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Filling in for Nightdragon: Howie Carr

January 29, 2003 ~ 1:53 p.m.

I am hurt. Full of anxiety and distrust. In a tail-spin. Come as a surprise? A tad unfair, isn�t it? I can�t be strong all the time, nor do I pretend to be. Some truths about me were exposed recently and though they come as no surprise, they are stabbing at me like knives. I don�t know when I�ll be posting again because, for the short-term future, I have got nothing to say. Plenty of thoughts. None of them decent.

However, I�ll let columnist Howie Carr of The Boston Herald entertain you while I lick my wounds. This is a great piece. Enjoy:

Which pols took the pay raise? Here's a profile

by HOWIE CARR, published and copyright � by the Boston Herald, Sunday, January 26, 2003

I have compiled a profile of the typical Bay State legislator who is grabbing the $3,258 pay raise.

If you have ever been fined by the State Ethics Commission, arrested for beating your wife, filed for bankruptcy, cheated on your travel allowance, forgot to file your nomination papers, been cited for fraudulent use of a handicapped parking placard, had your legs shaved while passed out at a State House toga party or voted against the Pledge of Allegiance, then you almost certainly took the pay raise.

Please try not to let this information destroy your faith in the integrity of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Consider Rep. Jay Kaufman of Lexington. He adores Judge Maria Lopez, and last year, during the vote on whether to support the Pledge of Allegiance, he was not indivisible, he was invisible. He ducked out of the House chamber rather than let his constituents know how he feels about patriotism. Jay sures loves his good old American pay raise, though.

�From a selfish point of view,� he told his local newspaper, �I'm barely getting by, and I have college tuition to make in the near future, and at the moment, we have no other source of income.�

Have you ever thought about getting a job, Rep? A real job.

Another rep who high-tailed it out of the chamber last summer rather than vote on the pledge was Jim Marzilli of Arlington. He too has now taken the money and run.

The list of limousine liberals who voted against the Pledge of Allegiance but who �have taken no action to decline raise,� as it is so decorously put, includes the following:

Reps. Ruth Balser (D-Newton), Deborah Blumer (D-Framingham), Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville), Kay Khan (D-Newton) and Frank �The Fizz� Smizik (D-Brookline).

Before grabbing the dough, they all asked themselves, �What would Fidel do?� Now they chant, �Pledge of Allegiance, no; pay raise, si!�

They're all giving at least some of their ill-gotten gains to charity, wink-wink, nudge-nudge.

Then there's Rep. Angelo Scaccia (D-Readville). Angie figures if his constituent Mumbles Menino [Nightdragon: the mayor of Boston] is worth $150,000, he deserves another $3,258. It more than makes up for that $3,000 he was fined by the Ethics Commission a few years back for accepting free meals and golf rounds from tobacco lobbyists. Is he still appealing?

Then there's Rep. Paul �Cujo� Kujawski (D-Webster), who absorbed a $10,000 hit last year from the Ethics Commission. He was charging Red Sox tickets and suits to his campaign account. Last year Cujo got his brother a job at the ABCC, where he works with the son of Rep. John �Spuds� Binienda (D-Worcester). Spuds was once charged with beating his wife. Now Spuds stands charged with beating the commonwealth out of $3,258.

Rep. Chris Asselin (D-Springfield) had his house searched by the feds recently. He took the money, and who can blame him? His legal bills must be astronomical.

Rep. Anthony Petruccelli (D-East Boston) is the solon who ended up with smooth legs after a toga party House session awhile back. More recently he was spotted in Ward 1 driving a car with an expired registration. God knows he needs the dough.

In the state Senate, most of the solons refused the pay raise, but there's a catch: Almost all of them are in bogus �leadership� jobs, which means they are already pocketing an extra $7,500 a year. But some of the senators did take the dough, among them Sen. David Magnani of Framingham. He says he'll be giving his extra money to charity, so let's hope he keeps his personal financial house in better order than his campaign records. Last year he neglected to file the proper papers to get himself on the ballot, and had to run for renomination on stickers.

Another veteran solon who sometimes forgets to file his nomination papers is Rep. Byron Rushing (D-South End). He took the money too, for the children no doubt. Rushing is a rules reformer, as are Reps. Paul Demakis (D-Back Bay) and Charlie Murphy (D-Burlington). House rules reformers, I guess, are not expected to take any vows of poverty.

It was a bipartisan raid on the Treasury. At least eight Republicans grabbed for the gold, as did both the youngest and the oldest members of the House. Come one, come all, get your free money. We've robbed the stupid taxpayers yet again.

New Hampshire is looking better all the time.

� M.E.M.

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