Can you believe I haven’t posted since July?  Shameful is the only word I can use to describe my blog silence.  Thank you to all of you who have emailed me asking for new posts (Mom) and those hearty souls who have been checking my blog every day just hoping for something new.  I can’t promise a post every day, but I can promise I will post more than once every 4 months.

Ok, with the midterms tomorrow, I know you are dying to know who I am voting for.  Rather than just tell you, I will reveal my choices Randy Moss style.  That is, I will ask myself questions and then answer them.

Q: Mr. Weisman.  Who are you going to vote for in the Governor’s race?

A: Great question.  For me, this is not a hard choice.  I will be voting for Deval Patrick and Timothy Murray and am looking forward to 4 more years of their leadership.  The fact is, the state is on the mend.  The most recent jobs report was not what we hoped it would be, but overall, Massachusetts has recovered faster than the nation.  Even in the midst of the downturn, Governor Patrick passed significant reform measure – including ethics, transportation, lobbying and pension – and was responsible for the largest land conservation initiative in the history of the Commonwealth.  Under his leadership, Massachusetts implemented the landmark health reform bill and pushed laws and policies to curb rising costs.  Beacon Hill has been more accessible and transparent under Governor Patrick and, despite some early missteps, he has been a really strong and good Governor.  Above all, however, Governor Patrick exemplifies the qualities we are always looking for in our politicians – he listens, is able to connect, truly cares, isn’t afraid of taking a tough stand and is honest.  We are a better state for his leadership and, if given another 4 years, what we will accomplish together will be truly special.

I encourage you to vote for Deval Patrick and Timothy Murray.

Q: Interesting stuff.  What a wise man you are.  How about in the treasurers race?  Grossman or Polito?

A: Thank you for the kind words.  This one is easy.  I am so excited to be supporting Steve Grossman for state treasurer.  Throughout his entire career in both the private and public sector, Grossman has demonstrated his intelligence, commitment and business savvy.  However, he has also demonstrated an understanding of how his actions will affect the community and he takes special care to ensure that impact is a positive one.  As treasurer, I know he will have the best interests of his constituents – all of them – at heart and will make decisions that will be the best ones for the Commonwealth and not his donors. 

Q: Congress?

A: Well I am supporting John Tierney in his race against Bill Hudak for the Congressional seat in the 6th district (where I live).  Congressman Tierney and I agree on many issues and I trust him to do what is best for his district and for the USA. 

Q: Auditor?

A: I am supporting Mary Connaughton.  I really like her independence from her time on the Turnpike board
and I was really turned off by Suzanne Bump claiming two houses as her primary residence and then, rather than apologize right way when it came out, claiming that she was in the right.  In addition, she has also has been really slow to collect legally mandated voter information

I had another post ready to go today but that can wait.  The AP and other news outlets are reporting that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner suffered a massive heart attack this morning and has passed away.  Details are not yet known, but they don’t matter – the fact remains that baseball has lost a giant today and the game will never be the same.

Now, as you all well-know, I am a huge Red Sox fan which, by definition, means I hate the Yankees.  And, for my entire life, no one embodied the Yankee mentality like Mr. Steinbrenner.  He was a hands-on and tough leader who tolerated less than winning.  Each year he did whatever he had to do to ensure his team would be the best and, when they didn’t win, he was ruthless in figuring out how to make them better.   When getting better meant spending more, he did it.  The Yankees payroll was far and away the largest in the league but, for Steinbrenner, when it came to putting forth the best possible product, money did not stand in the way and his fans were the beneficiaries. 

At its core, sports is about entertainment (see James, Lebron) and for so many years there was no entertainer in sports quite like George Steinbrenner.  Always willing to mock himself and get a laugh at his own expense, Steinbrenner helped make the Yankee – Red Sox rivalry that I grew up with such fun.  There is no question that he made me a bigger Red Sox fan and our World Series Championship in 2004 was made so much more sweeter by the fact that we beat George.  How fitting that today is the All-Star Game – the day when the league pauses to honor the greatest players.  George Steinbrenner changed the game of baseball and, tonight, when the whole league is together, we will have the opportunity to say thank you.

At 9:00 tonight the King will, once and for all, reveal where he will be playing basketball for the next several years.  He will let us know which team will have the honor of paying him millions of dollars for his services.  Although I still feel that he will end up back on the Cavs, several athletes have tweeted in the past day that he will end up with the New York Knicks. However in the past few hours more and more reports have him going to Miami to play with Wade and Bosh. One can’t help but wonder if these “sources”are really Lebron’s people trying to throw is all off.

