News Talk for Wednesday August 15th, 2007

Ball Square is home again to the breakfast clubs (or wars, depending on who you talk to) and is also the new center for mayoral campaign headquarters with two offices across the street from one another. Even though Rick Scirocco and Joe Curtatone have set up shop there, we don’t see Suzanne Bremer’s office. Maybe she’s smart to stay away and be by herself in Union Square? Mayor Joe opened his headquarters last night Aug. 14 to a large gathering of supporters. We still have our bet on Mayor Joe winning by a huge majority, but you never know, or do you? 

                                                                         *********

Also on the local political scene, we keep seeing Joe Lynch out there knocking on doors in Ward 5. We hear Sean O’Donovan is also out there but we haven’t seen him yet.  Then there is Charlie Chisholm in Ward 6 knocking on doors all day, one family on Highland Avenue stopped and talked to him for half an hour and seemed pleased with what he had to say. On the other side of things is Alderman-at-Large candidate Fred Berman, who apparently needs to be escorted around the city by fellow progressive candidate and Ward 5 School Committee Member Mark Niedergang. Guess Fred needs someone to help him knock on doors. That’s encouraging.      

                                                                           ********

Redbones is at it again, raising money for a good cause by holding its Sixth Annual Pig Pick-in and Benefit with a block party on Chester Street Monday. The event attracted hundreds of people and helped raise more than $6,000 for the Somerville Homeless Coalition. Redbones did a great job giving back to the city and served some awesome food in the meantime.

                                                                             *********

Congratulations, honors and praise was given out at the Board of Aldermen meeting last week to Somerville firefighters for their heroic call to duty at the two-alarm fire on Henderson Street last month. Congratulations as well to all our heroic men and women in uniform from The Somerville News.

                                                                            **********

The Somerville Politics blog seems to have run its course.  It has not been updated in more than two weeks and seems to be finished.  Oh well, more voices and opinions in the Somerville dialogue are great, but we always thought it was kind of strange that the person or people who ran the site insisted on preserving their anonymity.   Say what you want about the Farm Team Paper or us, but at least names are attached to our work. 

                                                                              ********

Congratulations to Harvey Alvarez, a 2005 graduate of Somerville High School, who just graduated from basic training with the U.S. Army at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C.  Harvey, of River Road, finished the rigorous program as an honor graduate, and we wish him well in his military pursuits.

                                                                             *********

That garden at Ciampa Manor that was started and taken care of by one of the tenants is coming along real well. The fruits of Charlie’s labor have begun to show.   Charlie has done a majority of the work himself with some help from another tenant, Lillian. Charlie plans on sharing the harvest with the rest of the tenants in the building. Charlie paid for the loom and many of the plants and flowers himself. We think it looks great. Say hi to Charlie when you see him, and thank him for his effort to make Ciampa Manor a better place for everyone. 

                                                                             **********

It appears that we have a connoisseur of fine beer living amongst us here in Somerville, we’ve been tipped off that some anonymous person recently paid $503,000 for one antique bottle of beer on eBay. We’re not sure yet if this guy is for real or just a prankster, but we know one thing – in a city with bars in all the squares, that’s some price to pay for one bottle of beer.   

                                                                                **********

On a sad note, Somerville lost another long-time resident, Carolyn (Manzelli) Heniffent died Aug. 10 after a very brief illness.  She was 59 and will be sadly missed.

                   
                                                                                 **********

Remember the emergency inspection by the Inspectional Services Department (ISD) of a house on Boston Avenue that was once classified as unfit for human habitation? Remember, the city forced the owner to move out of the unsafe building? Well, the owner, an elderly women, a longtime resident finally applied for and is now receiving housing and other assistance that has made it possible for her to sell the property to a new owner who has fully done it over and brought it up to all state codes! Nice to see George Landers, head of ISD, and his office do another fine job. We think George is the best.

                                                                            ***********

Well, you got to hand it to the Board of Aldermen for putting on their boxing gloves to fight for “No more delays of the Green Line Extension!” Our Aldermen want everyone to make noise and let the state know that we mean business and no further delays. Let’s hope our Progressive state delegation makes noise as well on this issue. Let’s see if their clout at the state house, along with the BOA, can make the governor stay on track.

