Category: Massachusetts

Resisting on International Women’s Day

by philg

Nostalgia for our old neighborhood, a lawn sign in front of a successful divorce plaintiff’s $1.8 million (Zillow estimate) house:

One good thing about Massachusetts family law is that it relieves quite a few people who identify as “women” from the need ever to work at a W-2 job again and thus these folks can resist on a full-time basis.

Readers: What are you doing to celebrate International Women’s Day? If you’re looking for suggestions, how about a Melinda Gates video watch marathon?

Speaking of Melinda Gates, a former Microsoft employee, “52% of women believe their gender is limiting their careers in the tech industry” (Atlas VPN):

Today we can celebrate many great women who have helped shape the world of technology as we know it. From Katherine Johnson, a mathematician whose pioneering work at NASA was instrumental in the success of sending astronauts into orbit, to Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Girls Who Code, which aims to increase the number of women in computer science — these and many other talented women continue to pave the way for others in tech.

Nevertheless, women are still largely underrepresented in the tech industry and face many obstacles when pursuing a career in the field. According to data presented by Atlas VPN, 52% of women believe their gender is limiting their career in tech, and one-fifth of women are thinking about leaving their current position.

Despite increasing discussions about gender diversity in the technology industry, men still hold the vast majority of positions in tech, even in top companies.

If “top companies” are measured by stock market valuation, see Six-year anniversary of the SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF.

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Limiting political protests in the Cradle of Liberty (TM)

by philg

“Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Proposes Limits On Protests At Private Homes” (CBS):

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who has been targeted in early mornings by people outside her home protesting her city employee coronavirus vaccine mandate, filed an ordinance Monday that would limit when protesters can picket.

“Boston has a strong legacy of activism, and it’s important to uphold and protect the ability to speak out and advocate fiercely to keep our democracy strong,” Wu said in a statement. “But in a moment of divided national politics, we can’t normalize the harassment and hate spilling over into our communities.”

Protests will be allowed when national politics are unified, i.e., when every American agrees with the ruling party. Also, oftentimes the best way to uphold and protect the ability to speak out is by arresting and fining those who speak out.

An attorney friend in Maskachusetts:

She had no qualms about supporting protesters outside Gov. Baker’s house, when it was for some climate change cause. No problem with shutting down I-93, proudly showing pictures of herself doing it on social media, when it was for a cause [Black Lives Matter] she supported. But now, when protesters are outside her house, she wants an ordinance making it illegal.

Isn’t it interesting that these “leaders” all seem to find their inner censor when protests are against their pet causes and pet decisions? (Looking at you, Justin Trudeau).

It is possible that the above quote contains a misstatement. What I was able to find was an employee of Michelle Wu proudly posting about shutting down Interstate 93:

Related:

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Maskachusetts trying to ferret out the young people using essential and healing marijuana

by philg

Recent email from a school in the Land of Closed Schools and Open Marijuana Shops…. (not in quote style for superior readability)

Massachusetts law mandates school districts to screen students for possible substance use. To address this mandate we will be conducting a screening program to take place for all 7th grade students attending the Lincoln Public Schools (for more information about the law, please visit http://www.masbirt.org/schools). The screening will take place during the day on March 15, 2022 at the Hanscom Middle School and the Lincoln 5-8 School. The goal of this program is to let students know that we are available to support healthy decisions and to assist them in obtaining support if needed for substance use related problems.

In order to help prevent students from starting to use substances, or to intervene with early use, the Lincoln Public School nurses and the middle school counselors will be providing an interview-based screening for all 7th grade students regarding the use of alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. This screening utilizes the most commonly used substance use screening tool for adolescents in Massachusetts, the CRAFFT II. Student screening sessions will be brief (approximately 5 minutes). These screenings are conducted confidentially and in private, one-on-one sessions conducted by our school nurses and social workers.

Students who are not using substances will have their healthy choices reinforced by the screener. The screener will provide brief feedback to any student who reports using substances, or is at risk for future substance use. If needed, we will refer students to our counselors for further evaluation. Results of the screening will not be included in your child’s school record, nor will results be shared with any staff other than the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Team. The SBIRT Team is composed of the school nurse and middle school counselors. All students will receive some educational material and a resource list at the time of the screening.

The governor says that marijuana is “essential” and people in Maskachusetts generally agree that marijuana can heal most medical problems (which is why, even before there was a profitable legal recreational marijuana industry, there was a thriving “medical marijuana” industry). Yet a separate collection of state bureaucrats wants to tell 12- and 13-year-olds that marijuana is somehow bad. (Same argument on alcohol, which was “essential”.)

