Gov. Deval Patrick - Obama's BFF and "Mini Me" - A pair of Failed POLS

Benghazi will be remembered as when good men died due to an ineffective and failed President who lied his way into the highest office in the land.  People who voted for him who were more interested in electing the "cool" factor than a good leader.  Ugh.

What could be possibly worse than more of Obama, a feckless politician who has been proven to be a liar, fraud and failed charlatan??

How about his BEST FRIEND FOREVER ( BFF ) Governor Deval Patrick - another failed lefty looney liberal moonbat who has proven to be, as my Dad would say, as
" shallow as piss on a flat rock ".  He has made Massachusetts a laughing stock as we are recognized as having one of the more corrupt state governments in the land.  An Afghan writer said that MASSACHUSETTS politics was more corrupt than KABUL and he made some pretty good points.

Giving licenses to illegal immigrants ?  More EBT cards with cash benefits that can be spent at casinos, cruise ships and tattoo parlors?  More patronage jobs and lifetime EVERYTHING for lazy state workers who don't even know what the meaning of real work is???  A public transit system ( MBTA ) that is a sinkhole for $$$ ???? 

IF you like all these things, than DEVAL is your man -

A empty suit cut from the same unethical and morally bankrupt cloth as his buddy Obama.

What a pair of clowns and worse yet are those who voted for these two putzes.

Howie Carr gives us a write up that needs to be remembered as Deval wants to follow his best buddy's path to national politics - Heavens protect us, please.

We need more of these two failed fools like we all need kick in the b*lls.

Gusts of hot air forecast for gov

By Howie Carr
Sunday, October 28, 2012 -  Boston Herald

Boston Herald Columnist

Thanks to Sandy, we’ll be seeing a lot of Gov. Deval Patrick over the next few days, live from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency bunker in Framingham, all 67 inches of him.

He’ll be wearing that boss leather jacket, talking tough to the utilities like he did the other day. Some reporter asked him if the utilities will be ready for Frankenstorm, and he replied in that squeaky little voice of his, “They’d better be.”

Ooooooh, I’ll bet they were petrified. If they don’t keep the lights on next week, the utilities can count on a scorching ... invitation to his next fundraiser.

 

Deval’s governorship is winding down, like T.S. Eliot’s world, not with a bang but a whimper. Deval’s favorite Roman emperor? Nero, because he, too, fiddled while Rome burned.

Beyond this pending temporary return to the limelight, Deval has become Dukakis Redux. His governorship consists of little more than rounding up the usual suspects. Almost daily he is shocked to learn that there is gambling going on in the casino.

His cops raid the compounding pharmacy in Framingham ... after 23 people are dead. He sets up a “war room” to deal with the Annie Dookhan scandal at the forensic laboratory — surrender room would be more like it, as they cut loose drug dealer after drug dealer. And Deval claims it’s only going to cost the state $50 million?

What happens when the freed drug dealers start shooting civilians, or providing them with hot shots? How about all those second-generation lawsuits? Then there’s his new MBTA boss, who fled Atlanta leaving Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority in shambles, with out-of-control absenteeism and pension costs and an unsustainable economic model. Sound familiar?

“She is exactly what we need,” Deval said with a straight face.

Deval has long served as Mini-Me to Obama’s Dr. Evil. So how come he’s not a campaign surrogate anymore? During the last presidential debate in Boca, Deval spent the evening in Ashland, trying to save a moonbat rep who votes with the speaker 99.4 percent of the time. (His one vote against the speaker was to oppose any EBT reform — no wonder Deval loves the guy.)

Now Sandy’s rolling north, just in time for the first anniversary of the freak Halloween storm. We all remember what happened back then — Lt. Gov. Tim Murray achieved liftoff at 108 mph in his state-issued Crown Vic. And Deval is still stonewalling on release of embattled Murray’s cellphone records.

And next year, will Murray be a witness at any possible trials of his dear friend, Mike McLaughlin, the $360,000-a-year Chelsea Housing Authority director?

Deval can forget the U.S. Supreme Court. That sketchy background of his will kill him. Remember Ameriquest? He can likewise forget about anything that requires Senate confirmation. As Bill Weld found out, it only takes one senator to deep-six your nomination.

