How much more of this monarchist-like flummery can we possibly endure???
Case in point, today's web edition (is there any other) of Politico.com where we are tutored on the actual dangers a president faces when he is, well, "perfect" (article link is - http://www.politico.com/news/s...
No, they are not speaking of former President Abraham Lincoln, but the rather newer President Barack Obama who is a "better father", a "better husband" and practices "better" dieting. For all we know he never suffers flagellant moments like the rest of us. So Politico scribe Eamon Javers has gone where no man has gone before, and delved into the potential political pitfalls for a president who is just too omnipotent for his own good. "The industry seems to be in collective awe of Obama," the author writes. Seems to be? Ya think? Really?
Even the bonafide conservatives are yielding to his Excellency's prowess in all things temporal. Tucker Carlson told Politico, "People naturally defer to others they think are superior."
The propaganda gets even thicker - even sickningly sweet. Newsweek's editor Evan Thomas recently proclaimed to fellow Obama sycophant Chris Matthews that the president is basically a Deity. "I mean in a way Obama's standing above the country, above - above the world, he's sort of God," said Thomas - though strangely he had no rosary beads in hand as he was providing this twisted take on the state of American affairs.
This historic Hyperbole on Obama is getting so thick, I can finally relate to the Great Molassis Flood of Boston in 1919 when a Molassis tank the size of Heaven burst, killing 21 people. It wasn't pretty, and neither is this sticky, political flood of pure propaganda that's beyond even the hype Hollywood used to brainwash millions into thinking Justin Timberlake is actually talented.
At what point in time does the press get tired of playing the role of White House Communications Director? It's a post now vacant - but not really, given Charlie Gibson's innumerable softballs at Wednesday's infomercial at the White House, where ABC gave the administration a free, in-kind contribution so they might air their politics, minus any opposition.
And who said the folks at the old Pravda never found new employment?
For my money, don't hold your breath for serious discussions and responsible media coverage of the highest office holder in the Republic. Though many of my progressive friends seem to be more exhausted than my G.O.P. brethren regarding this ridiculous love fest, I don't see it dissipating. I mean, it's sort of like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton - there may have been bumps in the road but they never fell out of love with eachother.
Accordingly, Governor Sanford has a silver lining to keep in mind as he's hunkered down after his revealing his intercontinental activities. He wasn't going to win anyway. Who could? Maybe Jesus, but I'm betting the press would still side with B.O. They'd definately scour Nazareth and conjur up some scandal.
You can't beat a president, or a candidate, who has the the press corp hypnotized.
Just ask Hillary Clinton.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Democratic scandals are opening the door for a Mihos comeback.
by Kevin Sowyrda
Former House Speaker Sal Dimasi's perp walk last week, and his Monday arraignment, reveals more than the surreal fact that the South End can boast two former legislators and a current city councilor facing serious time in federal prison. Though it's probably yet to dawn on the gubernatorial head, I see it as a growing migraine for the chaotic and highly disappointing political machine belonging to Governor Deval Patrick and a boost to his likely G.O.P. adversary.
But first the meat of the matter. Sal DiMasi's gone rogue in the eyes of a grand jury because Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Loucks convinced the panel that the recently retired commander in chief of the State House pocketed some serious quid pro quo cash courtesy of the software company COGNOS. The portrait is ugly; sort of like staring at an Andy Warhol painting for way too long. DiMasi allegedly used a funny funneling scheme to garner a little under $60,000 in exchange for navigating some beefy state contracts to COGNOS with the approval of unsuspecting - we think - Patrick Administration politicos. News reports say that various gubernatorial lieutenants were successfully lobbied by DiMasi on behalf of COGNOS and the governor has stated that he himself had some vague conversations with the x-speaker regarding the matter.
If found guilty, DiMasi would get out of prison right about the time Barack Obama's daughters are in their thirties. Really.
Speakers being indicted in Massachusetts is about as unusual as Kirstie Allie going on a diet. We've just sort of become used to it. But just on the face of it we can see that the DiMasi indictment is far more egregious than the legal sledge hammers brought down on his predecessors Charlie Flaherty and Tom Finneran in past years.