I may be in the minority at this point but I still think Lebron is staying in Cleveland. He wants to be a legend and nothing says legend likm sticking around and helping your hometeam win. Of course the fact that the Cavs have done next to nothing to improve their team doesn’t bode well for my prediction but we will see. And if he does join Miami he can win multiple times but he won’t be in the same league as Bird, MJ or Russell. Those guys made the players around them better. They didn’t flee to play with other superstars.

Here we go.

Also this was my first post from the BlackBerry wordpress App. Hope it looks good!

What a crazy few days of news items!  It’s like the world community has realized that Hollywood is out of ideas and has come together to create real-life stories that will make even better movies.  Each of these news items is bizarre, weird, mysterious and just plain strange.  And, yet, each is totally true and no doubt stranger than even we know at this point.  And all relate to sports or politics 

• Of course, I have to start with this alleged Russian spy ring.  This story has everything a good spy story should have – suburban couples living a “normal” life; a young hot female spy with a ex-husband who wants to tell-all; kids who, supposedly, knew nothing of their parents activities; a spy released on bail (oh yeah, that was smart) who vanishes.  Of course the fact that they, apparently, weren’t able to learn anything at all makes it even better!  And now, word comes today, that USA and Russia are negotiating a spy swap.  What do you want to bet Hollywood already has three movies about this in the works.  Summer of 2011 will be the year of the spy movie!
• What a crazy story out of Japan regarding Sumo wrestling and organized crime.  And I so thought the big guys were above it all!  In case you missed it, authorities in Japan are investigating alleged links between the top Sumo stars and leaders of organized crime families in Japan.  Again, this is another story that has it all.  Sports, organized crime, prime seats, blackmail, tons of money.  Stay tuned because this story is sure to get stranger and stranger.  And you thought the NBA had problems!
• The World Cup has sure given 15 minutes of fame to some unusual people.  You have the officials who seem to have forgotten how to call a game.  You have model Larissa Riquelme announcing that she would run naked through the streets if Paraguay were to win the world cup.  And, then announcing that, even though they lost, she would do it anyway (nothing like sticking to your guns).  You have the coach of the Argentina squad, Diego Maradona, making the same offer to considerably less excitement.  With Argentina out, no word on whether he will follow Larissa’s lead and do it anyway.  And now, you have a group of porn stars offering to do something very special to all their Twitter followers should the Dutch (who are still alive) win the cup.  Remember when memories of a big sporting event used be related to what happened on the field? Ahh, the good old days!
• At the Rangers game last night a fan was, apparently, reaching for a foul ball from the upper deck, lost his balance and tumbled down into the seats below.  Amazingly he was ok, but this video of the reaction of the players and umpires is quite something.

Ok, that’s all I have for you.  Enjoy the day!

An animal predicting the winner is the top story of the day in a major paper.  Just saying.

For what it’s worth (and, trust me, it isn’t worth much) here are my predictions for the semi-finals and final. 

Uruguay 1 Netherlands 4

The Dutch have really looked strong and I don’t expect a letdown after the huge win against Brazil.  They might have the most individual talent on their team, but find a way to have all these talented players work together.  Ask the 2002 USA Men’s basketball team what it’s like to manage a team of superstars.  But they seem to have put it all together and that will make for a very long afternoon for Uruguay.  Why 4 goals? Why not.

Germany 3 Spain 2

This is going to be a great game.  I’m a self-identified soccer novice and really have no idea what I’m talking about.  But even I know this is going to be a great game.  These are two soccer powerhouses (right?) who are playing at the top of their game right now.  But, as good as Spain has looked, I just don’t see any way that Germany will lose. 

So, based on this, if you are planning to put forth your own guesses, I would suggest taking Uruguay and Spain.  Enjoy the games!

Nothing like financial corruption set to broadway music.  Nothing at all.  Visit this website for the full story and video.

Some interesting links have come across my desk today that I thought I’d share with you

Great article about another issue related to expanded gambling in Massachusetts

Pretty funny top 10 list delivered by John Isner (the guy who won that 11 hour tennis match)

Good breakdown of the upcoming NBA free agent season – sure to be one of the most exciting we’ve had in a while. 

        On a related note, I have a real issue with the so-called free agent summit that D-Wade, LBJ and Chris Bosh reportedly arranged and carried out over the weekend.  If the conversation was simply them all talking about what it would mean to play together, then ok.  But if, I expect, the men spent some time discussing contract figures and negotiating strategies that is less ok in my mind.  I know they aren’t breaking any rules, but if owners aren’t allowed to collude then it seems, by allowing the players to do it, you are creating an unfair negotiating climate.  And, with the power so squarely on the side of the players you are ensuring salaries (and by extension ticket prices) will continue to rise by leaps and bounds.  Turning a blind eye to these obvious conversations is another black mark for a league that has an increasingly bad image problem. 