I would love to meet the 7th grader with the temerity to point out to the screeners that nearly every billboard on the Mass Pike promotes marijuana use and wondering how it is possible that something that is great for adults is terrible for 13-year-olds. Also that adults couldn’t wait to stick 13-year-olds with a vaccine designed for older people.

Separately, it is interesting how Colorado and Maskachusetts set up their respective marijuana industries. In Colorado, there are numerous marijuana shops, each fairly small. As far as I observed, none of them has become rich enough to outbid Apple, Verizon, McDonald’s, et al. for billboard space. In Maskachusetts, by contrast, the number of cronies authorized by the government to sell marijuana is much smaller and, therefore, the profits are apparently staggering.

Here’s a photo from January 2022 of Mountain Medicinals, a “family-owned dispensary” in Idaho Springs, Colorado (contrary to the name, this is recreational and they can sell even to those who do not need to be healed):

As you can see, there are only three cars in the parking lot and the sign is modest. (In MA, the marijuana shops are so busy that they need to pay off-duty police officers to direct traffic.) Also, speaking of maximizing health, note the masked pedestrian in the crisp mountain air (it was below freezing outside and he and I were the only people outside within a 500′ radius).

Related:

  • Department of Blessings of Lockdown…. “Marijuana Sales Increased In Multiple States During COVID, Study Finds” (Marijuana Moment, 8/9/2021): Legal marijuana sales in multiple states reached record highs in mid-2020 as coronavirus spread across the nation, according a new study. To date, sales in the four states examined in the analysis—Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington—”have increased more during the COVID-19 pandemic than in the previous two years.” (Tough to understand how labor force participation rate has fallen so much when so many more Americans are starting each day with a motivational bong hit)
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Massachusetts during Götterdämmerung (of the Coronagods)

by philg

With deaths from COVID-19 only about as bad as in January 2021 (when few were vaccinated), in both the U.S. as a whole and Maskachusetts alone, declarations of “Mission Accomplished” are becoming common, with associated rollbacks of orders to check vaccine papers and orders for the subjects to wear masks.

How do people who have clung to their cloth masks as security blankets react during the Twilight of the Coronagods?

“Massachusetts Mask and Vax Mandates: A (Temporarily Accurate) Guide” (Boston Magazine, 2/16/2022):

Whether you’re required to wear a face mask depends on where you are. When you see it on a map, it’s striking just how much variety there is when it comes to policies town-by-town and city-by-city. Boston still requires them for all public indoor spaces, as do neighbors Cambridge, Somerville, Newton, and Brookline. Some places, like Medford, Malden, and Melrose, require masks only in municipal buildings.

As you certainly know by now, Boston opted to make vaccine checks mandatory at indoor venues like restaurants and gyms in January. Brookline did the same thing. (Interestingly, Brookline’s vax mandate applies to restaurants’ outdoor patios, while Boston’s does not). Other cities and towns considered following in Boston’s footsteps—among them Arlington, Cambridge, and Somerville—but didn’t, although lots and lots of business owners have enacted their own vaccine rules.

Meanwhile, Boston is nearing the next stage of its vaccine mandate policy—per the city’s B Together plan, kids 12 and older will need to be fully vaccinated to enter those places, too, beginning February 15. Kids ages 5-11 will need to have at least one dose by March 1, and two doses by May 1.

Even though lots of states have been dropping their school mask mandates, the CDC thinks it’s too soon to take that step, and is sticking with its guidance that kids stay masked in schools.

From the linked-to article:

“As small business operators we have a civic duty to take care of the health and safety of our guests and employees alike,” Tracy Chang told Eater in July 2021. Chang is the chef and owner of Pagu in Cambridge’s Central Square. “The past year has taught us just how vulnerable are the lives of essential hospitality workers, just how broken the existing hospitality industry is when it comes to wages, benefits, and welfare,” Chang continued. “We now have an opportunity to rebuild the industry to be a better, stronger one, starting one restaurant at a time. The least we can do is pay people more, check for proof of full vaccination, take temperatures at the door, and require masks indoors when not eating/drinking.” [later in the article it notes that Mx. Chang also requires government-issued photo ID, which is definitely not a racist policy]

If he/she/ze/they really wants to #StopTheSpread, why not close his/her/zir/their restaurant permanently? People eating at home won’t generate as many infections or breed as many mutations as people eating in restaurants.

Club Passim (47 Palmer St., Cambridge): All staff, performers, and customers are required to show proof of vaccination (the card or the photo) upon entering the club; ticket purchases will be refunded for those who cannot or will not show proof. Non-performers must wear masks indoors unless actively eating or drinking. Passim continues to offer livestream performances and online classes.

