Thursday, March 10, 2005
Manchester by The C
Willard Mitt, who promised not to reward political supporters, supplicants, hangers-on or ne'er-do-wells (correction, Romney never promised to not reward ne'er do-wells) recently appointed Christopher Collins of Collins Nickas & Company to the MassDevelopment Board of Directors. (source: office of (fraud) gov, "Romney taps Sec Kimball to chair MassDevelopment," 3/4/2005)
Christopher Collins' qualifications include family gifts of $10,000 to the Republican State Committee and $5,000 to Romney's Commonwealth PAC. (source: OCPF, campaignmoney.com)
As an added bonus, since 2002 employees of Collins Nickas have gifted over $20,000 to Romney, the Republican State Committee, or Lightweight LG Sherry Kerry Healey. (source: OCPF)
Collins Nickas, "a nationally recognized developer that specializes in the acquisition, rehabilitation and preservation of existing affordable housing properties," is not expected to benefit from Collins appointment, because that would be unethical. And everyone knows that Team Reform has the highest ethical standards around.
What Are Best Friends For?
What's up with Willard Mitt and the William Bennett family?
Not too long ago we wrote how Romney cribbed from Bennett during his State of the State speech. (source: RiaF, 1/14/2005)
Well, this week the Massachusetts House overturned a Romney veto of legislation that dealt with federal abstinence-only funds. (source: Associated Press, 3/9/2005)
The original language would have allowed the Department of Public Health to use monies either in classroom education or outreach campaigns, like television or subway ads. Romney, however, rejected the outreach angle, and added his own language restricting the roughly $800,000 dollars to only classroom sex education. (source: virtually stolen from said Associated Press. We changed a comma to make the paragraph our own)
And we care about this why?
William Bennett's wife, Elayne, started something called the "Best Friends Foundation" which provides school-based curriculum for middle- and high-school students which push abstinence from sex until marriage. (source: Bestfriendsfoundation.com)
Repeat: school-based curriculum.
If Romney's veto had survived, Elayne Bennett's Best Friends Foundation may have received additional funding for school-based abstinence programs.
Oh yeah, we almost forgot. Willard Mitt's wife, Ann Romney, has worked with the Best Friends program. (source: Worcester T&G, 10/22/2002)
So, had Romney's veto survived, would the Best Friends Foundation have received any benefit? And would any of that benefit have accrued to Ann Romney?
And did Willard Mitt sign a statement of disclosure outlining this possible conflict of interest when he vetoed the abstinence legislation?
Why do we ask? Just curious.
Stage Fright
Speaking of Ann Romney, does anyone else find it ironic that she has been chosen by the Central New England Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to headline this year's MS Lobby Day on Beacon Hill?
The Society annually holds a lobby day to "put a face to multiple sclerosis and a voice to issues that affect" members interested in advocating for changes to public policy. (source: nmsm.org) And this year their 'energize the troops' speaker is the Fraud Governor's spouse.
Okay, don't take this the wrong way, but Central NE Chapter of the MS Society, WHAT ARE YOU, STUPID?
Willard Mitt has apparently decided to try to quash stem cell research and to use Ann Romney as a martyr for his presidential ambitions. (source: RiaF, 2/17/2005)
And this is the person you want to rally your membership before they go lobby for public policy change? Or has the MS Society decided to lobby against stem cell research and for Romney's presidential ambitions?
Maybe Ann Romney will be speaking on the joys of abstinence from medical advances in pursuit of higher values.
Or maybe she just to see how it feels to be a cattle rancher at a vegetarian convention.
Willard Mitt, who promised not to reward political supporters, supplicants, hangers-on or ne'er-do-wells (correction, Romney never promised to not reward ne'er do-wells) recently appointed Christopher Collins of Collins Nickas & Company to the MassDevelopment Board of Directors. (source: office of (fraud) gov, "Romney taps Sec Kimball to chair MassDevelopment," 3/4/2005)
Christopher Collins' qualifications include family gifts of $10,000 to the Republican State Committee and $5,000 to Romney's Commonwealth PAC. (source: OCPF, campaignmoney.com)
As an added bonus, since 2002 employees of Collins Nickas have gifted over $20,000 to Romney, the Republican State Committee, or Lightweight LG Sherry Kerry Healey. (source: OCPF)
Collins Nickas, "a nationally recognized developer that specializes in the acquisition, rehabilitation and preservation of existing affordable housing properties," is not expected to benefit from Collins appointment, because that would be unethical. And everyone knows that Team Reform has the highest ethical standards around.
What Are Best Friends For?
What's up with Willard Mitt and the William Bennett family?
Not too long ago we wrote how Romney cribbed from Bennett during his State of the State speech. (source: RiaF, 1/14/2005)
Well, this week the Massachusetts House overturned a Romney veto of legislation that dealt with federal abstinence-only funds. (source: Associated Press, 3/9/2005)
The original language would have allowed the Department of Public Health to use monies either in classroom education or outreach campaigns, like television or subway ads. Romney, however, rejected the outreach angle, and added his own language restricting the roughly $800,000 dollars to only classroom sex education. (source: virtually stolen from said Associated Press. We changed a comma to make the paragraph our own)
And we care about this why?
William Bennett's wife, Elayne, started something called the "Best Friends Foundation" which provides school-based curriculum for middle- and high-school students which push abstinence from sex until marriage. (source: Bestfriendsfoundation.com)
Repeat: school-based curriculum.
If Romney's veto had survived, Elayne Bennett's Best Friends Foundation may have received additional funding for school-based abstinence programs.
Oh yeah, we almost forgot. Willard Mitt's wife, Ann Romney, has worked with the Best Friends program. (source: Worcester T&G, 10/22/2002)
So, had Romney's veto survived, would the Best Friends Foundation have received any benefit? And would any of that benefit have accrued to Ann Romney?
And did Willard Mitt sign a statement of disclosure outlining this possible conflict of interest when he vetoed the abstinence legislation?
Why do we ask? Just curious.
Stage Fright
Speaking of Ann Romney, does anyone else find it ironic that she has been chosen by the Central New England Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to headline this year's MS Lobby Day on Beacon Hill?
The Society annually holds a lobby day to "put a face to multiple sclerosis and a voice to issues that affect" members interested in advocating for changes to public policy. (source: nmsm.org) And this year their 'energize the troops' speaker is the Fraud Governor's spouse.
Okay, don't take this the wrong way, but Central NE Chapter of the MS Society, WHAT ARE YOU, STUPID?
Willard Mitt has apparently decided to try to quash stem cell research and to use Ann Romney as a martyr for his presidential ambitions. (source: RiaF, 2/17/2005)
And this is the person you want to rally your membership before they go lobby for public policy change? Or has the MS Society decided to lobby against stem cell research and for Romney's presidential ambitions?
Maybe Ann Romney will be speaking on the joys of abstinence from medical advances in pursuit of higher values.
Or maybe she just to see how it feels to be a cattle rancher at a vegetarian convention.
