of the 9-11 hijackers departed. And the arrest count is up to two, as another poor schlub, who was probably trying to make a few extra bucks, has been caught up in the investigation. The Massachusetts law is a felony offense; from the cited article:

Peter Berdovsky, 27, of Arlington, and Sean Stevens, 28, of Charlestown, were each arrested Wednesday night on one felony charge of placing a hoax device and one charge of disorderly conduct, state Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

A felony, for not anticipating what some official might do when confronted with a clearly harmless device, the intention of which was to promote a cartoon show. Man.

Add to this that the devices had been in 10 cities across the country for three weeks, and only sparked a reaction in Boston. This means either that Boston is one of the most alert and safe cities in the country, or the one most likely to inappropriately overreact to trifles. I have my opinion of which of the two it is. Hence, the return of the “Year of the Chickenshit” tag.

-k-

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After Further Review

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In the previous post, I linked to this, which points out that an arrest has been made in the case. An arrest. For “planting” LED caricatures of a cartoon character. From the article:

Peter Berdvosky was arrested in Arlington Wednesday night and charged under a recently enacted statute making it a crime to place a hoax device that results in panic.

OK, then, I’m glad Massachusetts has taken such meticulous care for the welfare of its citizens. My only question, is who panicked? Seems to me that law enforcement induced the panic, by closing roads, tunnels, subways, and parts of the Charles River, for crying out loud.

The suspicious device reports forced the temporary shutdowns of Interstate 93 out of the city, a key inbound roadway, a bridge between Boston and Cambridge, and a portion of the Charles River but were quickly determined not to be explosive.

The shutdowns were not “forced”; they were called by officials who didn’t have a proper grasp on the situation, and were unable to assess the gravity thereof. Seems obvious who panicked, given the following:

the devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston; New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Atlanta; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; and Philadelphia.

The devices were in 10 cities, and only Boston “panicked”. Officials, arrest yourselves. As for me, I will be tuning into the Cartoon Channel.

-k-

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No Mas(s) Help

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The Big Dig debacle continues, from 2 billion to 14+ billion, for a public works project benefitting the few at the expense of the most. Plagued with overruns, institutional incompetence, and huge slabs of concrete killing citizens, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney wants to make it right, again on the backs of the US taxpayer.

From this Boston Globe article:

Romney said state transportation officials haven’t begun to estimate the cost of the repair work, but he said he made a pitch for federal assistance in a meeting yesterday with Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry and US Representative Michael E. Capuano.

Followed by this:

“I’d be embarrassed if I didn’t always ask for federal money whenever I got the chance,“ Romney quipped, saying he had asked for help in paying for a comprehensive safety review of the Big Dig, for which the state has allocated $20 million.

He quipped? Nope, he wants his grubby ”Mitt“ in our pockets yet again. It is devoutly to be desired that our rollover Congress has the balls to vote down any further help for this project.

-k-

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