News Talk for the week of Aug. 30

News Talk for the week of Aug. 30

You know that known gang member who is working for the city at the police station? Well apparently he has been seen cleaning up in the Detective Bureau - which apparently he is familiar with, since we hear he’s been detained there before.      
                                        *******
Speaking of the Somerville Police, apparently last week the entire personnel of the station walked out because the janitor (was it who we think?  read above) was waxing the floor – so for about half an hour the building was unmanned – we figured this can’t be true, but sources did get confirmation, so we’re just reporting it.

                                        *******

Rebekah can’t leave well enough alone…apparently our favorite alderman, Rebekah Gewirtz is on a rampage in Ward 6 - poor Davis Square, first it was spending all her time saving a coffee shop (a coffee shop!), then missing the destruction of the mural, then making Middlesex Federal shut down their sign - now we hear she is shutting down amplified musical events throughout Davis Square.  Someone better tell her to get a grip on life and calm down – she is becoming one of the establishment - or is she?  If she doesn’t watch it she is going to bankrupt half Davis Square - frankly we’re afraid of what might happen to the businesses that are left, after all our office is at 21A College Avenue.  And oh, by the way, we have it on reliable sources that she is personally calling owners in Davis Square trying to find a new location for the Someday Café - some of the workers want to open up a shop - and she has even secured them a grant from City Hall to help open a new place up…well we are sure the people at Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks and Diesel are happy to know that they can just call up Rebekah and get some money from the city when they need it.  Don’t you just love the Progressives?  Or do you, really?      
                                     *******
You ‘ve seen them around the city - the brand new City DPW green trucks - and there is that fancy one with the sewer gadget on the front that we heard cost the city $500,000.00, well it fell deep into a hole in the street one day last week down on Washington Street and it took several trucks to pull it out…we hope everything is alright with that fancy machine - we also heard the driver and a worker were shaken up but alright.
                                       ********
Put this in the “we’re not surprised - are you” category. In East Somerville there are now FOUR Dunkin Donuts locations - maybe the same people who own and run McGrath & Broadway are the ones involved with Middlesex Avenue, Stop & Shop and now the Hess.  It has gotten so out of hand at McGrath & Broadway in the morning that you can’t even drive into the lot there to get a coffee without seriously risking being hit or running over someone.  The illegal immigrants are so blatant about being out in front of the place stealing Union Jobs that there are now some mornings over 100 of them at Dunkin Donuts and across the street at Foss Park - we’ve even seen them on Mystic Avenue under Route 93 at Temple Road in the Ten Hills…the other morning traffic was so bad that home owners couldn’t even get out of Bailey Road we were told.  This whole mess is because our so called Progressive-minded politicians don’t care apparently about the Unions anymore – they’re more concern about issues that’s personally don’t affect the masses.  We heard that some of the local electrical, carpenters and painters union members are starting to feel the effects personally now.  We just ask one question - when the contractors get cheap day labor, do they pass it along to the homeowner, or do they pocket the difference from not hiring union members?
                                   *********
Wow the Maureen Bastardi remark last week in the paper about her running for Alderman at Large attracted a lot of attention by our bloggers - and not all good. We like Maureen and if she looks bored on the School Committee so what - it’s a boring, do nothing board that should be done away with to save us money.
                                    *********
This Friday, September 1 is the Anniversary of Donald and Patricia Norton who are celebrating 39 years of marriage.  They were married in Columbia, South Carolina on a steamy hot 100-degree day at 3PM at the City Hall – right outside was small but vocal racial demonstration going on while the clerk was marrying them.  Congratulations to them both - Donald and Pat own ERA The Norton Group and Donald is the Publisher of The Somerville News.    
                                      *********
The Mayor has been pretty busy this past weekend - he and about two busloads of Somerville High School Football players were off to a football camp in Sturbridge for the weekend.  Mayor Joe has been hosting this event for the past few years to build up the Somerville Football team players skills - the Mayor’s a good guy for doing this.
                                      ***********
The local Real Estate market is softening so the first casualty of the lower sales market is Remax on Somerville Avenue – they’re now merging its offices with the Remax in Ball Square - you remember, that company that Alderman Sean sent out a letter asking the residents of Ward 5 to do business with.  They claim the move is to “make it better,” but for who?  You got to love the sign in their window in Ball Square - “Somerville for sale” both company owners are not from Somerville, nor do they have any roots in Somerville.
                                        ************
That was a low-blow by the Editor of the Farm Team for writing that story last week with that kind of slant - you know what we’re talking about - the story about the lady who got her car towed at Target on Somerville Avenue and who freely admitted she went across the street to another store.  The story certainly wasn’t newsworthy, so she juiced it up and then had the cartoon done on it.  We say thank you very much for the publicity - Pat’s Tow is here to service the community.  Nice try Kat, but then again we got your number over here at Newstalk, don’t we…we know you watch us very closely and we’re glad you do. Keep watching, maybe you’ll learn something.
    

Comments

[Going to Die Here]

Unions? Now the progressives are anti-union?!? Get a grip, NewsTalk! I'm sure you call the IBEW first whenever you need a light switch changed at your house, right?

