Bryan Strawser

It’s good to see that Pedro Martinez hasn’t matured during his time so far in New York:

“I did my job. I think I did that all seven years I was there. Everyone seems to have forgotten about that. A lot of the fans probably remember, but they’re selling me as a negative. I’m not saying all the fans. But some have forgotten.”

Martinez also told the Herald he doesn’t care if he gets his World Series ring from last year’s championship team.

“If they want to keep the ring, that’s fine,” he said. “I just know I contributed to that team to win, and I’m proud of it. They can never erase what I did in Boston. Most important, I had a job in Boston for seven years, and I appreciate that. And that’s the most important thing. I had a job, and I did what I had to do in my job. Every time I could pitch, I did. Hurting, or not hurting.”

Just another beautiful day in Southeastern Massachusetts:

Blizzard conditions with heavy snow and very gusty winds. There could even be a rumble of thunder. Low 18F. Winds NE at 35 to 50 mph. A foot or more of snow expected. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph.

I just returned from the grocery store, where there were 40 people in line at the deli, the meat counter was 60% empty, and the lines were 8 people deep.

It’s just snow folks - you’ll scoop it out and goto work the next day… geesh!

As I thought might happen some time ago, the War on Terrorism has returned to Boston, captured here in this article from the Boston Globe:

The FBI launched a massive manhunt across the region yesterday for six people, four Chinese scientists and two Iraqis, said to be planning to detonate a “dirty bomb” in Boston, local public safety officials briefed on the threat said.

An anonymous tipster told authorities that the six sneaked into the United States from Mexico and were headed to New York and then to Boston, where they intended to launch an attack that could involve a lethal radioactive material, several officials briefed on the threat said.

The threat was reported to a California police department by someone in Mexico who said he had smuggled the suspects across the border, the officials said. The FBI had not corroborated the information as of last night, and officials expressed skepticism about the credibility of the tip, saying the names of the suspects had been run through all available databases of criminals and nothing had come up.

“What we’re trying to do is reassure the public that there’s no reason to panic, because the information has come from an unknown source, and none of the information has been corroborated,” US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan said in an interview yesterday. “At the same time, we have to do our diligence.”

Sullivan said officials had decided to release the names and photos of the four Chinese nationals — Zengrong Lin, Wen Quin Zheng, Xiujin Chen, and Guozhi Lin — because they believe the public could help investigators find the two men and two women.

“There’s an interest on the part of law enforcement to at least locate and speak with these individuals,” Sullivan said.

The information about the four was all that the tipster provided, public safety officials said. The tipster gave no identifying information about the Iraqis, they said.

Federal, state, and city officials were taking the threat seriously yesterday. The threat was discussed in President Bush’s morning security briefing. Representatives from several state agencies, including the Department of Public Health and the National Guard, were gathered at an emergency bunker in Framingham, as Boston police were readying themselves to respond to an attack.

David Brudnoy, long time host of the David Brudnoy Show on WBZ News Radio 1030 in Boston died a few hours ago at age 64.

When I moved to Boston in January 1999, I knew very little of the culture and politics of the city. It didn’t take me long though to discover WBZ News Radio 1030.. and then only a few days to discover the David Brudnoy Show.

David had almost a calming show sense about him - and it was that voice of his that first drew me to the show. But after listening, only for a few minutes, I realized that he was indeed something special - and it was his intellect that drew me in.

David Brudnoy could interview like no one I had ever heard before. Whether he was interviewing one of the three governors that have served during my time here in the Commonwealth - or an eleven year old child who had called into his show, David made the show interesting.

Much can be said about a person simply by watching, from afar, at how they lead their lives. More can be said about a man with how they face their own death. And David faced his with dignity and a deep understanding of the short time that he had before him…

Deep Peace, David…

It snowed last weekend - here’s a couple shots that the sidekick took of our first snow of the 2004 winter season here in Taunton:

My first Presidential election that I was eligible to vote in was in 1992. I openly supported - and campaigned for - Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

I rapidly became disillusioned with the Clinton/Gore administration - first because of their broken campaign promises in some social areas - later because of their attacks on gun owners - and much later for the ethical issues that we’ve all hashed through far too many times.

By 1996, I was a Libertarian. By the time of the 2000 election, I was voting mostly a Republican ticket, but not always.

I personally disliked both Clinton and Gore by the mid 1990’s. I didn’t like many of their policies, their choices for officeholders (though I liked Janet Reno), and certainly not their ethics. And while I said some fairly nasty things about them - and still do - there are some things that I never did:

• Called them Nazis
• Wore shirts that said “Not my President”
• Openly advocated their assassination (as the Guardian newspaper did recently in the United Kingdom)
• Walked about stating that there would be “blood in the streets” and a “revolution” if they were re-elected in 1996

Yet, today, we hear the same things from the leftists - both in their approach to the current Bush/Cheney administration - and in their speeches/writings should Bush win a second term in office.

Why is this?

Have we lost such respect for the office of President of the United States that we have to resort to such hatred in order to get our point across?

I do not support the Kerry/Edwards ticket and have stated so repeatedly. In a few days, they may win this election. So be it. We ran the good race and lost. The world isn’t going to end, and I can live with this.

If Kerry becomes President and visits my town, I would try to see him, just as if a Republican were in office. I’d stand when he entered the room, I would defer and show him respect, and refer to him as “Mr. President”. See, he’s earned that respect because he was elected by my fellow citizens. I may not like him personally, but I respect the office.

The left doesn’t feel the same. And we’ll see that demonstrated if Bush is re-elected.