VOL. 113 - NO. 5 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, JANUARY 30, 2009 $.30 A COPY SAL DIMASI OBAMA’S PROBLEM: The Immature Who Love Him Bids Farewell by Dan Calabrese I’m glad you’re all so happy. who taunted Bush on that surely one of the results of I really am. I like to see Tuesday. These are the working so hard to turn out people happy. But there’s same people who turned the youth vote. You end up happy-and-content-with-life that shoe-throwing idiot in bringing people into the pro- happy and there’s I’m-so- Iraq into a folk hero. These cess who are still at the point trashed-I-can’t-stop-giggling are the same people who where they have spent the happy. The adoring throngs showed their colors during vast majority of their lives all across the nation on the the CNN/Facebook simul- being taken care of, and only President’s Inaugural Day cast of the inauguration — a tiny minority of it — if any seem a bit more of the latter intermittently declaring at all — working for a living to me. their glee and spewing vile and taking responsibility for The peaceful transfer of invective at the departing themselves. power to President Obama is president. It’s understandable that something to celebrate, no OK. Forget about Bush, his Obama’s supporters are doubt. Too many Americans record or even the notion happy today. But what’s re- probably don’t appreciate that a departing president ally behind the happiness? what an achievement it is deserves our thanks for his Do they really have a clear Salvatore DiMasi Robert DeLeo that we do this every four service, even if he was ter- idea what Obama is likely years without bloodshed. But rible. That’s not really the to achieve as president? Salvatore DiMasi resigned decision by Sal and his we also tend to do it without point. The point is that we’re Do they really know all that from the Third Suffolk family and as he moves the sort of juvenile taunting finding out something about much about the nation’s District and as Speaker of towards the future into his we saw on Inaugural Day, Obama’s base, and about the challenges, and their con- the House in the Common- next endeavor, we wish Sal when Obama’s fans jeered attitudes of those who have nection to the policy choices wealth of Massachusetts on DiMasi and his family best the departing George W. not only made him president not only of the past eight Tuesday, January 27, 2009. wishes and thank him for Bush — not once but twice but have also made him so years, but really of the past A native North Ender, Sal his long standing service — with that stupid nah-nah- popular in the early going. generation? has served the people of the to the community. To suc- nah-goodbye song. To cut to the chase, an Or are far too many of third district for many years ceed Speaker DiMasi will Have you ever seen that unusually large number of them simply MTV-watching, before elevating to Speaker be Ways and Means Chair- sort of behavior at an inau- them are immature. bar-hopping party types who of the House. Leaving the man Representative Robert gural before? Neither have They have no respect for identify with the cool, popu- public sector is a personal DeLeo (D-Winthrop). I. It’s never happened. And the office of the presidency. lar new guy and jeered the it makes you think about a They have no respect for unpopular old guy — since lot of things. Recall Election the difficulty of a job that that’s what all their friends Night, when a massive comes with burdens they were doing? That’s certainly crowd assembled outside the couldn’t possibly understand, how a lot of them acted on News Briefs White House moments after let alone handle. They have Inaugural Day. by Sal Giarratani Obama’s victory became as- no respect for the institu- Perhaps there is some- sured. They knew, of course, tions of our nation. They thing positive about this for that Obama wasn’t there. have no respect for much of President Obama. Many of Number 6 Checks Out Their purpose was to take anything. his campaign promises can- out their hostilities on the That doesn’t mean Obama not possibly be kept respon- British actor Patrick McGouhan, who was big man who was. is like this. He shows no back in the Sixties on TV, passed away re- These are the same people signs that he is. But this is (Continued on Page 14) cently. He is remembered for his spy roles in both “Secret Agent.” Remember, that Johnny Rivers sons, “Secret Agent Man?” And also in the follow-up show, The Prisoner.” Mayor’s Column That show was too cerebral and surreal for most TV viewers. It ran for only one season, by Thomas M. Menino, Mayor, City of Boston but has become part of TV history like Star I recently joined Governor Patrick, multi-billion dollar state budget deficit, Trek. You wouldn’t really call it escapism. I still Lieutenant Governor Murray, and may- we have all been anticipating unavoid- don’t know what it could be called and I’m only ors from across the state for the annual able cuts to local aid funding. The gov- glad I didn’t live in that village with him and meeting of the Massachusetts Munici- ernor has championed the importance all those balloons. pal Association (MMA). This year, we’re of our cities and towns, but ongoing John Wallace, a friend of mine from work confronted by the most challenging bud- financial troubles have forced him to loves “The Prisoner” and has every episode. He’s get situation in recent memory. Cities trim local aid statewide by $128 million bringing it in for me to watch again. I can’t and towns face unprecedented financial for the current fiscal year. State aid, our wait for those rolling super-sized balloons. challenges, and factors beyond our con- second largest segment of revenue trol are hurting us all. We’ll all need to behind property taxes, represents 21% Tasmanian Devils Dying Out? work together in this crisis to identify of Boston’s FY09 operating budget, and Back when I was a kid, our shortfalls, devise creative solutions, the governor’s funding cuts translate to the obnoxious Tasma- and overcome the problems at hand. At a $22 million loss for our city. This sig- nian Devil would drive kitchen tables around the City, I know nificant reduction is doubly troublesome Bugs Bunny looney that your families are struggling with as it comes in the middle of the fiscal tunes. He became the same concerns. Let me assure you year. Fortunately, the governor has more daffy than Daffy that we will come together to survive pledged to protect education funding at Duck. this storm because the strength of the state level, but a $22 million reduc- Boston comes from the unparalleled tion in local aid for Boston will impact (Continued on Page 14) determination of its residents. Since Governor Patrick announced a (Continued on Page 15) THE POST-GAZETTE SATELLITE OFFICE IS NOW OPEN AT 35 BENNINGTON STREET, EAST BOSTON This office will be open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, for the convenience of our East Boston and North Shore clients and contributors Call 617-227-8929 for more information Page 2 POST-GAZETTE, JANUARY 30, 2009 AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY ANNOUNCES 50 DAYS OF Daffodils Daffodil Days offers a bou- quet of products. ARES • Donors receive a bou- Ares is next in our long list the prize. They referred the the site of the Aeropagus quet of ten fresh daffodil of primary and secondary matter to a shepherd named (Hill of Ares) was consecrated blossoms. mythological deities. He was Paris, for a decision and of to him. His symbols were • Three mini-daffodil bulbs worshipped by the Greeks as course he awarded the the spear and the flaming in a soil filled pot. their god of violence, brute golden apple to Aphrodite torch, and we note that be- • A bouquet of ten daffodils force, and the slaughter of after she promised to give fore trumpets were intro- and a Boyd’s collectable war. As the offspring of Zeus him the fairest woman in duced, the signal for battle stuffed bear. and the goddess Hera, it is the land for his wife. The was given by hurling a flam- • Gift of Hope: daffodils are supposed that he inherited abduction of Helen (Helen of ing torch at the enemy. For more than 35 years, delivered to a cancer patient his quarrelsome temper Troy) and the ten-year This god was usually rep- the American Cancer Soci- undergoing treatment. from his mother. We are told Trojan War soon followed. resented as young, strong, ety has, through its Daffodil Flower and product orders that he delighted in nothing Ares had always been the handsome and with curly Days program, been making can be placed now through but war and bloodshed, and friend and lover of Aphrodite. hair. At times he was shown a difference in the fight March 2nd by calling the that this is what made him This union produced Eros, bearded while at other against cancer and providing American Cancer Society at so hateful to the other gods. Anteros, Deimos, Phobos and times, clean shaven.