Pitching and team defense are two things which have always been in short supply for the Boston Red Sox. In my lifetime the Sox were always an overwhelmingly right handed power hitting team that tried to take advantage of the Green Monster at Fenway. That old way has changed dramatically since Theo Epstein has arrived on the scene. Those changes are most vivid in this year's edition of the Boston infield. During the off season the Sox changed every position in the infield and those changes have been paying big dividends as the club is leading the league in defense. This is rather a stunning development for those die hard Sox fans who have seen the likes of Don Buddin, Dick (Dr. Strangeglove) Stuart and a host of other slow footed, short ranged infielders kick the ball around.
The left side of the infield has been a delight to watch every day. Mike Lowell has been just as advertised as a gold glover and rumors of his slow bat speed and expected decline coming off of a down year last year are very premature. He has been at the top of the league in extra base hit and has been a doubles machine at Fenway. His production is highlighted by the fact that he trails David Ortiz in total bases 103 to 102. Alex Gonzalez had gotten off to a slow start at the plate but his work in the field has been slick and consistent. As of late his bat has come around as well.
Mark Loretta has been been steady if not spectacular in all aspects of his game. Touted as a heady ball player who would be an extra coach on the field, he has proven to be just that with some key hitting and solid fielding. Loretta always seems to be in the right place. First base had been a question mark this year with former part time third baseman Kevin Youkilis being moved over there to make way for the acquisition of Lowell. Dubbed the Greek God of walks (he is not Greek) by Billy Beene, Youkilis has been an on base percentage machine matching Manny Ramirez at .435% . With Coco Crisp's early season injury, the leadoff spot looked to be a weakness that Youkilis quickly turned into a strength. His fielding speaks for itself when you consider that J.T. Snow had been acquired in the off season for his glove and he simply cannot get much playing time because of the complete game exhibited by Youkilis.
The outfield has been steady if unspectacular. Nixon patrols right field in his usual highly competent fashion. His contribution on offense has been just as solid as he his hitting over .300 with 26 walks compared to 15 strike outs. We haven't seen enough of Crisp to make any comparisons with Johnny Damon but we were tantalized with Crisp's obvious skills in the early season enough to make us optimistic. Having lost him for 42 games and still be ahead of the Evil Empire by 2 games after the first 48 is heartening.
Wily Mo Pena hasn't made everyone forget Bronson Arroyo just yet. However, with a little more growth and experience he very well could. He filled in adequately defensively in center while Crisp was down and contributed power and average on offense. If he learns to lay off the outside breaking ball he will become an even more effective force. He is currently tied for the team lead in strikeouts with David Ortiz. Ortiz however has had more than 70 more at bats.
Manny has been Manny so far. He was slow out of the gate but the next thing you know he is hitting .311 with 11 home runs. Ortiz is down a bit in average to .270 but his power numbers and clutch hitting have not declined. When your in the park you can almost feel the fan expectations as Ortiz comes to the plate. This fan anticipation can not be lost on the opposing pitcher as he stares in at the big man.
The pitching has been the brightest spot. Schilling and Beckett make up the core of the staff and though their ERA's have not been spectacular they have been making quality starts and getting deep into games. Wakefield has been steady if unspectacular. Yesterday's 8 shut out innings went a long way to helping rest the bullpen. He is getting the least run support of any of the starting pitching. The fourth spot is occupied by Matt Clement. Clement has been the biggest disappointment of the season. He has nasty stuff but is no mystery this year as opponents are hitting him all over the yard as his 6.35 ERA will attest.
The fifth spot in the rotation is again up for grabs as David Wells was struck on the knee cap the other night in his first start back from knee rehab. Wells should never be counted out but he is the oldest pitcher ever to make a start of the Sox. Lenny Dinardo had a couple of chances to hold down the position by it is apparent that an 83 mile an hour fastball is not going to cut it for him in the bigs. He can get through the order once but the next time up the opposing order is shelling him. Other options down on the farm are John Lester and Craig Hansen. They are both being protected in the amount of work they are getting so that they will be fresh in the latter part of the year.
