Boston's Big Dig or Boston's Big Mistake?

Who decided that the best way to ventilate a ceiling was to suspend the basement floor over our heads?

On a simmering Tuesday morning I learned of the death of a Jamaica Plain woman. A 12-ton concrete section of the Central Artery Tunnel connector ceiling crashed into her car while she and her husband were traveling to Logan Airport on Monday night. Wednesday we learned that at least 60 more such problem areas exist in just the eastbound lane of the Turnpike connector to the Ted Williams Tunnel. From 1990-1996 I chronicled the development of The Big Dig in a series of documentaries for WGBH and the City of Boston, Community Development (http://www.polarisproduction.com/about.html ). I felt a deep regret over this Big Dig failure, sadness for Milena Del Valle who lost her life and for her husband, Angie, who escaped the accident but may never escape the memory.

In the early years it was hard to find fault with the CAT project. The Big Dig helped to bail out Boston in the wake of political and economic recession following Mike Dukakis’ failed race for the Presidency. The Big Dig provided high paying jobs for managers, engineers, designers and skilled building union workers. The money flowed from the federal spigot and most people were happy…even the neighbors who were mitigated out of the neighborhood into financially greener meadows. Word was out in the media to not rock the gravy boat and to keep coverage positive or access would be denied. Media access was highly controlled at building sites. So what happened to turn our rosy, cozy dream of a snarl free Boston into today’s CATmare? The same thing that seems to happen every time people have an opportunity to spend federal money- insufficient due diligence.

The Republican administration put Bechtel-Parsons-Brinkerhoff in place to “manage” the project and to dole out contracts to Republican cronies. The Democratic Legislators and Congressmen made certain that every worker had to join a skilled building union including those working for tiny contracting firms. Altogether this was a recipe for graft and corruption. As the pockets of the politicians grew with donations from contractors, union halls and pension funds, the will to open the Washington wallet remained. Oversight was overlooked. State managers, joint venture partners, contractors and union bosses got so busy counting the money that they forgot to ask what was happening with the project. Sometimes we would show up with cameras at embarrassingly empty sites and have to wait for workers to be assembled by the public relations team that always accompanied us. Taxpayers paid managers too much money to pay attention to the project. None of us paid enough attention to the fact that it was too much money for the project.

Has anyone stepped up to the mike and apologized to Angie Del Valle and Milena’s family for the 12 tons of concrete that landed on her? I have no desire to participate in the finger pointing blame game that is going on right now in Massachusetts between Governor Romney, Turnpike Chair Matt Amorello and Attorney General Tom Reilly. They should all resign in shame for not providing the leadership needed for due diligence of this project from the minute they each took office. The CAT budget raced from $2.3 billion in 1988 with a 3 year timeline to over $14.3 billion and almost 18 years to completion. No one noticed? When leaders of both major parties do nothing to stop a runaway train, it’s obvious that the fix is in on both sides of the aisle. Tom Reilly says he knew there were problems with ceiling panel bolts since a report warning about the bolts was made available in 1999. Why did he wait until someone was killed to investigate? As Attorney General he’s supposed to protect the public and now he's running as a Democrat for the Governor’s job? I am just as incredulous at the Independent candidacy of Christy Mihos who was on the Turnpike Board. Republican Governor Romney wants to be President? Well, he would fit right in with today's Republican administration and a Congress that supported Bechtel-Parsons-Brinkerhoff in Boston, Enron in Texas and have handed the keys for the port-a-potty to Halliburton in Iraq.

I shudder to think of compromises made in Washington. It’s amazing that the Massachusetts Democratic delegation stopped at $14.3 billion-or maybe they didn’t. Perhaps now that the project is nearing an end it will simply live indefinitely through a series of mishaps and investigations, roadway fixes and criminal investigations, lawsuits and political maneuvers. Each of these twists, turns and efforts to “fix” the tunnels will, of course, cost a tidy sum of funds from the state and federal coffers, but will be “necessary” to “restore public confidence and prevent more lives being taken”.

Translation -it’s time for the trial lawyers to get their share of the spoils.

It’s amazing how valuable a life becomes to politicians after it’s gone and how our daily lives seem to mean very little to these people except when they look for campaign contributions.