The Flaherty indictment was quintessential proof that you really can indict anything including a bologna sandwich. During the "scandal" the Boston Globe reported that then U.S. Attorney Donald Stern spent about seven million dollars dissecting Flaherty's life on the planet, only to come up with a teaspoon full of dirt - that his tax preparer had made a minor error on a federal return dating back to God knows when. In Finneran's case, he was less than candid in a civil deposition, but no one's yet to pin any old fashioned, Tamney Hall like bribery charges on the Mattapan Democrat. Finneran's "sentence" is having to work at WRKO with the irascible Howie Carr, where Carr regularly berates Finneran as the station's resident "convicted felon". That should be sufficient purgatory for anyone.
But what we are likely to see in the DiMasi trial will make the past legal proceedings against Flaherty and Finneran pale in comparison. Dimasi’s alleged crimes are just too naked. A bunch of hacks cruising on yachts and hitting golf balls while deciding who gets what state contract and what they'll pay up for the favor. Is it really all that different from organized crime? And, are any of so naive as to assume that COGNOS is the only company for which DiMasi was twisting arms?
But there are other insinuations emanating from this indictment which warrant thorough investigation by the U.S. Attorney, as well as the state's attorney general. The speaker, whether it be Sal DiMasi or Harry Potter, does not have the magic to get state funds into any business purses. It is the sole purview of the administration to award contracts and dispense state funds. What Patrick staffers did or didn't know as they inevitably approved millions of dollars in contracts for COGNOS has to be vetted to the full satisfaction of the public. And that very process will not produce the perception Deval Patrick wants or needs as he gears up for his 2010 reelection bid.
Sensing trouble on the horizon and still licking his wounds from polling data showing he’d likely lose a primary battle to potential challenger Tim Cahill, Patrick recently hired the proverbial 800 pound guerilla to retool his political machine. Barack Obama’s ‘08 campaign manager David Plouffe will try to keep the guv afloat, just as a heavy weight Republican strategist has joined the campaign of an already announced G.O.P. contender.
Republican Christy Mihos was sadly ignored by many in the media when he blew the whistle on Big Dig corruption. He ran a solid campaign for governor in 2006, and has announced a political second coming with the help of former Bill Clinton confidante Dick Morris. It’s a brilliant move for the convenient store magnate. Mihos bringing Morris on board shows that he’s serious about running a more comprehensive campaign next year; and Morris is no babe in the woods, having given birth to political careers from here to Tel Aviv.
When you consider the current environment, it’s remarkably similar to 1990 when an unlikely Republican named Bill Weld was lifted to the governor’s office on a wave of voter discontent with how the Democratic establishment was running state affairs.
This year, the issue is corruption on Beacon Hill and the need for change. If Mihos drives that message home, and he has the credibility to do it, he’ll be a worthy opponent to Patrick in 2010.
by Kevin Sowyrda
Former House Speaker Sal Dimasi's perp walk last week, and his Monday arraignment, reveals more than the surreal fact that the South End can boast two former legislators and a current city councilor facing serious time in federal prison. Though it's probably yet to dawn on the gubernatorial head, I see it as a growing migraine for the chaotic and highly disappointing political machine belonging to Governor Deval Patrick and a boost to his likely G.O.P. adversary.
But first the meat of the matter. Sal DiMasi's gone rogue in the eyes of a grand jury because Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Loucks convinced the panel that the recently retired commander in chief of the State House pocketed some serious quid pro quo cash courtesy of the software company COGNOS. The portrait is ugly; sort of like staring at an Andy Warhol painting for way too long. DiMasi allegedly used a funny funneling scheme to garner a little under $60,000 in exchange for navigating some beefy state contracts to COGNOS with the approval of unsuspecting - we think - Patrick Administration politicos. News reports say that various gubernatorial lieutenants were successfully lobbied by DiMasi on behalf of COGNOS and the governor has stated that he himself had some vague conversations with the x-speaker regarding the matter.
