"Let's Roll" ~Todd Beamer

Over the weekend, ground was broken near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, marking the official beginning of construction of a memorial honoring the victims of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11th, 2001. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar opened the ceremonies by quoting Todd Beamer, the leader of the passengers. Upon learning what had happened at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, this heroic group of individuals voted to take back the plane from the terrorists. Mr. Salazar said that those brave souls on Flight 93 represented democracy up until the end, something the hijackers could never comprehend.

A chapel with 40 chimes, representing each of the fallen heroes, will be built near the entrance of the park with wildflowers planted on the crash site, open only to family members.


Telegraph.co.uk, "Work on 9/11 memorial park begins" by Tom Leonard, November 8, 2009
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6526806/Work-on-911-memorial-park-begins.html

A Paradox

Mike Hruby opens Tuesday's meeting of the regional service organization at the J. V. Fletcher Library on beautiful Westford Common.
Ordinarily, when the topic of utulizing statistics and consumer information is mentioned, the mind zooms directly into the clinical and impersonal, that is, the more sophisticated the technology, the less interaction between you and me. However, on Tuesday evening, November 3rd, Mike Hruby and his group demonstrated the opposite. They not only showed warm and welcoming hospitality, they also offered practical advice on using compiled data in ways that help build the community.








Margie Brandon (center) of the Acton Republican Town Committee, wowed the audience with her computer know-how and her understanding of statistical analysis. Christine Doucette, (left) Chair of Boxborough RTC, talked about how to take these dispassionate numbers and get down to the personal level.





Mike Hruby gave a show 'n tell presentation on "How to Get and Use Voter Lists", complete with hand-outs and props. He also explained, from a marketing perspective, the value of gathering this data, available to all rtc's in Massachusetts through the town clerk's office, for free.

Mike Hruby's Definition of "Voting Blocks"
Mike began his segment of the evening by quoting Charlie Baker who said, "'Politics is additive.'" He then took Charlie's idea and varied it, noting that "Politics are also subtractive."


To learn more about this organization, e-mail Mike Hruby. mike.hruby@comcast.net

A Trick on the Eyes But a Treat for the Town

After years of planning, preparing, calculating and fighting lawsuits, John Fitch, PMLD Manager, has, on behalf of Princeton, purchased and installed two giant windmills on the southwest side of Mt. Wachusett. John deserves a big thank you (as big as the windmills) from Princeton residents for his persistence and perseverance in this matter. So well known was the dispute surrounding the acquisition of the windmills that Director John Stimpson included that controversy as an underlying theme in his 2006 movie, "The Legend of Lucy Keyes."

In spite of the news coverage, it was with great surprise that while hiking along the Harrington Trail on Halloween, I happened upon one of the new windmills. "How could anyone stumble over something so large," you might ask. After all, the blades are 134 feet long and are perched 230 feet above ground where they are connected to a hub large enough to comfortably hold two standing men . Before I give the answer, consider this. While looking at the first windmill, the second was not visible, something I found curious, given their size. The other peculiarity was that the windmill I could see appeared to be rather small, at least compared to pictures in The Landmark. I continued along the path which curved towards the northeast and there, on the side of the trail, was the other windmill. At the time, however, I thought I was looking at the same one I had just seen because as I was hiking, it had temporarily disappeared from sight behind a tree-covered hill.

The explanation to these oddities is that the windmills are so enormous that given the right vantage point, they create optical illusions. Their size and placement create a deceptive image, making the windmills appear smaller than they are and making me think I was looking at the same windmill as opposed to two at separate times. Nearing the top of Wachusett Mountain and looking across the valley at them, their actual size became obvious and both were visible at the same time. The trick was on the eyes, but the treat will be the substantial amount of power the windmills will provide without using any resources other than wind.

Expect the windmills to begin operating within the next two weeks. Many thanks to John Fitch and Princeton Municipal Light Department.


http://www.thelandmark.com/Current/Princeton_News/ [Must be a subscriber to access.]
The Landmark, October 29, 2009, "Second windmill is up at PMLD wind site" by Phyllis Booth, Princeton News, p.12.


http://www.thelandmark.com/news/2009/1029/Editorials_Opinions/
[Must be a subscriber to access.]
The Landmark, October 29, 2009, "As the mill turns" Editorial, p. 4.

http://www.thelandmark.com/news/2009/1022/princeton_news/025.html
The Landmark, October 22, 2009, Photograph in Princeton News, p.8.

A Round Table Discussion Between A Mayor, Two State Reps. and Gardner High School Students
Burt Gendron hosted a first class event last Thursday evening, October 22 at the Elks Club in downtown Gardner. Students in John Gardella's honors class asked discerning questions and provoked thoughtful answers from the three panelists, Gardner Mayor Mark Hawke and Representatives Bob Rice and Lew Evangelidis.