And anyway, does Deval want any of that stuff? Ambassadorships are for the likes of Ray Flynn and Brian Donnelly. Secretary of, say, transportation? That’s for the Andy Cards of the world.

Pre-governorship, Deval had a pretty good racket going. He learned it from his mentor, Jesse Jackson. King had a dream, Jesse had a scheme. Jesse called his Operation Push. Deval’s was Operation Grab.

Deval would go to some corporation that needed some racial cover — “steam control,” as Tom Wolfe put it. After a few months, Deval would get all huffy and then walk away with a few million and a non-disclosure agreement. Wash, rinse, repeat. It worked with Coke, it worked with Texaco, but by 2005 Deval had worn out the grift.

What’s next? One thing we know it won’t be — another $1.35 million advance for a “book” that sells 6,000 copies.

Talk about a Trainwreck - Massachusetts Commuter Rail hands out big $$$ to Unions and sticks it to the riders....what a way to run a railroad!!

Two News stories.....another case of unbelievable stupidity and incompetence costing the middle class extra while rewarding those who can't get the job done.......you be the judge.

1st has been the all winter long saga of the local commuter rail service in Massachusetts - Bad service, late trains, broken down trains and poor performance all around.

Mass. GOP senators call for commuter rail hearings
By Associated Press
Monday, March 7, 2011 - Added 2 weeks ago

BOSTON - The four Republican members of the Massachusetts Senate are calling for legislative oversight hearings on the spate of recent service interruptions and mechanical failures at the MBTA.

GOP Senate Leader Bruce Tarr said the group is asking the chairs of the Joint Committee on Transportation and the chairman of the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee to hold one or more hearings to figure out the causes of the problems and to come up with some solutions.

The MBTA’s commuter rail trains have been plagued with delays during the winter, including a four-hour ordeal for passengers trying to get from Boston to Worcester last week

The service has been dismal, the trains are old, the cost is high ($250 a month for a monthly pass and $4 a day to park at the T station)

Sooooo....what gets printed on page B11 of the Saturday paper next to the Obituaries in the Boston Globe????

THIS does -

Commuter rail pact includes wage increase
Talks continue with other unions
By L. Finch
Globe Correspondent / March 19, 2011

Unions representing Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co. conductors and locomotive engineers agreed to a new contract Thursday, ending more than two years of negotiations. Labor talks continue, however, between the remaining commuter rail unions and the company, officials said.

The new four-year contracts with the Brotherhood of the Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the United Transportation Union afford a total 13.7 percent wage increase to members including retroactive pay to July 2009, include a $1,000 signing bonus, and cap employee health coverage contributions at $100 per month, according to statements released by the unions yesterday. This marks the first time MBCR employees will contribute to their health insurance costs; the company previously covered 100 percent of health insurance premiums.

The agreement, which runs through July 2013, also raises the layover pay for employees forced to wait for more than an hour between train routes, from half-time to five-eighths time.


ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? No wonder they have needed to charge us higher costs !! They have been footing the full bill for the healthcare all along (at the same time the public pays the full cost for our healthcare) and now that the union members will be asked to pay, they cap it at $100 a month !!! That is $25 a WEEK...who do you know has family healthcare for $25 a week....and they will get 13.7% pay increase and a $1000 signing bonus.....what a racket.

The public gets screwed, the trains are still old, not maintained, broken down and the Union idiots walk away with all of the $$$ and benefits they can haul.....the riders get screwed and the Unions walk away with the benefit. And of course, the Boston Globe buries the story on the back of the paper next to the Obits.

INCOMPETENCE of the highest order by the public sector and those who put these feckless idiots in charge of running the commuter rail which so many have to depend upon. The middle class who need this service to get to work takes another hit and the Politicians turn a blind eye to the gouging of the public....pissa.

Sidewalk Rage......Walking behind speed-challenged strollers - You don't need a car to get road rage.

Like many others, I take public transportation to work....It's not a bad things to ride the train to Boston - The MBTA has been doing OK....not great, but not too bad either.

What is bothersome is " platform hogs " and others that impede your ability to move along in the station and on the subway. Those who have no care that they take up more than a person's width of space as they amble along through the shared space where we have to walk.....

