Wonderful. Massachusetts Spent $93 Million On Health Care For Illegal Immigrants Last Year

Be thankful to Rep. James Lyons who made a very public demand for the numbers by refusing to leave the House chambers until the Patrick administration released the information.  Now we know why the governor has been stonewalling on Lyons’ request since May:

The 58-year-old Andover Republican — who bucked Beacon Hill by holding a sit-in in the House chambers two weeks ago — pried the shocking report from state officials. It showed that nearly 55,000 illegal immigrants received more than $93 million in MassHealth benefits for emergency medical services last year.

I don’t want to hear another word about looming budget cuts or teacher layoffs when the state is spending close to $100 million a year on free health care for people who are here illegally.

 

Mother Of Spokesweasel Who Banned Herald From Obama Event Is David Axelrod’s Sister (Updated)

Updates in bold.

The corrupt apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. 

In case you missed it, the White House banned the Boston Herald from full access to Obama’s fundraiser in Boston today because the Herald ran an op-ed by Mitt Romney on its front page on the same day of the Messiah’s visit here back in March.

The White House Press Office has refused to give the Boston Herald full access to President Obama’s Boston fund-raiser today, in e-mails objecting to the newspaper’s front page placement of a Mitt Romney op-ed, saying pool reporters are chosen based on whether they cover the news “fairly.”

“I tend to consider the degree to which papers have demonstrated to covering the White House regularly and fairly in determining local pool reporters,” White House spokesman Matt Lehrich wrote in response to a Herald request for full access to the presidential visit.

Howie Carr, a Herald columnist, was livid and went ballistic on his radio show today.

Watch Howie’s rant here. 

Makes you wonder what Obama’s internal poll numbers are showing in a matchup with Mitt, doesn’t it?

Update 5/19:

MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell sides with the Herald.  No, your eyes are not deceiving you.

O’DONNELL: The Herald says it made a request to send a pool reporter to today’s events. Pool reporters provide information to the rest of the media when there’s limited access at a press event. The Herald said in turning down their request, White House spokesman Matt Lehrich mentioned the Romney op-ed from the last time President Obama was in town. Lehrich’s email to the Herald said in broken English, “I tend to consider the degree to which papers have demonstrated to covering the White House regularly and fairly in determining local pool reporters.” Good luck trying to diagram that sentence. “My point about the op-ed was not that you ran it but that it was the full front page which excluded any coverage of the visit of a sitting President of the United States to Boston. I think that raises a fair question about whether the paper is unbiased in its coverage of the President’s visits.”

Okay, White House, let’s get something straight here: The Boston Herald is not unbiased. Let’s get something else straight: The Boston Globe is not unbiased. The New York Times is not unbiased. The Washington Post is not unbiased. There are now maybe no more than ten cities left in America that have more than one newspaper. Boston is one of those lucky cities. The Boston Globe, the dominant paper in the region, likes you guys in the Obama White House. The Boston Herald doesn’t like you. Get used to it. And understand that the Herald can do you no harm. You won Massachusetts by nearly 26 points. You are going to win Massachusetts again no matter what the Herald says about you. If the Herald had the power to change minds in Massachusetts, John Kerry would not be a senator and Deval Patrick would not be a governor. 

You know you’ve really stepped in it when you have the likes of Lawrence O’Donnell calling out your stupidity.

 

“Make no mistake about it. We are at war.”

The new civility comes to Massachusetts again.  First it was Mike “The Penguin” Capuano with his hate speech and now the Commonwealth’s Labor Czar is declaring war on the governor of Wisconsin.

Politicians and taxpayer advocates blasted Gov. Deval Patrick’s labor czar yesterday for attending a pro-union rally and declaring “war” on Wis. Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining crackdown — saying the administration’s open union support doesn’t serve taxpayers’ interests.

“The administration is not on the side of the taxpayer. … It’s been on the side of the unions and special interests,” said state Rep. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton), who co-sponsored a bill on Beacon Hill that would strip some collective bargaining rights from state employees. “The rhetoric really needs to be toned down.”

