CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

A Geography Question For All You Teabaggers With "Good Taste"

                             A Geography Question For All You Teabaggers With "Good Taste"

"Now, you could argue whether being a Muslim is actually a religion, or is it a nationality way of  life, or cult or whatever you want to call it."  -GOP Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, Tennessee, on the campaign trail in Chattanooga, July 2010.

 "They are not a religion. They are a political, militaristic group."  - Bob Shelton, 76, Nashville, TN

            The plans by a Muslim-American group to exercise their constitutional right to build a cultural center a few blocks away from "Ground Zero" in New York City, the site of the former World Trade Center, has been the subject of a great deal of handwringing and teeth gnashing from self-described American "patriots."  They claim it's not about religious bigotry, because it is "insensitive" and in "bad taste" to build a "mosque" on that "hallowed ground," among all the gin joints and strip clubs within a few blocks of Ground Zero.  

             A sudden upwelling of  "good taste" and "sensitivity" in NYC?   Well, okay, maybe  -but  there is also a great deal of handwringing and teeth gnashing from white American "Christians" in Tennessee, about a local Muslim congregation's plan to exercise their constitutional rights by erecting a new mosque, needed to accommodate an increasing membership,  in the Nashville suburb of Murfreesboro.  That's just about  750 miles from "Ground Zero." 

             So, a question of American geography arises in light of this development.  To all you proud Tea Party folks who claim to have such exquisite  good taste in matters of politics and religion, inquiring minds want to know: 

Exactly where, between two blocks and 750 miles from "Ground Zero" in New York, does it stop being about "good taste" and "sensitivity" and start being all about blatant bigotry, militant xenophobia and utter contempt for the Consitutional rights of  Muslim Americans? 

Just askin'.

Beware of Greeks making shifts

Is Atsalis endorsement of Wolf an omen for his defeat?
Or a sign that even the "DINOs" are jumping on Dan's band wagon now.

By Walter Brooks

Dan Wolf is a Liberal Democrat from Central Casting. Demetrius Atsalis is a Democrat-in-name-only (Dino) of the first rank.

Today the latter endorsed the former which is a  sign that either:

1. The endorsement of Wolf's opponent Sheila Lyons by 11 Brewster Democrats yesterday and the Atsalis endorsement today (see release below) are omens of Dan's defeat, or...
2. Atsalis, who has made the first wise decision in a decade as State Rep. by jumping on the Wolf Band Wagon as it speeds to victory in the Democratic Party Primary on September 14.

Dan Wolf blows on his award (inset: a glass globe of the earth) to create Nantucket fog on it for his audience as he received the CPN top award in 2008.

After all, the two men could not possibly be further apart politically and still be in the same party.

Demetrius has been an ardent opponent of Cape Wind for which Dan has been a leading supporter. 

Dan even received the Clean Power Now's "Distinguished Community Leader Award" almost exactly two years ago today.

A couple more Greeks making news

The Greek people were the European equivalent of slaves for nearly three centuries, getting their own freedom only decades ahead of our black American slaves, they know too well the pain of freedoms lost.

So it is especially poignant that Cape Cod has two other Greek pols in addition to Demetrius in our midst this election year.

Christy Mihos suffered badly at the hands of his own party this Spring, abetted by a Boston press and establishment which knew he was the only GOP candidate whom they could never "control."

The conservative Boston Herald preferred Charlie Baker for governor, and the liberal Boston Globe knew he was not "manageable" like Baker who has long been a Beacon Hill insider. Christy was handed his butt in a sack by both newspapers after steady, negative press coverage.

Any regular reader of these pages knows that Christy and I are eons apart on the biggest issue to face Cape Cod since the National Seashore Park debate of the 1960s, and yet I like and admire the man greatly and consider him a friend despite our differences.

After losing his bid for the Republican nod at the Republican Convention in April, Christy immediately came to the support of his opponent Charlie Baker and has shepherded him to events on Cape Cod all summer. A class act especially after what the party did to him.

But we still have another Greek running for office this November, and this one is a classic liberal Democrat like Dan Wolf.

Running is easier unopposed

And a win(d)some smile shall lead them.

Spyro Mitrokostas will be Yarmouth's only candidate for the Barnstable County  Assembly of Delegates, a much misunderstood and silly political arm of our unnecessary and passé county government.

As the local newspapers will report this week, Spyro will be running alone because Scott Nickerson, Clerk of Courts in Barnstable, had to inform the Massachusetts Secretary of State that Spyro's opponent, Brian Braginton-Smith,  had not filed the necessary paperwork for his  name to be on the November ballot. Thus Spyro will run unopposed.