The type of fly-by-night contractors who use day laborers have never used union labor. And any savings they pass on to the homeowner would only be because they have competition from other contractors - these guys are tax-cheating law breaking scumbags and they will squeeze whatever money they can from their victims - er, customers.

The day laborers are an easy target - they don't speak much english, don't have much money, and obviously have no political clout whatsoever. (That's probably why those damnable do-gooder progressives are so keen to defend them). It's harder to point the finger at the native born contractors who exploit them - some of whom may be our neighbors or the kid we went to high school with. Not to mention the people who hire these contractors without checking them out first - some of whom may be us!

As long as there are jobs for them here and none at home they will keep coming - progressives, "sanctuary cities" and all that nice talk or not.

Sincerely,
Born Somerwhere Else

[Snowflake's Eleven]

Happy Anniversary Donald and Patricia!
Love Snowflake's Eleven!

[factcheckaisle5]

"This whole mess is because our so called Progressive-minded politicians don’t care apparently about the Unions anymore – they’re more concern about issues that’s personally don’t affect the masses."

Nice "reporting" there scoop. Where is your proof of this statement. Just one quote from Rebekah or another local progressive that backs up that claim. This is just a bogus accusation. Further more "this whole mess" is due to federal immigration policy or the lack thereof. Why don't you take it up with the Bush administration that I'm 90% certain you're in love with. Funny, I consider myself a progressive yet I think the entire Foss Park situation is a disgrace. Where's the INS? Why aren't the cops out there. Oh, that's right local police won't enforce national immigration law. Not just here, everywhere. Funny, they'll enforce national drug laws. Regardless, the last people I'm going to blame are local conservatives. Should you choose to remove your head from your ass you just may see the light of day.

[Grand total]

both company owners are not from Somerville, nor do they have any roots in Somerville. So I guess that means all the newcomers can trust these guys?

Now here are 5 Myths about this country which will explain why I am not a Republican in Somerville.

MYTH 1: The US was founded on Christian principles.

TRUTH:

This is incorrect.
The Constitution never once mentions a deity, because the Founding Fathers wanted to keep their new country "religion-neutral." Our Founding Fathers were an eclectic collection of Atheists, Deists, Christians, Freemasons and Agnostics.

George Washington, the Father of our country, and John Adams (Second President of the USA) CLEARLY stated in the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli: "The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian Religion.”

G.W. rarely attended church and instead followed a popular 18th century philosophy called Deism—a Star Wars-esque philosophy that believed in a cosmic energy or big-ass universal "Force." The dictionary says that Deism is "a system of thought advocating natural religion based on human reason rather than revelation," that had nothing to do with Christian principles.

James Madison, original mastermind of our Constitution, was an Atheist to the core who loved skewering Christianity. In 1785 he wrote, "What have been [Christianity’s] fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.”

Thomas Jefferson, who sat down and authored The Declaration of Independence, rarely missed an opportunity to laugh at Christianity. In a letter to John Adams in 1823, he wrote: "The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus…will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."

More ammo: In 1814, Tommy J. wrote about the Bible's Old and New Testaments, "The whole history of these books is so defective and doubtful -- evidence that parts have proceeded from an extraordinary man; and that other parts are of the fabric of very inferior minds.”

In fact, it was President Jefferson himself who first wrote (to a Baptist church group in 1802), "The First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between Church and State." Therefore, when Jefferson talked about “Nature’s God,” the “Creator” and “divine Providence ” in the Declaration that he wrote, he was being a hippie and referring to a general cosmic energy-- not the Christian God.

America is not a Christian nation. Period. Our Constitution derived from the post-Christian Enlightenment values of reason and truth...never from the paranoid yammerings of that otherwise compassionate cult leader who fucking died in the Middle Eastern desert 3000 years ago.

MYTH 2: US Conservatives tend to be patriotic, ethical Americans; liberals tend to hate America and are immoral.

TRUTH:

Liberals aren't the traitors to America. In fact, conservatives who insist on sending American troops into the Iraqi slaughterhouse to watch some blood-n'-guts "towelhead" ass-kickin' are the traitors. Most of them could care less about our troops, no more than Mao or Stalin cared about the safety of their own soldiers. In the neocons' view, these young boys and girls are expendable test dummies. They're dying for virtually nothing, so that the hicks in the Bush Admin can make good on their campaign promises to their buddies from the petroleum and infrastructure-rebuilding industries. By revving up the Arab threat, these MFs can scream "national security" and "freedom" as smokescreens, while getting their hands on a diminishing resource: Middle Eastern fossil fuels, which power everything from your lightbulbs and computer that you leave on all night, to your stupid gas-guzzler pickup truck.

Pro-war conservatives are the traitors to America. With only 29% of the public approving of Bush's policies now, it took a full 5 years for America to finally wake up in bed next to this disgusting fact.

Do liberals hate America? No, in fact they care so much about the USA that they fight so aggressively to make it better. They're not anti-American; they're just anti-stupidity. Do liberals hate American policies? Sometimes, but only the self-destructive ones that threaten human rights, liberty, democracy, justice, inquiry, excellence and reason-- the values that our country was founded upon.