Patrick officials scrambled to distance themselves yesterday from comments by state Department of Labor chief George Noel, who told the crowd at a union rally Saturday: “Make no mistake about it. We are at war.”

It goes without saying that had the same sentence been uttered by a Republican, the usual suspects on the left would have the vapoers and the footage put on a continuous loop on MSNBC.

It’s November…Time To Remember

The day of reckoning has finally arrived.  Nationally, today is our day to send a very clear message to Obama and his Democrat pals in Washington.  Locally, today is our day to send a very clear message to Cadillac Deval and his corrupt, hack Democrat pals on Beacon Hill.

In case you had forgotten (as if) here are a few reasons to get out vote, courtesy of Moe Lane:

Now, some of you (more of you, I suspect, than are willing to admit it) read the paragraph above, read the article that it links to, and then started to feel… pity.  Or empathy, because it happened to you in 2006 and 2008.  Or merely a natural desire to not kick someone when they are down.  And those are laudable impulses to have.  But before you act on those impulses with regard to these professional Democrats, please remember this:

• These people told their clients to say that you hate African-Americans.
• These people told their clients to say that you hate Latinos.
• These people told their clients to say that you hate gays.
• These people told their clients to say that you hate women.
• These people told their clients to say that you hate Jews.
• These people told their clients to say that you hate Muslims.
• These people told their clients to say that you hate the poor.
• These people told their clients to say that you hate America.

Shall I continue?

• These people told their clients to say that you were fascists.
• These people told their clients to say that you were theocrats.
• These people told their clients to say that you were stupid.
• These people told their clients to say that you were uneducated.
• These people told their clients to say that you were hatemongers.
• These people told their clients to say that you were insane.
• These people told their clients to say that you were violent extremists.

I can keep this going for quite a while, you know.

• These people told their clients to call you unpatriotic.
• These people told their clients to call you cowards.
• These people told their clients to mock you at every opportunity.
• These people told their clients to deliberately use a sexual slur when referring to you.
• These people told their clients to trivialize and dismiss your concerns at every opportunity.

And now these professional Democrats are sad because they’re going to lose.  Well, they deserve to lose.  Because they’re bad people.  And because the entire point of the United States of America is to make sure that bad people lose.  So go vote on Tuesday, and make as many bad people as possible lose.

Locally, how can anyone forget Deval’s Cadillac, his $10,000 drapes, his wife’s social secretary, the doling out of six figure jobs  to his Milton neighbors, the attempt to plant a hack pol pal into a six figure job which had been vacant for twelve years, his broken promise to lower your property taxes, his broken promise to hire 1000 new police officers, his dismantling of the program that allows State Troopers to work with ICE to enforce our nation’s immigration laws, his support of drivers’ licenses for illegals, his support of in-state tuition for illegals, the refusal to let the citizens of Massachusetts vote on marriage, the 25% increase on the sales tax to 6.25% – including already taxed alcohol – and all the while local aid has been cut and your taxes keep going up.

It’s finally November…it’s time to remember.

Illegal Immigrants In MA Have Received $35.7 Million In Health Care This Year

Courtesy of you and me.

(photo credit: Boston Herald)

Beleaguered Bay State and U.S. taxpayers coughed up a staggering $35.7 million this year in free emergency health care for more than 52,000 illegal aliens in Massachusetts, sparking outrage from candidates and critics who back a tougher line on immigration.

The figures — released by Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration under an order for the Secretary of State’s office and after more than a month of ducking questions — show illegal immigrants who belong to MassHealth Limited received $33.8 million in taxpayer-funded in-patient hospital care this year.

They also made 6,160 visits to the state’s overburdened emergency rooms in the fiscal year ending in June for an additional cost of $1.9 million, a Herald analysis shows.

And how’s this for breathtaking arrogance?  Cadillac Deval won’t let anyone from his admininstration talk about the  rage-inducing numbers.