                                                                             ***********

Isn’t it funny that when the so-called progressives here in Somerville get attacked, they resort to playing the race or gender card? They just can’t take the heat whether it’s in our paper or at the Farm Team. We’re wondering who said, “If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen?” (We’re sure Ron Newman knows and will attempt to correct us, lol).   Hey boys and girls, politics is tough and it should be. And when someone does something wrong or stupid then it’s his or her own fault. Sometimes it’s just better to take your lumps and be big about it and move on, instead of sending in your troops to bring out the race or sex card all the time. It gets sickening.         

                                                                               ************

The Somerville News is again happy to announce that we are getting closer and closer to 1,000 visits almost every day, and web surfers are visiting more pages on our site for longer periods of time. To see the progress for yourself, contact Bobbie in the office and she’ll be glad to give you specifics. Speaking of the office both at the News and at ERA real estate “The Secret” has been distributed to quite a few employees and they like what “The Secret” has to offer, if you’d like to know more about “The Secret,” Google it and enjoy or call Cam. 
               

Comments

[Kate]

To add to Ron's comment - The budget is decided upon collectively.

[Kate]

Illogical, is your response.

[Born Here]

Kate, are you single? I enjoy the "passion" in your posts !!

[Kate]

Born Here - Are you giving me a shot?

[CheechChong]

Kate, I think Born Here may want to buy you a shot.

[Concerned Parent]

Using a similar logic, all I know is that I would feel comfortable leaving my little girl or my little boy alone with Rebekah Gewirtz for an afternoon. But I would not feel comfortable leaving her alone with any of those old men mentioned above. I suspect most parents would feel the same. That tells you something about how much we trust them.

[Born Here]

you're one of the more informed posters in here ! It was more of a compliment.

[Democracy]

Kate, you seem to have an anonymous online admirer. I'm sure you don't need one.

[Kate]

Born Here - Thank you, I just wasn't sure. I am married. I wish I were more informed; I really can't keep up with politics, per se, but thank you.

CheeChong - that's clever.

Democracy - It's OK, I don't mind questions like that.

[The Patriot]

By "little girl, littlle boy" do you really mean "little boy" and by "any" of the "old" men,
are you angling at the single ones. You so-called "progressives" little to gay bait from the sidelines, and from the shadows. The gays know well us conservatives stab them in the chest, their "progressive" allies stab them in the back.
They wine about sexist and racist in public, and backstab their water carriers in private. This is going to be a really dirty campaign and it hasn't even started yet. The people of Somerville would be better off if everyong on here developed carpal tunnel syndrome.

[Democracy]

Concerned Parent makes a good point. I myself would not feel comfortable leaving my 4-year old daughter with any of these guys, whereas I would probably be OK with leaving her with R. Gewirtz. But none of these people are not running to be directors of a Kindergarten. And none are running to be fund managers, which was noted by Ron.

[Democracy]

Concerned Parent makes a good point. I myself would not feel comfortable leaving my 4-year old daughter with any of these guys, whereas I would probably be OK with leaving her with R. Gewirtz. But none of these people are not running to be directors of a Kindergarten. And none are running to be fund managers, which was noted by Ron.

[Ron Newman]

We can all do without the age and gender slurs. Neither youth nor maturity necessarily correlate with wisdom. Some of my votes will go to "old men" and some won't.

[Get Over It]

The way No Friend has it out for Alderman Gewirtz, I would say that they weren't a Chisholm supporter necessarily, but rather someone already in office who has been trying to make her life difficult- the President who calls for votes when he deliberately makes sure that Ald. Gewirtz is out of the room perhaps? Just a thought. It seems, though, that many people already in established power are trying to make her life as difficult as possible. She's done a lot- from the newsletter she sends out, to the site visits she takes with professionals, to the debate she encourages on the board. You know, real debate, not this bogus hypothetical crap No Friend has been writing here.

[Democracy]

I agree with Ron. Same here. Age tends to be associated with a certain styles (e.g., older people may tend to be more conservative because they've seen more in life and they know how change can break things that already work; young people tend to be more energetic and creative), but that is not true of everybody and whether to vote for a person or another depends a lot on the circumstances. I think that a balance of "old men" and young people is healthy. So, I hope that others like R. Gewirtz will get elected to balance things.