Dale Orlando holds an advanced degree in community and organizational development. Career successes include grants writing, television production and web development. Polaris Production LLC can assist fund raising in environmental issues, health and human services contact http://www.PolarisProduction.com/consult-form.html Our web design centers on vacation video sites and other stress reduction at http://www.smart-walks.com Dale Orlando is an Account Executive with Polaris Production and co-produced The Big Dig documentary series for television.
©2006, Dale Orlando

150 Highest Paying Adsense Keywords Revealed!

So you want to make money with Adsense but the first thing that you need to do is select the right keywords and phases to put in the content of your pages. Knowing the right keywords to use is critical to you making lots of money because that will determine how much you get paid for every click. In this article, I will reveal to you the top 150 keywords that can generate large sums of money for you. Now you can easily make money online. The top paying keyword goes for around $75 per click, while the bottom keyword go for around $21.62 per click. Use this information to your advantage.

Rank Keyword

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Congratulations, you now know the top 150 highest paying Adsense keywords. I guess now you think that all you need to do is insert some of these keywords into your website and you will start to make lots of money, right? Wrong, wrong, wrong. I hate to tell you this, but I must: the 150 keywords above will be worthless to 90% of Adsense users. Why do I say that? Well, facts show that 90% of webmasters that use Adsense barely make $180 per month. This is mainly due to the fact that they don’t know the secrets to making money with Adsense. Top Adsense earners know these Adsense money making secrets and are using them to earn around $15,500 per month just by having Adsense ads on their site. You must learn these powerful Adsense money making secrets if you want to earn thousands monthly with Adsense. 97% of Adsense top earners won’t reveal these secrets to you for fear of competition. The hardest task that you will face is finding out what are the Adsense money making secrets and how to implement them .

I highly recommend that you visit http://adsense-videos.mcs9.com - There you will find 9 amazing videos and that will reveal to you the Adsense money making secrets that top Adsense earners are using. By using these secrets, you’ll be able to earn $19,150 per month from Adsense.

Also check out http://www.instantwealthgenerator.com - There you will find over 750 hot-selling products that you can sell to your visitors. These products are most purchased items online. They also come with sales tools. There are no loyalty fees that you’ll ever need to pay. You keep 100% of the profits. You’ll also learn an incredible way in which you can make thousands of dollars weekly by having other people promote the products for you.

All Sex Offenders are Child Molesters... Right?

Much controversy exists regarding how persons become labeled a sex offender. (Rebecca Van Drunen, Confederation College,"Outcast Society: A Closer Look at North American Sexual Offenders in the Twenty-First Century", May 5th, 2006). Most Americans believe that the registry lists convicted child molesters when in actuality, many offenders listed on the Registries have been convicted of poor-behavior-choice offenses, which involve no victim and no physical contact. An example of such would include online talk with an undercover police officer posing as an underage minor. Teenagers involved in a consensual sexual relationship, known as "Romeo and Juliet" relationships, with the male or female partner considered underage in the eyes of the law, are also listed as sex offenders on the nation's registries. ("Groups Propose Tier System For Sex Registry" Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com, May2006).

Most charged persons lack adequate funding for a legal defense to fight such charges. The result is a plea bargain, which in some states, is followed by automatic sexual-offender registration regardless of judical discretion, such as decreed by Florida Statute 943.0436. This means the power of a judge to impose a fair and just sentence for first time offenders has been legislatively-and quite effectively-been removed from legal due process. Registration is for life or 20 years, whatever comes first, and permeates every aspect of the registrant's life. Advocates believe politicians have run unchecked with this issue, due to guaranteed press coverage, easy votes and the guarantee of federal funding for law enforcement with the passage of one new sex offender law annually. (Sharon Wilson, "Sex Offenders: The Other Side", Orlando Sentinel, 10/23/2005). An overhaul of the nation's registries through the incorporation of a tier level system is advocated as a method which would allow the public to more accurately determine the true risk of a registered offender living in their neighborhood while allowing law enforcement to better quality supervise those persons considered truly dangerous not only to children but also, to women and the elderly.

Recent Court Rulings

Recently, the 11th Circuit Court unanimously struck down part of a federal law prohibiting the offering or advertising of material presented as child pornography, saying the provisions were too broad and vague. (April 2006). The case U.S. v. Michael Williams 04-15128 challenged the 1996 Child Pornography Prevention Act, which Congress expanded the definition of child pornography again to include "any material or purported material in a manner that reflects the belief, or that is intended to cause another to believe" that the material contains illegal child pornography. The 11th Circuit Court cited that "advances in photographic and computer imaging made it possible to produce and distribute child pornography without employing actual children." Although the Court "recognized that Congress has a compelling interest in protecting children and, to that end, may regulate in interstate commerce settings the distribution or solicitation of the materials. ... However, the pandering provision goes much farther than that. The provision abridges the freedom to engage in a substantial amount of lawful speech ... and the reasons the Government offers in support of such limitations have no justification in the Supreme Court's First Amendment precedents."