Ironically, both men are strong proponents of wind power on Cape Cod. For over a decade Smith has worked for this type of renewable energy here, and Spyro was an early board member of Clean Power Now and today is the Executive Director of the Dennis Chamber of Commerce.

Ironically GateHouse News is reporting today;

Bill Keating's shift on Cape Wind a shrewd political move

Keating used to be an opponent of Cape Wind. But his Democratic rival in the 10th district congressional race, Sen. Rob O'Leary, has been raising concerns about the proposed wind farm for Nantucket Sound for years. And all the Republican candidates are anti-Cape Wind as well.

So Keating picked a strong differentiating factor by changing his mind on Cape Wind (he says he became a supporter sometime in July). In a debate in Scituate last night, Keating tried to remind everyone that he was the pro-Cape Wind candidate, even though no questions were asked about alternative energy... GateHouse.

In the 2008 photo below, three powerful clean energy supporters embrace at the 2008 Annual Clean Power Now meeting, Dan Wolf, Jim Gordon and Spyro Mitrokostas.

Wolf Committee release:
Rep. Demetrius Atsalis endorses Dan Wolf in Democratic Primary

State Representative Demetrius J. Atsalis (D-W. Hyannisport) announced his support for Dan Wolf (D-Harwich) in the Democratic Primary to succeed Robert O'Leary as Cape & Islands State Senator.

Atsalis, who has represented the people of Centerville, Hyannis, Barnstable, and Yarmouth for nearly a decade, said his decision rests on Wolf's experience creating jobs, protecting the environment, and being active in the community for nearly 30 years. "I've watched both of the candidates these last months and believe Dan's understanding of small business and experience creating jobs is what our region needs in a State Senator," Atsalis said. "I've also watched him stay positive in the campaign, which shows me that he will be able to work both sides of the aisle in the Senate," he continued.

Wolf says he looked forward to working with Atsalis and the other members of the Cape Delegation. "I think we'll have a collaborative relationship working to advocate for the interests of the district on Beacon Hill," says Wolf.

Campaign Manager Stefanie Coxe says the endorsement is part of growing support for the Wolf campaign as the Democratic Primary approaches. "This endorsement comes alongside endorsements from environmental groups, local environmental leaders, and organizations representing local working families supporting Dan," she explained. "As people are taking a good look at all the candidates, Dan has gained the momentum. Wolf is the founder and head of Cape Air. For more information on Dan Wolf, visit his website.

FORMING POWER VACUUMS

Wikipedia defines a power vacuum as "an expression for a political situation that can occur when a government has no identifiable central authority. The metaphor implies that, like a physical vacuum, other forces will tend to "rush in" to fill the vacuum as soon as it is created, perhaps in the form of an armed militia or insurgents, military coup, warlord or dictator."

In US foreign policy, we can compare the following situations: At the point in the Vietnam War when it was clear that the Vietnamese were remaining unbowed and unbeaten, Vermont's Senator Aiken reportedly recommended that the US "declare victory and get out."
President Obama now seems to be following this advice as he withdraws combat forces from Iraq, claiming that the only task that remains is training Iraq's security forces.

The difference in the two conflicts is this: In Vietnam, we were fighting a well-organized national force that was capable of governing when US forces withdrew. In Iraq, there is currently a puppet government that has little chance of surviving if it can no longer depend on an army of occupation.

A military dictator can move quickly into this power vacuum in Iraq and take control of the country. Not, of course, a big concern for us since dictators are our kind of people, but weren't we supposed to be bringing "freedom" to the Iraqi people?

Turning to US domestic politics, we might ask whether power vacuums have been created in our own country as a result of our voluntarily relinquishing participation in our governance?

In Bowling Alone, Harvard professor Robert Putnam, a public policy expert, tracked what occurred here across an entire spectrum of social and civic activities. He writes, "For the first two-thirds of the twentieth century a powerful tide bore Americans into ever deeper engagement in the life of their communities, but a few decades ago - silently, without warning - that tide reversed and we were overtaken by a treacherous rip current. Without at first noticing, we have been pulled apart from one another and from our communities over the last third of the century."

How did this "rip current" affect political activity? Putnam answers, "... since the mid-1960s, the weight of the evidence suggests that we Americans, despite the rapid rise in levels of education, have become perhaps 10-15 percent less likely to voice our views publicly by running for office or writing Congress or the local newspaper, 15-20 percent less interested in politics and public affairs, roughly 25 percent less likely to vote, roughly 35 percent less likely to attend public meetings, both partisan and nonpartisan, and roughly 40 percent less engaged in party politics and indeed in political and civic organizations of all sorts. We remain, in short, reasonably well-informed spectators of public affairs (italics mine), but many fewer of us actually partake in the game."