The Patrick administration, which supplied the figures last week, refused to make state health insurance officials available to discuss them.

But critics were quick to blast the huge medical bill being footed by hard-pressed, law-abiding taxpayers.

“Incorporating illegal immigrants into any type of government-sponsored health care is legitimizing their presence here,’’ said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, which favors stricter immigration policies. “It’s a kind of piecemeal amnesty.’’

Added state Rep. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth), “It’s just another example in this state of working people paying the bills, and some people availing themselves of the benefits we have in the commonwealth.’’

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER.

Deval Patrick’s Wife Has Aide To “Coordinate” Her Appearances On Taxpayer Dime

Groundhog day comes early to Massachusetts.

In a stunning rerun of one of Gov. Deval Patrick’s early embarrassing Beacon Hill stumbles, first lady Diane Patrick once again has a taxpayer-funded aide to coordinate her official appearances, the Herald has learned.

Patrick communications director Kyle Sullivan confirmed that Rose Arruda, who makes $55,000 a year to run Patrick’s ribbon cuttings and speaking engagements across the state, also works on up to 52 events a year for the governor’s wife, who’s a lawyer at the prestigious Hub firm Ropes & Gray.

Republicans immediately seized on the news — which comes almost four years after Patrick’s disastrous decision to hire a $72,000 chief of staff for the first lady in the first few months of his term. The aide resigned in March 2007 after public outrage over her hire.

Sullivan defended the move, saying, “The great majority of her time is spent on staffing Gov. Patrick at official events. Occasionally she will also assist Mrs. Patrick when she is attending an event in her capacity as first lady.”

Arruda, who identifies herself as a “staff person for First Lady Diane Patrick” on her Linked In profile, also assists Diane Patrick on the campaign trail, but only on her own personal time, Sullivan said.

Pu-leeze.  Since when does a hack on Beacon Hill do anything on their own personal time?  

Remember in November.

Illegals In MA Get Discounts On Prescriptions, MBTA, Home Heating Assistance

And here we thought it was only free health insurance, dental, food and housing.

The free ride rolls on for Bay State illegal aliens who stand to score benefits, from prescription discounts to MBTA passes, even as Gov. Deval Patrick tempers his rhetoric on such taxpayer-funded perks during his re-election bid.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that that is going on,” said Rep. James Miceli (D-Wilmington), who called the lax oversight a “slap in the face” to taxpayers.

Illegals applying for state services such as MBTA discounts for disabled passengers, The Ride, home heating assistance and cheaper prescription drugs for the elderly, aren’t even asked whether they are U.S. citizens

“That (citizenship) question – as a result of the recent change in the law – should now be on every application for state benefits, and if it’s not we need to legislatively correct that,” said state Sen. Steven A. Baddour (D-Methuen), who backed a recent push to bar state services for illegal immigrants. “Only those who are here legally should be benefiting from the system.”

[…]

The application for the Prescription Advantage Plan – which offers discounts on prescription drugs for the elderly – doesn’t even require a Social Security card. It asks for Social Security numbers, but alerts applicants that it is “voluntary.”

This concludes our local Remember in November edition.

Tab For Massachusetts Stimulus Propaganda Signs Nears $500 Thousand

I pass one of these signs during my daily commute and have to fight the desire to plow it over with the Mighty Outback.

The Bay State has blown nearly $500,000 in taxpayer dough on road signs promoting President Obama’s stimulus projects – nearly 10 percent of the total nationwide – in a campaign Republicans are ripping as wasteful partisan propaganda in tough election year, a Herald review shows.

U.S. Department of Transportation spokeswoman Nancy Singer said state officials across the country have spent a total of $5 million on the signs – meaning Massachusetts accounts for nearly 10 percent of the nation’s total stimulus sign spending.

“It kills me to see us spending that much money on a bunch of signs to tell people what they’re spending their money on,” huffed Republican Jon Golnik, who’s running against U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) in the 5th congressional district. “It’s the definition of waste.”

