PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MITT ROMNEY WRONGLY RECEIVING CREDIT AND ATTENTION

BOSTON UNIVERSITY  AFFILIATED PUBLIC RADIO  STATION WRONG ON BROADCASTING STORY OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MITT ROMNEY ON HIS EFFORTS TO SEEK ACCOUNTABILITY ON THE FAILED MOST EXPENSIVE SO CALLED TRANSPORTATION IN THE WORLD.  MASSACHSETTS HAS THE $23BILLION BIG DIG PROJECT ORIGINALLY TO COST $2.3 BILLION....... QUOTING THE RESPECTED CHRISTY MIHOS ON THE ISSE BUT WHO OFFERS CONTINUOS DEFENSE TO ROMNEY  IS WRON.  TOM TRIMARCO POLITICAL HEAD OF THE FORMER DISGRACED STATE TREASURER ADMINISTRATION IS ALSO WRONG......QUOTING BOSTON GLOBE COLUMNIST JOAN VENNOCHI CRITICIZING ROMNEY ON BIG DIG FA ILURE.....  ANOTHER  WRONG AS THE GLOBE EDITORIAL CROWD WERE WORSE ON EXPOSING THE FAILED PROJECFT.....

Wait a minute Boston Radio Station WBUR on any praise reporting for Romney on the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse or on the tragic accident of the Big Dig project that should have been avoided and forewarned on questionable
engineering design deficiencies of a project that went from $2.3 Billion to
$23 Billion Plus. This is the worlds most expensive misguided shoddy so called taxpaer financede transportation project of the 21st century.

I have respect for Christy Mihos for his efforts to bring and expose the massive shortcomingsof the project that many valiantly fought to expose for years during both Republican and Democratic State and Federal Administrations.  But, Mihos continuous defense of Romney is not acceptable. Any praise of Romney service byTom Trimarco who also served as point political appointee and damage control spokesperson for the scandalous administration of former Treasurer Joe Malone is a further outrage.

As for Boston Globe Columnist Joan Vennochi making any statement on the Big Dig failure is absolutely wrong. I cannot recall her ever having a strong accountability record of calls on the project. I remind all the comments of Jon Keller former Editorial Page Columnist for The Boston Globe when asked why both Boston Newspapers did not do more to expose the project….both newspapers were in the tank. Joan on this one-clean up your comments and hopefully you are not carrying water for some lobbyist or PR Campaign Friend.

Those who have been there along with others and tried valiantly to sound the alarm and blow the whistle on the Big Dig Scam are disappointed to see the medeia giving credit or promotion when not  due……WBUR could do better reporting.

Massachusetts continues to be challenged as the Number 1 all time leader in Drug and Hospital Costs in the country and world despite would be spotty competition by other state and world countries.

Nothing will be done in healthcare until such time the sellers and providers are held accountable: hospitals, insurers, drug companies, and government.

Consumers, citizens in need, and businesses cannot be expected to be continually victimized on behalf of healthcare industry greed and constant costly corrupt practices.

Hospital deregulation in the early 1990 era was to foster healthcare competition and did not. You saw, see, and will see the survival of the deep pockets and not the most efficient in the hospital and healthcare delivery care system.

Partners Healthcare, Massachustts General, Dana Farber, and Brigham and Wonen with its monopolistic practices is exterminating community hospitals and centers and the catering allowance of boutique healthcare for the very well off from everywhere continues to the detriment of all.

The constant high price advertising and million dollar plus salaries for former failed government geniuses such as Republican Charles Baker, formerly from the financially bailed out Harvard Pilgrim healthcare and now Democrat Politico guru James Roosevelt at Tufts healthcare occupying a most well heeled financial CEO perch is the high point the greedy overpaid
that the auto company honchos should emulate.  The worst case was the  CEO  multi million dollar payout loser Blue Cross gave to its failed top Manager upon leaving.   The continued frazzle dazzle made state government to go from a provider of human services to a buyer of unmonitored health services from the uncasring Health Care Industrial Establishment.

For profit, non profit, and not for profit Massachusetts healthcare from top to bottom needs an in depth greed analysis. The current Massachusetts system so called healthcare for the not and under insured scammed, launched, and implemented from PR lobbyist guy Jack Connors, The Vault, and Chamber of Commerce deserves a self audit for care, concern, and compassion.