The bull pen has been the highlight of the year to date. Jonathan Papelbon is 18 for 18 in save opportunities and is sporting an .035 earned run average. Timlin has been outstanding as the set up man with a 1.40 ERA but has just gone to the DL with a shoulder strain. That leaves a rather inconsistent Keith Foulke and perhaps Julian Tavares as eigth inning specialists. Rudy Seanez is also in the mix but he has not impressed as of yet this year.
There is along way to go but there is no denying this is a solid team fundamentally and is going to be in the mix right down to the end. As always the Yankees will be there at the end but with the Big Unit struggling and some age showing on some of their stars they may not have enough to keep us out of first place. I must admit being sorry to see Matsui go down with such a severe wrist injury. That guy is as classy as they come. His apology to Yankee fans for getting injured was a lesson for every player in every American pro sport.
The Yanks will inevitably make a big money deal near the end of the season to shore themselves up but the Sox have a good deal of money to spare this year and can match any trading deadline acquisitions. So it's Memorial Day and baseball is underway in earnest and we have a team with a lot of skill as well more upside potential. Go Sox!
Monday, May 29, 2006
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Impressive display of bipartisanship
It really warms the heart of the average American voter to know that when the going gets rough we can rely on our national elected leaders to join hands to work together to resolve an issue of national importance.
Just one such example occurred this week. Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana is alleged to have accepted bribes totaling one hundred thousand dollars from an FBI informant for the benefit Nigerian Vice President Abubakar Atiku (Atiku denies any connection). Apparently Congressman Jefferson wasn't very careful since the event is reported to have be recorded on video tape and 90 thousand dollars of the suspect cash was later found in his freezer at home.
The result of these allegations was that the FBI went to court and received permission to search Congressman Jefferson's office on capitol hill. Early on it was not reported that FBI had a 100 page document detailing the issues in the warrant. It also was not admitted or reported that the FBI was with in its jurisdiction to conduct such a search.
Instead what received the most notice was the congressional outrage over the breach of seperation of powers. How dare they FBI run up there and offend congress! If they can search the offices of one alleged felon what would prevent them from actually going after a few more?
The mere thought of this was enough to bring Nancy Pelosi and Dennis Hastert together in an unusual show of unity. They weren't outraged over the fact that a bald face thief might have been in their ranks. They were more concerned that protocols be developed so that other thieves might have more protection in the future. Read this excerpt from a USA Today editorial by house Speaker Dennis Hastert. Hastert said he and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., "have directed House lawyers to develop reasonable protocols and procedures that will make it possible for the FBI to go into congressional offices to constitutionally execute a search warrant."
Protocols is a fancy way to say that congress wants the FBI to first inform congressional leaders of their intentions and then have the agents cover their eyes, count to a thousand and shout "ready or not here we come" before they have the temerity to search an alleged crminal's office.
A good deal of press coverage during the week focused on the fact that this was the first time in 200 plus years that a congressional office had been searched and that some how the FBI had broken some sort of new ground and violated a sacred rule by seizing documents from Jefferson's office. Pelosi and Hastert accused the justice department of violating the principle of separation of powers, as well as the speech or debate clause of the U.S. Constitution, which provides immunity to lawmakers, while they are engaged in legislative acts. (This apparently is the same rule an allegedly drunken congressman Kennedy invoked when he stumbled from his car following a crash in Washington last month).
Despite the fact that President Bush kowtowed to congressional leaders by impounding all the Jefferson documents, it was reported Friday that not only did the FBI have the legal right to do what they did but in fact they were almost dared to do it by Jefferson himself.
Apparently Jefferson has been pursued on this subject for over 8 months and had been ignoring requests by the FBI to turn over specific information relative to the allegations against him. I guess the lesson here is that you can only thumb your nose at the FBI for 8 months when your a congressman. One can only wonder how much of that 8 months of courtesy would be extended to you or I had we been videotaped accepting a hundred grand in bribes.