Again, if you’re concerned about COVID-19, why assemble COVID-19-spreading people to hear music when everyone has the capability of streaming audio and video at home?

How about those schools? February 17 email from a suburban district is presumably typical:

The Lincoln Board of Health met on Wednesday evening, February 16th to discuss the February 28, 2022 expiration of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education school mask mandate. While they agreed that our positive case numbers have dropped to low levels, concerns were raised about the possibility of an increase in cases after the February vacation week. They would like to see that our low number of cases are sustained over the next few weeks. In addition, Board of Health member Dr. Kanner shared that state level data is still at rates higher than it was in August when the BOH instituted the Town and school mask mandate.

The Board of Health voted to hold off on a decision until March 9, 2022 when they will reconvene to review the COVID data for the schools, Town and state and consider rescinding the town mask mandate.

The School Committee met this morning and received an update on the outcomes of the Lincoln Board of Health meeting. The Committee voted to re-visit the decision regarding maintaining the mask mandate or moving to less masking in the schools at it’s upcoming School Committee meeting on March 10th.

From “Brookline Indoor Mask Mandate and Vaccination Requirement at Businesses to Remain in Effect Until Further Notice”:

Interim Health Commissioner Patrick Maloney announces that the Town of Brookline’s mask mandate and proof of vaccination requirement continues to remain in effect though the need for these requirements will be reassessed next month. [i.e., in March 2022]

Proof of vaccination will continue to be required for patrons at all: … [restaurants, gyms, theaters, museums, etc.]

Additionally, masks continue to be required in all public indoor spaces in Brookline.

(Most of the above is actually illegal in Florida, of course, which refuses to follow Science. The legislature, for example, passed a law that forbids public schools to order children to wear masks.)

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Massachusetts State Senator launches an economic attack on his/her/zir/their own district

by philg

A senator introduced a bill for consideration by the Maskachusetts State Senate that would impose a 6.25% sales tax on new and used aircraft, currently tax-exempt in MA so as to compete with neighboring NH, ME, CT, and RI. (CT makes aircraft exempt for rich people buying machines that weigh over 6,000 lbs.; peasants buying little Cessnas, Cirruses, and Pipers must pay.) It doesn’t surprise me that a state senator would be excited to collect $5+ million in tax on a new Gulfstream G800, but of course the obvious response for the Gulfstream G800 buyer is to base the aircraft in nearby NH, thereby moving jobs out of MA. The pilots and mechanic will live in New Hampshire and the plane will zip down to Hanscom Field (KBED) or Nantucket (KACK) to pick up the rich MA resident or executives at a company based in MA and then proceed to whatever the desired destination might be. The $5+ million in tax is never collected and Massachusetts misses out on payroll and income taxes for the crew, real estate taxes for the hangar, construction jobs for building the hangar, etc.

What is surprising? The senator sponsoring this bill is Mike Barrett, whose district includes Hanscom Field, the busiest general aviation airport in New England, and all of the towns surrounding Hanscom (i.e., where pilots, mechanics, and other airport workers are likely to live). In other words, Mx. Barrett has launched a direct attack on the economic prosperity of his/her/zir/their own district.

You can see Hanscom Field at the intersection of Lexington, Lincoln, Concord, and Bedford, below.

It would make sense to me if a senator from a district that didn’t include a busy general aviation airport had sponsored such a bill, but in what other state could a politician be secure enough to directly attack the jobs of his/her/zir/their own constituents?

Speaking of state taxes, I was chatting with a friend of a friend who escaped what he considered to be the disorder and crime of Los Angeles for a new home outside of California. I remarked that I was shocked that he had chosen to live in a state that imposed a state income tax. Why not move to Florida, Texas, Tennessee, South Dakota, or one of other states without an income tax? The successful entrepreneur looked at me with pity. “All of my money is in LLCs and trusts,” he explained. “I don’t have any income subject to state income tax except for my direct salary. Everything that I spend comes from loans from one of my trusts. I borrow money from myself.”

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Justin Trudeau’s old school in Newton, Maskachusetts makes the news

by philg

I hope that everyone (except, perhaps, that notorious reprobate Toucan Sam) has been celebrating Black History Month.

Some news from Newton, Massachusetts… “… Blackface classroom activity was used to ‘celebrate’ Black History Month” (MassLive):

When Nadirah Pierce picked up her children from IC Kids Montessori earlier this week, she noticed they were covered in black paint. They said it was for a Black History Month project.

Pierce didn’t think much of it until the school posted photos from the activity for parents online on Wednesday. That’s when she saw the children had painted faces on paper plates using the black paint and were holding them up to their faces.

