Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope you all have a great day and get to spend time with family and friends doing whatever makes you happy and healthy. Well, healthy except for the food and more food!! We spend so much time thinking about all the things we need to do, or what goes wrong in our everyday lives. We need to spend time today, at least, thinking about all of the good things we have in our lives. I am thankful for a good supportive caring family and all of the friends that enrich my life. I hope you have the same.
This has been a tough year in a lot of ways. Yet, many people have invested their hopes and dreams in a new leader for our country. We should live, not in reflection of what has gone wrong, but in hope of what we can do together in the future. I wish you all a healthy and happy day and may the best day of the past year be the worst day in the upcoming year.

Visit To China

A few weeks ago, I spent two weeks in China. It was a trade mission with the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment. I realized a lifelong dream by standing on the Great Wall of China. What a thrill! I also manned the Massachusetts booth at the Shenzhen Hi-Tech Trade Fair; spoke at a Minister’s Conference at that fair as one of ten from around the world; gave one of two keynote addresses at a Merger and Acquisition Conference in Shanghai, witnessed a signing of a green communities agreement; visited our Massachusetts Tech Center in the Zhjanjiang Park; visited out trade office in Beijing; toured Tsinghua University and met with officials of that school; and had numerous meetings with government officials on both the federal and provincial level. It was a busy and fascinating trip.
I have been dealing with international trade issues for over fifteen years. I have met many of these Chinese officials in Boston and have worked to establish trade ties there and elsewhere around the globe. China is interesting when you consider that their economy is growing and they have one quarter of the world’s population. There is a market there for everything. In the Zhangjiang Park, there were so many life science companies that I felt like I was in Cambridge, Mass.
There are so many opportunities in China that it is important that we explore each one available. Yet it is also important that those opportunities are mutually beneficial. They must be bilateral. But they have to be explored.
When I first entered the Legislature over twenty years ago, a typical life science company in Massachusetts may have run something like this: research was done in Cambridge/ Boston because of the abundance of research labs and universities and our hospital cluster in this area. Backroom operations such as sales and management may have been located in central Massachusetts, and clinical trials may have happened in the greater Boston area. Manufacturing could be done in western Massachusetts as the machine tool trades and cost lead to this area being conducive to those operations. Today, research and development is still being done in the Cambridge/Boston area, but clinical trials may be done in Brazil; backroom operations may be in Zurich and manufacturing may be in China. This is a worldwide economy and we either participate in it or we get left behind. I believe that Massachusetts is well positioned to compete in this worldwide marketplace with a large high tech business base and an innovative workforce. However, it takes a lot of work and follow through in order to compete and we need to do more in order to equip our business community with the tools to effectively trade with other provinces and states around the globe.

A Great Day

Thank you to everyone who voted yesterday. In Massachusetts, they believe it was a record number of voters that lined up and voted in the state. Across our country, people stood in line and voted. They made history by electing the first African American to the office of the president. That is incredible. However, it was also important that so many people participated and engaged in the vote and decision over who the next President would be. Unlike most other countries, we do so in a deliberate and participatory manner that leads to an orderly transition in power from one political philosophy and party to another.

Now it is up to all of us to continue to stay engaged in the process of democracy. The system works when we all work to be a part of it. We have a lot of work to do to support our new President-elect. Let's get to work.

In my district, even though I had no opposition, I appreciate the people who still checked off my name and I really appreciate the many people who came up to me at the polls yesterday with words of encouragement and suggestions for things for us to do. Thank you and I look forward to working with you for another two-year term.
Thanks again, and now, let's get to work!

Vote!