At least one league is admitting there is a problem and trying to make ammends…

The United States Senate has lost another lion.  92 years old, Senator Byrd had served in the body he loved so dearly since 1953 - longer than any other member of Congress.  In those 53 years, he cast more than 18,000 votes (also a record) and, remarkably, had a 98% attendance record over the course of his career.  Byrd will be remembered as a staunch defender of the constitution – he was known for always carrying around a pocket-sized version in his suit – and his for mastery of Senate rules and talent at using them to his advantage.   In fact, in one of the most famous quotes about Senator Byrd, former House Speaker Jim Wright noted that “legislative graveyards are filled with the bones of those who underestimated him…”

One of the things I have always admired and will long-remember about Senator Byrd was his willingness to speak his mind – no matter who might disagree – and, just as importantly, his ability to listen, change his mind and admit when he was wrong.  Agree or disagree with his stance on an issue, you always knew where he stood and why.  He was an early advocate for cameras in the Senate and, it was due in large part to his tireless work on the issue, that they are there today. 

However, as Byrd himself noted, there is a darker side to his history that, as he predicted, “will be in [his] obituary.”  Lest we forget, Senator Byrd was a member of the KKK and, practically single-handedly, held up the Civil Rights Bill with an infamous 14-hour filibuster in 1963.  While he did apologize years later saying “intolerance has no place in America,” his opposition to integration continued to manifest itself in his opposition to busing to integrate schools.

Finally, as a resident of Massachusetts, I have always been facinated by Byrd’s relationship with Senator Edward Kennedy.  The two men were incredible rivals – Byrd, in one of his crowning achievements ousted Kennedy as the Democrat’s second in command in 1971 with a late-night rally punctuated by Byrd sneaking back into Washington after making Kennedy believe he had given up on the race.  However, as time went on, they developed a very strong bond and few of us can forget the image of Byrd weeping openly upon learning of Kennedy’s brain cancer diagnosis or shouting, upon casting his “Aye” vote on healthcare reform “Mr. President, this is for my friend Ted Kennedy…”  In the final analysis, despite their many clashes these two giants of the Senate stood side-by-side in their opposition to the Iraq war and steadfast in their commitment to ensuring a better life for all of their fellow citizens. 

After Kennedy’s death, Byrd remarked that “Neither years of age nor years of political combat, nor his illness, diminished the idealism and energy of this talented, imaginative, and intelligent man…”  Those same words could be applied to the life and career of Senator Robert Byrd and, despite differences I have with him on issues of policy or methodology, I will forever admire this remarkable man – one of the most influential and great Senators we have ever seen.

As they do so well, CNN will, I’m sure, be updating this page throughout the day as notable political figures release statements on Senator Byrd’s passing.

For those of you who have been living under a rock, the United States men’s soccer team won their group at the World Cup and have made it through to the elimination round which, for us, starts tomorrow afternoon against Ghana.  To get you ready, here are some World Cup related links and thoughts.

To start with, check out this awesome video of reaction to the group-clinching goal by Landon Donovan to keep us alive.

For those of you who are planning to watch tomorrow – and really why wouldn’t you - and want to seem to know what you are talking about, here is a pretty good preview of the game and here is the roster. 

Finally, check out the hilarious video of John Oliver welcoming the USA to the third world because of their soccer winnings.

Prediction for tomorrow’s game:

The United States will score 4 goals to Ghana’s 1.  However, two of those goals will be disallowed so the USA will end up winning 2-1.  And, post-game, the NBA will announce they are replacing all of their officials with soccer refs.  Enjoy the game!

On the surface it sounds great.  More jobs, more revenue, more freedoms for the citizens of Massachusetts.  On the surface it’s a no-brainer that the State Senate should approve expanded gambling in the Commonwealth.  It’s hard to argue with creating 14,000 permanent jobs and about $400 million in revenue as ”The Innovation Group,” a gambling research firm estimates would result from 3 casinos.   Even taking that estimate with a grain of salt (they do represent a lot of big casinos) it is still an impressive figure.  And, with unemployment at a record high and tax revenues down, why wouldn’t you do anything to turn the tide.  However, as is so often the case, the more you dig, the less clear things become.  

