Monday, May 31, 2004
Insurance Rider
Willard Mitt's auto insurance task force has begun to unveil the reforms that the Fraud Governor claimed to be "personally" developing way back when newspaper editorialists were still accepting Romney's word as being worth more than Romney's word. (source: RiaF, 4/6/2004)
Romney is claiming that he wants to reformulate the way that high-risk policies are assigned to insurance carriers. (source: Boston Globe, 5/18/2004)
High-risk policies mean increased payouts for insurance providers, which they try to recoup by charging some people higher rates, even if they don't necessarily have bad driving records.
Which is why people with perfect driving records in, say, Cambridge, pay more for auto insurance than people with perfect driving records in, say, Falmouth, sometimes as much as $400 a year more, for comparable auto insurance. (source: Boston Globe, 1/12/1991; Boston Magazine, April 2004)
Doesn't seem fair, does it? Especially if you live in Cambridge.
Which may be from whence a question was recently posed to the Rat Line.
Seems someone's curiosity was peaked when we wrote how Timothy Duncan (R-Cambridge) (who is being strongly supported by Willard Mitt (source: 5/30/2004)) was running for a state Senate seat in Falmouth despite having applied for a Cambridge residential tax break while he claimed to have been a resident of Falmouth. (A Venn Diagram of Duncan's residency claims looks like one of the Pep Boys.)
Let's go right to the tape (which we have edited for, uh, editing.) Hey Tim Duncan, consider this your first official press conference:
"My questions for Mr. Duncan are these: You claimed a tax break in Cambridge because it was your primary residence. Would you please tell me where you registered your car? And do your auto insurance rates reflect your primary residence in Cambridge from where you filed for that residential tax break, or your fanciful residence in that Falmouth house from which you are running for Senate but for which you do not yet have an occupancy permit?
"In short, did you commit tax fraud, or insurance fraud?"
You can whisper your answer, Tim. We promise not to tell.
Parade Rest
Looking for a local Memorial Day parade? Don't bother checking the official Commonwealth web-site. The Commonwealth's Veterans' Services office doesn't even acknowledge Memorial Day. And aside from providing a few web-links, the State's main site is not much better.
Willard Mitt, a Chicken Hawk who spent the Vietnam War hiding in a series of Parisian bakeries, will no doubt insist the Commonwealth publish a full parade-listing for July 14 and December 9.
Willard Mitt's auto insurance task force has begun to unveil the reforms that the Fraud Governor claimed to be "personally" developing way back when newspaper editorialists were still accepting Romney's word as being worth more than Romney's word. (source: RiaF, 4/6/2004)
Romney is claiming that he wants to reformulate the way that high-risk policies are assigned to insurance carriers. (source: Boston Globe, 5/18/2004)
High-risk policies mean increased payouts for insurance providers, which they try to recoup by charging some people higher rates, even if they don't necessarily have bad driving records.
Which is why people with perfect driving records in, say, Cambridge, pay more for auto insurance than people with perfect driving records in, say, Falmouth, sometimes as much as $400 a year more, for comparable auto insurance. (source: Boston Globe, 1/12/1991; Boston Magazine, April 2004)
Doesn't seem fair, does it? Especially if you live in Cambridge.
Which may be from whence a question was recently posed to the Rat Line.
Seems someone's curiosity was peaked when we wrote how Timothy Duncan (R-Cambridge) (who is being strongly supported by Willard Mitt (source: 5/30/2004)) was running for a state Senate seat in Falmouth despite having applied for a Cambridge residential tax break while he claimed to have been a resident of Falmouth. (A Venn Diagram of Duncan's residency claims looks like one of the Pep Boys.)
Let's go right to the tape (which we have edited for, uh, editing.) Hey Tim Duncan, consider this your first official press conference:
"My questions for Mr. Duncan are these: You claimed a tax break in Cambridge because it was your primary residence. Would you please tell me where you registered your car? And do your auto insurance rates reflect your primary residence in Cambridge from where you filed for that residential tax break, or your fanciful residence in that Falmouth house from which you are running for Senate but for which you do not yet have an occupancy permit?