The train is a perfect example.....there is a group of regular riders who line up to be the first ones off the train...this group is made up of several older workers who have difficulty walking.....They HAVE to be first and cause many others to jam up behind them as they walk along at a snail's pace. They don't care that others want to get by - they are more focused on yakking to each other and occupying the entire width of the platform......I guess that makes me one who would be in the "rage" column when I see the thoughtless way they slow others down, some who need to get to the next connection or they will be late.

Well, like many other issues, we are only able to "hope" that people understand that they need to be more mindful of those around them and allow others to pass when they want to go slower....I have seen the same thing on the road when you have a driver in the left lane, going slower than they should.....I think people need to understand, it is not all about them - we need to share the limited space we have.....maybe that is why I have always preferred driving my car...you get personal space, you can listen to your music, control the heat/cooling and even enjoy a fine cigar....

Guess I'll "go with the flow" for now.....until things change.......change happens.


Get Out of My Way, You Jerk! Researchers Study 'Sidewalk Rage,' Seeking Insights on Anger's Origins and Coping Techniques

By SHIRLEY S. WANG.. Wall Street Journal

You don't need a car to get road rage.

For many people, few things are more infuriating than slow walkers—those seemingly inconsiderate people who clog up sidewalks, grocery aisles and airport hallways while others fume behind them.

Researchers say the concept of "sidewalk rage" is real. One scientist has even developed a Pedestrian Aggressiveness Syndrome Scale to map out how people express their fury. At its most extreme, sidewalk rage can signal a psychiatric condition known as "intermittent explosive disorder," researchers say. On Facebook, there's a group called "I Secretly Want to Punch Slow Walking People in the Back of the Head" that boasts nearly 15,000 members.

On sidewalks across America, slow-paced foot shufflers, window gawkers and photo snappers are causing fellow pedestrians to lose their cool. We ask some New Yorkers what pushes their buttons -- at least the ones who stopped long enough to talk to us. WSJ's Shirley Wang reports.

Some researchers are even studying the dynamics that trigger such rage and why some people remain calm in hopes of improving anger-management treatments and gaining insights into how emotions influence decision making, attention and self control.

"We're trying to understand what makes people angry, what that experience is like," says Jerry Deffenbacher, a professor at Colorado State University who studies anger and road rage. "For those for whom anger is a personal problem, we're trying to develop and evaluate ways of helping them."

Signs of a sidewalk rager include muttering or bumping into others; uncaringly hogging a walking lane; and acting in a hostile manner by staring, giving a "mean face" or approaching others too closely, says Leon James, a psychology professor at the University of Hawaii who studies pedestrian and driver aggression.

For the cool-headed, sidewalk rage may seem incomprehensible. After all, it seems simple enough to just go around the slow individual. Why then are some people, even those who greet other obstacles with equanimity, so infuriated by unhurried fellow pedestrians?

How one interprets the situation is key, researchers say. Ragers tend to have a strong sense of how other people should behave. Their code: Slower people keep to the right. Step aside to take a picture. And the left side of an escalator should be, of course, kept free for anyone wanting to walk up.

A University of Hawaii researcher says it manifests itself in these traits

- Having denigrating thoughts about other pedestrians
- Walking by a slower moving pedestrian and cutting back too soon (feels hostile or rude)
- Feeling competitive with other pedestrians
- Acting in a hostile manner (staring, presenting a mean face, moving faster or closer than expected)
- Feeling stress and impatience when walking in a crowded area (crosswalk, staircase, mall, store, airport, street, beach, park, etc.)
- Walking much faster than the rest of the people
- Not yielding when it's the polite thing to do
- Walking on the left of a crowded passageway where most pedestrians walk on the right
- Muttering at other pedestrians
- Bumping into others
- Not apologizing when expected (after bumping by accident or coming very close in attempting to pass)
- Making insulting gestures
- Hogging or blocking the passageway, acting uncaring or unaware
- Expressing pedestrian rage against a driver (like insulting or throwing something)
- Feeling enraged at other pedestrians

."A lot of us have 'shoulds' in our head," says Dr. Deffenbacher. Ragers tend to think people should do things their way, and get angry because the slow walkers are breaking the rules of civility. It's unclear exactly why some people harbor such beliefs, Dr. Deffenbacher says. Such ways of thinking are generally learned from family, friends or the media, he adds.