It is Election Day. The latest polling indicates that 30% of respondents have voted early this year and predictions are that 70% of eligible American voters may vote today. There have been bigger crowds out at rallies and more interest in this election than there has been for many years. Please get out and vote. This is a crucial election. There are two national candidates who have very clearly defined differences. This nation needs to make a choice and get behind our next Presidential nominee. That means everyone needs to participate in this choice.
I know that we are told every four years that that particular election is the most important in our lifetime. This is not rhetoric this time. This is a turning point for our country. We are in the midst of combat actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are borrowing billions of dollars to operate our federal government and have run up a record deficit in the past eight years. We have lost the respect of people around the world and have lost our place as a leader on many world issues. We are falling behind in the evolving global economy. Our country is lurching through a financial crisis and a recession. Most importantly, this nation has been divided on many issues between "red" states and "blue" states. Over the last eight years we have seen national leaders use wedge issues that divide us and we have been much better at politics than at government.
We can do better. But that means each of us needs to participate in this election and make a choice. The promise that this country holds for each of us is a wonderful thing. We have freedoms here that many others in other countries can merely dream about. But maintaining these freedoms is hard work. Each of us must participate and not just criticize the choices others make. We have to have a discussion over the direction of our country and we have to work to advance those collective goals. That is not easy and it means that we need to be active in our communities, in our elections, and in our causes. Ronald Reagan asked the question in 1980, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" That is only part of the question. The other is "What have you done to make this country better than four years ago?" That means we all need to work to make this country better than it was or is. We need to all work in order to hand the next generation the American dream still intact and better than we were received from our parents. For some of us, that means running for office. For others, it means civic involvement or activism. For all of us, it means getting involved with our vote. It all starts there. Reagan had the question right, but we need to hearken back to the words of John F. Kennedy as to how we make this country better than it was four years ago. He exhorted us to get involved when he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." He knew that we all needed to participate in order to preserve and enhance the American dream.
I think that we have forgotten that in many ways. Many people feel disenfranchised. Many do not vote or feel that vote doesn’t count. Many feel that we are entitled to services and goods here in America simply because we are Americans. All that changes today, if we get out and make a choice. An election doesn't necessarily change our country in and of itself. But if we all make the decision to vote in this critical election, it is a start. If we all decide to get involved locally, it is a start. If we all decide to have a discussion rather than criticize each other’s choices, it is a movement.
That starts today. We have the power to make a choice today that will dictate the direction of our country for years to come. Please join with me in getting involved and voting today. Vote for the candidate of your choice, but go vote!
Thank you for your vote and your service.

New York Windmills

Last weekend I took two staff members and visited the windmill complex in upstate New York. These windmills are located primarily in the towns of Chateaugay, Clinton, and Ellenberg. Each one generates enough electricity to power about 500 homes. There are hundreds planned.
I heard of the windmills in a dairy farm commission hearing last spring, but didn’t realize how big this was until I had occasion in August to pass through these towns on the way back from Canada. They are in people back yards and you can see corn growing or cows grazing right around the windmills. Testimony during the dairy hearings stated that the dairy farmers are sharing the profits form the windmills and most were enthusiastic about their placement. Here in Massachusetts where windmills are controversial, I wonder if we would be so quick to embrace these? If you click on these and enlarge the images, you can see the tops of windmills all around the farm.

Did Last Night's Vice Presidential Debate Provoke a Worldwide Crisis?

Reuters: London, England. World English teachers today issued a multinational press release announcing that there is a sudden global shortage of the word “also” that is threatening the ability for people all over the world to make additions in sentences as a form of communication. Professor Ian Shellington, Professor Emeritus, Oxford University detailed this sudden shortage of the adverb today in an interview with Katie Couric. “This is a sudden and complete depletion of a very valuable resource in our ability to communicate with one another,” detailed Shellington. “It would appear that this is a very severe loss that has halted overnight communication in such things as email.”

John Soucer, a football coach in the Laffey-Bristol League described how this has impacted his ability to live a normal life. “Me and some mates were returning from Cracker’s Pub last night and I was going to post some of me exploits on me blog, when I was unable to one up some bloke from Stilton. His posts are usually cheesy and they stink, but he’s always bragging. I found an distinct and dreaded inability to one up him due to my shortage of , y’know, that word.” Bollocks! What’s a bloke to do if we can’t brag about our knitting??!

