Thursday, August 24, 2006

MARK FALZONE WHERE ARE YOU?

A couple of years ago I placed a call to my STATE Representative, MARK FALZONE at his State House office. After about 3 transfers I was finally connected to his office. It was an daunting task let me tell you. Once I was finally connected I explained the issue to the woman taking the call and dutifully stated I wanted to speak to Falzone himself on the issue. I was assured he would get back with me... He never did.

I called back on two occasions over the next month wanting to discuss the issue. He was never available. Each time I left my number and asked for a return call. Never did Falzone return my call.

A few months later I ran into Falzone's father at the local Post Office in town. I asked his father to have Mark call me. I gave his father my number and was told he will be in touch with you. He never called.

It is important to note I do not know Mr. Falzone. Nor had I ever called his office before and I haven't since then.

Last month I was invited to attended a "Meet and Greet" with a man who is running against Falzone in the upcoming election. There I discovered a whole plethora of people in Falzone's district who have had similar incidents as mine. Time and time again people echoed exactly the same thing. He doesn't call people back. Notwithstanding the fact that Falzone is one the wrong side of two very important issues on the local and State level, the constant theme I heard time and time again was he does not return calls. Let alone the basic fact that he doesn't have a local Constituent Service office in town either.

For a Democracy to function it must have the participation by its citizens and interface with our elected Congressmen and Women. This is paramount for a Democracy. Unless of course your Mark Falzone. Continuants be damned. They simply are not worth calling back. And I am not alone it seems.

So Mark if your reading this it is too late to earn my vote. You lost it a few years ago. My support will be going to SEAN GRANT Sean Grant for State Representative in his bid to occupy your seat on Beacon Hill.

Today, regular CerebralWaste poster, Commanding Officer and good friend "THE COLONEL" has phoned Falzone's office on an issue he needs some help with. 100-1 odds he doesn't hear back from him either. Anyone want a piece of that action?

This whole experience gives new meaning to the ancient Chinese proverb." What is the sound of one hand clapping?" When the phone don't ring you know it is Mark Falzone.

UPDATE 8-29-06
"The COLONEL" informs me that he has NOT HEARD from Falzone or his Office yet. It has been 5 days since THE COLONEL placed a call and an email to Falzone's office. JUST an FYI update. Meanwhile the campaign sign I placed at the begining of my street for SEAN GRANT has gone missing. I replaced it today with a new one. Now I wonder just who would take the sign? Political Dirty Tricks? Perhaps? I don't know but it is disturbing to say the least. That sign might be a threat! Thanks ~CW~

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

U.S. Ends 'Catch-And-Release' at Border
Aug 23 1:24 PM US/Eastern

By LARA JAKES JORDANAssociated Press Writer
Nearly all non-Mexican illegal immigrants caught sneaking into the United States are being held until they can be returned to their home countries, the Bush administration said Wednesday.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said this marks the end of the so-called "catch-and-release" policy that for years helped illegal immigrants remain in the United States unhindered.

The new policy, dubbed "catch-and-detain" generally does not apply to Mexicans who are almost immediately returned to Mexico after being stopped by Border Patrol agents.
"Although we're not ready to declare victory _ we've got a lot more work to do _ it is encouraging and it is something that ought to inspire us to continue to push forward," Chertoff told reporters in Washington.

He credited the crackdown, aided this summer by National Guard troops, with deterring thousands of immigrants from trying to illegally enter the U.S. over the southwest border. Border Patrol data provided Wednesday shows a drop of about 20,000 illegal immigrants caught crossing from Mexico this summer, compared to last year.