Ragers' thoughts tend to be overly negative, over-generalized and blown out of proportion, leaving them fuming about how they can't stand the situation, how late they are going to be, and how this always comes up, Dr. Deffenbacher says. In contrast, someone blissfully free of sidewalk rage may still be frustrated, but thinks more accepting thoughts such as, "this is the way life is sometimes" or, "I wish that slow person wasn't in front of me," he says.

Some ragers say that thinking insulting thoughts about other pedestrians serves as "mental venting"—and makes them feel better. Even if it does provide some momentary relief, such thinking rehearses bad behavior and can make anger a more automatic reaction to these situations, says Dr. James.

"When you're emotionally upset, you're impaired," says Dr. James.

He should know. He used to be a very aggressive walker as he vied with swarms of tourists for space on the crowded streets of Honolulu, he says. He would square his shoulders and walk straight ahead, bumping into people and thinking it was his right; he was the one walking properly.

But his wife repeatedly called him an aggressive walker, he says. Finally, she convinced him. Now he tries to walk around people rather than into them, he says. And he says he feels guilty when he does succumb to the urge to barge through.

Psychologists say that the best thing for a rager to do is to calm down. Anger, after all, is associated with a host of negative health consequences, including heart problems and high blood pressure.

But calming down isn't always easy. Those at the extreme end of the rage continuum, sidewalk or otherwise, may have intermittent explosive disorder, a condition characterized by an inability to inhibit aggressive impulses that lead to assault or destruction of property, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, psychiatry's bible of diagnoses.

If friends or family comment on your anger, or you think you need to tell someone how to walk—however politely—you may have a problem, says Dr. James, who devised the Pedestrian Aggressiveness Syndrome Scale. It outlines 15 bad pedestrian behaviors featured in Dr. James's research based on questionnaires and interviews. Although the scale hasn't been statistically verified, he says anyone who engages in one of these behaviors regularly may give in to the others as well.

Many anger-management treatments haven't been studied thoroughly enough to show whether they work. One type shown to be effective, cognitive-behavioral therapy, seeks to alter thoughts and actions by coming up with alternative ways to view a situation.

For instance, instead of thinking about how much of an idiot the pedestrian is and how he shouldn't be allowed on the sidewalk, imagine the person is lost or confused, or simply doesn't see you, says Eric Dahlen, a psychology professor at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg who researches anger, aggression and traffic psychology.

Developing strategies to quell the rage may be wise: Sidewalks aren't getting any less crowded, and pedestrian speeds, research shows, are slipping as the population ages.

In addition, most people on a sidewalk are in groups, and they tend to walk side-by-side or in an outward-opening V-shape, impeding the flow of foot traffic, according to an article published recently in PLoS One, a Public Library of Science journal.

People slow down when distracted by other activities, too. A 2006 study by the City of New York and the NYC Department of City Planning showed smokers walk 2.3% slower than the average walker's 4.27 feet per second. Tourists creep along at an 11% more-leisurely rate than the average walker, while cellphone talkers walk 1.6% slower, according to the study. Headphone wearers, by contrast, clipped along at a 9% faster rate than average.

A series of studies by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign using a virtual-reality simulator found that walkers consistently slow down when they talk on their phones, and that kids and older adults are more likely to get hit by cars while on the phone compared with those who weren't on the phone.

So, how best to navigate around speed-challenged strollers?

Most people tend to look down as they walk. That's a mistake, says Mehdi Moussaid, a cognitive scientist at the University of Toulouse who models walkers' behavior on public sidewalks and was an author of the PLoS One study. Some of his advice: Look up and take a wide-angle view to catch openings and slip through.

The average speed of walkers in Lower Manhattan is 4.27 feet per second. Other speeds:

1. Tourists walk 3.79 feet per second; 2. Smokers: 4.17 feet per second; 3. Cellphone users: 4.20 feet per second; 4. Headphone listeners: 4.64 feet per second; 5. Large pedestrians: 3.74 feet per second; 6. Men: 4.42 feet per second; 7. Women: 4.10 feet per second; 8. People with bags: 4.27 feet per second;


—Sarah Nassauer contributed to this article