[NO FRIEND OF REBEKAH]

To all those who commented above, I am amazed at some of the comments made by some of the "progressives" that youth and inexperience are treasured commodities. Some of these people, through their statements, whould have you believe that because someone is young and pretty that they are smarter and more energetic than someone over 40. This is ageism at its worst and these people should know better. By their own definition, people like Ron Newman are "broken downs" and ready for glue factory. I disagress with this assessment. If the youth of America are so energetic and smart, why are they constantly being beaten to the polls on election day by 60 to 80 year olds. Had everyone under 30 gone to vote in 2004, we would have elected President John F. Kerry and America would not be fighting a foolish and pathetic war in Iraq. Yet instead, they sat on their butts and, as singer John Mayer so aptly put, were "waiting on a change". Well, the change that they wanted did not come about. Why is this? Because they did not have the energy or the common sense to make it happen on election day. Sometimes youth and inexperience are not endearing qualities. Take for example, the current Ward Six Alderman, "Princess Rebecca". This alderman-in-training-wheels is a clear of example of why you shouldn't give a 10 year old the keys to the Cadillac. This political blunder dog might look youthful, except when her nose is in the air, but she has proven time and time again that she is too inexperienced to get anything done. Throughout Ward Six the two most common refrains about Alderman Gerwitz seem to be: "Well, she has made some mistakes" and "Well, she has had her ups and downs" (emphasis on downs). Word to the wise...experience, education, and commitment count. It's not all just about youth and being a pretty face.

[Objective Evidence]

First, Kerry was a loser candidate with no spine. The DLC tried to shove him down our throats and it did not work, so no surprise the Dems lost. Second, there are objective biological and neurological reasons why old people are not as sharp or as fast as young people; so, just accept reality, pal. The old fart clans have had their old boys networks tight, that's why younger people have a hard time making it. Things are changing, just wait another 10 years until the guys who grew up in the 50s are dead. Third, being pretty has nothing to do with it. There are good-looking old men and women (unfortunately, fat old Chris C. is not one of them) and there are not so goo-looking young people. Youth has to do with brain function and general energy due to a healthy body.

[Ron Newman]

I'm getting tired of you continually misrepresenting my statements (and those of other people). I have never said that anyone should vote for a candidate based on age; in fact, I argued against this.

[NO FRIEND OF REBEKAH]

In response to "Objective Evidence", I would like to say that Senator John Kerry would have made a far better President than that war mongering fool in the White House. And yes, I blame the under 30 generation for letting it happen. They should have, with their superior biological brains, known exactly what to do on election day in 2004. VOTE! It would have taken them half an hour at most to do it..and we all would have been better off for it. I have no regrets on voting for John Kerry in 2004. The Democrats probably would have picked up more seats in the Congress in November of 2006 had the "youth vote" not been stuck a the cyber cafes at Starbucks.

[Democracy]

Most people in this thread have argued that age should not be a factor either way. "NO FRIEND" is intentionally misrepresenting what other have said because he needs some strawmen to punch since he probably lacks the mental ability to deal with actual statements people have made. Could "NO FRIEND" just be a political hack who's afraid to actually express his/her feelings directly to Gerwitz's face? I suspect so!

[spell and spell again]

note to all participants: the candidate's last name is correctly spelled Gewirtz.

[Democracy]

From what I remember, the under 30 generation was overwhelmingly in favor of Howard Dean. After some fringe in the party (not sure if it was DLC or what) got rid of him and put Kerry on the pedestal young people lost interest. Cannot blame them, Kerry was a completely non-charismatic leader, blame the way the D party conducts its primaries candidacy selection process.

[NO FRIEND OF REBEKAH]

In response to Ron Newman, I would just like to reiterate that I do not consider him to be a "broken down" because he is over a certain age. I do not consider him to be stupid, for he is not. But there are certain "progressives" on this forum who think that he is and they should be the ones apologizing to him and to everyone else who is educated, experienced, hard working, progressive, and yes...over 40.

[Democracy]

Progressives on this forum who think Ron is broken down or stupid, please raise your hand.