IC Kids Montessori in Newton issued an apology for the Blackface incident but removed the post about an hour later and subsequently removed the school’s Facebook account entirely.

“To all who are offended, we sincerely apologize for what happened with one of our classroom activities: black face,” the school originally wrote on Facebook. “Our intention was to celebrate Black History Month. Unfortunately we didn’t do enough research on black history and carried out a wrong activity. We are sorry about it and we mean it!”

The photos also included children planking in rows. This and the popular 2011 trend by the same name mirror the way slaves were often transported on slave ships.

“Planking was a way to transport slaves on ships during the slave trade, its [sic] not funny,” Xzibit tweeted, according to the Washington Post. “Educate yourselves.”

But the National Museum of African American History and Culture told CNN that’s not an excuse.

“Minstrelsy, comedic performances of ‘blackness’ by whites in exaggerated costumes and makeup, cannot be separated fully from the racial derision and stereotyping at its core,” it said.

“I hope this is a lesson for all daycare centers,” she said. “Do your research. Ask people in your community, reach out to the parents.”

From the BBC, a successful graduate of this Montessori school:

Speaking of following Science, the current personification of Science is from Newton, MA: Rochelle Walensky.

Related:

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The Maskachusetts Righteous debate public housing policy

by philg

Recent discussion involving two residents of of a rich Massachusetts suburb….

From a woman who gets paid to help migrants from South Sudan settle in Massachusetts:

Good morning! I can tell you that the cost of housing is completely out of control. I work with many low income folks and housing is a huge issue.
A woman who works at Amazon making $17.75 an hour and has four kids does not qualify for Emergency Housing?. She makes too much money.
A man who had tb of the spine and is on disability and his wife works as a home health aid making $15 an hour four kids- can not find housing. Anywhere! The man in this family goes to Divinity School at Bu. They will likely have to move out of state. Great family.
I could go on and on?.
As a small nonprofit we have had to hire someone to help navigate the housing maze for clients.
I got an email yesterday for an affordable house in waylaid [Wayland, Maskachusetts] for over $300,000!! Affordable for whom????
We all need to raise our voices!!!
Lynn two bedrooms is going for $2200
Woburn two bedroom $2300
Salem three bedroom $2100 and is considered a steal!!
SSEF has many families that need housing and good schools.
Likely they will live in horrible housing in towns with terrible schools and the cycle goes on and on. Let’s blame them?..
We are increasing our funding for summer educational programs which is better than nothing but better that people lived in towns where the kids educational needs where being addressed.
On a happier note- several lincoln people helped a woman and her kids find housing- a wonderful volunteer from lincoln worked endlessly to find housing and financial resources; three incredible lincoln folks helped completely furnish an apartment. A lincoln man and others helped co-sign her lease. Gives me hope. Please help in any way

From a neighbor who is not paid to work with migrants:

let’s work on balancing protecting our beautiful little town with our moral obligation to help provide more affordable housing.

We can all agree that housing is a human right and that we are morally obligated to house anyone who shows up in the U.S., but achieving “balance” might require the next crop of 59 million migrants to live somewhere other than in our own neighborhood….

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Omicron is in Retreat

by philg

Adding some support to the Vietnam War analogy, today’s New York Times says “Omicron Is in Retreat”, with the implication that any decline in “cases” is due to the efforts of the human army and its generals (the Covidcrats):

In the human v. virus war (it has to be a war because one army is retreating), humans are “winning” and it will be humans who decide on when to “close the books” on the spread of the virus:

Since early last week, new cases in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and New York have fallen by more than 30 percent. They’re down by more than 10 percent in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. In California, cases may have peaked.

“Let’s be clear on this — we are winning,” Mayor Eric Adams of New York said yesterday. Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York State, said during a budget speech, “We hope to close the books on this winter surge soon.”

The Tet Offensive of SARS-CoV-2 may continue through Tet (February 1), however:

The Covid situation in the U.S. remains fairly grim, with overwhelmed hospitals and nearly 2,000 deaths a day. It’s likely to remain grim into early February. Caseloads are still high in many communities, and death trends typically lag case trends by three weeks.

On FaceTime last night with a group of friends back in Lincoln, Maskachusetts, a physician said that his hospital was full and transferring patients to other hospitals. Quite a few of the “COVID cases” within the hospital had been acquired in the hospital, due to folks ignoring the April 2020 idea of building renal dialysis-style clinics for COVID treatment (would keep most COVID patients from going to the hospital in the first place). The Democrats in the group then riffed about their dream of denying medical care to the unvaccinated. In their view, it was inconceivable that a vaccinated (“responsible”) human could require hospitalization for COVID-19, but the unvaccinated were nonetheless making it tough for the vaccinated to get ordinary hospital care, e.g., for cardiac issues.