As Putnam acknowledges, the introduction of television and other electronic entertainment contributed to forming the rip current, as did pressures on people in regard to time and money and increased mobility and suburban sprawl. But the greatest single factor was the change in habits of the boomers and their offspring who are markedly less apt to participate in activities outside the home.

Since we have turned our airwaves over to an ever-growing corporatized media that not only refuses to be watchdogs of those in powerful positions, but have also aided and abetted them, it is increasingly difficulty to obtain accurate information what is taking place in the public arena. If it were not for the Internet we would be up a creek with no paddle. Now corporations are seeking to control this means of communication.

Our Political Power Vacuums

Having created power vacuums at all levels of government, we are now on the verge of losing any say whatsoever in how our country is run.

Andrew Bacevich, a retired Army colonel who is presently a professor of history and international relations at Boston University, writes in his latest book, Washington Rules, that today's concept of citizenship, "privileges individual choice above collective responsibility and immediate gratification over long-term well-being. For Americans today, duties and obligations are few. Although the United States is not without ‘good citizens'-they exist in every community-active participation in civic life is entirely a matter of personal preference. The prevailing definition of citizenship requires simply that you pay your taxes and avoid flagrant violations of the law."

Many people view political activism as a hobby like collecting stamps or taking dance lessons or renovating antique cars when it should be taken out of the "personal preference" category and recognized as a priority for citizens in a democracy.

Those of us who have been trying over the years to get more of our fellow citizens involved in organizations that are invested in matters that directly impact our lives as well as in political parties have been frustrated time and time again.

Over the decades we have heard the excuses: "After a day at work, I am too tired to go to a meeting." Or "I don't want to listen to a bunch of people yakking." Or "It doesn't make any difference, anyway."

So let's ask, "What kind of a crisis would it take to get you on your feet and out the door? Would it be our leaders declaring that we are at permanent war with the rest of the world? What if - what if!! - we faced a global crisis that when its gets going full tilt will end life on this planet? Would that do it?"

Taking action via the Internet doesn't fill the bill. In the first place, we can't put all our eggs into this one basket because the Internet can be shut down. Secondly, much of the work that is done via the Internet is dissemination of information, which is important, but it does not a democracy make. Internet work tends to be focused on influencing the White House, Congress or corporate CEOs.

Strong bonds are more easily forged when we can see another person's expression, hear the tone of voice, note the body language, and bring everyone into the discussion. If we truly want to take back our power, the place to start is at the neighborhood level.

An Economic Power Vacuum

Think about the way we spend our money. Huge retailers like Walmart not only trade on our out-of-control consumerism but also take advantage of our long-standing tradition of getting the best deal, i.e. "It's smart to shop at Walmart because Walmart has the lowest prices."

Think about how Walmart gets those prices: It is now so huge that it can force its suppliers to provide goods at a price Walmart wants, forcing its suppliers, in turn, to cut wages, eliminate benefits, require uncompensated overtime, and all too often outsource their factories in order to meet it.

If we shop at a locally-owned business, probably paying a higher price, our dollars circulate throughout our town's economy rather than being whisked off to Arkansas. So shopping "smart" no longer means paying the lowest price since it amounts in the end to shooting ourselves in the foot. Can I do without this particular item? Can I buy it used? Can I do a trade?

As consumers we can boycott outfits like Perdue and his factory farms or DeKoster and his egg business. These outfits pollute the soil, contaminate our rivers and streams, torture the livestock, abuse the workers and deliver an unhealthy product to our markets. Use the Internet to pick'em off one by one. Give the small farm a chance for a comeback.

A Global Power Vacuum

Environmental scientists tell us that countries in the temperate zone like the US will feel the effects of global warming further down the pike. It is the undeveloped countries in the South that will be the first to experience the ravages of climate change.

Let me offer one small but poignant example: In Bolivia, 20% of the country's water comes from the trickle of glacial melt. In poor areas of the country, however, the glaciers provide nearly all the water that people need. But the poor near the ancient Chacaltaya glacier are now out of luck because the glacier has melted entirely away, leaving a bare mountainside.

Global warming fueled mainly by those of us living in developed nations caused this fast melt. If it moves forward unabated, the people in those areas will find themselves unable to grow food to feed themselves and will be forced to migrate to areas where crops can still be grown and harvested.

But the old ways persist. An Associated Press article of 8/18/2010 reports that since 2008, utilities across the country have built, or have under construction, more than 30 traditional coal-fired plants. Severin Borenstein, director of the Energy Institute at the University of California-Berkeley comments, "Building a coal-fired power plant today is betting that we are not going to put a serious financial cost on emitting carbon dioxide."