How is Congressman Jefferson holding up as the center of a constitutional brouhaha?
He has responded in a way that only a denizen of Washington can fully appreciate and understand. "I expect to continue to represent the people who have sent me here," Jefferson said during a appearance before reporters. "This will not retard my capacity to continue to work for the people I represent." There is no word yet as to when Rev. Jesse Jackson will be issuing a statement in support of Congressman Jefferson and accusing the FBI of racism.
Just one such example occurred this week. Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana is alleged to have accepted bribes totaling one hundred thousand dollars from an FBI informant for the benefit Nigerian Vice President Abubakar Atiku (Atiku denies any connection). Apparently Congressman Jefferson wasn't very careful since the event is reported to have be recorded on video tape and 90 thousand dollars of the suspect cash was later found in his freezer at home.
The result of these allegations was that the FBI went to court and received permission to search Congressman Jefferson's office on capitol hill. Early on it was not reported that FBI had a 100 page document detailing the issues in the warrant. It also was not admitted or reported that the FBI was with in its jurisdiction to conduct such a search.
Instead what received the most notice was the congressional outrage over the breach of seperation of powers. How dare they FBI run up there and offend congress! If they can search the offices of one alleged felon what would prevent them from actually going after a few more?
The mere thought of this was enough to bring Nancy Pelosi and Dennis Hastert together in an unusual show of unity. They weren't outraged over the fact that a bald face thief might have been in their ranks. They were more concerned that protocols be developed so that other thieves might have more protection in the future. Read this excerpt from a USA Today editorial by house Speaker Dennis Hastert. Hastert said he and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., "have directed House lawyers to develop reasonable protocols and procedures that will make it possible for the FBI to go into congressional offices to constitutionally execute a search warrant."
Protocols is a fancy way to say that congress wants the FBI to first inform congressional leaders of their intentions and then have the agents cover their eyes, count to a thousand and shout "ready or not here we come" before they have the temerity to search an alleged crminal's office.
A good deal of press coverage during the week focused on the fact that this was the first time in 200 plus years that a congressional office had been searched and that some how the FBI had broken some sort of new ground and violated a sacred rule by seizing documents from Jefferson's office. Pelosi and Hastert accused the justice department of violating the principle of separation of powers, as well as the speech or debate clause of the U.S. Constitution, which provides immunity to lawmakers, while they are engaged in legislative acts. (This apparently is the same rule an allegedly drunken congressman Kennedy invoked when he stumbled from his car following a crash in Washington last month).
Despite the fact that President Bush kowtowed to congressional leaders by impounding all the Jefferson documents, it was reported Friday that not only did the FBI have the legal right to do what they did but in fact they were almost dared to do it by Jefferson himself.
Apparently Jefferson has been pursued on this subject for over 8 months and had been ignoring requests by the FBI to turn over specific information relative to the allegations against him. I guess the lesson here is that you can only thumb your nose at the FBI for 8 months when your a congressman. One can only wonder how much of that 8 months of courtesy would be extended to you or I had we been videotaped accepting a hundred grand in bribes.
How is Congressman Jefferson holding up as the center of a constitutional brouhaha?
He has responded in a way that only a denizen of Washington can fully appreciate and understand. "I expect to continue to represent the people who have sent me here," Jefferson said during a appearance before reporters. "This will not retard my capacity to continue to work for the people I represent." There is no word yet as to when Rev. Jesse Jackson will be issuing a statement in support of Congressman Jefferson and accusing the FBI of racism.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
A few small changes
Now that the annual town meeting is over it is time to examine the current operation of the meeting and see if perhaps a few small changes may be appropriate going forward.
This is the beginning of my second year in the moderator's position and I now feel a bit more at ease in the operation of the meeting. Even though I held the position for three years previously, that was over 20 years ago and much has changed and I felt that it might be a bit presumptuous to be offering suggestions as to the more efficient and informative conduct of the meeting.