Well DUH! Why wasn't this done sooner? Hello is anyone home upstairs? All I can say and wonder is why it took this long to do the obvious? ~CW~

Thursday, August 17, 2006

AL GORE: How Green Is He?
Gore isn't quite as green as he's led the world to believe
By PETER SCHWEIZER, USA Today
Al Gore has spoken: The world must embrace a "carbon-neutral lifestyle." To do otherwise, he says, will result in a cataclysmic catastrophe. "Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb," warns the website for his film, An Inconvenient Truth. "We have just 10 years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tailspin."Graciously, Gore tells consumers how to change their lives to curb their carbon-gobbling ways: Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, use a clothesline, drive a hybrid, use renewable energy, dramatically cut back on consumption. Better still, responsible global citizens can follow Gore's example, because, as he readily points out in his speeches, he lives a "carbon-neutral lifestyle."

But if Al Gore is the world's role model for ecology, the planet is doomed.For someone who says the sky is falling, he does very little. He says he recycles and drives a hybrid. And he claims he uses renewable energy credits to offset the pollution he produces when using a private jet to promote his film. (In reality, Paramount Classics, the film's distributor, pays this.)

What Do You Think?

Public records reveal that as Gore lectures Americans on excessive consumption, he and his wife Tipper live in two properties: a 10,000-square-foot, 20-room, eight-bathroom home in Nashville, and a 4,000-square-foot home in Arlington, Va. (He also has a third home in Carthage, Tenn.) For someone rallying the planet to pursue a path of extreme personal sacrifice, Gore requires little from himself.Then there is the troubling matter of his energy use. In the Washington, D.C., area, utility companies offer wind energy as an alternative to traditional energy. In Nashville, similar programs exist. Utility customers must simply pay a few extra pennies per kilowatt hour, and they can continue living their carbon-neutral lifestyles knowing that they are supporting wind energy. Plenty of businesses and institutions have signed up. Even the Bush administration is using green energy for some federal office buildings, as are thousands of area residents.

But according to public records, there is no evidence that Gore has signed up to use green energy in either of his large residences. When contacted Wednesday, Gore's office confirmed as much but said the Gores were looking into making the switch at both homes. Talk about inconvenient truths.Gore is not alone. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has said, "Global warming is happening, and it threatens our very existence." The DNC website applauds the fact that Gore has "tried to move people to act."

Yet, astoundingly, Gore's persuasive powers have failed to convince his own party: The DNC has not signed up to pay an additional two pennies a kilowatt hour to go green. For that matter, neither has the Republican National Committee.Maybe our very existence isn't threatened.Gore has held these apocalyptic views about the environment for some time. So why, then, didn't Gore dump his family's large stock holdings in Occidental (Oxy) Petroleum? As executor of his family's trust, over the years Gore has controlled hundreds of thousands of dollars in Oxy stock. Oxy has been mired in controversy over oil drilling in ecologically sensitive areas.Living carbon-neutral apparently doesn't mean living oil-stock free. Nor does it necessarily mean giving up a mining royalty either.Humanity might be "sitting on a ticking time bomb," but Gore's home in Carthage is sitting on a zinc mine.

Gore receives $20,000 a year in royalties from Pasminco Zinc, which operates a zinc concession on his property. Tennessee has cited the company for adding large quantities of barium, iron and zinc to the nearby Caney Fork River.The issue here is not simply Gore's hypocrisy; it's a question of credibility. If he genuinely believes the apocalyptic vision he has put forth and calls for radical changes in the way other people live, why hasn't he made any radical change in his life? Giving up the zinc mine or one of his homes is not asking much, given that he wants the rest of us to radically change our lives
.Peter Schweizer is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and author of Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Why Keep the Sign? A Question that Needs an Answer...

Down the street and to the left in a nearby town from where I sit a sign hangs on a building. Now that in itself isn't such a big thing or issue for that matter UNTIL you understand that the sign that is hanging is advertising for restaurant that isn't there anymore. To make matters even more confusing the sign I am referring too, hangs above a sign with the name of the current restaurant that is housed in the building. Follow me? I know it sounds like a convoluted soap opera but trust me this is happening.