We cannot wait for the federal government in bed with corporate giants like the oil and gas behemoths to take the steps that will address the approaching calamity. We need to work together at local levels not only to stop global warming but also to address other issues in the global crisis.

What Is To Be Done?

The place to start is by convening a get-together in one's own community or neighborhood. Begin with a discussion of what is needed in order to survive this crisis.

How can we achieve food security for our community and ourselves?
How can we cooperate to produce alternative energy for servicing our homes and businesses?
How can we stop buying stuff that we don't need and use up what we already have? Recycle, reuse, repair and reduce.
What are the first steps in taking back our political parties and our government?
In what other ways can we think globally and act locally in order to become better citizens of the world?

Cape Wind State Supreme Court Decision Victory

Dear Friends of the Global Warming Legal Action Project
The vote was 4-2 on certain issues and unanimous on others

By Matt Pawa

Today the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the Energy facility Siting Board to grant a composite certificate to Cape Wind.

The Cape Wind turbines are located in federal waters but the transmission cable traverses state waters and onto state land and thus is subject to state permitting authority.

The composite certificate was the first ever issued by the State board; the certificate grants Cape Wind all state and local permits in one unified proceeding. The vote was 4-2 on certain issues and unanimous on others. Justice Botsford wrote for the majority. The opinion is a link at the bottom of this page. Also attached is a letter from Cape Wind President Jim Gordon recognizing our efforts in this case as non-profit intervenors for Clean Power Now.

This means Cape Wind now has in hand all federal and state permits. We are also litigating in the state Department of Public Utilities, where we seek approval of the long-term purchase power agreement between Cape Wind and National Grid - a decision in the DPU proceeding is expected shortly.

Many thanks to the ongoing support of the Civil Society Institute for our legal work and for the efforts of our client, Clean Power Now, which serves as a strong public interest advocate for clean energy.

Best to all,
Matt

Matt Pawa
Law Offices of Matthew F. Pawa, P.C.
1280 Centre Street, Suite 230
Newton Centre, MA 02459
(617) 641-9550
(617) 641-9551 facsimile

Resources:

• SJC Decision (8/31/10)
• Letter from Jim Gordon of Cape Wind to Barbara Hill of Clean Power Now
  

Hurricane Earl vs. Cape Cod

Cape Cod Today's hard-hitting storm coverage continues!!!

That's Hurricane Earl. He doesn't sleep, he never stops moving, he has no mercy, and you can't reason with him. He eats Land and Sea alike, and he is heading our way.

Hurricane Earl is strengthening, having gone from Category 2 to Category 4 (135 mph winds) in 12 hours. His next passes to land will be Cape Fear (NC) and Cape Cod. Earl has given off gusts at 160 mph.

Earl will most likely miss us. His forecast track takes him 100 miles SE of Cape Cod. That takes the true force off the hurricane off the table for us. You'll have to make an extra effort (surfing, kite-flying, etc...) if you wish, for whatever reasons you may have, to perish in this storm.

However, even a near-miss from a storm like the Duke could pound us out pretty badly here on the C Double. Our local forecasters all agree that the storm will miss us to the SE, yet they all also agree that Cape Cod and all of SE Massachusetts could suffer tropical storm conditions...Earl Lite.

Keep in mind, the margin of error in a forecast track is 100 miles a day as the storm nears us. Earl could curve to the east and we'd never see him. I consider this to be the second highest probability.

Tropical storm conditions best resemble our nor'easters, but with two notable and important differences. First off, a tropical storm is much more powerful than a nor'easter. The proverbial "wicked bad storm" of the nor'easter would be a minor tropical storm.

However, the hurricane comes and goes quickly. They move about 10-30 mph no matter what's in their way. If the hurricane winds extend 70 mils from the center, you're looking at 6-8 hours at worst of hurricane conditions. A nor'easter can hang around and ravage you for 6-8 tides.

Regular updates of Earl progress.

Vote in our poll "What are your plans for Hurricane Earl?"

If you want to evacuate, wait a bit... this storm could veer offshore, and actually SHOULD veer offshore. Don't wait til the last minute, though... they close the Bourne and Sagamore bridges when the wind gets to 70 mph, and the last evacuation-worthy storm- Bob- saw 10+ miles of backup. The police will close the bridges during an evacuation, even with a line of cars waiting to use it. They have before.