As for conservative moral superiority? Frauds. Think of the child-molesting priests, money-scamming televangelist preachers, Jack Abramoff's friends in the Bush Admin, gay-hating Jesus lovers, the Christians who beat up the professor who opposed intelligent design, human rights violators like Lynndie England and her Abu Ghraib hick officer pals, Tommy "Scandal-icious" Delay, Scooter "Leaky" Libby, the entire K Street Project meant to hire only Republicans, FEMA's Michael "Yer doin' a heckuva job" Brownie, and so on.

Oh and by the way, conservative Red states have a divorce rate 27% higher than the liberal Blue states, the per capita rate of violent crime in Red states is 49 per 100,000 higher than in Blue states, the top 5 states with the highest rates of alcohol abuse are Red states, and the per capita rate of gonorrhea in Red states was 41 per 100,000 higher than in the Blue states. Time to unshelf the antibiotics for our "ethical," "God-fearing" conservative friends with their "traditional family values."

MYTH 3. The US has a liberal media.

TRUTH:

This is a paranoid Republican myth.
Reality check: the US media is a mix of liberal, centrist and conservative voices. Also, the US media is largely owned by 10 corporations who frequently push pro-conservative agendas to the American public. Evidence:

1. Even Republican Pat Buchanan confessed, "For heaven sakes, we kid about the liberal media, but every Republican on earth does that." Neo-conservative pundit Bill Kristol also said, "I admit it: the liberal media were never that powerful, and the whole thing was often used as an excuse by conservatives for conservative failures."

2. A 2005 study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found that "coverage by public television and radio is conservative compared to the rest of the mainstream media." Why? Partly because only four major corporate networks control American TV news-- up to 75% of the audience share. The "Big 10" media conglomerates who control the bulk of the entire US media are: AOL Time Warner, Disney, General Electric, News Corporation, Viacom, Vivendi, Sony, Bertelsmann, AT&T and Liberty Media. Yes, we have National Public Radio, but compare its public reach to that of Canada's CBC and the United Kingdom's BBC.

3. Eighty percent of all US newspapers are owned by corporate chains.

4. Liberals are virtually non-existent on talk radio stations nationwide. Rush and Dr. Laura, eat your hearts out.

5. Conservatives are very well accomodated for across FOX News, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times, the New York Post, the American Spectator, the Weekly Standard, the Drudge Report, the National Review, etc. Even so-called "bastions of liberalism," e.g. the NY Times, MSNBC, WashPost and NPR make a concerted effort to be "fair and balanced" by bringing in right-wing views like those of David Brooks, Joe Scarborough, Tucker Carlson, Charles Krauthammer and Cokie Roberts to have their say in these forums, respectively. This is in stark contrast to FOX News' claims to unbiased objectivity, which were easily demolished by Robert Greenwald in 2004.

6. Contrary to what some paranoid Republicans claim, most journalists are centrists, not liberals. A representative sample of 141 US journalists and bureau chiefs were asked in 1998, "On social issues, how would you characterize your political orientation?" Answers: Left 30%, Center 57%, Right 9%, Other 5% . Next question, same sample: "On economic issues, how would you characterize your political orientation? " Answers: Left 11%, Center 64%, Right 19%, Other 5%. Also, look at the total number of think tank citations in major newspapers, radio and TV transcripts: Conservative TTs: 7792, Centrist TTs: 6361, Liberal TTs: 1152.

7. Eric Alterman summarizes a 1999 research study from the academic journal Communications Research: "Four scholars examined the use of the 'liberal media' argument and discovered a fourfold increase in the number of Americans telling pollsters that they discerned a liberal bias in their news. But a review of the media's actual ideological content, collected and coded over a twelve-year period, offered no corroboration whatever for this view."

MYTH 4. The US doesn’t need improvement compared to other countries; it is the greatest country in the world.

TRUTH:
Wrong again. I'll only cite the statistics here.

USA Ranking on Adult Literacy Scale: #9
(#1 Sweden and #2 Norway)- OECD

USA Ranking on Healthcare Quality Index: #37
(#1 France and #2 Italy)- World Health Organization 2003

USA Ranking of Student Reading Ability: #12
(#1 Finland and #2 South Korea)- OECD PISA 2003

USA Ranking of Student Problem Solving Ability: #26
(#1 South Korea and #2 Finland)- OECD PISA 2003

USA Ranking on Student Mathematics Ability: # 24
(#1 Hong Kong and #2 Finland)- OECD PISA 2003

USA Ranking of Student Science Ability: #19
(#1 Finland and #2 Japan)- OECD PISA 2003

USA Ranking on Women's Rights Scale: #17
(#1 Sweden and #2 Norway)- World Economic Forum Report

USA Position on Timeline of Gay Rights Progress: # 6 (1997)
(#1 Sweden 1987 and #2 Norway 1993)- Vexen

USA Ranking on Life Expectancy: #29
(#1 Japan and #2 Hong Kong)- UN Human Development Report 2005

USA Ranking on Journalistic Press Freedom Index: #32
(#1 Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands tied)- Reporters Without Borders 2005

USA Ranking on Political Corruption Index: #17
(#1 Iceland and #2 Finland)- Transparency International 2005

USA Ranking on Quality of Life Survey: #13
(#1 Ireland and #2 Switzerland)- The Economist Magazine ...Wikipedia "Celtic Tiger" if you still have your doubts.