"In short, did you commit tax fraud, or insurance fraud?"
You can whisper your answer, Tim. We promise not to tell.
Parade Rest
Looking for a local Memorial Day parade? Don't bother checking the official Commonwealth web-site. The Commonwealth's Veterans' Services office doesn't even acknowledge Memorial Day. And aside from providing a few web-links, the State's main site is not much better.
Willard Mitt, a Chicken Hawk who spent the Vietnam War hiding in a series of Parisian bakeries, will no doubt insist the Commonwealth publish a full parade-listing for July 14 and December 9.
Thursday, May 27, 2004
What's In A Name?
What is it with Willard Mitt and prospective state Senators for the Cape? None of Romney's candidates appear to be from the Cape. The Fraud Governor has thrown his support to Fidelity Investment wash-out [the-unforgettable-uh-what's-her-name-again?] (R-Nahant) (see RiaF, 3/9/2004) and is now backing Cambridge resident Timothy Duncan who is running against Senator Therese Murray (D-Plymouth).
Duncan, whose name is an anagram for "Thy Nomadic Nut," has admitted to being a Cambridge resident. He has applied for and says he's eligible for a tax break for his house in Cambridge, "a break available only to those who claim their dwelling as their primary residence." (source: Cape Cod Times, 5/24/2004)
Sound familiar? (And did Willard Mitt ever pay back that $54,587.26?)
Oddly, on two separate occasions in tax year 2003, Duncan listed a Falmouth address as his primary residency, once in October and once in December. (source: OCPF) However, his claimed Falmouth home is said to not have a valid occupancy permit. And if Duncan has been living in the structure, he would be subject to a $1,000 a day fine for violating state building codes. (source: Cape Cod Time, 5/24/2004)
So is Duncan a Falmouth resident or does he actually qualify for a Cambridge tax break? Only the IRS auditors know for sure.
Duncan, whose name is an anagram for "Tinny Cad Mouth," has stated that he will make political action committee donations to Murray a central theme in his campaign. (source: Cape Cod Times, 5/24/2004) Duncan's opposition to political action committees is surprising, particularly in light of the fact that records indicate that in 2002 Duncan was employed by No on 2, a political action committee. (source: OCPF)
Which may explain why Timothy Duncan's name is an anagram for "Contain My Thud."
What is it with Willard Mitt and prospective state Senators for the Cape? None of Romney's candidates appear to be from the Cape. The Fraud Governor has thrown his support to Fidelity Investment wash-out [the-unforgettable-uh-what's-her-name-again?] (R-Nahant) (see RiaF, 3/9/2004) and is now backing Cambridge resident Timothy Duncan who is running against Senator Therese Murray (D-Plymouth).
Duncan, whose name is an anagram for "Thy Nomadic Nut," has admitted to being a Cambridge resident. He has applied for and says he's eligible for a tax break for his house in Cambridge, "a break available only to those who claim their dwelling as their primary residence." (source: Cape Cod Times, 5/24/2004)
Sound familiar? (And did Willard Mitt ever pay back that $54,587.26?)
Oddly, on two separate occasions in tax year 2003, Duncan listed a Falmouth address as his primary residency, once in October and once in December. (source: OCPF) However, his claimed Falmouth home is said to not have a valid occupancy permit. And if Duncan has been living in the structure, he would be subject to a $1,000 a day fine for violating state building codes. (source: Cape Cod Time, 5/24/2004)
So is Duncan a Falmouth resident or does he actually qualify for a Cambridge tax break? Only the IRS auditors know for sure.
Duncan, whose name is an anagram for "Tinny Cad Mouth," has stated that he will make political action committee donations to Murray a central theme in his campaign. (source: Cape Cod Times, 5/24/2004) Duncan's opposition to political action committees is surprising, particularly in light of the fact that records indicate that in 2002 Duncan was employed by No on 2, a political action committee. (source: OCPF)
Which may explain why Timothy Duncan's name is an anagram for "Contain My Thud."