If you prefer a Staycation sort of Evacuation, there are several shelters on Cape Cod for this sort of affair. Dennis-Yarmouth High School, Nauset High School, Cape Cod Tech in Yarmouth, Mashpee High School and Barnstable High School. The Massachusetts Military reservation can also be used as an emergency shelter. I have my people looking into where the Buzzards Bay/Wareham shelter is.

If you get drunk enough in the early stages of a storm party and pass out, it is possible to sleep through a hurricane.

Enough small talk. The Cape Cod Today Forecast is for Hurricane Earl to pass to the S/SE of Cape Cod. It will be close enough to give the Cape and eastern Plymouth County some heavy rain, winds and waves.

How strongly do we feel about that? What do we view the chances of Earl striking or missing us, and in what manner do we see it happening?

80%.... Earl goes offshore off us, but we get caught in the rain bands. We get an impressive amount of rain, in a short burst. Winds gust up to the mid 30s for a while, but they fade out slowly as the storm pulls away.

3%... Earl hits North Carolina and goes inland, losing her strength before her remnants are thrown towards us off the Jersey coast.

10%.... Hurricane Earl either rockets far out to sea or fades rapidly in her intensity, to the extent that you can golf in shorts or tan during her closest approach.

2%... Earl curves at us, and just misses the outer Cape by 10 miles or so. We get a strong tropical storm, and damage is terrific... especially on the outer Cape and Islands.

1%.. Earl  curves at us somehow, and tears into Chatham as a Category 1 storm. Damage is terrific+massive, both on the Cape and the South Shore.

3%... Earl misses us entirely, but hits Maine. Lobster prices skyrocket.

1%... Earl hugs the East Coast, never curves, and rolls up Buzzards Bay as a Category 3 storm. Damage is biblical along the coast, from Rhode Island to Maine.

That's our call.

Tropical Storm Fiona

Here's Fiona's forecast track models. We'll sweat her after Earl leaves.

Note that Fiona is a named storm, "Gaston" will be the storm right behind her, and Hermine, Igor and/or Julia are currently working their way through Africa. They have to wait their turn before we hype them up, though.

Do you want your storm information from someone other than a football columnist?

http://www.skeetobiteweather.com/

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

http://www.weather.com/newscenter/tropical/?from=0803wc

http://www.ackweather.com/

http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm7/tropicalatlanticsatellite_large_animated.html

We'll be back later with more coverage, be thy weather fair or foul.

The Ortolan and the Omnivore: A Tale of Gluttony

 I see by the London Telegraph that France's League for the Protection of Birds hopes to have French authorities pronounced guilty of flouting a European ban on hunting the endangered ortolan (emberiza hortulana), a tiny bobolink-like songbird that -- force-fed and drowned in Armagnac -- has long been coveted by gastronomes of the Gallic persuasion as an exquisite delicacy; all the more enticing because its trapping is forbidden.

Jeremy Clarkson dines on Ortolan.

Traditionally, ortolans are eaten with one's head covered by a napkin because: [1.] (sensual) the exotic aroma is thereby captured, concentrated and savored, and/or, [2.] (spiritual) God cannot see you engaging in such flagrant gourmandise (French for gluttony), one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Ortolans occupy a storied place in the culinary history of La Belle France (see Mitterrand, François: Last meal of), and - as I am reminded by the Telegraph article - at least once here in America as an object of the appetite and pen of the late New York Times restaurant critic, and mid-20^th Century doyen of food writers, Craig Claiborne.

Back in 1975, when people were still reading newspapers, Claiborne bid $300 at a public television charity auction and, having won, got his pick of a restaurant meal for two anywhere in the world, with no limit on the cost, courtesy of American Express. He chose to eat (with his friend Pierre Franey as his guest) at the Parisian establishment, Chez Denis. Their 31-course dinner took five hours to consume and was washed down with copious quantities of Chateau Pétrus and other legendary-label wines. Claiborne wrote about the meal in The New York Times of November 14, 1975 under the title, "Just a Quiet Dinner for Two in Paris: 31 Dishes, Nine Wines, a $4000 check"; a paean to conspicuous consumption seldom equaled in the annals of gastronomy.

Ortolan - need I note -was on the bill of fare.

The article ran on the Times' front page and created an instant international sensation, the gist of which was best summed up by Pope Paul VI, who pronounced it "scandalous". But the payoff came four days later when Times columnist Russell Baker wrote a scathing send-up of Claiborne's review called "Francs and Beans". It is near the top of my list of favorite parodies of all time.

So side-splittingly funny was it, that, as I read it on an early morning breakfast flight from LaGuardia to Toronto, tears were rolling down my cheeks and I was choking on my scrambled eggs, much to the puzzlement of the other suits on board who were unused to seeing someone cracking up while reading anything in "the old gray lady", especially at 7am.