USA Ranking on Environmental Sustainability Index: #45
(#1 Finland and #2 Norway)- Yale University ESI 2005

USA Ranking on Overall Currency Strength: #3 (US Dollar)
(#1 UK pound sterling and #2 European Union euro)- FTSE 2006....the dollar is now a liability, so many banks worldwide have planned to switch to euro

USA Ranking on Infant Mortality Rate: #32
(#1 Sweden and #2 Finland)- Save the Children Report 2006

USA Ranking on Human Development Index (GDP, education, etc.): #10
(#1 Norway and #2 Iceland)- UN Human Development Report 2005

So much for those "socialist" Europeans and those "backward" Asians, hm?
We can do better than this.

Miscellany:
*Only 18% of Americans own passports and bother to travel outside of the US.
* 85% of US soldiers in Iraq believe that they are there to get revenge for 9/11.
* New international student enrollment in US grad schools has decreased by 6%, because of xenophobic post-9/11 US visa restrictions, jacked-up tuition fees and better educational opportunities in the EU and Asia. So no, not everyone wants to come here anymore, because it's become a land of incredibly limited opportunity, and we've lowered our educational standards.

MYTH 5: The US government loves to help other countries.

TRUTH:
This is a myth. The US government tends to be motivated by interests, not humanitarian principles.

Denmark gives the most amount of its GDP (1.01%) to developing countries; Norway gives 0.91%; the Netherlands give 0.79% and so on until the end of list, where the USA sits. Yes, America ranks DEAD LAST in foreign aid at a pathetic 0.1% of its GDP, compared to the other 21 nations listed as developed nations. The idea that the US government is a heroic bunch that runs around the world helping the poor and the disempowered is not backed up by the evidence. We have one of the stingiest governments on earth.

Most Americans believe the US spends 24% of its budget on aid to poor countries; the actual amount is well under a quarter of 1%. Our country also ranks #5 on asylum-seeker acceptance rates (#1 is Denmark and #2 is Canada).

For you self-congratulatory, redneck-inspired conservative fuckwads who will start to say, "B-b-b-but you're anti-American! M-m-m-moonbat! G-g-g-god bless the USA!" I answer, "Go fuck yourself. We can do better." Stop blindly believing everything your president tells you. Come back to us only when you start realizing that the $400 billion your president has allocated to his Roman Empire-style military overstretch could be better spent on correcting the sociopolitical and economic problems in the arenas that I've listed above.

For you liberal shit-heels who will start to say, "Yeah! Right on!" I answer, "Grow some fucking balls." That goes for women and the LGBT community too, and don't call me a sexist either: I'm more than comfortable with being a female, but I believe balls can be useful in situations like these. Instead, stop apologizing for being the "liberal elite," and start championing un-abashed excellence in everything, not mediocrity. Help your reps and senators take back Congress, and stop dithering while the political tides are turning in your favor right now. The conservatives are terrified now; TAKE advantage of that. And don't waste time trying to explain rational things to any homophobic Christians, or hyper-patriotic losers who wave and cheapen our American flag only for a self-esteem buzz, or those testosterone-filled, gullible, culturally-ignorant military recruiter robots who lack even a basic intelligence. THEY CANNOT BE REASONED WITH. They don't understand statistics, elaborate charts, legislative proposals or complicated scientific explanations. Just let them go. Let them go.

In the meantime, stop being SHEEP and get up and do something before some bright and ambitious Chinese, Indian and the European students grow up to be international leaders and make your lazy, self-absorbed kids irrelevant on the world stage.

If this is a reasonable manifesto, click "best of," upper right-hand corner.

[Tow Companies are NOT Benevolent Do-Gooders]

Why is this website such a positive mouthpiece for Pat's Towing? This incessant backing of a company without really refuting much of the story in the other paper is troubling. What about the other point in the story, that Pat's has towed people from both the Target lot and the Twin Cities while they were shopping in the store?

[Ronny Newmint]

to: Grand Total
A bit heavy at this or anytime of day to spill out that diatrab of shit you want everyone to believe. You sound like a disinfrachised former beilever in God any God.

[Marty Stien]

Down with Pat's towing! I am tired of these monopoly politically connected towing and cab companies ripping off their employees, not paying a living wage, getting special contracts and support from the city officials, and treating people like dirt. Especially new people. We need reform and we need it now.

[AuH2O]

Grand Total:

That has to be one of the most informative posts I have ever read on either this blog or anywhere. Well done.

There is much to be said for the standards in Europe (and I have traveled there extensively over the years). However, there is also much to be said for one fundamental difference between us and everyone else in the world. We have, over all, the greatest diversity... of culture, political philosophy, geography and I believe opinion. That is the one thing that sets the US apart. The problem, as I see it, is that our Constitution has been so subverted and that our political system has been hijacked by special interests.

