CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

Rolling the Dice on the Rescue Plan

Ever since John McCain declared the economy was fundamentally sound, on the day the Dow dropped 500 points, he has been scrambling to demonstrate he had a grasp on this crisis. It's a tough road, once you make that initial faux pas, it is exceedingly difficult to recover.

No one bought the so-called campaign "suspension". In fact, calls to various McCain campaign offices revealed none had been told to stop operating. Miraculously, the crisis abated in time for McCain to attend the debate, as public opinion overwhelmingly wanted this debate to occur. Well, the vote failed, should we not suspend the campaign attend?

In fact, the McCain campaign tried to take credit for the bailout bill, ummmm before there was even a vote:

"What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all of the parties to the table, including the House Republicans, whose votes were needed to pass this." - Steve Schmidt, McCain campaign strategist on Meet the Press.

Apparently, they stopped counting at 1/3 of the Republican vote. In fact all 8 members of the House from Arizona, voted against the bill. McCain responded by contradicting himself in succeeding sentences -

"Senator Obama and his allies in Congress infused unnecessary partisanship into the process. Now is not the time to fix the blame. It's time to fix the problem."

I guess when 60% of the Democrats vote for the bill, that isn't enough.

Let me be clear though, and I said this from the start; there is plenty of blame to go around. However, McCain is particularly burdened by this crisis. He is known for pushing deregulation. In a time when the market is highly unstable, he has spoken of privatizing Social Security. And now, with motives suspect to begin with, he's tied to the failed plan.

Moped operator in critical condition

Nantucket moped operator in critical condition

Police charge pickup truck driver in accident

NANTUCKET — A moped operator remained in critical condition at Providence Hospital on Tuesday after he was struck Sunday afternoon by a pickup truck on Old South Road on Nantucket.

Jose DeSales, 51, of Old South Road was taken by Medflight from Nantucket Cottage Hospital to Providence Hospital.

The accident was reported at 5:53 p.m. to the Nantucket police. The people reporting the accident found DeSales seriously injured off the side of Old South Road across from Witherspoon Lane.

Police said the accident initially was believed to be a solo moped crash until officers spoke with witnesses and investigated the crash scene.

The witnesses reported that a white pick-up truck struck the moped and then left the scene at a high rate of speed.

"There was a debris field from the point of impact where the victim was thrown, until the final resting place of the moped, approximately 100 feet east," the police said in a statement.

The Nantucket Fire Department took DeSales to Nantucket Cottage Hospital. When the extent of the man's internal injuries became known, Det. Lieut. Jerry Adams said, he was flown by Medflight helicopter to Providence. Bad weather prevented a flight to a Boston-area hospital.

According to police, the impact of the crash dislodged the front license plate of the truck. Hours later, the police found the vehicle and its operator.

Police arrested Jose Pena, 38, of Macy Lane, Nantucket and charged him with leaving the scene of a personal injury crash. Pena is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge Monday in Nantucket District Court.

Nantucket police credited Harwich Police Chief William Mason for activating the Cape Cod regional accident reconstruction team for the investigation, and Ted Myers, director of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation unit at the Barnstable County Sheriff's Department, for assisting in the reconstruction.

The reconstruction team consisted of Sgt. Michael Hurley of the Wellfleet police and Officer Aron Goshgarian of the Harwich police. The team was assisted by Deputy Sheriff Neal McGonagle of the BCI unit.

Falmouth Debates the Presidential Election, Thursday, October 16

Town to debate the presidential election with six political parties present

Come one, come all to Falmouth Debates the Presidential Election.  Join us on Thursday, October 16 from 7pm to 9pm in the Hermann meeting room of the Falmouth Public Library for a rousing debate about the upcoming presidential election.

Six political parties will be represented by the following participants:

• Troy Clarkson, a four term Falmouth selectman, will represent the Republican Party.
• Levi Adams of the Falmouth Democratic Town Committee, will represent the Democratic Party.
• George Phillies of the Massachusetts Libertarian Party will represent the Libertarian Party.
• Peter Waasdorp of the Upper Cape Green/Rainbow Party will represent the Green Party.
• Walter Petrovich of People for a New Society will represent People for a New Society.
• An Empty Chair will represent apathy-- a large percentage of people in this country.

The debate will be moderated by Deborah Siegal.  The debate begins at 7pm, but it is suggested that you arrive a half hour earlier to get a seat.

The debate is sponsored by the Falmouth Enterprise and the League of Women Voters of Falmouth. For more information, call Paul Rifkin at 508-737-9545.

The Falmouth Public Library is located at 300 Main Street in Falmouth Village.

Are you running for office? Are you involved in a local candidate's campaign? Email us any upcoming Cape Cod political events (campaign kick-offs, fund raisers, informational sessions, debates, etc.) and we'll feature them here on our Cape Cod Political calendar.

Perry Campaign Releases Television Commercials

Two different commercials will air October 1st through Election Day

Watch both now, below

SANDWICH - Representative Jeffrey Davis Perry (R-Sandwich) has announced today that he is taking his campaign to the television airwaves. This is yet another new method Representative Perry is using to connect with his constituents.

Beginning October 1, 2008, and running up to Election Day, two different campaign commercials will be seen on popular Comcast channels. The two commercials have different messages; one is focused on the economy and the other is focused on law and order.

Representative Perry stated, "I hope to inform voters in the 5th Barnstable District of my strong record of serving the people of Massachusetts in matters that affect all of us in our daily lives. These commercials are just one more way to get my message out."

The commercials will be broadcast on such channels as AMC, CNBC, CNN, ESPN, The History Channel, The Weather Channel, and more. Also, both commercials can be seen on the web at www.electjeffperry.com.

The commercials were produced locally by B&R ProCom, Inc., a video production company located in Sandwich, MA.

Exclusive Interview: Marcus Miranda's brother at Cape Cod Hospital