Of course it is common sense to acknowledge that this position is elected annually so I will preface my remarks by saying If I run again and if elected I would propose the following change in the meeting.
It is not a radical change to something new but more a return to what was always done at the meeting. During the many years that Pat Mullin was the town accountant the opening of the annual budget meeting always contained a presentation by the town financial management team. That presentation essentially addressed the fiscal health of the community and included a variety of what if scenarios regarding town income, expenditures and other variables such as state aid (the Cherry sheet)and what impact those things would have on the tax levy and the residential and commercial tax rate.
Other contributors to this presentation included the town treasurer who would discuss the condition of revenue sources such as residential property taxes, personal property, and water and sewer revenues.
The Ways and Means Committee also took on a key role as the chairman would present the rationale that was used in the preparation of the next fiscal years budget that would be on the warrant for discussion subsequent to the financial discussion taking place.
In recent years the town administrator's office which is under the direction of the Board of Selectmen has taken on a greater role in providing this over view to the town meeting. This year they also led the way with the adoption of the town wide budget guidelines. Ways and Means members actually appeared at a board of selectmen meeting agreeing to these guidelines before the committee had even taken up the subject.
Having the selectmen take over this role is not appropriate for two very important reasons. First and foremost is that not all the town budget comes under the direction of the selectmen. In fact less than half the town's budget is under the selectmen's control. The schools department as well as the other independent elected boards all have supervisory authority over their budgets.
The second reason is that the Ways and Means committee is the chief advisory body to the town meeting membership. The town meeting is the legislative branch of the government and as such is completely independent of the executive (selectmen). In order for the legislative body to fill its role it requires input from sources which are solely responsible to it.
The following is the exact wording from the town bylaws regarding the committee's principal role;
2.1.1 The Committee shall make written recommendations to the Town Meeting on all articles contained in any warrant which involve the appropriation, transfer, expenditure, raising and borrowing of money and may make recommendations on any and all questions involving Town affairs.
As you can see, there is not much ambiguity as to the importance of the committee. It is a very broad and very specific responsibility. A recent example of a passive role taken by the committee was the Town Center Overlay proposal passed last year. Despite the fact that this legislation had enormous implications over a wide range of areas including finances, the committee chose not to examine the article nor report a recommendation to the meeting.
In the future it is my goal to encourage the committee take a more aggressive posture in this legislative advisory and financial over sight role.
This is the beginning of my second year in the moderator's position and I now feel a bit more at ease in the operation of the meeting. Even though I held the position for three years previously, that was over 20 years ago and much has changed and I felt that it might be a bit presumptuous to be offering suggestions as to the more efficient and informative conduct of the meeting.
Of course it is common sense to acknowledge that this position is elected annually so I will preface my remarks by saying If I run again and if elected I would propose the following change in the meeting.
It is not a radical change to something new but more a return to what was always done at the meeting. During the many years that Pat Mullin was the town accountant the opening of the annual budget meeting always contained a presentation by the town financial management team. That presentation essentially addressed the fiscal health of the community and included a variety of what if scenarios regarding town income, expenditures and other variables such as state aid (the Cherry sheet)and what impact those things would have on the tax levy and the residential and commercial tax rate.
Other contributors to this presentation included the town treasurer who would discuss the condition of revenue sources such as residential property taxes, personal property, and water and sewer revenues.
The Ways and Means Committee also took on a key role as the chairman would present the rationale that was used in the preparation of the next fiscal years budget that would be on the warrant for discussion subsequent to the financial discussion taking place.
In recent years the town administrator's office which is under the direction of the Board of Selectmen has taken on a greater role in providing this over view to the town meeting. This year they also led the way with the adoption of the town wide budget guidelines. Ways and Means members actually appeared at a board of selectmen meeting agreeing to these guidelines before the committee had even taken up the subject.