[Objective Evidence]

The only broken down or stupid person in this thread is our No Friend coward.

[NO FRIEND OF REBEKAH]

In response to Democracy, I too was a Howard Dean supporter very early on. When he did not win in Iowa and Kerry became the eventual nominee, I supported him all the way. I was in New Hampshire on election day trying, successfully, to nail down that state's 4 electoral votes. I know he was not the most charismatic of candidates, but he most assuredly was ten times better than the "W". I have no regrets working hard in New Hampshire for Kerry. Where were you on election day? We certainly needed the help!

[Democracy]

Actually, I was in NH myself, with a number of friends. It's hard to think of anybody worse than "W", in retrospect. There was a 9% increase in young voter (18-29) turnout in 2004 (relative to 2000), about 50% total, I think. Still lower than the ~65% of people over 40. The numbers in the end were so close that you could blame almost anybody for the loss. Nader, for example. The 35% of people over 40 who did not vote...

[Ron Newman]

For what it's worth, I also canvassed in NH for Kerry in the fall of 2004. All of our efforts seemed to pay off, as Kerry won that state.

[NO FRIEND OF REBEKAH]

To Ron Newman and Democracy, I am glad that you guys were up in NH fighting the good fight with me. We may not have taken the White House, but we did take the granite state, which was quite an accomplishment. Ohio, unfortunately, was a different matter and out of our control. That having been said, we can sleep well at night knowing that we made a difference.

[Princess Kate]

'Bekah has company in the form of Princess Kate. They might stand for some great causes, but they're both as dumb as doorknobs.

[Cambiville News]

CAMBRIVILLE NEWS
SUNDAY AUGUST 19, 2007

LIVE FROM STUDIO 33 HIGH ATOP PROSPECT HILL TOWER.............

Dateline Cambriville - This is Dane Somersville reporting to you from Cambriville Massachusetts. We are here tonight to bring to you a live press conference from the campaign headquarters of Mayoral candidate Dr. Mrs. Mary McCarthy. In just a few moments, Dr. Mrs. will make her appearance before a bank of microphones, cameras and supporters with an important announcement concerning her campaign and her recent(and long) absence from Cambriville. And here comes the good Dr. Mrs. now with her posse....................

and in 5....4.....3.....2.....1 and we're live.............

DR. MRS. MCCARTHY: Oh no. Where the f(%$ is the make-up slug. I am not going to appear lookin like this. I told you assh%$es that I wanted the makeup people a half hour ago. Now either you get them here quick of we call this whole f&^%$^g thing off. You want me to stand here talking to my adoring public about the state of Cambriville, the elections, the new police chief, the "coup de greenline", the Bored of Alderman crap, Jamie's re-birth and all the rest?????????????? You get me a GD makeup person or I go right the hell back to the Hamptons. And I mean it god-damn it, I'm not screwin around. You sons a bitc ....................

Fade to black...............................

And next week in Cambriville - Tricky and the Trickettes will sit down with Governor Deval Patrick and talk about the Green Line coming to Cambriville in the year 2020.............

[SomervilleHipsters]

I don't know who I am voting for and to be honest, age does sometimes make a difference in my mind. One reason I say this is because people like Rebekah have barley lived life and have no personal experience with the issues facing our citizens. Let me ask you this, who would you rather vote for. You have a young suburanite transplant who wants a career in politics and seems to care about issues, but has little real life experience. He/she doesn't own a home, doesn't have kids, no experience in financial management, may or may not be here in 10 years and is a career politician. The other option is a man/woman with a house, mortage, kids in the public schools, roots in the community, has things invested here and has seen more in their 50 years compared to 27 years. So tell me, who seems more qualified. Let me also point out that todays youth are very self centered and treated like babys. Many of these kids have never had to struggle and only move to the inner city to live a fantasy bohemian lifestyle that they dreamed of. I am sorry, there is some truth in what No Friend says about age and experience. I don't know Rebekah but I don know that Somerville has become a hipster haven. What I mean is that its jam packed with wealthy 20 something suburanites who have never even payed a bill living this bohemian fantasy. Many of them lack a clue on to the way the rest of us live. Why put them in positions of responsibility.