Waste, fraud, and Abuse in healthcare premiums, drugs, and tax dollars being squandered in healthcare and non quality services must be addressed.

Time to listen and address healthcare from the bottom up from consumers, medical support staff, nurses, doctors and not top down from the sell serving medical CEO golden bonus crowd of managers, dysfunctional legislature, and infiltrated so called business groups that the healthcare industries paying dues victimizes non healthcare businesses battling to maintain the healthcare for themselves and employees.

The time has come for a legislature to do something in healthcare that is a right for every resident of this state by listening to the citizenry and telling the healthcare industry enough is enough.

Massschusetts State Auditor Suzanne Bump Continues Patronage Hiring After Dismissing Those Hired By The Former Auditor.......  Spoils and Patronage Hiring Continues In Auditors Office?......Will Audits be Conducted In A Political Manner based on Politics or Being Conducted On Merit to Expose, Waste, Fraud, And Abuse of Tax Dollars?

Distrust of Auditor Bump continues.

Her political appointed so called senior management team already exposed and written who temporary job holders themselves now hire replacement auditors.

This clearly shows one gang gets elected and throws the other gang out in office.

The problem there was no legitimate merit hiring process in this and other Executive offices from the Governor to the Treasurer.

There is no continuity of administration or long term goals of a merit career ladder accountable management that works and runs free  and protected from personal agendas no matter what dependent of campaign contributions temporary State Auditor is elected. Auditor Employees do not even have the right to join  even a weak union.

Massachusetts State Government long ago destroyed weakened and then destroyed its civil service system and has no real merit hiring system in place.

The political wars appear to continue by Bump and former Auditor Dinucci.

Mistrust and political Agenda of Auditor Suzanne Bump continues?

Massachusetts Non Profits, Not For Profits, and Foundations Must Now Clean UP Their Own Management Greed As What Was Exposed In The Banking And Insurance Industry.....Savings Could be at least $750 million to $1.5 billiuon+ Alone In The State Budget. .....

Government,Foundations, and Citizens all struggling in our nation's failed economy caused by unmonitored corporate financial greed and failed government oversight must show additional compassion and dig deeper into their pocketbooks. Compassion, Care, and Concern are needed to guarantee what is funded is precisely spent as intended.

However, the time has come that the non profits and not for profits be held to a higher standard also. Greed CEO salaries.golden parachutes, fat expense accounts, and interrelated sweetheart contracts must be addressed. Direct care services advertised must be maintained with need sincerity and actually being provided as funded.

Estimates not taking in consideration the $$$$billions in private giving accounts in the state budget alone if waste, fraud, abuse corruption and doing proper oversight could recover $750 Billion+ to $1.5 Billion + alone in State budget Expenditures by holding the non profit and not for profit Human Services Industrial Complex were properly audited and monitored.

WARNING:  Beware of Law Firms that exploit sincerity for $$$$$ and public relation gains who do not respect persons who sincerely come forward to expose waste,fraud, and abuse.

There should no need for Whistleblowers if government did its job of oversight and accountability of public funds. Law Enforcement and Regulatory Agencies watchdogs have failed in their mission of enforcement and regulations of functions of business practices.

There is an almost complete lack of codes of conduct by labor bosses and those in business operations in performing services or producing commodities and products. This has resulted in a lack of high standards of performance by a go along to get along workforce afraid to stand up to improprieties for fear of retaliation or job loss.

Now, the greed sector of for profit and billing attorneys finding a way to gain moneys by taking and promoting litigation and insincere devious persons look to cash in by collaborating not to correct injustices but to obtain dollars.

CASINO GAMBLING AND SLOTS ARE FINALLY COMING TO MASSACHUSETTS... AGAIN. THE MEDIA IS ASLEEP AND APPEARS TO NOT TO BE FOCUSING....LEGISLATION IS ON THE MOVE.....WHAT SPECIAL INTEREST CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTOR AND WHAT HIGH PAID LOBBYIST WILL SEE HIS CLIENT SUCCESSFUL?

The issue of slots and casinos have been around for years and usually come to fruition in a bad economy. The issue is who, when, and where.