Having the selectmen take over this role is not appropriate for two very important reasons. First and foremost is that not all the town budget comes under the direction of the selectmen. In fact less than half the town's budget is under the selectmen's control. The schools department as well as the other independent elected boards all have supervisory authority over their budgets.
The second reason is that the Ways and Means committee is the chief advisory body to the town meeting membership. The town meeting is the legislative branch of the government and as such is completely independent of the executive (selectmen). In order for the legislative body to fill its role it requires input from sources which are solely responsible to it.
The following is the exact wording from the town bylaws regarding the committee's principal role;
2.1.1 The Committee shall make written recommendations to the Town Meeting on all articles contained in any warrant which involve the appropriation, transfer, expenditure, raising and borrowing of money and may make recommendations on any and all questions involving Town affairs.
As you can see, there is not much ambiguity as to the importance of the committee. It is a very broad and very specific responsibility. A recent example of a passive role taken by the committee was the Town Center Overlay proposal passed last year. Despite the fact that this legislation had enormous implications over a wide range of areas including finances, the committee chose not to examine the article nor report a recommendation to the meeting.
In the future it is my goal to encourage the committee take a more aggressive posture in this legislative advisory and financial over sight role.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Cape Wind or Kennedy Wind?
There are a few basic facts of life relative to energy prices up here in the northeast. It gets pretty cold, the most common home heating fuel is oil and none of that oil is pulled out of the ground around here. Those were some of my thoughts as I dropped my latest oil bill into the mail. A bill by the way that totaled $535. I looked back in my ledger book and that same amount of fuel was $163 ten years ago and five years ago was $183.
With our children grown and the costs of education and weddings out of the way and the both of us working, it is more of an annoyance and a reduction of disposable income than it is a hardship to pay this kind of money for fuel. It is apparent to us however that in many homes of our friends and neighbors this is an enormous economic hardship.
Inevitably these high energy costs are going to take a major toll on the national economy. Energy costs permeate every aspect of our service, manufacturing and agricultural economies and it is only a matter of time before the reduction of disposable income for the consumer slows the economy. This impact coupled with the Federal Reserve Boards idiotic policy of continued interest rate hikes is going to push the United States economy into recession.
The economy is not the only major stage that energy prices have tremendous impact upon. United States foreign policy is currently being held hostage to rising energy costs. A perfect example is Iran. How quickly would China back a U.N Security Council resolution against Iranian nuclear ambitions if Iran was not one of China's major suppliers of oil?
Is the little Iranian fanatic emboldened because he knows that we dare not take action against him for fear of reduction in his countries oil production or worse in that he might disrupt shipments of his neighbors through out the Persian Gulf?
This aspect of high energy prices is even more troubling than the economic concerns. We cannot be constantly under the threat of foreign policy decisions being affected in any way by the latest Middle East or South American election or coup.
The only way out of this mess is to end U.S. energy dependence. Our available diplomatic options would increase dramatically if for instance we were able to say to Iran or Saudi Arabia for that matter, if you don't change your ways we don't think we want your only major export product in our country.
Of course the only way to accomplish this is to increase production of domestic sources of energy and to develop and implement plans for alternative and renewable sources of energy. Just such a project has been proposed for Massachusetts.
Cape Wind is a total of 130 wind turbines that will produce up to 420 megawatts of clean, renewable energy. In average winds, Cape Wind will provide three quarters of the Cape and Islands electricity needs. The total estimate of oil this project will replace is over 113 million gallons of oil per year. Let's not even bother talking about the various forms of pollution prevented by power produced by wind versus oil.
You would think that our politicians would be shouting from the roof tops in favor of a project that would reduce the burden on their constituents and contribute to the energy independence of the country. In particular perhaps you might expect the "liberal lion" of the senate, Ted Kennedy to be talking about how this project might help the elderly and the poor on the Cape deal with soaring energy costs.
Unfortunately for all of us Senator Kennedy is more concerned with the view from his Hyannis mansion and the impact it might have on his family's sailing than he is with his constituents energy concerns.