Monday, May 24, 2004
Crystal Bawl
When Willard Mitt first dropped the line, it seemed like a petty throw-away: 'the Democrats will be to blame for the traffic mess created by the Convention.' (source: Boston Globe, 3/17/2004)
However, now that the details about the forthcoming security measures that the Republican controlled Secret Service, the State Police, and the Boston Police are draping around the city, Romney's prediction seems less prescient than predetermined.
It seems the Fraud Governor was speaking from inside information.
Could this be part of a coordinated plan to try to make Massachusetts a 'red state?'
Riddle us this: the Republican controlled Secret Service is closing 40 miles of roads in and around Boston and a subway stop that is located near the Fleet Center to protect a guy who is running for President, but when the actual President goes to New York for the Republican Convention, the Secret Service won't shutter any streets or close the subway stop that sits directly under the Convention Hall? (source: Boston Globe, 5/23/2004)
Since when did the Secret Service become an arm of the Republican National Committee? Or were they rolled into the Department of (Job) Conservation and Recreation when the MDC was "abolished?"
When Willard Mitt first dropped the line, it seemed like a petty throw-away: 'the Democrats will be to blame for the traffic mess created by the Convention.' (source: Boston Globe, 3/17/2004)
However, now that the details about the forthcoming security measures that the Republican controlled Secret Service, the State Police, and the Boston Police are draping around the city, Romney's prediction seems less prescient than predetermined.
It seems the Fraud Governor was speaking from inside information.
Could this be part of a coordinated plan to try to make Massachusetts a 'red state?'
Riddle us this: the Republican controlled Secret Service is closing 40 miles of roads in and around Boston and a subway stop that is located near the Fleet Center to protect a guy who is running for President, but when the actual President goes to New York for the Republican Convention, the Secret Service won't shutter any streets or close the subway stop that sits directly under the Convention Hall? (source: Boston Globe, 5/23/2004)
Since when did the Secret Service become an arm of the Republican National Committee? Or were they rolled into the Department of (Job) Conservation and Recreation when the MDC was "abolished?"
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Security Exchange
One short year ago yesterday, ace political/business star reporter Cosmo Macero broke a story about how Team Reform was moving the state Department of Public Health's Radiation Control Program out of its secure Portland Street facility to the Grove Hall section of Dorchester to share building space with the state's Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). (source: Boston Herald, 5/19/2003)
As the Rad Program records and stores the location of radioactive material in Massachusetts the unsecured Grove Hall location was criticized by public health advocates and anti-terror experts. After all, the best way to dampen fears of a "dirty bomb" is to make sure that confidential information regarding radioactive material in the Commonwealth stays confidential.
Thankfully, these security concerns were addressed by a departmental spokesdupe who averred that the Fraud Governor's administration would take take adequate security precautions and that 'plans call for a state trooper to be posted in the lobby.'
Groovy.
So how're them thar security precautions coming along, pardner?
Well, according to someone who knows who told someone who doesn't but told someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows something, there's trouble a-brewin' at your Radiation Control Program, and no one is a-doin' anything about it.
Seems the move to Grove Hall was made with such haste that no one checked to see if the floors could support the Program's voluminous files.
After the Program moved in, it was discovered that the floors, in fact, could not support the files. To avoid over-stressing the stressed out floor, the files are now said to be scattered throughout the building. And largely unsecured.
Further, as many DTA staff do not have keys, the building doors are often propped open with rocks. (Yes, you read "rocks.")
And DTA staff complain when the rocks are moved, causing them to either get locked out, or forced to stay inside.
(Sound like smoking-ban victims to us.)
Worse, the evening cleaning crews often prop open the doors (when there is less street traffic to discourage the honest perps.)
So much for that state trooper being assigned to the lobby.
Maybe s/he's scouring the land for out-of-state wedding applications.
Or guarding Team Reform's plasma television.