The students set the tone with the seriousness of their questions, with Burt Gendron adding just the right amount of liveliness and humor to the evening.




Rep. Lew Evangelidis adjusts the mike before the event while Rep. Bob Rice looks out at the audience, well attended by students.

Turn to page B4 of today's Boston Globe and you will find a large photograph of Charlie Baker surrounded by individuals gathered for a business lunch at Boston's Seaport Hotel. Concerning the financial mess Massachusetts is in, Globe writer David L. Ryan says that at that event, Mr. Baker "asserted that the administration raided the state's rainy day fund 'before it started to rain'" and that "'People are treating it like a toothache and hoping it'll go away.'" No question. Charlie Baker gets the big picture.


The Boston Globe, Friday, October 23, 2009, "Making His Case" Photo with caption by David L. Ryan. Page B4. No online picture found.

"'Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo's Birthday.'" ~Malia Obama

Discussing whether President Barack Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize is premature or not is counterproductive to the ultimate goal which The Prize symbolizes. Rather, as suggested in Saturday's Globe editorial, what is worth debating is what we can do to actively speed up the process of spreading calm throughout our individual worlds. "Instead of getting caught up in quarrels about whether the Peace Prize is justified, Obama's fellow politicians would do well to reflect on what he and they must do to endow the award with an after-the-fact justification." (Boston Globe, 10/10/09, p.A14)

Whereas the article aims the question at "politicians", I prefer to re-direct that idea towards every concerned American. None of us will be mediating a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but each of us has the power to bring harmony into our own lives, with our families, our friends, our co-workers. My hope is that if all of us help promote peace in whatever way we can, then perhaps that cumulative tranquility, taken together, might eventually add up to be enough to express itself, and that we, as a country, could then grow into that most illustrious honor the Nobel Committee bestowed upon our President.


The Boston Globe, Saturday, October 10, 2009, "Job just begun, Obama wins Nobel," by Susan Milligan and Michael Kranish, p.A1
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/10/10/job_just_begun_obama_wins_nobel/



The Boston Globe, Saturday, October 10, 2009, "Honor for president comes with praise and pressure," by Gregory Katz of the Associated Press, p.A10
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/10/10/honor_for_president_comes_with_praise_and_pressure/


Telegram & Gazette, Saturday, October 10, 2009, "Daughters excited over win" Associated Press, p.A7, no online article.

Telegram & Gazette, Saturday, October 10, 2009, "Kudos, gasps at Obama selection" by Karl Ritter and Matt Moore of the Associated Press, p.A1. Note: no T & G online article --link to Timesleader.com.
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Politics/Obama_selection_draws_criticism_10-10-2009.html


The Boston Globe, Saturday, October 10, 2009, "Now Obama needs to earn the prize he won too soon," Editorial, p.A14
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2009/10/10/now_obama_needs_to_earn_the_prize_he_won_too_soon/

State Representative Lew Evangelidis deserves to be applauded for taking the initiative and putting himself on the line when he filed a letter with Deval Patrick Thursday requesting the Governor look into the constitutionality of waiving the usual 90-days after a law is passed in order to immediately fill the vacant U.S. Senate position. The Telegram & Gazette (9/24/09) tells the story in a front-page article written by John J. Monahan. Earlier in the week House and Senate Republicans raised the issue of the legality of appointing an interim senator without waiting the specified time period, especially in light of the fact that the House had not garnered the two-thirds needed to enact the emergency provision that had been tacked onto the bill. Because the majority vote was lacking, the Senate did not take up the issue.

Of course we know the rest of the story, how MassGOP, in light of the House rejection of the emergency clause, tried to block the appointment on Friday by challenging the Governor's authority in declaring this an emergency situation. Their request was denied by Judge Thomas Connolly who wrote that the Republicans could not cite any prior cases supporting their claim. Nevertheless, MassGOP and the Republicans did the right thing in pursuing the postponement of the swearing in of Paul Kirk for 90 days, something which appears to be the normal custom in the passage of new laws but was deliberately skirted in order to provide that much sought-after 60th vote for health care reform.

Other State Representatives who signed the letter with Lew Evangelidis should also be commended and thanked: Karyn Polito, Daniel Webster of Hanson and Jeff Perry from Sandwich.

Telegram & Gazette, Thursday, September 24, 2009, "Eyes on Kirk to fill seat" by John J. Monahan, p.A 1. No online article found.

Telegram & Gazette, Saturday, September 26, 2009, "Paul Kirk sworn in as senator" by Jessica Leving, p.A1
http://www.telegram.com/article/20090926/NEWS/909260331/1052

The Boston Globe, Saturday, September 26, 2009, "Judge rejects GOP request to block Senate appointment" by John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan. p.B3
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/26/judge_rejects_gop_request_to_block_kirk_appointment/