In the end which is going to be more important to Massachusetts and the country, Cape Wind or Kennedy wind?
With our children grown and the costs of education and weddings out of the way and the both of us working, it is more of an annoyance and a reduction of disposable income than it is a hardship to pay this kind of money for fuel. It is apparent to us however that in many homes of our friends and neighbors this is an enormous economic hardship.
Inevitably these high energy costs are going to take a major toll on the national economy. Energy costs permeate every aspect of our service, manufacturing and agricultural economies and it is only a matter of time before the reduction of disposable income for the consumer slows the economy. This impact coupled with the Federal Reserve Boards idiotic policy of continued interest rate hikes is going to push the United States economy into recession.
The economy is not the only major stage that energy prices have tremendous impact upon. United States foreign policy is currently being held hostage to rising energy costs. A perfect example is Iran. How quickly would China back a U.N Security Council resolution against Iranian nuclear ambitions if Iran was not one of China's major suppliers of oil?
Is the little Iranian fanatic emboldened because he knows that we dare not take action against him for fear of reduction in his countries oil production or worse in that he might disrupt shipments of his neighbors through out the Persian Gulf?
This aspect of high energy prices is even more troubling than the economic concerns. We cannot be constantly under the threat of foreign policy decisions being affected in any way by the latest Middle East or South American election or coup.
The only way out of this mess is to end U.S. energy dependence. Our available diplomatic options would increase dramatically if for instance we were able to say to Iran or Saudi Arabia for that matter, if you don't change your ways we don't think we want your only major export product in our country.
Of course the only way to accomplish this is to increase production of domestic sources of energy and to develop and implement plans for alternative and renewable sources of energy. Just such a project has been proposed for Massachusetts.
Cape Wind is a total of 130 wind turbines that will produce up to 420 megawatts of clean, renewable energy. In average winds, Cape Wind will provide three quarters of the Cape and Islands electricity needs. The total estimate of oil this project will replace is over 113 million gallons of oil per year. Let's not even bother talking about the various forms of pollution prevented by power produced by wind versus oil.
You would think that our politicians would be shouting from the roof tops in favor of a project that would reduce the burden on their constituents and contribute to the energy independence of the country. In particular perhaps you might expect the "liberal lion" of the senate, Ted Kennedy to be talking about how this project might help the elderly and the poor on the Cape deal with soaring energy costs.
Unfortunately for all of us Senator Kennedy is more concerned with the view from his Hyannis mansion and the impact it might have on his family's sailing than he is with his constituents energy concerns.
In the end which is going to be more important to Massachusetts and the country, Cape Wind or Kennedy wind?
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Poise under pressure
Poise under pressure is what separates the common folk such as you and I from occupying positions of power and leadership. A case in point would be the recent actions of a certain congressman involved in an accident in Washington D.C.
Around 2:45 A.M. fresh from an alleged round of bar hopping, the congressman was seen to be driving erratically, without his lights on, and narrowly missing crashing into a capitol police cruiser before smashing into a barrier.
Apparently smelling of alcohol, blurry eyed and and unsteady on his feet, the congressman had the presence of mind to stagger out of his car and announce to the police that he was on his "way to a vote".
The votes had concluded about six hours earlier. When reading this I foolishly ridiculed the congressman for his obviously foggy thinking. He must have been loaded to have forgotten that congressional business usually is not done at 3 in the morning.
Now this is what separates you and I from deep thinkers like this congressman. Apparently there is a law that prevents our congressional leaders from being arrested when they are on their way to cast a vote.
With the recent announcement of his decision to re-enter drug rehab we now find that it was not just alcohol but a combination of the prescription drug Phenergan and sleeping medication Ambien that was responsible for this event. It certainly wasn't the congressman's fault. Some of you might say he was just lucky that he had the presence of mind to pull out a get of of jail free card at that moment in his drug an alcohol induced stupor.