Closer to home Mitzi Smith-Hurst, spokeswoman for the American Teachers Association blamed the shortage on No Child Left Behind. “This is what happens when schools and teachers are under funded by the present administration. If we had more money, we’d have more language. It’s as simple as that.”

Speculation over the shortage has reached immediate consensus. Overwhelmingly the overnight news agencies have pointed to the overuse of the word during last night’s debate by Alaskan Governor and Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin in her one and one half hour debate with Democratic nominee Sen. Joseph Biden of Pennsylvania, and until recently, Delaware. Tom Brokaw, NBC icon stated that, while he didn’t usually pick winners and losers in these debates, she was the clear winner in use of the “A” word. Researchers at Factcheck.org said that it hampered their ability to research facts used by the Governor. Researcher Derek Bloggonanon said, “Jees, we kept looking up statements because, you know, we are supposed to look these things up in real time. But we would start to look this stuff up and then she would add something else and pretty soon our computers were slower than assistance to New Orleans. It really hurt us.” The Presidential Debate Commission could not confirm or deny this as the source of the language crisis. Mimi Langdorf, spokesperson for the Commission said they keep count on many things, but not on language use. “Quite frankly, Langdorf said,” We haven’t run across anything quite like this since Ross Perot’s use of the word “Get”. The Commission did point to notes taken from the podium as possible proof that Palin did, indeed, precipitate this crisis. Ms Langdorf stated, “You may notice during debates that candidates will make notes for their use. We do keep the notes from the podiums in our archives as part of the Presidential debate collection in Windage, Minnesota, proposed home of the Presidential Debate Commission Museum and Gift Shop. On Governor Palin’s sheet, the word in question was scribbled one hundred and seventeen times. The only other notes were “wink, wink”, and “Make sure they flew in the moose meat for Todd’s dinner.”

Fox News had immediate overnight special programming on this issue with commentators ridiculing the press’ reporting of this story. “What a bunch of cry babies,” noted newsman Ron Huntsman, “This is from the elite eastern press corps who can’t seem to lower themselves to use the word ‘too’. For crying out loud, get over it.”

The White House issued a statement that it was studying the situation and would look to release more language from the federal language reserve. This would mark the first time in the eight years of the Bush Presidency that an expansion of language has been allowed. In the meantime, White House advisors, after an early morning meeting, have asked that people remain confident in our English Language. “Our Languages is strong,” President Bush said after being told of the early morning meeting. Advisors have advised that the language shortage is temporary and should abate as soon as Palin is placed back into isolation and away from the press corps. In the meantime, they have asked the general public to use the words “besides”, “likewise”, and the phrase “as well” until normalcy returns to the United States.

In related news, overnight markets were down substantially upon learning of this latest shortage, oil prices rose to over $100.00 per barrel, and Pubster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus, the largest of the wordsmiths in the US has asked Congress to consider a $150 million fiscal package to allow them to recapitalize the word market.

Yellow Cardinal?/ no/ Cedar Waxwing

This is a picture of a yellow cardinal. I had never seen one before, but this was taken at the eastern portal of the Hoosac Tunnel in the Town of Florida. There were a bunch of Cardinals flying around by the train trestle over the Deerfield River. Only one was red and the rest were various shades of yellow! If you enlarge this picture you can clearly see a red spot on the wing that is shaped like a heart. Talk about carrying your heart on your sleeve!

Edited: After the Comment, it looks as if this is a Cedar Waxwing. Thank you for the comment. I have never heard nor seen this bird before. I thought it was a Cardinal because, well, it looks like one and there was a red one in the group. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful bird. BTW, it is sitting on the fencing of the train trestle. This is a long rickety bridge over the Deerfiel River.