If your in Wakefield and have ever eaten at TOODY'S you know what I am talking about. The current restaurant DETTORRE'S has somehow managed to keep the old TOODY's sign hanging on the building. WHY? Why would a new establishment even want to be associated with the old? Why have the sign still hanging at all? It seems to be a head scratcher for sure... Or is it? O the web we weave when we first try to deceive.....

The fact is Toody's is reopening down the street from it's old location. YEE HAW!!! The location that now houses DETTORRE'S. I had the distinct pleasure this morning to meet with Richie Canto and his son who are in the final stages of getting Toody's back up and running after a 1 year absence. Good news to say the least. A landmark is coming back to the area!

But back to the sign issue and the question du jour. WHY WOULD DETTORRE'S want a sign saying TOODY'S hanging from their building? Are the owners of Dettorre's unsure of its ability to attract and maintain customers with their food that they feel it necessary to cloud the issue? Why won't Dettorre's return the sign? Or at least take it down? It would certainly be a nice and sincere gesture of goodwill to see either option happen. Yet all attempts I am told to have this happen have been rebuffed. WHY? The logic of keeping the sign fails me and leads me back to the same question. WHY KEEP THE SIGN?

If anyone can come up with a plausible answer to this riddle wrap in an enigma I am all ears to coin a phrase.

Meanwhile I very pleased to announce that Richie Canto has agreed to step into the CerebralWaste Interview Hotseat and take the plunge! Look for this upcoming interview very soon!

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Meeting the Owner of a Legend.....Toody's of Wakefield

Tomorrow 8-9-06 I will have the honor to meet the current owner of Toody's! Needless to say I am very excited about this AND about the prospect of getting Richard Canto to sit down in the "CerebralWaste Interview Hot Seat" (TM) for a deep look inside of the living restaurant legend that is Toody's.

Toody's is about to reopen and as you might have figured out by now I am looking forward to it in a BIG BIG kind of way!

I will post back here what happens!

~CerebralWaste~

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Volunteering by CerebralWaste

In a recent study concerning volunteering, the study concluded with the following excuses as to why people don't volunteer. The excuses most often brought up are: "I cannot afford it" ,"I have no time", "I have no energy" and "I need that time for my personal use". Any of these excuses sound familiar to you? Come on be honest!

Almost everyone can volunteer and it is easer than you think. Volunteering is simply taking what you enjoy and using it in a manner to help other people. It could be a simple as while walking you pick up trash that has collected along the path you take or as complex as volunteering at a local hospital, animal shelter or group home. Volunteering is particularly helpful to men, urbanites, those with low income, people in poor health and retirees who don't work. It help provide people a sense of purpose and sense of well being. Still many don't or won't volunteer and use the excuses above as the reasons.

As an example I volunteer one morning a week at the local food bank in my hometown. It is a very rewarding experience helping those that need help. Like many I didn't think I had the time or energy at first, but now several months into my volunteering I find myself looking forward to the time being spent at the Food Bank. The Food Bank where I work serves almost 100 needy people a week. The 3 or so hours I spend there are very rewarding and as a result I am truly a better person for it as well.

This is backed up by a study from Cornell University, the study concluded that "Volunteering" will boost you self-esteem and energy and will give you a sense of mastery over your personal lives. Volunteering helps society in general because society gains when people help other people.

Still sadly most people don't seek out to do volunteer work. Volunteering should become more of a public issue and institutional support from government and business needs to be in place. Many businesses in the US give their employees time off to do volunteer work. These businesses have recognized that when people volunteer a sense of greater societal value and recognition are gained and it makes them better employees .Volunteering makes you feel good in helping those that need help.

Volunteering can also improve your resume/CV, by help you learn new skills by giving you "hands on" experience in a new capacity. Volunteering can and will boost your confidence and in general make you feel better about yourself. It can even give a foot in the door with a new employer. Positive results from a positive action.

If you are passionate about helping people and want to make a difference think of the single word volunteering. Look for ways in your community to make a difference and do it.