The Obama-friendly signs – which cost some $443,000 to make and install – have popped up at construction sites everywhere from Danvers to Harvard. They remind motorists the president is “Putting America to Work,” even as local congressional Democrats fend off strong challengers riding a throw-the-bums out tide.

The review comes as U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has called for an investigation into “overtly political guidance on stimulus advertising.”

“Americans expected that stimulus funds would be used for projects that have lasting value and not as political propaganda,” Issa told the Herald.

10 freaking percent.  Way to go, Deval.

If Illinois has spent $1 million on its own, $5 million total seems low to me.   Not the the Obama administration would fudge numbers or anything. Beacause they’ve never done that before, right?

Remember in November.

Not The Protest The Moonbats Had Hoped For

The National Governor’s Association is in town and, as expected, there was a protest outside of the kickoff event at Fenway Park last night.  But it wasn’t the protest the moonbats had hoped for.  Instead of a sea of  Mexican flag-waving crazies protesting the Arizona immigration law and Jan Brewer’s presence, at least two thousand Massachusetts police officers were outside to protest their governor and host of the conference, Deval Patrick.

As many as 2,000 cops from across the state picketed the first night of the National Governors Association meeting in Boston, shouting “Dump Deval!” as busloads of VIPs arrived for a dinner at Fenway Park [map] hosted by Gov. Deval Patrick.

It was the first of two major protests police unions have planned for Patrick as he hosts the nation’s governors this weekend. Officers are angry over layoffs, cuts to the Quinn Bill educational stipend, the use of flagmen at road construction sites and what they see as a broken campaign promise to put 1,000 more cops on the streets.

“When he was running against (former Attorney General) Tom Reilly he needed us, so he tried to appease us,” said Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association president Thomas Nee. “Things are not getting better out there, they’re getting worse. We’re starting to see it every weekend.”

Video here.

One of Deval Patrick’s many broken campaign promises was to put 1000 more cops on the streets.  It’s been almost four years and instead of new cops heading to the police academy, veterans are getting pink slips. 

Together we can.

4 Year-Old Girl Raped By Illegal Immigrant In Sanctuary State Massachusetts

Yes, you read that correctly.  Four. Years. Old.

From Michael Graham’s Boston Herald column:

For a little girl who spent this weekend lying in a Massachusetts hospital, the debate over illegal immigration isn’t about race or politics.

It’s about life and death.

Four-year-old Heidi was brutally raped on Saturday. Now she’s listed in “serious” condition at Baystate Medical Center.

Springfield police have charged 22-year-old Edlizar Mazariegos with aggravated rape of a child with force. Mazariegos, who regularly traveled up and down the East Coast without a driver’s license, is an illegal immigrant. As of this writing, he is on the run from Massachusetts police – likely for the first time ever.

He’s certainly had no need to run before.

This is, after all, “Welcoming Massachusetts,” where liberal Democrats openly support benefits for criminal immigrants and oppose immigration law enforcement.

Gov. Deval Patrick isn’t just ambivalent about border security, he’s openly hostile. He shut down Gov. Mitt Romney’s state police immigration-enforcement program and – in a moment of wince-inducing irony – was on my radio station repeating his opposition to local immigration enforcement even as the Herald was reporting the story of Heidi’s rape on its Web site.

This weekend, Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona will be in Boston for the National Governors Association meeting. She’ll be greeted by protesters from groups who support Patrick’s pro-illegal stance, like the far-left ANSWER Coalition and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Brewer will be denounced here by politicians and media pundits alike. But for what?

For a policy that, had it been in place in Massachusetts, could have prevented the rape of this little girl.

Nobody argues that all illegal immigrants are rapists, or that most of them commit violent crime. That’s clearly nonsense.

But what is inarguable is that politicians who allow criminal immigrants to live openly and easily in their states are, at some level, responsible for the crimes they may commit and the corruption they engender.

Deval Patrick should have to face the parents of little Heidi and explain to them why he is more concerned with giving animals like Mazariegos a driver’s license and in-state tuition than detaining them and sending them back to where they came from.