[CC supporters are idiots]

SomervilleHipsters (aka CC supporter), thank you for the worthless lesson in social stereotypes. Next time tell us something about fragile women, lazy blacks and those other people with dark skin and bad habits.
You don't know Rebekah, but nonetheless you know she is a spoiled individual with no responsibilities. Because, if you did not know that, then what would be the point of your argument?

[No You Are]

You're an idiot. And so is Rebekah.

[See? It was simple.]

See, CC supporter? It was that simple, you could have written just that. You did not have to spend an hour trying to write a convoluted message to hide the fact you are a sexist idiot.

>>
You're an idiot. And so is Rebekah.

[No You Are]

I'm not a CC supporter or the original poster. I just really think you and the Princess are idiots. Really. That's all.

[SomervilleHipsters]

I am black, why do you think I am against rich white kids taking over the ghetto and destroying my culture. Maybe your the racist one for assuming that only a white guy would write about the need to vote for someone with a house, kids in the school and understands the realities of city living. You see, this is why I really don't like it when you kiddies move into working class white, black and hispanic neighborhoods to live your inner-city fantasy like your one of us. I am sick and tired of wealthy white kids coming into my neighborhood and making my people out to be helpless negros who can only be saved by the rich white kids who went to a college and took a class with 50 other rich white kids on black culture. Your a fool and are the racist one, I am sick and tired of your kids preaching your nonsenes when none of you little rich white kids from the suburbs have a clue. Worst thing about your kiddies is this, you lack a culture so you have to come in and take over mine and then ruin it by taking over our neighborhoods and dismantling our cultural and social structures to put in your own selfish vision of the rich white kids burden. Maybe if you knew more black people besides Chester from Winchester, maybe you might realize we want to do things our own way, we don't need you to come into our lives and tell us how to live.

[PersonDavis...]

All these bombs being tossed back and forth and I still haven't heard directly from Charlie, Rebecca or the other guy. What's up with that? The preliminary is getting closer people. Same with the mayor's race. Not a word from anybody, not even the incumbent, except for a thing on Assembly Square. The picnic looked like a good time again when I went by on the bus.

[Ron Newman]

What black 'ghetto' in Somerville is begin invaded by 'rich white kids'?

[Yorktown Street]

The historically black neighborhood of Somerville was Cameron Avenue and some of the side streets abutting it.

[SomervilleHipster]

Ron what makes you assume I live in a Black neighborhood. What, can only black people live with other black people. Did you ever think that its possible that I am a working proffesional who lives in Somerville due to its quality of life and proximity to Boston. That is what gets me about progressives, they live in this world where they think everything is and has to be a certain way. Black people live everywhere, look at the Govenor, he lives in Milton. By the way Ron, I never said I live in the ghetto, are you assuming because I said I was black that I live in one. Maybe your the racist one in here. You see this is why minorities can't get out of the rut were in. We have white people who claim to be open minded assume that we are the way the media portrays us. The only time you people even associate with minorities is when it makes you look cool and open minded. Its like the people who always have to say, "I have a black friend" and then brag like it makes them so holier then everyone else. Were not the hip hop people you see on TV and were not the hopless junkies and gang members that you read about in the paper. Were just like you and we have jobs, we go to college, most of us are family oriented and civic oriented. A small percentage of us are this ghetto stereotype that white peopple have, were just like you and yes, we live in the nice part of town to. I am sick of having these arogant rich white people (who all seem to live in segregated parts of town) act like they are the saviors of my people, we don't need saving, we can do fine without your social programs and sympathy. In fact, we might actually rise above if the limosine liberals stop using us as their trendy pet cause to make them feel like they care alot.

[You are not black]

SomervilleHipster, you are not black. You are one of those Irish sexist old farts who are going to bite the dust in the near future.

[Ron Newman]

You said: "I am black, why do you think I am against rich white kids taking over the ghetto and destroying my culture." It seemed a reasonable assumption from that sentence that (a) you are black, and (b) you live in a place that you refer to as a 'ghetto' .

[The Real Racist]

You Are Not Black is obviously Somerville Resident, you know, the "AA female." Another racist pig shooting off at the mouth. She's a disgrace to this country.

Hey Ron, how come you didn't condemn that comment?