Casinos are just not as profitable as they used to be.  The Rockefeller Institute of Government released a study last year which showed an 8.5% drop in revenue from casinos in 2009 versus the prior year.  They noted that “Expenditures on education and other programs will generally grow more rapidly than gambling revenue over time. Thus, new gambling operations that are intended to pay for normal increases in general state spending may add to, rather than ease, long-term budget imbalances.”  Uh oh.  Not so rosy anymore! 

But, to really analyze this decision in economic terms, we need to look at the social costs that casinos create and compare it to the revenue that a casino would bring in.  We’ll use the $400 million number from The Innovation Group and deduct the 8.5% that the Rockefeller Group found. This way we are using a measure from a group that pro-casino activists like and a measure from a group that anti-casino activists like.   That leaves us with about $355 million in annual revenue for the Commonwealth with the creation of 3 casinos.  Calculating social costs is a very new field and there is tons of disagreement over how to do it properly.  But, a recent study in NH gives us some idea of what those costs might look like.  This study, commissioned by Governor Lynch and carried out by the  nonprofit research organization “The New Hampshire Center for Policy Studies” found that, with one casino, the total revenue for NH would be about $220 million while the total social cost (combined between MA and NH) would be about $288 million.  And that was for ONE casino*. 

It is obvious that having more than one casino will increase the social costs to the Commonwealth, but by how much?  Well, in order for this endeavor to be a profitable one for Massachusetts, the social costs resulting from 3 casinos would have to be less that 1.23 times that of one casino if we use the $355 million number and less than 1.39 times that of one casino if we use the full $400 million figure.  Not hard to imagine that at all.  So what does that mean?  Well it means that the social costs resulting from the creation of these casinos would actually be more than the revenue generated.  A net loss for the Commonwealth.

Admittedly these are far from perfect calculations, but it certainly illustrates the dramatic risk is pushing forward with these plans.  At a time where our economy is, at best, fragile, this level of uncertainty and risk could be big trouble.  All one has to do is look at the sub-prime mortgage mess to recognize the significant and far-reaching consequences that come from guessing wrong. 

With revenue numbers far from a certainty, the other argument casino supporters have is job creation.  Creating jobs, even low wage jobs, is critically important and, if I really believed that building three casinos would make a difference here, I would be more inclined to support the effort.  However, study after study has shown that job creation is not a foregone conclusion when tied to new casinos.  In fact, a study done by the New York Times found that 27 of 57 municipalities had, in fact, experienced a net job loss.  That’s almost 50%!    

In light of this, and other studies, University of Illinois economist Earl Grinols observed:  “Partly in response to negative perceptions, many in the gambling industry have promoted the idea that gambling is an economic development tool, creating jobs for depressed regional economies and revitalizing lagging areas. Gambling experts and even gambling spokesmen frequently suggest that such arguments are exaggerated or false, but their cautions are often ignored by elected officials who face pressures to do what they can to aid their communities and therefore want to believe that gambling will help. It is an empirical matter subject to a number of special factors as to how gambling affects a particular economy.” 

Finally, I haven’t yet touched on the impact that addictions can have on a family.  Not just in one generation, but in generations to come.  It is easy to find stories of addiction ruining relationships and costing families their security.  Is it worth taking this risk when, even if there is a financial profit, we are raising the chances for broken dreams and damaged families?

This is an issue I have struggled with for quite some time.  As a general rule I really like things that will create jobs and am, most of the time, opposed to the Government making our personal choices for us.  However, the crime and problems that so often follow casinos affect everyone in the community, gambler or no.  The government has a responsibility to look out for all citizens and, by making it harder to partake in a damaging activity, all citizens (both those who want to gamble and those who don’t) are being protected. 

Bottom line, the only thing we know about expanded gambling is that it will adversely affect the quality of our communities.  The economic measures are a gamble and, quite frankly, it is a gamble we can not afford.  One of things you always hear about responsible gambling is “only bet what you can afford to lose.”  We can’t afford to lose and, in many ways (i.e. the human toll gambling addiction takes on families) we can’t afford to win.  That is why, after many hours of decision-making, I have decided to oppose expanded casino gambling in the Commonwealth and hope you will as well. 

If you are so moved, call your Senator and have your voice heard.  You can figure out who your Senator is by visiting: http://www.mass.gov/legis/city_town.htm

*Note on costs: To this point there has been NO state study of the actual costs associated with passing this gambling bill.  Not a one.  The truth is we have no idea what the real cost would be and lawmakers have not taken the time to actually take a hard look at that very important issue.  It would be like picking taking a final exam without doing any studying.  Might you do well? Sure.  Are your chances MUCH better if you make some flash cards? You bet.