If, for instance, the same thing that happened in New Orleans happened in the Netherlands, they'd call for a new national election. Technically, our Constitution allows for this, but since we've not been operating under the Constitution since 1933, it can't.

Also, the term "liberal" has been hijacked by various parties here over the years. Jefferson was a liberal. Mason was a liberal. Franklin was a liberal.

Using the classical definition of the term, most latter-day liberals are not so at all. Rather, they are democratic socialists.

I believe that Barry Goldwater would look askance at the present-day "conservatives", seeing them for what they really are; zealots who don't know a damned thing about the Constitution or the concept that government should derive its just powers from the consent of the governed.

In his day, I don't ever recall hearing Goldwater rail on about the "do-gooding liberals". He did, however, carry on about his general disdain for Eastern intellectuals. But there is an enormous difference.

Were Goldwater around nowadays, he would likely be considered a libertarian and would probably get little or no press coverage as a result. John Stossel (who's he???) is a libertarian, but he doesn't matter because he's not a "conservative" or a "liberal".

Simplifying that paradigm has been the goal of the ruling elite for at least the last 50 years, and they--as you so eloquently illustrated--have succeeded. It keeps people's focus away from the Constitution and the original Bill of Rights, which would either forbid or outlaw things such as our current "war on terror" which is really nothing more than a war on individual liberties.

[Manny Lipshitz]

I agree down with these home grown tow companies and other companies that are home grown, only deal with new residents and illegal immagrants and off course Athiest. Rebekah for Mayor in 2008,vote PDS city wide.

[Whatever]

You know that known gang member who is working for the city at the police station? The story is SO important, it's in the blog twice. You know that known gang member who is working for the city at the police station? The story is SO important, it's in the blog twice.

And, yeah, sure, towing companies are such Samaritans. Even when you need them when your car breaks down and need a tow to a service station, you still feel like you're geting screwed. (Gee, that wasn't broken before it was towed -- thanks!)

[fatal shooting on Merriam St.]

Police investigating fatal shooting in Somerville
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2006/08/police_investig_5.html

A 23-year-old man died after he was shot several times in Somerville early this morning, police said.

The man, who police did not identify because his family had not been notified, was shot multiple times near Merriam Street. Neighbors called police at 1:07 a.m. after hearing the gunfire, police said.

Police said the victim and shooter were “known to each other.” One man has been arrested on armed robbery charges, police said, but he has not been charged with the death. Police did not explain the connection between the robbery and the shooting.

[Going to Die Here]

Grand Total:

If you're going to cut and paste from craigslist, at least remove the If this is a reasonable manifesto, click "best of," upper right-hand corner from the end!

That said, it was a good rant. Thanks for sharing.

Sincerely,
Born Somewhere Else

[James Norton]

Going to Die Here -

Very good catch on your part - that completely inaccurate and asinine rant was in fact a posting on craigslist - from the San Francisco Craigslist site on May 22, 2006.

All this jackass did was cut and paste - probably didn't even read it him/herself and see how inaccurate and agenda-driven the posting really is and what kind of person obviously posted the original.

The original site you can cut and paste into your browser to see the copied posting is:

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/163437715.html

I didn't delete this "reposting" of someone elses work because we at the newspaper felt that it is clearly a bunch of bullshit and it's scary to know that not only are people stupid enough to create this kind of intellectual excrement, that others choose to copy it, attach their fantasy land name to it and then others who read this shit so easily buy into it - AuH20 even went so far as to comment:

"That has to be one of the most informative posts I have ever read on either this blog or anywhere. Well done."

I'm starting to think that the "Pod People" aren't just the old school political hacks around here - that this sense of the blind leading the blind is now permeating everything and everyone around here.

God help us.

JN

[Ron Newman]

Even though I actually agree with most of it, I still don't want to see it here. This is a place for people to express their own opinions, not cut and paste diatribes from elsewhere.

[AuH20]

JN:

Regarding your comment; "and then others who read this shit so easily buy into it - AuH20 even went so far as to comment:

"That has to be one of the most informative posts I have ever read on either this blog or anywhere. Well done."

There's a degree of "code-speak" in my remark. If you think I read a bunch of statistics and then accept them as rote, please think again.

"Informative" tells me a LOT. "Well Done" as in cooked to a crisp (read: hashed over so many times, it is only so much bromide). I said it was "informative". I never said I AGREED with it.

I know as well as you do that there aren't too many people who can articulate such a salient piece, B.S. or not, in such a short time and expect anyone to believe that it is exactly what they are thinking.

My point in the reply was that we have been systematically "classified" over the years into a black and white culture when we are anything but that.

I'l stick to my guns regarding the Constitution however, even going so far as to say that it was over 50 years before 1933 when the Constitution began to be subverted. It had to do with the states which later became known as the Confederacy walking out of Congress and leaving it without a quorum. But that digresses way too much for the people who read this blog.