My response to this virtue-based triage system was that, due to American incompetence with keeping medical records and the country’s persistent refusal to implement a chip-in-the-neck system, anyone who was about to be kicked out of the hospital for being unvaccinated (“Djokoviced,” after the first athlete to be banned and deported for not taking drugs) could simply say “I was vaccinated at a Walmart in Punxsutawney,” but lost my vaccine papers. How would the hospital in Maskachusetts be able to check?

A generally conservative member of the group (though he had voted for Obama) pointed out that we did not deny medical care to the obese, to alcoholics, or to drug addicts (I corrected him using CDC preferred terms, such as “Persons who use drugs/people who inject drugs” and “Persons with alcohol use disorder”). This was not persuasive, however, and the Democrats still wanted to exclude the unvaccinated from health care, as they are already excluded from public places in Boston. Confirming our loyal reader/commenter Mike’s worst suspicions, I suggested that the final stage of the Democrats’ triage system for the unvaccinated could be a job as an extra in the next Alec Baldwin film.

Speaking of Massachusetts, it look as though the January 15, 2022 implementation of a vaccine paper check requirement was highly effective. Nearly 15,000 cases of COVID-19 occurred on January 14. Excluding the unvaccinated from restaurants, etc., reduced infection to 0 cases on January 15. From Google:

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City of Boston happy to fly rainbow and Islamic flags, but not a Christian group’s flag

by philg

Today at the Supreme Court: Shurtleff v. Boston. Officials of the Cradle of Liberty were happy to fly the rainbow (Pride) flag and the Islamic-themed flag of Turkey, but a Christian-themed flag was unacceptable (284 applications were approved over a 12-year period and this single group was denied).

“Several Juneteenth Events Planned As Massachusetts Observes Official Holiday For First Time” (CBS) and “Boston Raises Pride Flag On City Hall Plaza” (CBS) have videos of example events.

The Christian group’s petition gives the history. According to the city, everyone should feel included (sometimes the best way for a Christian to be included is for Christians to be excluded?):

In my view, the petition incorrectly characterizes Rainbow Flagism as a “cause” rather than as a religion.

Although the city itself says that this is supposed to be a “public forum”, which you might think would require allowing the Christian group to participate, so far the appeals courts have all sided with the city’s policy of excluding this one group.

Given that Boston shut down its schools for more than a year while keeping marijuana stores open, and that marijuana retailers are such big advertisers in the city (see above) and on Mass Pike billboards, I’m disappointed that the petition cannot cite an example of a flag devoted to healing cannabis (Ivermectin for Democrats, as one reader here commented). I think it would be fun to apply to fly the “Rainbow Marijuana USA Stars Flag Gay Pride Lesbian LGBT” flag:

Readers: Where do we think the Supreme Court will come down on this case?

Related:

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Romantic first date conversation advice

by philg

Today is the day that Tinder users will have to provide proof of vaccination in order to meet in a Boston restaurant (NPR). From there, they can decide whether it is time to go to the marijuana store (“essential” and, therefore, never shut down, unlike the Boston schools, which were closed for more than one year) and then to have sex (also perfectly legal at all times since March 2020, unlike indoor tennis, which was banned by Covidcrats at various points due to the filthy germ exchange that is inevitable during backhand strokes (consider the swearing/shouting!)).

What should our young lovers talk about after they’ve exchanged health records? Following a traditional family Christmas dinner at Singing Bamboo Chinese Restaurant, I received the following: “A beautiful person is with you, confide your problems.”

I’m not in a position to try this out in a dating situation, but I tried it within our household. The results were not promising except with Mindy the Crippler, our golden retriever.

  • Boston is the Cradle of Liberty (TM) and we fought to escape high taxes and tyranny imposed by what is today the U.K. How are things over there in tyranny-land? Taxes for entrepreneurs in the UK are at a total rate of 10 percent (compare to about 29 percent for federal, Obamacare, and Massachusetts state tax on long-term capital gains!). Boston forces 12-year-olds to take a non-FDA-approved (experimental use authorized only) medicine, against a 2.25-year-old version of a virus that kills old people, to get a meal (5-year-olds will be forced starting in March and they’ll get an experimental drug against a 2.5-year-old version of SARS-CoV-2). The UK is not the Florida Free State, but anyone can eat in a restaurant and there are no vaccine requirements for those under 18 (over 18 need vaccine papers to get into nightclubs and music venues with over 10,000 seats (BBC, 12/16)).
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