Opinion
Vote for real change Jan. 19
To the Editor:
The special election on Jan. 19 will mark a historic political moment here in the commonwealth of Massachusetts.
For the first time since 1953, it will actually be OK if the fellow named Kennedy doesn't win.
So now is the perfect opportunity to actually bring some long overdue change to that Senate seat. And it is past time to take a hard look at the same old corrupt political maneuvering that has been the ongoing story of Democrat Party politics here in the Bay State.
If the people of Massachusetts really want change, then they are going to have to make that change happen. And voting for Scott Brown represents that kind of real change.
Scott Brown voted against the sales tax increase. He knows that government cannot create prosperity through increased taxation. Scott also knows that nations cannot simply legislate prosperity into being.
People and companies create jobs and prosperity. But this can only happen when government gets out of the way and actually lets the people build the businesses and make the money that drive job creation. Scott Brown has promised to work to get intrusive government out of the way of business.
The same Democrat Party that is, today, driving business and jobs out of Massachusetts is the same party that gave us Scott Brown's Democrat opponent. And her mind-set, of bigger, more intrusive government, and higher taxes, is precisely what we will get if we fail to elect Scott Brown.
I am voting for real change. On Tuesday, Jan. 19, I am voting for Scott Brown.
Steve McNally
Newburyport
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Highway sound barriers deserve closer look
With Interstates 495 and 95 converging together in our region, there's plenty of unwanted highway noise to go around.
The noise serves as the background hum across a wide corridor of Greater Newburyport. Try walking through Newburyport's Maudslay State Park on a quiet fall day, or an Amesbury neighborhood near scenic Point Shore, or through Newburyport's West End, and listen. It is noise pollution that perhaps we've all gotten a little too used to. And it will only get worse as traffic numbers grow. -
Mass. education standards dropped for federal control
As we enter the back-to-school season, it is time to realize the public school in your town could dramatically change in four years due to a federal takeover. The case for national education standards might be rationalized by the need to remedy the inferior quality of some state standards and to equalize academic standards for all students. There is no doubt that the U.S. needs higher levels of achievement than its students currently demonstrate for it to remain competitive in a global economy. The common core curriculum academic standard is the federal math and English curriculum that many states are contemplating. Massachusetts recently adopted these along with 26 other states. Massachusetts will allow the federal government to dictate our education standards in order to receive the "carrot" held out: a $250 million grant Massachusetts had applied for through Obama's race to the top competition funded partially through the stimulus program.
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Is it too loud or is it just me?
To the editor:
It's probably that I'm just getting old, of which there is little doubt. A recent hearing test indicated a small bit of hearing loss, especially at high frequencies. And my wife suspects deafness. -
What is Sarah Palin's agenda?
To the editor:
Sarah Palin walked off her job as governor of Alaska halfway through her term to go on a tour to promote her book and make a lot of money. Since then she has spent most of her time on expensive speaking engagements raking in more money. She loves to speak to Tea Party crowds, appear on Fox News and slam President Obama almost on a daily basis. Her slander, lies and put-downs are getting so aggressive that she actually said that he is missing an important part of his anatomy and is incompetent. -
Leasing the way to go with solar panels
To the editor:
I just read that West Newbury is installing solar panels on Pipestave Hill for a "low bid" of $19,400. I hope the contract hasn't been signed yet. I recently installed the same 3-kilowatt system on my house in Newburyport. Instead of buying it for $19,400, I leased it for a total of $8,000 for 18 years from a company named Alteris Renewables here in Massachusetts. At the end of 18 years I can have it removed by them or buy it then for $2,000. Aside from the reduction in cost, there is another big incentive to lease. During the next 18 years, if anything goes wrong with the system (such as the PV inverter that converts DC to AC electricity), the owners have to repair it, not me. - September 1, 2010
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Highway sound barriers deserve closer look