Thanks for not stripping the post off though. Fun reading. One other thing...

I forgot, in talking about the United States' diversity, to mention that our economy is also, far and away, the most diverse on the planet. You may see talk come and go about the Euro becoming the new standard of international monetary exchange, but I don't personally believe that will occur for a long time to come. Reason being, the EU is a LONG way from allowing its currency to prop up everyone else's for fear of the down-side that no one ever talks about.

All of these are my personal opinions however. They are not clipped and pasted from elsewhere.

[James Norton]

AuH20 -

Fair enough - it's nice to have discussion and disagreement without disagreeable confrontation.

JN

[Grand total]

Deal with it!

Or whatever. I normally never do that, but this was one particular piece that I was confident some of you would either like or at react to. And I did read it. I am surprised it did not mention how the top ten countries on this index have more social tolerance.
If you have to know, I was torn between looking like a thief or getting a better reaction. But since I can use an alias, I thought I would raise the bar a little. The compromise was to leave the 'click best of' at the end for those in the know.

Butters, you are entitled to your opinion -- keep it.

[Dr. Mrs. McCarthy]

Jamie,

What have I been telling you for the last few months?

Newman,

Stop.

Everyone Else,

Can someone please tell me where the country "America" is? I've looked all over the place, internet, reference books, maps.

I find the continent of North America, South America, I even see that there is a Central America. In North America I see countries called The United States and Canada.
Central America has the countries of Mexico, Hondouras, El Salvador, etc. South America has those beautiful countries of Brazil, Argentina, Peru, etc.

But nope no just plain old America.

So let me see, when rants like the "cut and paste" above refer to "Americans" are they talking about all the inhabitants of North, South and Central America?

Or are they just plain ignorant shits that keep blowing their own horn with rigmarole?

Just Wandering the Globe,

Dr. Mrs. McCarthy

[Afternoon Delight]

Grand Total [Disaster],
You start out well enough by saying:
"I am surprised it did not mention how the top ten countries on this index have more social tolerance."

You finish by telling Newman, your ideological ally: "you are entitled to your opinion -- keep it."

You don't even follow your own principals. You are a joke.

[James Norton]

Dr.Mrs.McCarthy -

Thinkin' of you's workin' up my appetite
Looking forward to a little afternoon delight
Rubbin' sticks and stones together makes the sparks ingite
And the thought of lovin' you is getting so exciting
Sky rockets in flight
Afternoon delight
Afternoon delight
Afternoon delight

Enjoy

JN

[Grand total]

You right. But I would never really tell that to anyone that would take it seriuosly. And Newman never would! And I would be amoung the first to lobby to get Butters back if anyone really tried to ban him.

[Dr. Mrs. McCarthy]

Jamie,

Silly rabbit.

Je t'aime,
(sorry Carlos)

Dr. Mrs. McCarthy

[James Norton]

Je ne parle pas de français, mais je parle vraiment la langue d'amour. Carlos ne saura jamais que nous avons ici sur ce blog insensé d'idiots et des gens de gousse mal renseignés. Gardez la foi mon amour.

Mâchez-le.

JN

[Dr. Mrs. McCarthy]

Jamie,

L'amour, l'amour. Ah......l'amour.

A tout a l'heure.

Oh, zoot! Carlos est ici.

Ciao for now bonami,

Dr. Mrs. McCarthy

[Murder in Somerville]

Hey Somerville News!

There was a murder in Somerville within the last 24 hours.

At the risk of offending the Editor and owners, I take it you guys don't think this is a piece for "The Weekly Paper With Daily News"?

The murder took place on Merriam Street within spitting distance of the Headquarters of the Somerville Police Station.

Ya, I feel safe having Bradley at the helm.

How about you?

[Going to Die Here]

Murder in Somerville:

I don't know enough about Bradley (other than the patrolmen's union chief doesn't like him, and quite frankly I'd be more suspicious of him if the patrolmen's union chief did like him - I mean it's pretty much his job to not like him) (a run-on in parentheses - how's that Cambriville News?) to know if I feel safe with him at the helm.

I do know that 1 murder in a city of 80,000 people does not necessarily make him a bad acting chief.

Sincerely,
Born Somewhere Else

[Mole Fan]

Bradley is an arshole, I do not know why you would want to like him. Or support him.

[Murder in Somerville]

Going to Die Here,

Your last sentence says a lot. You know what? You are correct. One murder in 80,000 really should'nt reflect on the Acting Police Chief at all. After all, he's only acting.

So what do you say "Going to die here"? How many murders do you think are OK before you are willing to say maybe this guy should go?

10? 30? 100? Tell you what, you name the number. Or are you willing to wait until your screen name comes true prematurely some night while you're on the way home from work?

You may be willing to wait. I am not.

BRADLEY HAS GOT TO GO!

[Ron Newman]

The Globe has a story on the murder today. The Farm Team has two stories. The Herald has a story from the Farm Team reporter. Where's the News?