[Deval Patrick]

The historically black neighborhood of Somerville was Cameron Avenue and some of the side streets abutting it.

Posted by: Yorktown Street | August 23, 2007 at 10:43 AM

York, it used to be true about Cameron Ave. Not any longer as the Davis square overflow of liberals bought it all out. I would say Clarendon Hill (projects and the towers) are the black "ghetto" now.

[The Real Racist]

The Real Racist is obviously a fat drunk slob of Irish descent pretending to be a black person. He's really worried his preferential treatment will come to an end when his Irish buddies will suffer a humiliating defeat.

[The Real Racist]

You probably need to get a job.

[Celebrating Black Racism Month]

(From: "A View From the Right)

Celebrating Black Racism Month

It’s Black Racism Month, that special time of the year when blacks are allowed to be even more racist than usual. PBS accordingly aired on Saturday night Henry Louis Gates’s “African-American Lives,” a multi-part program tracing the ancestry of several prominent blacks, including Oprah Winfrey, back through the generations, all the way to Africa.
Notwithstanding Gates’s jaunty-seeming manner, everything about this program was racist. Every single mention of the larger American society and whites was negative. Not a single affectionate or grateful thing, and barely even a single neutral thing, was said about America and whites. The fact that these extremely successful blacks, including Gates, the chairman of Harvard’s African-American Studies Department, realized their success in America, the fact that America alone made such lives and such success possible, is never mentioned, let alone praised. Everything is about “the African-American people” (presented as a people in its own right, a people apart from America), “discovering our roots,” “finding who we really are,” so that even the good things in their lives are solely due to their struggles against racist white society. When the program travels to Africa, the long journey of the slaves from the interior to the coast was mentioned and deplored several times, yet there was not a single mention that it was blacks who captured the slaves and transported them to the coast in order to sell them to white slave traders. Blacks are only mentioned in a positive light, whites are only mentioned in a negative light. When Gates discovers through genetic testing that half his ancestry is European, he is vocally upset about this, repeating over and over how he wants to find an African, not a European origin for himself.

Even positive or mitigating things about America are made negative. When Gates discovers that he had ancestors who were free blacks in the late 18th century, his first comment is, “It must have been really hard to be a free black.” So it was horrible if you were a slave, and it was also horrible if you were free. One of his free ancestors was captured by a white man who wanted to enslave him again, and Gates’s ancestor brought the matter to trial. Gates says how unfair the proceedings must have been to him. But as it turns out, the all-white jury found in favor of Gates’ ancestor and protected his liberty. This fact is reported with no comment, Gates fails to note that his earlier negative assumption about whites was wrong, and the show quickly moves on the next subject. There is not a single acknowledgement that whites often behaved decently to blacks, and that, with all the racial injustice, there was often a human element in the relationship between the races that was meaningful to both blacks and whites. Only pro-black, anti-white, anti-American comments are heard.

Also, though Gates is a Harvard professor and a department chairman, there was no scholarly element in this program at all. It was all about the cult of the self and the cult of the race, “How do I find my family roots, how do I figure out who I am, how does it feel to find this out about my ancestors.” Me me me. African-American African-American African-American. This is what the show is about.

The overwhelming message is: Blacks are a people apart, many of them living very successful and comfortable lives in this country, yet permanently hostile to the rest of America, not having any warm feelings for America, their extraordinary success having nothing to do with America. Indeed at times it seems they live for tearing down America. Gates seems to assume that the mostly white liberal PBS watchers will automatically approve this black racist message. It didn’t seem to occur to him—or he doesn’t care—that his black racist message may trigger some corresponding white racism as well.

There was only one thing on the program that was of human interest rather than black racist interest: the revelation of the extremely troubled childhood background of Oprah Winfrey. We find out (I never heard this before) that Winfrey, later to become one of the most successful women in the world, experienced a life of shocking sexual degradation, abuse, and rape between the ages of nine and fourteen, at which point she left her mother, who lived in Milwaukee, and went to live with her father in Nashville. Her father, not a sympathetic man but a stern, upright disciplinarian (he is still alive), gave her the structure that saved her life.

[Ron Newman]

And the previous comment has .... what .... to do with Somerville?

[Ron, What did]

Exactly!