You can (and should) read it at http://studentweb.hunter.cuny.edu/~murrayj/humor/francsandbeans.htm.

For a couple of bucks you can also read Claiborne's review in the NYT archives at http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30713F7355D137B93C6A8178AD95F418785F9&scp=6&sq=craig%20claiborne%20chez%20denis&st=cse

Say it ain't so, Jeff Perry

Perry touts endorsement of Hugo Chavez’s lobbyist
Malone calls on Perry to renounce Kaufman endorsement

Can Cape Cod and the South Shore afford another buddy of Communist Dictator Hugo Chavez as our representative in the United States Congress. Here is our present congressman Bill Delahunt being hugged by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

Last week the 10th Congressional District Candidate Jeff Perry sent out a press release proudly announcing the support of Ron Kaufman for his campaign. Kaufman is a well known insider in DC political circles as a lobbyist for controversial entities including Hugo Chavez’s Venezuelan oil company.

Let's vote for less K Street and more Main Street

Ron Kaufman is the poster child for what is wrong with the Republican Party. He is the lobbyist for the Venezuelan communist dictator Hugo Chavez and now Jeff Perry has jumped into bed with him. The last thing this District needs is a Congressman whose judgment is so very flawed.

I also call on Jeff Perry today to renounce the endorsement of Ron Kaufman.

Citizens have long boycotted Chavez’s oil products in the United States, as a protest to the dictator’s communist regime, his takeover of the press, his arrests and persecutions of political opposition—not to mention his public hatred of America and her democracy and freedom. One day after the 9-11 attacks Chavez joyfully stated that, “America got what it deserved.”

I can’t believe how bad Jeff Perry’s judgment is in accepting the endorsement of Hugo Chavez’s lobbyist. America is at a crossroad and so is the Republican Party. This party lost its way over the past decade because it spent too much time with Washington lobbyists on K Street and not enough time with working Americans on Main Street.

“America got what it deserved.”
             - Hugo Chavez after 911.

Jeff Perry’s judgment was wrong when he was a Wareham police officer when he covered up for a sexual predator.

His judgment was wrong when he was trapping people with a red light game to give them tickets.

His judgment was wrong when he bought a bogus degree and tried to fool people into thinking he believed he got a 4 year degree in a month. And, once again he has demonstrated his flawed judgment in accepting and touting the endorsement of the lobbyist of Venezuela’s Communist Dictator, Hugo Chavez.

According to opensecrets.org, Ron Kaufman has been receiving one half a million dollars per year to represent Hugo Chavez in Washington. Since 1998, Kaufman has received $3.6 million to influence some members of Congress on behalf of Chavez.

SEE LOBBYING PAYMENT RECORDS HERE!

For more information, please visit my campaign wensite www.JoeMaloneCongress.com.

Joe Malone, Republican for Congress.

Christy Mihos: Malone is a Republican who can be elected

Yarmouth Republican stalwart and businessman takes off the gloves

Christy Mihos, two-time GOP candidate for governor and a highly successful entrepreneur and businessman, has released the following strong endorsement of Joe Malone, Republican candidate opposing Sandwich's Jeff Perry in the September Republican primary.

As a life-long resident of the Tenth Congressional District, there is a real chance for a Republican Candidate to win the seat this year. The last serving Republican Congressman was Hastings Keith who retired in 1972.

Last month we celebrated one of his crowning achievements with the anniversary of the Cape Cod National Seashore Bill which is a gleaming jewel to Cape Cod and our State. Congressman Keith was a fiscal conservative and would not take a pay raise, nor any cost of living increase in his government pension and campaigned for decades against these automatic increases for elected officials.

Joe is a reformer, elected Treasurer in 1990, terminated the State House Bank

And that is why I absolutely endorse Joe Malone for Congress. I've seen Joe in action and remember that the Republican Party was rebuilt on his and Ray Shamie's shoulders in the mid-1980s. Joe is a reformer and when elected Treasurer in 1990 as, he terminated the State House Bank, that languished with insider deals and transactions. Joe refused pay raises and state cars. He was such an ardent reformer that the leaders in the Legislature threatened to cut the Lottery Advertising budget if Joe would not shut up and play along. Joe would not stand down and the Lottery Advertising budget was cut to almost nothing.

Joe and his Lottery managers just offered new programs and games to build an ever increasing sales base that benefited the cities and towns like never before.

He was the first office holder that took on the Big Dig insiders and with good reason.