One short year ago yesterday, ace political/business star reporter Cosmo Macero broke a story about how Team Reform was moving the state Department of Public Health's Radiation Control Program out of its secure Portland Street facility to the Grove Hall section of Dorchester to share building space with the state's Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). (source: Boston Herald, 5/19/2003)
As the Rad Program records and stores the location of radioactive material in Massachusetts the unsecured Grove Hall location was criticized by public health advocates and anti-terror experts. After all, the best way to dampen fears of a "dirty bomb" is to make sure that confidential information regarding radioactive material in the Commonwealth stays confidential.
Thankfully, these security concerns were addressed by a departmental spokesdupe who averred that the Fraud Governor's administration would take take adequate security precautions and that 'plans call for a state trooper to be posted in the lobby.'
Groovy.
So how're them thar security precautions coming along, pardner?
Well, according to someone who knows who told someone who doesn't but told someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows something, there's trouble a-brewin' at your Radiation Control Program, and no one is a-doin' anything about it.
Seems the move to Grove Hall was made with such haste that no one checked to see if the floors could support the Program's voluminous files.
After the Program moved in, it was discovered that the floors, in fact, could not support the files. To avoid over-stressing the stressed out floor, the files are now said to be scattered throughout the building. And largely unsecured.
Further, as many DTA staff do not have keys, the building doors are often propped open with rocks. (Yes, you read "rocks.")
And DTA staff complain when the rocks are moved, causing them to either get locked out, or forced to stay inside.
(Sound like smoking-ban victims to us.)
Worse, the evening cleaning crews often prop open the doors (when there is less street traffic to discourage the honest perps.)
So much for that state trooper being assigned to the lobby.
Maybe s/he's scouring the land for out-of-state wedding applications.
Or guarding Team Reform's plasma television.
Monday, May 17, 2004
Romney is Toast
If you are Mr. and Mr. Smith or Ms. and Ms. Jones and today, tomorrow, next week or next year are about to tie the knot toward pre-divorce bliss, don't forget to raise your glass to Willard Mitt, the Fraud Governor of the Commonwealth. For despite his mewlings to the contrary, Romney paved the way for gay marriage in the Commonwealth.
Had he been able to work with the Legislature, gay marriage would still be an editorial fancy. But Romney was more interested in scoring political points.
So gay marriage was ushered in on his watch.
As Margery Eagan wrote in the (4/1/2004) Boston Herald,
"(Willard) Mitt Romney was rising rapidly toward national glory. A Cabinet post, perhaps? A veep slot? A run for the White Hosue itself in 2008 or 2012?
"Today? Today he's. . . Governor Gay. Or The Gay Gov. He's Mr. Rainbow Romney.
"Whatever you call it, he's chief executive of the looney bin whose new gay-marketing mottos include: "If you lived here you'd be married now."
"And, "Coupling in the Commonwealth." And, "Massachusetts: Your Homo Away from Homo."
"And Deb and Sue and Don and Sam - for the first time in American history - will exchange "I do's." On Mitt's watch.
""It's delicious. What an irony," says Sue Hyde of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "(H)ow can he possibly present himself as a family values candidate if he's the one who let the queers get married?"
"Let's do some word association here.
"Attorney General Tom Reilly: Law and order.
"(Willard) Mitt Romney: Two guys in leather chaps kissing in Provincetown."
So raise one for the Fraud Governor. Because at the end of the day, if you are gay and Massachusetts married, you couldn't have done it without Willard Mitt, the Gay Blade of Beacon Hill.
If you are Mr. and Mr. Smith or Ms. and Ms. Jones and today, tomorrow, next week or next year are about to tie the knot toward pre-divorce bliss, don't forget to raise your glass to Willard Mitt, the Fraud Governor of the Commonwealth. For despite his mewlings to the contrary, Romney paved the way for gay marriage in the Commonwealth.
Had he been able to work with the Legislature, gay marriage would still be an editorial fancy. But Romney was more interested in scoring political points.