The media just has to follow the money. Which connected friend, former/present associate lobbyist campaign contributor comrade entity of the House or Senate leadership or Governor will win.

Time to state and follow the realities of who, what, and when will be the victor in this long battle of political and $$$$ influence that will once again see citizens and taxpayers being victims of special interests instead of common good wining.

That is the real news story

BIG DIG. GUILTY, ENABLERS AND HEROES

(Please note: The enclosed is a previously written column that is being reposted due to new deficient revelations, scandals, and coveups at the Dig Dig)


1977, began the history of the so called Massachusetts Ward Commission chaired and named after a former president of Amherst College who led a citizen panel outraged at the public construction contract scandal that occurred with the building of the infamous Boston Government Center. Their report two years later caused the halls of the Massachusetts Statehouse to loudly shake and so called reforms took place in Massachusetts state government including the advent of the office of Inspector General.

Those construction reforms seem to have failed and been forgotten and a reverse in integrity and ethics has once again surfaced in Massachusetts with school construction, highway, consultant, and vendor repeated scandals being revealed almost weekly. And finally the scandals of Boston’s Central Artery almost $20 billion dollar failure no longer is being able to be covered up by both State and Federal Managers and elected legislators from both parties. US Attorneys, Attorney Generals, Inspector Generals and their colleagues all now are acting piecemeal toothless and ineffective despite warnings for decades by whistleblowers, some journalists, citizens, and a minor cadre of courageous officials. The time has come for a new Ward Commission to clean up the current mess.

State and Federal Taxpayers once again must be exasperated and disgusted at the latest Boston’s Central Artery Project-Big Dig tragedy that is pushing the media. When enough is is enough? No more cover-ups are needed. Time for the truth to least not repeat all the mistakes of the past even now when so much state and federal dollars has been wasted, shoddy construction, and a death that should have been avoided. Billions of Dollars have been wasted in Boston.

Outrageous for Massachusetts Senators Kennedy and Kerry who are now calling for better highway tunnel inspections and so called “Value Engineering”! In addition, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is hinting at doing a cash settlement of $1billion to forgive Bechtel Corporation and potentially others to remove criminal liability! The recent settlement by the Boston US Attorney to settle for $50 million and relieve civil and criminal liability for faulty loads of Big Dig Concrete at this late date of the almost completed 20 year project is another further despicable outrage.

This incompetent damage control cover-up after the fact by those who should have been the watchdogs is a further nadir of disgrace of public trust oversight again fostered on State and National Taxpayers.

Senators Kennedy and Kerry advocating for enhanced tunnel inspections and for “Value Engineering” is a moral and ethical outrage. Value engineering calls for an additional set of engineers and others to be called in evaluating as to quality, cost, and need for major construction projects.

When there were outcries for Big Dig Oversight by those good intentioned citizen and government advocates documented precisely in 1994 and years before by the Massacusetts Inspector general, the Massachusetts House Post Audit and Oversight Committee for Value Engineering and accountability both Senator Kennedy and Kerry were unheard and were part of the enablers that did nothing.

Additionally, I cannot recall at anytime either Kennedy or Kerry leading any charge for accountability or oversight of the project when citizen and government advocates were pleading for assistance for expenditure and construction sanity on the project. Senator Kerry even made the impression that all was well and monies were there joining the Big Dig Bechtel Public relations Specialists to mute outcries for accountability.

The bottom line is Democratic Governor Michael Dukakis and his Secretary of Transportation Fred Salvucci and then highway commissioner Jane Garvey were the forefathers and birth mother laying the foundation for the Big Dig scheme that brought the “no bid, cost plus and little oversight of “ Bechtel with the many other contractors and consultants. Their legacy was continued and enhanced to an art form by the succeeding Republican Governors of Massachusetts, Weld, Cellucci, Swift, and Romney along with their minions of Peter Nessen, Jim Kerasiotis, James Carlin, and Charlie Baker.