This line of thinking can be easily refuted by simply taking a close look at not only the congressman's history but that of other close family members. Major and minor scrapes, one after another have always been met with this type of critical thinking skills and resulting escapes from bearing any responsibility.
A case in point is the aftermath of this most recent episode. In order to mitigate outrage over the special treatment given the congressman and to avoid any personal responsibility, a sympathy spin was immediately placed on the whole affair. Commenting on his decision to enter rehab, the congressman offered the following;
"I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police, or being cited for the driving infractions," he told reporters, his expression stoic but his voice wavering. "that's not how I want to live my life, and that's not how I want to represent the people of Rhode Island." Followed by "Of course in every recovery, each day has its ups and downs. But I have been strong, focused and productive in my term in office," he said. "Still, the incident on Wednesday evening concerns me greatly."
Some of us foolishly think this behavior is irresponsible, dangerous, and illegal. It is part of a long pattern of the congressman's life as a result of the public coddling of him and his entire family. Again, this type of thinking is why we are just regular folk and not the stuff that greatness is made of.
This is how the congressman's father sees things, ''All of us in the family admire his courage in speaking publicly about very personal issues and fully support his decision to seek treatment," the senator said. "The people of the First District of Rhode Island have a tireless champion for the issues they care about, and, today, I hope they join me in feeling pride and respect for a courageous man who has admitted to a problem and taken bold action to correct it."
Wow, I was misguided in thinking the guy was just a privileged brat who continually makes a fool of himself.
Around 2:45 A.M. fresh from an alleged round of bar hopping, the congressman was seen to be driving erratically, without his lights on, and narrowly missing crashing into a capitol police cruiser before smashing into a barrier.
Apparently smelling of alcohol, blurry eyed and and unsteady on his feet, the congressman had the presence of mind to stagger out of his car and announce to the police that he was on his "way to a vote".
The votes had concluded about six hours earlier. When reading this I foolishly ridiculed the congressman for his obviously foggy thinking. He must have been loaded to have forgotten that congressional business usually is not done at 3 in the morning.
Now this is what separates you and I from deep thinkers like this congressman. Apparently there is a law that prevents our congressional leaders from being arrested when they are on their way to cast a vote.
With the recent announcement of his decision to re-enter drug rehab we now find that it was not just alcohol but a combination of the prescription drug Phenergan and sleeping medication Ambien that was responsible for this event. It certainly wasn't the congressman's fault. Some of you might say he was just lucky that he had the presence of mind to pull out a get of of jail free card at that moment in his drug an alcohol induced stupor.
This line of thinking can be easily refuted by simply taking a close look at not only the congressman's history but that of other close family members. Major and minor scrapes, one after another have always been met with this type of critical thinking skills and resulting escapes from bearing any responsibility.
A case in point is the aftermath of this most recent episode. In order to mitigate outrage over the special treatment given the congressman and to avoid any personal responsibility, a sympathy spin was immediately placed on the whole affair. Commenting on his decision to enter rehab, the congressman offered the following;
"I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police, or being cited for the driving infractions," he told reporters, his expression stoic but his voice wavering. "that's not how I want to live my life, and that's not how I want to represent the people of Rhode Island." Followed by "Of course in every recovery, each day has its ups and downs. But I have been strong, focused and productive in my term in office," he said. "Still, the incident on Wednesday evening concerns me greatly."
Some of us foolishly think this behavior is irresponsible, dangerous, and illegal. It is part of a long pattern of the congressman's life as a result of the public coddling of him and his entire family. Again, this type of thinking is why we are just regular folk and not the stuff that greatness is made of.
This is how the congressman's father sees things, ''All of us in the family admire his courage in speaking publicly about very personal issues and fully support his decision to seek treatment," the senator said. "The people of the First District of Rhode Island have a tireless champion for the issues they care about, and, today, I hope they join me in feeling pride and respect for a courageous man who has admitted to a problem and taken bold action to correct it."
Wow, I was misguided in thinking the guy was just a privileged brat who continually makes a fool of himself.
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