What I remember most about Joe was that he was the first office holder that took on the Big Dig insiders and with good reason. He was right then as he is today about government waste, fraud, abuse and corruption.

I want what most people want in a Congressman. An outsider and a reformer, willing to take on the system so our kids don't have to take on this huge mess Congress has left them. Joe is this man. He's proven it before and he has the integrity, good judgment, and the courage to take on a system that needs a reformer.

Christy Mihos, Yarmouth.

What to do when a hurricane hits

Veterans who met Bob can recall their experiences

Hurricane Earl becomes Category 4, Fiona close behind

Regular updates of Earl progress.

Vote in our poll "What are your plans for Hurricane Earl?"

On this same week nineteen years ago, Cape Cod was slammed by Hurricane Bob, and our tourism season came to a windy halt several weeks earlier than planned.

Bob was a category 2 while Earl is now a category 4, and my sons and daughter-in-law came back to the Cape to help me board up our eight sliding glass doors facing Pleasant Bay.

After boarding up the house, son Jay was able to lean into the 80 mph winds which increased to 100 later. Note the small slot in the plywood for our "peek hole."

As I write this on Tuesday morning some weather gurus are predicting that Earl may simply brush by Cape Cod 100 or 200 miles off our coast and just give us high surf and rain, but perhaps they haven't told Earl, and hurricane tracking is an inexact science.

One thing you can predict with absolute certainty is that the Boston weather bimbos will make it sound like Armageddon.

How to plan next weekend on Cape Cod

I hate to admit it, but we really enjoyed Bob's visit in 1991.

We cut a couple slots in the sheets of plywood covering our sliders and spent hours watching TV and peering at the winds.

Then the eye passed over us.

I stayed home, but Pat and the kids drove down to Ryder's Cove where they hopped on Peter Mason's boat and sped out into the eye for a look-see.

Maybe they'll all stay home with me this time if Earl cometh.

It doesn't hurt to be prepared and hope for the best, so here are some useful links;

• See NOAA
• See Cape Cod & Islands  Chapter of the Red Cross

Here are some tales of our past storms....

1991: Hurricane Bob reshapes Cape Cod

The "Shoulder Season" that was reshaped by Bob

 Peter Robbins took the photos above right after Bob stopped blowing.

When travel stories became travel advisories

On this day in 1991, potential visitors to Cape Cod were warned about the after effects of Hurricane Bob which hit the area the previous week.

The result was a huge drop in visitors during the so-called fall "shoulder season" since the hurricane hit the Cape the week before Labor Day in 1991.

Coastal communities bore the brunt of the storm, with sustained winds between 83 to 107 mph (172 km/h). Peak wind gusts to 125 mph (201 km/h) were recorded on Cape Cod in the towns of Brewster and Truro. The highest sustained wind of 100 mph (160 km/h), was recorded in North Truro.

Here is the start of a newspaper story that day:

TRAVEL ADVISORY

Hurricane Reshapes Cape Cod

As Bob became a hurricane, it began to move to the northeast and accelerated. By August 19, the storm was located 30-35 miles (50-55 km) to the east of Cape Hatteras, and was at its peak intensity of 115 mph (185 km/h). As the storm moved quickly northeast, it began to weaken over the colder waters. Hurricane Bob then made landfall twice on Rhode Island: at 1:30 p.m. on Block Island, then at 2 p.m. over Newport.  The storm cut a path across southeastern Massachusetts and then into the Gulf of Maine.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Bob on Cape Cod, visitors who head down the Mid-Cape Highway this fall will be struck by a dramatically altered landscape. An early fall has struck, with shriveled brown leaves beginning to drift from trees and shrubs -- the result of the fierce, salt-drenched winds.

Along Route 6 in Eastham the scale of the forests seems lower. Many of the fast-growing, shallow-rooted locusts planted in groves 60 or 70 years ago have been uprooted while the frail survivors dangle overhead; groves of oak, maple and pine have been "pruned by nature," as the professionals put it. Many Cape Codders are left with unaccustomed sunlight and a decade's worth of firewood.

Naturalists say that the defoliation will prove to be a boon for birders this fall. "The warblers were starting to leave in mid-August because they had come north early during the warm spring," said Robert Prescott, director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. "But the storm delayed the wave of migrants by a week or so. Now, September should be a fine month for warblers, and, as a benefit to birders, they will be able to see species more easily through the barer branches."

Mr. Prescott leads frequent trips to Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, a wilderness area off the coast of Chatham consisting of two main islands that serve as a major landfall for migratory species.

"Most of the trees will recover in the spring unless heavily saturated with salt," said Susan Lundquist, director of the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster. April Phillips, park ranger for interpretation, Cape Cod National Seashore, said non-native species like locusts and cherry trees fared worst.