The Court further stated, "The protection of our children against sexual abuse and predatory pedophiles is of extraordinary importance. We do not question that strong federal laws are needed, but they must pass constitutional muster. ... Congress may not 'burn the house to roast the pig.'" (Carl Jones "Porn Law Goes Too Far", Daily Business Review, April 10, 2006). Civil rights advocates find this an important ruling regarding free speech but also, the ruling serves as a signal to elected officials that law enforcement cannot be granted carte blanche to overstep the inherent rights granted to American citizens by the U.S. Constitution.

The Civil Rights of Nonoffending Family Members

Advocates indicate that the civil rights of convicted family members and their nonoffending family members is forever effected, long after the punishment has ended. Internet publication of sex offenders home addresses continues to be upheld by the court in the name of public safety, although April 2006 vigilante type murders in Maine have brought new concerns to misue of the registry and to the safety of nonoffending family members. Missouri civil rights attorney Arthur Benson currently waits decision from the Missouri Supreme Court regarding the Sex Offenders Registration Act SORA Litigation, Jane Doe I, et al. v. Thomas Phillips et al. which "contends the act violates substantive due process rights and equal protection rights because it infringes on fundamental liberty rights, imposes a lifetime stigma, has no express purpose and, even if it serves a compelling interest, is not narrowly tailored or rationally related to that interest. They assert that, if the act is deemed to be criminal in nature, it violates the prohibition against ex post facto laws because it imposes an additional punishment, thereby altering the consequences for a crime for which they already have been sentenced." (Arthur A. Benson II, Jane Doe I, et al. v. Thomas Phillips et alCase No. SC86573, May 2006).(http://www.bensonlaw.com/).

The New McCarthyism?

Many feel the blacklisting of sex offenders is reminciscent of the McCarthy era during the nation's anti-communist hysteria. From the moment in a 1950 speech when Senator Joseph McCarthy waved his infamous (and never-identified) "list of 205 communists working in the State Department," the senator exploited the country's Cold War paranoia, relentlessly pursuing those he deemed communist sympathizers.

Edward R. Murrow, American journalist, took on McCarthy through a series of television news broadcasts which eventually led to the censure of the Senator. Murrow indicated in his famous October 15, 1958, "Wires and Lights" speech, "There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference."

It is our duty to question authority, because without scrutiny, authority remains unchecked and corrupt.

Sharon Wilson is a free lance writer and member of SOhopeful International. Her personal quest is to educate the American public of the grand scheme created by politicans known as "The Sexual Offender". It ain't pretty! Ms. Wilson rants and raves via her political blog, Smashed Frog, http://smashedfrog.blogspot.com Get Smashed! Join the online discussion regarding the absurdities of government.

The Importance Of Finding The Right Orlando Criminal Attorney

The main important factor involved in finding the right orlando criminal attorney if you live in Florida is the fact that your attorney will either keep you from doing time or they won’t. You need to find a lawyer that is experienced in the type of case that you need him or her for. If you need the lawyer for a crime that could make you go to jail for some time, you want one that already knows exactly what could happen during the process so that they are prepared for it. Getting a first time lawyer could be detrimental to your freedom even though they all have to start out somewhere.

Orlando Man Arrested For DUI In 10-Car Pile-up

Jairo Ramirez of Orlando was charged with a DUI and causing a personal injury crash early Saturday morning on I-4. The 24-year old Orange County resident allegedly admitted to police “You got me” after police say he failed a series of field sobriety test on the shoulder of I-4 at approximately 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning (read more).

The accident involved 10 cars and shut down the highway for nearly two hours. Tests conducted at the county DUI center showed Ramierz’s blood alcohol level was 0.107 which is above the 0.080 that the state defines as intoxicated. Three motorists involved in the crash suffered minor injuries and were treated at local hospitals according to reports.

If you or any loved one needs help with a DUI charge or any criminal or traffic violation in the state of Florida, please contact Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at www.fightyourorlandodui.com to discuss the matter.