So gay marriage was ushered in on his watch.
As Margery Eagan wrote in the (4/1/2004) Boston Herald,
"(Willard) Mitt Romney was rising rapidly toward national glory. A Cabinet post, perhaps? A veep slot? A run for the White Hosue itself in 2008 or 2012?
"Today? Today he's. . . Governor Gay. Or The Gay Gov. He's Mr. Rainbow Romney.
"Whatever you call it, he's chief executive of the looney bin whose new gay-marketing mottos include: "If you lived here you'd be married now."
"And, "Coupling in the Commonwealth." And, "Massachusetts: Your Homo Away from Homo."
"And Deb and Sue and Don and Sam - for the first time in American history - will exchange "I do's." On Mitt's watch.
""It's delicious. What an irony," says Sue Hyde of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "(H)ow can he possibly present himself as a family values candidate if he's the one who let the queers get married?"
"Let's do some word association here.
"Attorney General Tom Reilly: Law and order.
"(Willard) Mitt Romney: Two guys in leather chaps kissing in Provincetown."
So raise one for the Fraud Governor. Because at the end of the day, if you are gay and Massachusetts married, you couldn't have done it without Willard Mitt, the Gay Blade of Beacon Hill.
Thursday, May 13, 2004
BOA Constricts Romney Jobs Boast
When word slithered out that Bank of America (BOA) was taking over FleetBoston Financial Corp, Willard Mitt strutted arounding claiming "I'll be spending some time with them to make sure that we have a clear understanding - we preserve jobs in Boston and Massachusetts. It's all about jobs." (source: Boston Herald, 10/28/2003)
A BOA spokeswoman recently confirmed that the merger would result in upwards of 12,500 layoffs. Meanwhile, two-thirds of Fleet's Boston-based treasury and global capital markets divisions employees have already been cut. (source: Boston Globe, 4/28/2004)
Looks like, as far as Team Reform is concerned, it's less 'all about jobs' than 'all about symbolism.'
As for 'spending some time with them,' Fraudo, next time we suggest you instead send someone who can help.
When word slithered out that Bank of America (BOA) was taking over FleetBoston Financial Corp, Willard Mitt strutted arounding claiming "I'll be spending some time with them to make sure that we have a clear understanding - we preserve jobs in Boston and Massachusetts. It's all about jobs." (source: Boston Herald, 10/28/2003)
A BOA spokeswoman recently confirmed that the merger would result in upwards of 12,500 layoffs. Meanwhile, two-thirds of Fleet's Boston-based treasury and global capital markets divisions employees have already been cut. (source: Boston Globe, 4/28/2004)
Looks like, as far as Team Reform is concerned, it's less 'all about jobs' than 'all about symbolism.'
As for 'spending some time with them,' Fraudo, next time we suggest you instead send someone who can help.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Mail Fraud
Remember how Willard Mitt's National Guard chief admitted to using taxpayer funded computer equipment to send messages that some saw as advocating flag-burning? (source: Boston Herald, 4/30/2004)
And how that personal use of state-controlled e-mail was defended by Willard Mitt's minions who claimed that 'no rules were broken' and that "there is no prohibition against using state e-mail accounts to send personal correspondence"? (source: Boston Globe, 5/1/2004)
Well look what the Rat dragged in.
'Sources say' that not too long ago, Team Reform claimed a DMH employee used their official e-mail to send personal information to other state employees, and was punished with a one-day suspension.
The information that the DMH employee (who happened to be a union steward) sent was not sedious, traitorous, or political in nature. It simply discussed the Fraud Governor's House I submission, and how the budget could impact DMH.
In short, it was a policy message.
Yet, despite the fact that "there is no prohibition against using state e-mail accounts to send personal correspondence," the DMH employee was subjected to a suspension.
Too bad the DMH employee's message did not include any suggested assaults on the US flag. Rather than a suspension, the Fraud Governor probably would have handed out a promotion and a raise.
