1. The lie.
2. The reality.
3. Contacts, Miscellaneous.
1. The lie.
The very much standard game in the ongoing destruction fought for by the Cambridge Machine and its friends is lying through omission combined with non stop holier than thou nonsense..
The falsely named Charles River “Conservancy” put the following pitch in this month’s newsletter:
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we ask you to renew your support so that we may continue these programs as well as our advocacy campaign for pedestrian and cycling underpasses at the Anderson Memorial, Western Avenue, and River Street bridges.
2. The reality.
This falsely named group has previously identified the bond support it is supporting for those “underpasses” as approximately $2 to $4 million for the “underpasses," and about $24 million for “associated” paths. Now, given the 12 to 1 radio, you would think they would be talking about the part which has 12 fold the money of the portion they are bragging about.
But the “associated” paths destroy hundreds of trees between the Longfellow and BU Bridges, the three bridges east of the bridges they are bragging about, along with further general destruction, and heartless animal abuse.
The fake conservancy never mentions reality. The Governor’s bond request puts the lie to the “underpass” nonsense, and the responsible agency, MassDOT, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, rejects the much less large “underpass” proposal because it is so environmentally destructive. The part MassDOT rejects is one twelfth the size of the stuff being kept secret, one twelfth the size of the portion which is not part of MassDOT’s domain.
This destruction which is lied about by omission appears in Governor Patrick’s bond request, House Bill H 3332, as “Historical Parkways.” Even there, the realities of massive destruction is, again, kept secret by omission. The closest Patrick gets to mentioning the destruction of all that environment including those hundreds of trees is the lying euphemism, “Historical Parkways.”
The key entity in the destruction is the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The last time the Department of Conservation and Recreation fought for this destruction, they were seeking Obama moneys in the relief program targeted at getting us out of the Great Recession. Then they lied that all the trees were diseased, a lie proven by their filing with the City of Cambridge.
Fortunately, they lost because they came closer to mentioning in public what they were doing.
Now the lie is that they are talking underpasses for the Western Avenue, the River Street and the Anderson Bridges. They do not mention the 12 fold funding for massive destruction of trees and animal habitat in the area of the BU, the Harvard (MIT) and Longfellow Bridges, for the “associated” path.
But the Charles River “Conservancy” and their friends in the Cambridge Machine will tell you nonstop that they are holier than thou.
The leader of the CRC has publicly oozed when she has publicly discussed the destruction of those hundreds of trees.
She announced the start of the Longfellow Bridge project by oozing at the first tree destruction.
This is what is falsely proclaimed a “conservancy.”
3. Contacts, Miscellaneous.
Massachusetts Governor’s Office email form: http://www.mass.gov/governor/constituentservices/contact/.
State environmental people, DES Hotline: ESF.Hotline@state.ma.us.
MassDOT Accelerated Bridges Program: 857-368-8904 or Stephanie.Boundy@state.ma.us
All Massachusetts Legislators’ emails: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/emails-for-all-massachusetts.html.
Cambridge, MA, USA city councilors: Council@cambridgema.gov.
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For people listening to Boston Sierra Club endorsements of environmentally destructive members of and candidates for the Cambridge City Council, you should be aware that
(1) using the world’s definition of “environmentalism,” there are no environmentally responsible members of the Cambridge City Council; Cambridge’s definition is that environmentalists protect that which Cambridge does not feel like destroying; the Cambridge pols are oh, so pious using their secret, fraudulent definition;
(2) the school committee member running for Cambridge City Council fought for the outrages at the Magazine Beach playing fields;
(a) his indignant explanation is that he claims to be only responsible for the good stuff;
(b) that explanation is combined with exactly no demonstration of any meaningful opposition whatsoever to the outrages; and
(c) as is usual in Cambridge, his claims of “improvements” are belied by reality. The playing fields have been decreased in size by his project!!!!! This is to drain off the poisons being dumped to keep alive sickly introduced grasses which replaced healthy grass that survived the better part of a century without poisons; and
(3) there are Cambridge Machine activists very visible and apparently very active in the Boston Sierra Club.
If you are talking to a person associated with the Boston Sierra Club, do a credibility check. Ask if they are familiar with the “Urban Ring” rapid transit proposal. This is a subway proposal designed to link the existing subway spokes. I have been working on it since 1985. Cambridge raised the project in a comment to an environmental Impact Statement a few months ago.
If the Boston Sierra Club “expert” answers “yes,” that he / she is familiar with the Urban Ring rapid transit proposal, ask how many rail options there are. If the answer is “one,” you are getting the flat out lie put out by the City of Cambridge.
Cambridge’s flat out lie is that, of the TWO rail options, the only one that exists is the environmentally destructive streetcar option which the City of Cambridge supports. This option would be highly destructive to the environment near the Destroyed Nesting Area of the Charles River White Geese.
The reality is that THE STATE LEGISLATURE HAS SUBSIDIZED THE OTHER OPTION, the responsible Orange Line / heavy rail option, the Kenmore crossing. The state legislature has subsidized the expansion of Yawkey Station as part of the massive Fenway Park area project which has gotten recent press.
Cambridge’s nonsensical proposal would move Yawkey Station three blocks. The Cambridge proposal would not work without moving Yawkey Station. The Kenmore Crossing uses the now subsidized and being expanded Yawkey Station as part of a brilliant megastation.
You should immediately respond to such nonsense from a Sierra Club “expert” by having nothing more to do with this person. Whether the person is stupid or venal is irrelevant, the person has no credibility and is not worthy of your time.
It is frequently difficult to pin these irresponsible people down in general. The deviant behavior in my test is extreme. They are pious in their demands that, if you are politically correct and pro environment, you have to rubber stamp them. Please do not waste your time arguing about destruction they can try to wiggle around.
Turn your back on them and walk away fast.
