CapeNews.net – Geoff Spillane – A local shellfisherman’s nearly four-year battle to farm oysters in Popponesset Bay took a bizarre twist last week when state Representative Michael A. Costello (D- Newburyport) filed an amendment to the state budget that would designate the 1.99-acre aquaculture grant a “special coastal resource sanctuary.”

The budget, and the amendment, were approved by the Massachusetts House of Representatives on late Wednesday, and now proceed to the State Senate for review.
Newburyport is located more than 100 miles from Mashpee.

The amendment does not reference Mashpee or Popponesset Bay by name, but rather uses longitude and latitude to define the proposed sanctuary.

State Representative David T. Vieira (R-Falmouth), who represents Mashpee, said that the amendment never came across his radar screen and that he is interested in finding out what happened, and why Rep. Costello would sponsor the amendment. “I assumed that if he was working on an amendment that affected my district, that he would have talked to me. I would have expected that courtesy from him,” he said.

“This whole thing smacks of impropriety” Mashpee town manager Joyce M. Mason said, adding that the town will be doing everything it can to stop the amendment from moving forward at the Senate level.

Well this is a total crock of shit. A rep from Newburyport files an amendment quietly tucked into the budget to designate waters in Mashpee as a “special coastal resource sanctuary”? Then he uses latitude and longitude instead of the names of the bay and town so that nobody realizes it? Oh and it just so happens that those waters have been part of a dispute over a proposed oyster farm for the last four years?  Michael Costello you sneaky son of a bitch!

Politicians wonder why people don’t trust them? Well here is exhibit A folks. This is such an abuse of power it is absurd. The analogy used in the article above about someone trying to sneak a ball into a pocket when nobody is looking during a game of pool is perfect. Michael Costello needs to answer some questions on this one and be as transparent as possible if he expects to retain any ounce of credibility.

Why does he care about Popponesset Bay, which is 100 miles away from his district? What horse does he have in this race? Richard Cook is doing everything above board in his quest to open this oyster farm and going through all the proper channels. It is ridiculous that he has to face a shady politician that is obviously trying to sneak legislation by without anybody noticing.

It is nice to know our local rep. David Vieira is aware of this. Whether you agree with his politics or not, David’s ethics and dedication to a transparent and accountable government are beyond reproach, hopefully he will ask Costello some very tough questions soon. We will be keeping a close eye on this situation because it is nothing short of an outrage.

Until then, maybe we should all go to Michael’s Facebook Page to message him directly to ask why he is so concerned with our peninsula?

P.S. It just so happens that the people against this oyster farm are some of the wealthiest “residents” on Cape Cod. I’ll let you connect the dots from there.

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CapeCodToday.com – On this day in 1862, Henry David Thoreau died. He was born on July 12, 1817 and died on May 6, 1862 two months shy of his 46th birthday.

Thoreau  was an American author, naturalist, transcendentalist, tax resister, development critic, and philosopher. Thoreau walked the length of Cape Cod on four separate occasions from 1849 to 1857.

Some people may not know that Henry David Thoreau was a sarcastic prick, but he certainly was. Take this quote about Eastham from “Cape Cod”;

“In 1662, the town agreed that a part of every whale cast on shore be appropriated for the support of the ministry.” …Think of a whale having the breath of life beaten out of him by a storm, and dragging in over the bars and guzzles, for the support of the ministry! What a consolation it must have been to him!

Yes, it’s a bit dated, but the snark and sarcasm are there. In a way “Cape Cod” was the original “The Real Cape”. I wonder if he got a bunch of telegrams from people whose cousins are ministers in Eastham telling him to stop being mean?

Not only was Thoreau a witty humorist, but he was also known for rebelling against the status quo. Here are a few great quotes attributed to him…

“Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.”

“If I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior.”

Sounds like ol’ Henry didn’t like the Fun Police and knew how to have a good time huh?

So here is to Henry David Thoreau, the original snarky and sarcastic Cape Cod voice. May he rest in peace in a place where everyone has a sarcasm detector.

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CapeCodOnline.com – On a recent Monday morning, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO Wendy Northcross had just stepped out of a meeting to plan the shark section of next year’s travel guide when her phone rang.

It was Richard Delaney, president and CEO of the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, wanting to know if she had seen any of the Cape Cod Great White Shark Safety brochures printed by a consortium of harbormasters and other mostly Lower Cape officials.

At the time, she hadn’t. But for some, the brochures landed with a splash, raising concerns that the photographs would sensationalize sharks or take a bite out of business.

“I was told it had a ‘Jaws’-esque cover picture,” said Northcross. “The reality is, we have sharks, and there has to be some public information campaign. On the flip side, there’s concern that sharks will be sensationalized or people will want to go on shark hunts.”

After getting a look at the brochure Northcross said it wasn’t as bad as she expected.

Concerns over the brochure underscore the delicate balance science, business and public safety officials look to strike on the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” issue of informing the public about the threat of sharks that have been drawn to hunt the area’s booming seal population.

My irrational fear of sharks has been well documented on this site here, here and here. Knowing that, you may think I’d be in favor of these “Reefer Madness” style propaganda flyers that are designed to scare the shit out of people, but I am not. I am a firm believer in not messing with natural selection. A species is only as strong as its weakest link and frankly humans could use some thinning of the herd if you ask me.

If some douche from Jersey wants to flop around in his fanny pack next to a seal in Cape Cod waters because he doesn’t know any better I say let him go. We don’t get a pamphlet warning us about his stupid ass, he doesn’t deserve one about how to not get eaten by a shark. In the words of the great Bill Hicks (paraphrasing), “I don’t think we’ll lose the cure for cancer if that moron dies, and we’ll all be one car length up in traffic tomorrow”.

P.S. After the “Don’t Jersey The Cape” post we received no less than 20 emails from Jersey people bitching about us making fun of their state? Ummm… it’s fucking Jersey guys, I’m pretty sure we aren’t the first people to ever make fun of Jersey. Talk about living in a bubble.

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Regular 69 – m4w – 38 (Upper Cape)
age : 38

I’m between relationships and looking for a younger woman (18-35) to 69 with on a regular basis. Mornings/early afternoons only. I like curvy girls! I’m good looking, squeeky clean, disease free, completely normal and safe. I just love 69 and fantasize about it constantly. If this sounds like fun, send a pic and let’s chat :)i

I wasn’t going to write today but this is an emergency. When I read this in an email that someone sent in I knew I owed it to all of you to drop what I was doing and get this out to you as fast as possible.

Is this the most nonchalant ad for 69ing in the history of the world? It has to be right? You’d think this guy was looking for a landscaper or something. Just calmly asking for something completely random like 69 ads are a regular occurrence. NBD, just another 69 ad here.

I understand you miss all the shots you don’t take, but even if this works I have a feeling he’ll regret it. What kind of a lunatic 69’s with a stranger from Craigslist… on a regular basis… in the morning? This is a certain “careful what you wish for” situation. Any girl that answers this ad has to be off the charts crazy. There is a 114% chance you wake up in a bathtub full of ice with no kidneys after a mid morning 69 session with a stranger girl from Craigslist. That goes up to 247% if she’s Russian.

P.S. Keep 69ing with strangers from Craigslist and you’ll have to take “squeaky clean” off your resume pretty quickly bro.

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Twitter: Hippie - Insane Tony