[The Flash]

Murder in Somerville:

Get a grip people. Do you actually believe the Police Chief can prevent a murder? You people are ridiculous. Can the fire chief prevent a fire? I know, I know, no matter what happens it will be Bradley's fault. Just like his predecessors. There are a few cops like BS, JL, Etc... that will never be happy and always ridicule whoever is in charge.

[James Norton]

Flash -

Aside from whatever personality conflict you and I seem to be having, which we can address some other time if you'd like, I agree with you here.

There are clear divisions of people in this city whose lives revolve around hatred for other people. These same people are amazed when the so-called "progressives" gain another seat or manage to attract more and more people to their dicussions and away from the distractions.

They love nothing better than to take one incident and attach it to someone they hate. I'm no big fan of Bradley, but one murder does not a bad acting chief make.

The problems around here are systemic and people are foolish if they think otherwise - stop trying to pin all of the problems of Somerville on one or two people.

Just a thought.

JN

[Ron Newman]

By the way, I talked to Rebekah last night, and this News Talk item is just plain wrong. She says that existing city law requires amplified outdoor performances to end at 11 pm, and that people who live above the Store 24 asked her to have this enforced.

Personally, I'd prefer to let it go on until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, but I can understand the residents' point of view too.

[PersonDavis]

Newman's right. Amplified performances are prohibited outdoors after 11 PM. Now if we could just do something about those stupid car stereos booming around through the neighborhoods west of the Square after 11 o'clock. Damned things make the china rattle on the shelves!

[Murder in Somerville]

JN,

While I most times agree rather than disagree with you and the writers from the News, on this one you and I are miles apart.

One murder in our City is one too many. Forgive me if I seem overly sensitive when it comes to human life.

My thoughts about the "Acting" chief have been simmering for some time now. While he may be a decent man, he is not cut out to lead the force and protect the residents, enforce the laws and at least try, try I said, to remain impartial in the political affairs of the city.

Bradley is a throw back to another time and place when hackism, cronyism and ineptitude were sufficient qualifications to hold the top jobs in municipal government.

When this man's entire record is closely examinied by the Board of Alderman, I hope they have the balls to say, "No, this is not the best person to lead the Somerville Police force."

The men and women of the force and the residents of this City deserve better.

[Rebekah likes to Flip Flop!]

Right!!! That's why Rebekah call Inspectional services just last week and asked them to order all amplifying systems to be shut down between 8 and 9 PM. Now all she's doing is trying to correct and downplay her ridiculous decisions. And what do you know, The Newmanator fell for it!

Love, Snowflake!

[Ron Newman]

To 'Murder in Somerville': Of course one murder is one too many, but what makes you think the police could somehow have prevented this one? With or without a different chief?

[Rebekah in flip flops?]

I would like to Rebekah in flip flops, she has my vote.

[Rebekah in flip flops?]

I would like to SEE Rebekah in flip flops,
she has my vote!

[Ronny Newmint]

Mr. Newman, off course she told you that, you'd believe her don't you? She told you that so you could be her poster boy on the blog, shit she knows you spend all day blogging all the various sites around, don't you Ron?
Jack your other candidate wants to tell you something to, if you can break yourself away from the various websites.
To "Murder in Somerville" the the blaming of Bradley on everything that happens, you sound like a arse, did mommy blame you for everything growning? Both of you should get a life and be more charitable, i'd say more Christian but we know that's a waste of time.

[The city is for Peolple?]

As far as I know, the ordinance for sound may be different for different zones. I think most of Davis square is zoned commercial or business so you may be able to get away with more noise there. I am not sure where the store 24 is in relation to the zoning? But if residents and neighbors are complaining and the store is actually a chain store with no community ties then I would have to say help your neighbors out. If this were a locally owned business the owner would be more neighborly.

Of course we are hearing a side of the story here that obviously has a very high chance of being blown out of proportion. In fact, it may not even remotely resemble what is actually happening in that neighborhood. I have to ,that I am more inclined to believe Ron. But I am not sure that I agree with him.

[Ward6Resident]

Where did you get the information that Rebekah Gewirtz called Inspectional Services and asked that amplifying systems be turned off between 8 and 9 pm? Once you show me the proof, then I'll start ranting and raving on the Somerville News blog. As for the people disgruntled about Ms. Gewirtz helping out the Someday Cafe workers, what is wrong with that? Don't we want elected officials who listen to their residents and workers? Elected officials who get things done and actually CARE about the residents of Somerville? Isn't that what we want and voted for? Personally, I believe that this elected official has gone above and beyond to ensure that her constituents remain happy and get what they deserve. Let's stop with the misinformation!

[James Norton]

Flip Flop -

Keep the foot fetish to yourself or at least wait until we have the online personals section up and running on here.

Ron -

Please, of course she's going to tell you that. Why bother to call George or someone else at the paper to talk to them and give her version of what we heard. No, better to have a face to face with you, as you are the voice of reason - on about 13,000 weblogs. I haven't said one bad word about Rebekah yet, but I find this type of third person communication unseemly at best.

Newmint -

Interesting way of putting that last comment.

Murder in Somerville -

Look, I only made a small point about people going after Bradley about this murder. Any murder or loss of life is a serious subject. The bigger part of what I was saying was an indictment against common practice in this city - point the finger - hide from the truth - don't bother to do a God Damned thing to correct the problem systemically.