1991: Storm waves worse than a hurricane

Storm's Huge Waves Make Hurricane Seem Tame on Massachusetts Coast

Waves breaking over the top of Minot's Light, a 100-foot-tall stone lighthouse off Scituate.

Peter Montgomery knew the storm was bad when he looked out his window Wednesday and saw waves breaking over the top of Minot's Light, a 100-foot-tall stone lighthouse that is a landmark of the Massachusetts coast.

The old gray shingled house where Mr. Montgomery lives, a mile from the lighthouse on a spit of land that juts out into Massachusetts Bay, was also being pounded by the raging northeaster. "Every time a wave hit the building, you could feel it -- va boom! -- the whole house shook," said Mr. Montgomery, a caretaker for a group of summer residents.

Mr. Montgomery and his wife wanted to evacuate, but when he stepped out the back door, a wave came crashing over the top of the three-story building, sending him scurrying back inside. By his calculation, the wave must have been at least 50 feet above the normal high demarcation...

Cape among hardest hit

Parts of Cape Cod were among the hardest-hit areas, especially those facing east and north along the outer Cape from Chatham at the elbow to Provincetown at the tip. "There are some places on the outer Cape where the beach is completely gone," said Tony Bonanno, the chief ranger at the Cape Cod National Seashore. Surprise Lobster Dinner

On Nantucket Island, just south of the Cape, a number of residential areas remained under three to four feet of water today, and several stores were flattened by the pounding waves... NY Times.

Rip tides close Outer Cape beaches; Mayor urges Wamps get DOI approval; Koch covert operations; Earl updates

TODAY's quote: "This is not a bridge to nowhere or a folly.
This is a $500 million project." - Mayor Flanagan.

Rip currents, erosion close Wellfleet & Eastham beaches
Marconi and Coast Guard Beach closed to swimming, open for surfing

Regular updates of Earl progress.

Vote in our poll "What are your plans for Hurricane Earl?"

High surf and dangerous rip currents forced the Cape Cod National Seashore to close Marconi Beach in Wellfleet and Coast Guard Beach in Eastham to swimming on Monday. As Hurricane Earl continued to churn closer to the East Coast, concerns about erosion grew.

Chief Ranger Bob Grant told the Cape Cod Times that rip currents developed at both of those beaches. He said Nauset Light Beach in North Eastham remained open, but lifeguards were flying yellow flags to tell swimmers to exercise caution... WCVB.
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Hyannis fire moves Keating event

Due to a fire, the meet and greet with Bill Keating scheduled for tomorrow will be relocated to Caffe E Dolci on  430 Main Street, in Hyannis.
   The original venue, the Anglers Club in Hyannis, is currently being worked on and will be back in business shortly.

Fall River Mayor urges Interior Dept. to take proposed casino land into Indian trust

Mayor Will Flanagan is stepping up efforts to support the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe's application for federal land sovereignty for the 300-acre tract the city agreed to sell the tribe if the state legalized gambling this year.

He's calling the Mashpee's proposed destination casino the city's "No. 1 development priority" and one that warrants taking bold steps... Flanagan is taking this tact while the City Council has called for reviewing the use of the undeveloped 300 acres in the northern sector off a new Route 24 interchange after the Legislature and Gov. Deval Patrick failed to agree upon legalized gambling during its 2010 session that ended a month ago.

With legalization not appearing imminent, Flanagan formalized the alternative route he's backing for what he says is the best chance to add thousands of jobs and boost the local economy... Fall River Herald-News.
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Covert Operations
The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama

In a study released this spring, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's Political Economy Research Institute named Koch Industries one of the top ten air polluters in the United States. And Greenpeace issued a report identifying the company as a "kingpin of climate science denial." The report showed that, from 2005 to 2008, the Kochs vastly outdid ExxonMobil in giving money to organizations fighting legislation related to climate change

On May 17th, a black-tie audience at the Metropolitan Opera House applauded as a tall, jovial-looking billionaire took the stage. It was the seventieth annual spring gala of American Ballet Theatre, and David H. Koch was being celebrated for his generosity as a member of the board of trustees; he had recently donated $2.5 million toward the company's upcoming season, and had given many millions before that. Koch received an award while flanked by two of the gala's co-chairs, Blaine Trump, in a peach-colored gown, and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, in emerald green. Kennedy's mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, had been a patron of the ballet and, coincidentally, the previous owner of a Fifth Avenue apartment that Koch had bought, in 1995, and then sold, eleven years later, for thirty-two million dollars, having found it too small... The New Yorker.