.jpg)
MA's Governor Deval Patrick is happy with the outcome of Tuesday's election. Not only because of Obama. Patrick has another reason to celebrate: The majority of voters rejected an initiative to abolish state income tax. At stake has been 40 % of the state's income.
Personally, I'm glad that the voice of reason was stronger than the love for the own (filled) wallet. Hospitals, bridges, highways, schools - their construction and maintenance are expensive and how else are we going to pay for it if not with taxes?
The other two ballot questions in MA were approved: Voters were in favor of decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana and they voted for the ban of dog racing. The four greyhound tracks must close by 2010.
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Election: Many happy faces in MA
"I'm great. I feel so light. The election was just what I needed", said my neighbor this morning when we met. Like her, many people here in Massachusetts feel as if with Obama's election a burden was lifted off their shoulders.
We spent the election night at a neighbor's house. They had prepared for a big party with tons of food and decorated the room with a life-size cut-out Obama. About 40 people came, ate, drank, watched TV and cheered loudly anytime there were good news for the Obama campaign. The last seconds before the California polls closed at 11 pm east coast time were counted down as if we had New Years eve. And there it was: the CNN headline that Obama was elected president. At the party, all hell broke out: I never have experienced anything like that before. People cheered, hugged each other, laughed, cried, and our host filled dozens of glasses with champagne... I was surprised about the intensity of the emotions. Normally, people here in MA are a bit stiff and restrained (like we northern Europeans), but yesterday evening was totally different.
Today, in an Austrian newspaper, I read already about concerns some Europeans have. Many people in Europe watched Obama's speech yesterday evening and how he fired up the crowd in Chicago. The concern now is that people may expect too much of him. One comment was: "He is not Messiah, just a human being".
We spent the election night at a neighbor's house. They had prepared for a big party with tons of food and decorated the room with a life-size cut-out Obama. About 40 people came, ate, drank, watched TV and cheered loudly anytime there were good news for the Obama campaign. The last seconds before the California polls closed at 11 pm east coast time were counted down as if we had New Years eve. And there it was: the CNN headline that Obama was elected president. At the party, all hell broke out: I never have experienced anything like that before. People cheered, hugged each other, laughed, cried, and our host filled dozens of glasses with champagne... I was surprised about the intensity of the emotions. Normally, people here in MA are a bit stiff and restrained (like we northern Europeans), but yesterday evening was totally different.
Today, in an Austrian newspaper, I read already about concerns some Europeans have. Many people in Europe watched Obama's speech yesterday evening and how he fired up the crowd in Chicago. The concern now is that people may expect too much of him. One comment was: "He is not Messiah, just a human being".
Monday, September 29, 2008
When it rains, it pours!
True for our weekend: Not only that we had three days of heavy rain courtesy of Kyle, we also had other unfortunate situations to deal with:
1. RCN was down in our area; no TV, telephone or internet for more than 24 hours. And this on a rainy weekend where I had planned to write for my website (www.blog.coach4u.net).
2. In the general election in Austria this weekend, two far-right parties won about 30 % of the votes. Even though we are living here and not directly affected, we are concerned about the political development in Austria. People are angry in Austria: angry about high food prices, angry about the European Union, angry about local politics, angry about the general economic situation (where they point fingers to America and believe, it's all the fault of fraudulent American banks) and angry about the high number of immigrants (many muslims ) despite the also relatively high unemployment rate. And out of anger, they "punish" the ruling parties by voting for the far-right.
3. My husband locked the car keys inside the car. It happenend on Sunday afternoon at an Audobon sanctuary outside of Fitchburg, MA. We had planned to hike there, instead we spent almost tow hours waiting for the Triple A guy to find us in this remote location and open the door.
4. Today, Monday, my husband picked up a colleague, who had an accident over the weekend with his car and needed a ride. On their way to the office, also my husband got into an accident. A lady couldn't stop her car in time at a traffic light and hit my husband's car in the back. The braking system ruptured and our mechanic told us that the car is too old for a repair. We had just spend 500 bucks two days ago for new tires, oil change and other service work. As if this were not enough, it turned out that the lady lied about her insurance and now she is not picking up her phone.
As I said: When it rains, it pours!
1. RCN was down in our area; no TV, telephone or internet for more than 24 hours. And this on a rainy weekend where I had planned to write for my website (www.blog.coach4u.net).
2. In the general election in Austria this weekend, two far-right parties won about 30 % of the votes. Even though we are living here and not directly affected, we are concerned about the political development in Austria. People are angry in Austria: angry about high food prices, angry about the European Union, angry about local politics, angry about the general economic situation (where they point fingers to America and believe, it's all the fault of fraudulent American banks) and angry about the high number of immigrants (many muslims ) despite the also relatively high unemployment rate. And out of anger, they "punish" the ruling parties by voting for the far-right.
3. My husband locked the car keys inside the car. It happenend on Sunday afternoon at an Audobon sanctuary outside of Fitchburg, MA. We had planned to hike there, instead we spent almost tow hours waiting for the Triple A guy to find us in this remote location and open the door.
4. Today, Monday, my husband picked up a colleague, who had an accident over the weekend with his car and needed a ride. On their way to the office, also my husband got into an accident. A lady couldn't stop her car in time at a traffic light and hit my husband's car in the back. The braking system ruptured and our mechanic told us that the car is too old for a repair. We had just spend 500 bucks two days ago for new tires, oil change and other service work. As if this were not enough, it turned out that the lady lied about her insurance and now she is not picking up her phone.
As I said: When it rains, it pours!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