My head hurts already.

JN

[Bay State Girl]

In Support of Rebekah!
We voted for Rebekah because we wanted change, We wanted someone who listened to her district and voiced concerns. Rebekah does not arbitrarily choose what she lobbies for. She listens to us and represents us. She does not sit back and watch.
Good for Rebekah for representing us and putting herself out there.

Boo to her critics, sounds to me like you really want someone who sits back and is happy with status quo,well that is not Rebekah and I am glad she is representing me!

[Murder in Somerville]

JN,

You see JN, you and I do agree. The problems facing us are systemic. What I'm trying to convey is that the Acting Chief, and the process under which he probably will become Chief, is part of that systemic problem. You and I both know that the Mayor has this one locked down. They will go through the motions of a search, the various BoA members will barter with Joe for their support and we will be left with a Police Chief that is fighting with his own troops, allowing thefts in public buildings to go unsolved and (my opinion) quickly losing the publics trust.

A murder, on a street next to the Chief's office, has a way of shaking that trust to its very core.

And for the record, I never said I hated Bradley.

I just don't think he is capable of leading the Somerville Police in the present day.

[Dominic Santos]

The Facts on Street Musician-Gate

At the August 10th meeting of the Board of Aldermen, Alderman Gewirtz entered an Order "[t]hat the Director of SPCD ensure that street musicians are not playing past their permitted time in Davis Sq. and report back to the Ward 6 Alderman on the status of street musician permits for the area." Agenda Item 44, BOA Agenda, Aug. 10, 2006. The BOA approved the Order. Minutes Item 44, BOA Agenda Minutes, Aug. 10, 2006.

As a condition to any and all Musicians and Street Performers Licenses, the licensee, in the case of a musical performance, agrees to not engage in a musical performance before 9:00AM or after 10:00PM. Musicians and Street Performers License, Page 3, Condition 6.

If residents would like our City to permit musicians to perform later in the evening, call your elected officials and suggest the same. Otherwise, licensees are required to abide by their license which prohibits performances after 10:00PM. It is just that simple. It is odd that an elected official would be criticized for upholding the laws she took an oath to uphold.

Dominic Santos

[Ron Newman]

The Store 24 is in a business zone, but people live in apartments above it. The fact that it's a chain store is pretty much irrelevant, since the amplified music isn't coming from the store, it's coming from street musicians in the plaza outside.

My bias is towards 'keep the Square lively', but I'm 2 blocks away. If I lived right there I might feel differently. Those people are Rebekah's constituents too.

[Grand total]

Speaking of listening to your constituents there is one Republican I would vote for:

Arnold Schwarzenegger for President!

Down with Global Warming!

I would give you guys some stats but I am sure that would be too inconvenient.

[Somerville Observer]

You guys are all over the map.

Are you in favor of supporting locally run independent businesses or not?
First you criticize Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz for trying to help support a locally owned independent coffee shop and claim that Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks should be able to get her help too. Have you been to Harvard Square recently? There’s hardly any reason to go there anymore with all the giant chain stores and cell phone stores taking up every inch of space. Is that what you want for Davis Square? Later you complain about too many Dunkin Donuts in East Somerville and that ReMax isn’t locally owned (unlike this paper’s publisher’s competing Real Estate Company)

Are you in favor of following the existing rules and laws of this city or not?
Does the city currently have an ordinance about not playing amplified music after 11 pm at night? Yes. Was it being enforced before the Ward 6 Alderman spoke up expressing the concerns of her constituents? No.

I think this is the ordinance section relating to this. I got this from the city web site in the Legal Department section.
DIVISION 2. NOISE CONTROL ORDINANCE*
Sec. 9-119. Additional noise policies.

Do signs hanging over a public street require permit approval from the Board of Alderman? Yes. Did the Middlesex Federal sign go through the Board of Alderman permitting process before installation? No.
Chapter 12 STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND OTHER PUBLIC PLACES*
Sec. 12-14. Signs, awnings, outdoor seating and other items on or over streets and sidewalks.
(Code 1963, § 11-7; Ord. No. 2001-8, 6-14-2001)

So now they can go through the proper process and I’m quite sure that the majority of the Board will approve it and then you can all have your flashy sign back. Interestingly on a Live Journal Blog about Davis Square, more people have complained about that sign then have liked it.

As I see it Alderman Gewirtz is doing exactly what you proclaim an Alderman should do. Responding quickly and effectively to the concerns of her constituents. As an extra bonus, she doesn’t require the city to put any of her family members in well paying city jobs. Can the majority of the Board of Alderman say that? No.

[Nepo Tism]

The majority of the BOA members do not have family members in well paying city jobs.

The O'Donovans have a monopoly on the well paying ones.

The Roach family members that are employed by the city are in the not so well paying jobs.

[Somerville Observer]

I wonder why Roaches don't rate as high as O'Donovans? Bill Roach should run for mayor and rectify this situation asap! :-)

Do significant others count as family members? I was counting them too.