Remember how Willard Mitt's National Guard chief admitted to using taxpayer funded computer equipment to send messages that some saw as advocating flag-burning? (source: Boston Herald, 4/30/2004)
And how that personal use of state-controlled e-mail was defended by Willard Mitt's minions who claimed that 'no rules were broken' and that "there is no prohibition against using state e-mail accounts to send personal correspondence"? (source: Boston Globe, 5/1/2004)
Well look what the Rat dragged in.
'Sources say' that not too long ago, Team Reform claimed a DMH employee used their official e-mail to send personal information to other state employees, and was punished with a one-day suspension.
The information that the DMH employee (who happened to be a union steward) sent was not sedious, traitorous, or political in nature. It simply discussed the Fraud Governor's House I submission, and how the budget could impact DMH.
In short, it was a policy message.
Yet, despite the fact that "there is no prohibition against using state e-mail accounts to send personal correspondence," the DMH employee was subjected to a suspension.
Too bad the DMH employee's message did not include any suggested assaults on the US flag. Rather than a suspension, the Fraud Governor probably would have handed out a promotion and a raise.
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Veiled Question
Willard Mitt flipped.
Until recently, the Fraud Governor had insisted that, in order to protect other states laws, he would insist that Massachusetts municipal clerks verify that gay marriage applicants prove in-state residency or be unable to obtain a Massachusetts marriage license. (source: Worcester T&G, 4/30/2004)
This, despite the fact that according to one prominent legal director, "non-gay people have been coming to Massachusetts for many years and marrying freely, even in the rare instances when their marriages would not be allowed in their home state." (source: Worcester T&G, 4/30/2004)
But Romney flipped. According to his legal counsel, while clerks are entitled to ask for proof of residency (as long as they require it of all couples, gay and straight) out-of-state couples who want to marry in Massachusetts will not have to show documents proving that they live here or plan to move here. (source: Boston Globe, 5/5/2004)
Oddly, Romney flipped days after his youngest son, who lived in Utah, was married in Massachusetts – to a woman who lived in Arizona! (source: Boston Herald, 5/1/2004)
Now we hate to stir up trouble, but we have to ask: is it legal for a former resident of Utah to marry a former resident of Arizona? And will the Romney's be living in Massachusetts, Utah, or Arizona?
Hmmm. The newest Romney’s were married in Belmont. Which means they most likely applied for their marriage from Belmont Town Hall. (And maybe used the same clerk who verified that Willard Mitt had maintained a valid voting registration during his hiatus from Massachusetts! (source: Cape Cod Time, 2/28/2002))
We hope the Belmont clerk checked the legality of marriage in the newly-wed's prospective home states. Because, as Romney’s counsel said, "the consequences of failure to abide by the law are just so great." (source: Boston Globe, 5/5/2004)
Willard Mitt flipped.
Until recently, the Fraud Governor had insisted that, in order to protect other states laws, he would insist that Massachusetts municipal clerks verify that gay marriage applicants prove in-state residency or be unable to obtain a Massachusetts marriage license. (source: Worcester T&G, 4/30/2004)
This, despite the fact that according to one prominent legal director, "non-gay people have been coming to Massachusetts for many years and marrying freely, even in the rare instances when their marriages would not be allowed in their home state." (source: Worcester T&G, 4/30/2004)
But Romney flipped. According to his legal counsel, while clerks are entitled to ask for proof of residency (as long as they require it of all couples, gay and straight) out-of-state couples who want to marry in Massachusetts will not have to show documents proving that they live here or plan to move here. (source: Boston Globe, 5/5/2004)
Oddly, Romney flipped days after his youngest son, who lived in Utah, was married in Massachusetts – to a woman who lived in Arizona! (source: Boston Herald, 5/1/2004)
Now we hate to stir up trouble, but we have to ask: is it legal for a former resident of Utah to marry a former resident of Arizona? And will the Romney's be living in Massachusetts, Utah, or Arizona?