The Massachusetts Legislature at almost every inch of the way has shown a lack of oversight and accountability fostered and responsible by the former long term Chairs of the Joint Committee on Transportation Robert Havern and Steven Karol. State Senator Mark Pacheco who heads the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee is now making pronunciations on the Big Dig! His so called landmark contract legislation of accountability and oversight called the Pacheco Bill of a decade and a half ago specifically exempts engineering and design from proper fiscal analysis that allowed the Big Dig calamity. Pacheco’s exemption paved the way with impunity for the failures of Bechtel and others to ply their runaway costs.

Boston CBS 4 reporter Jon Keller stated recently on a station’s talk show when asked why all the failures of the original $2.3 Billion contract now reaching $18-$20 Billion project was not reported by the media. Keller the former Boston Globe Editorial writer and columnist stated that both Editorial Boards of the Boston Newspapers (Globe and Boston Herald) were in the “tank”. He even outed a former Globe colleague David Warsh as a long time enabler. There are so many other names of journalists and media types that participated or turned a blind eye.

Next, we had the revolving door of Massachusetts State Attorney Generals L. Scxott Harshbarger and Tom Reilly. Massachusetts also had Democrat and Republican US Attorneys of Wayne Budd, Donald Stern, and Michael Sullivan who served Democratic and Republican Presidents as well as Congresses adding to the record of little or no pleas for oversight. Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone formerly top criminal prosecutor for the state Attorney General who went on to work for the US Attorney has a record of toothless probes on the Big Dig during his tenures.

The Federal Highway Administration and Federal Offices of Inspector General along with the politically appointed non career managers of the Massachusetts State Highway Department and toll road Turnpike Authority required little or no accountability of Federal, State tax dollars, and Toll Fees. Their inactions insured shoddy workmanship and cost escalations despite outcries from construction workers and government engineers. This resulted in diversion of needed State and Federal Tax dollars from other Massachusetts roads and bridges resulting in their serious current disrepair status.

I suggest those seeking the truth on the Big Dig look at the State House Post Audit and Oversight Committee and past reports on the Big Dig under former chairs Cerasoli, Thomas Kennedy, and especially the era of William Nagle and staff director Thomas Hammond to determine the facts against what Kennedy, Kerry and others after decades are trying to do to appear as crusaders. That legislative committee of integrity was the sole sanctuary to bring financial sanity and oversight to the project despite the Big Dig juggernaut of attacks. Their efforts were stopped when Representative James Fagan became chair and the departure of then crusading Staff Director Thomas Hammond.

Additionally, talk to the real heroes of good government that sounded the alarms who were dismissed, demeaned, intimidated, or called “gadflys” by the Big Dig propaganda machine. They include reporters Peter Howe, Tim Sandler,Wendell Woodman, John Coughlin, Charles Sennott,Joe Bergantino Ron Gallobin, Jon Wells, David Kassel, John Vanscoyoc, John Strahinch, and Joe Bergantino to name a few to the list. Also, note people such as legislators, the late Fran Doris, Marie Parente, Bill Constantino, Tom Norton, William Keating, Christy Mihos, Richard Moore, Warren Tolman, and Vincent Mannering. Even Speaker Dimasi when a rank and file legislator and Emmanuel Serra were also dismissed. Special mention should go to the late Jerry Williams, Fred Langone, Chris Ianella, Joe Baresi, Steve Cotton, Joe Dinucci as well as Howie Carr, Larry Overlan, K. Dunn Gifford, Auditor DeNucci, and Scott Amey of the Washington based whistleblower group Project on Government Oversight for all their time and efforts that went unheeded by the late US Senator Kennedy, John Kerry and others.

The Kerry and Kennedy attempts at revisionism and attempting to act like whistleblowers in seeking Highway Tunnel Inspections and so called “ Value engineering” is short of nothing too late. Both senators at this stage of their careers have the distinction of promoting with no oversight the largest and most costly flawed government construction project ever undertaken in the United States. Their continued repetitive actions of coverup is ensuring Boston’s Big Dig to be the largest international construction monument for waste, fraud, and abuse. Massachusetts new Governor Deval Patrick should not let all the enablers and the Big Dig guilty get Pardons and Freedoms for so called minor “Chump Change” that will allow again State and Federal Taxpayers and the infinity Toll Road Toll Payers to continue and be victimized.

Massachuestts needs a new WARD Commission to get needed reforms and be the model for the federal government to follow.