Hmmm. The newest Romney’s were married in Belmont. Which means they most likely applied for their marriage from Belmont Town Hall. (And maybe used the same clerk who verified that Willard Mitt had maintained a valid voting registration during his hiatus from Massachusetts! (source: Cape Cod Time, 2/28/2002))
We hope the Belmont clerk checked the legality of marriage in the newly-wed's prospective home states. Because, as Romney’s counsel said, "the consequences of failure to abide by the law are just so great." (source: Boston Globe, 5/5/2004)
Monday, May 03, 2004
Romney Backs Banner Burner
Willard Mitt's head of the state National Guard, Major General George W. Keefe, last week apparently used taxpayer funded computer equipment to advocate flag-burning. (source: Boston Herald, 4/30/2004)
Keefe allegedly sent an e-mail to other state government e-mail addresses, suggesting that the Democratic National Convention implement an "opening flag burning ceremony." Keefe's suggestion was immediately reputiated by Democratic leaders.
Strangely, Keefe's recomendation was defended by Team Reform. An aide to Romney's $150,000-a-year loathsome spokesman claimed that Keefe 'broke no rules' in sending the seemingly seditious suggestion during work hours. She further stated that 'there is no prohibition against using state e-mail accounts to send personal correspondence.' (source: Boston Globe, 5/1/2004)
Really? According to the Commonwealth's Information Technology Division "users should consider e-mail messages to be the equivalent of letters sent on official letterhead." (source: ITD Acceptable Use Policy)
And we trust that the Fraud Governor would not sanction state employees using letterhead for personal purposes.
Further, ITD states that unless such use is reasonably related to a user's job, it is unacceptable for any person to use agency computers or e-mail "in furtherance of any illegal act, including violation of any criminal or civil laws or regulations, whether state or federal."
As such, by seemingly advocating a flag burning ceremony, Keefe appears to have violated section five of chapter 264 of the Massachusetts General Laws, which states that "whoever publicly burns or otherwise mutilates, tramples upon, defaces or treats contemptuously the flag of the United States ... shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both." (source: MGL)
Which begs the answers: what would Keefe have to do break Team Reform's rules? And if Willard Mitt thinks advocating flag burning is appropriate for state letterhead, what would he declare inappropriate?
Aside from instituting civil rights protections, that is.
Willard Mitt's head of the state National Guard, Major General George W. Keefe, last week apparently used taxpayer funded computer equipment to advocate flag-burning. (source: Boston Herald, 4/30/2004)
Keefe allegedly sent an e-mail to other state government e-mail addresses, suggesting that the Democratic National Convention implement an "opening flag burning ceremony." Keefe's suggestion was immediately reputiated by Democratic leaders.
Strangely, Keefe's recomendation was defended by Team Reform. An aide to Romney's $150,000-a-year loathsome spokesman claimed that Keefe 'broke no rules' in sending the seemingly seditious suggestion during work hours. She further stated that 'there is no prohibition against using state e-mail accounts to send personal correspondence.' (source: Boston Globe, 5/1/2004)
Really? According to the Commonwealth's Information Technology Division "users should consider e-mail messages to be the equivalent of letters sent on official letterhead." (source: ITD Acceptable Use Policy)
And we trust that the Fraud Governor would not sanction state employees using letterhead for personal purposes.
Further, ITD states that unless such use is reasonably related to a user's job, it is unacceptable for any person to use agency computers or e-mail "in furtherance of any illegal act, including violation of any criminal or civil laws or regulations, whether state or federal."
As such, by seemingly advocating a flag burning ceremony, Keefe appears to have violated section five of chapter 264 of the Massachusetts General Laws, which states that "whoever publicly burns or otherwise mutilates, tramples upon, defaces or treats contemptuously the flag of the United States ... shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both." (source: MGL)
Which begs the answers: what would Keefe have to do break Team Reform's rules? And if Willard Mitt thinks advocating flag burning is appropriate for state letterhead, what would he declare inappropriate?
Aside from instituting civil rights protections, that is.