If found guilty, DiMasi would get out of prison right about the time Barack Obama's daughters are in their thirties. Really.
Speakers being indicted in Massachusetts is about as unusual as Kirstie Allie going on a diet. We've just sort of become used to it. But just on the face of it we can see that the DiMasi indictment is far more egregious than the legal sledge hammers brought down on his predecessors Charlie Flaherty and Tom Finneran in past years.
The Flaherty indictment was quintessential proof that you really can indict anything including a bologna sandwich. During the "scandal" the Boston Globe reported that then U.S. Attorney Donald Stern spent about seven million dollars dissecting Flaherty's life on the planet, only to come up with a teaspoon full of dirt - that his tax preparer had made a minor error on a federal return dating back to God knows when. In Finneran's case, he was less than candid in a civil deposition, but no one's yet to pin any old fashioned, Tamney Hall like bribery charges on the Mattapan Democrat. Finneran's "sentence" is having to work at WRKO with the irascible Howie Carr, where Carr regularly berates Finneran as the station's resident "convicted felon". That should be sufficient purgatory for anyone.
But what we are likely to see in the DiMasi trial will make the past legal proceedings against Flaherty and Finneran pale in comparison. Dimasi’s alleged crimes are just too naked. A bunch of hacks cruising on yachts and hitting golf balls while deciding who gets what state contract and what they'll pay up for the favor. Is it really all that different from organized crime? And, are any of so naive as to assume that COGNOS is the only company for which DiMasi was twisting arms?
But there are other insinuations emanating from this indictment which warrant thorough investigation by the U.S. Attorney, as well as the state's attorney general. The speaker, whether it be Sal DiMasi or Harry Potter, does not have the magic to get state funds into any business purses. It is the sole purview of the administration to award contracts and dispense state funds. What Patrick staffers did or didn't know as they inevitably approved millions of dollars in contracts for COGNOS has to be vetted to the full satisfaction of the public. And that very process will not produce the perception Deval Patrick wants or needs as he gears up for his 2010 reelection bid.
Sensing trouble on the horizon and still licking his wounds from polling data showing he’d likely lose a primary battle to potential challenger Tim Cahill, Patrick recently hired the proverbial 800 pound guerilla to retool his political machine. Barack Obama’s ‘08 campaign manager David Plouffe will try to keep the guv afloat, just as a heavy weight Republican strategist has joined the campaign of an already announced G.O.P. contender.
Republican Christy Mihos was sadly ignored by many in the media when he blew the whistle on Big Dig corruption. He ran a solid campaign for governor in 2006, and has announced a political second coming with the help of former Bill Clinton confidante Dick Morris. It’s a brilliant move for the convenient store magnate. Mihos bringing Morris on board shows that he’s serious about running a more comprehensive campaign next year; and Morris is no babe in the woods, having given birth to political careers from here to Tel Aviv.
When you consider the current environment, it’s remarkably similar to 1990 when an unlikely Republican named Bill Weld was lifted to the governor’s office on a wave of voter discontent with how the Democratic establishment was running state affairs.
This year, the issue is corruption on Beacon Hill and the need for change. If Mihos drives that message home, and he has the credibility to do it, he’ll be a worthy opponent to Patrick in 2010.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Race is everything.
by Kevin Sowyrda
We're living in a crude time of racial centric politics. Nothing new, you say? Then check out the recent news concerning judiciary appointments in both Washington and Boston.
Everything is race. The only thing that matters in Obama era politics, in governing, in policy making, in political appointments and in the media is your race. And for the first time in history, it's not Caucasian imperialists who are directly reaping the benefits of their light skinned complexion. But in a more cunning, indirect way, it's the liberal establishment - the still mostly white, modern day power brokers - who are using the race of minorities to squelch the Conservative opposition and achieve the progressive agenda. It's as effective as it is Machiavellian.
Case in point, this week's presidential nomination of New York Judge Sonia Sotomayor for a seat on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor wasn't picked because she's the reincarnation, in female visage, of Justice Brandies or because her intellect overshadows that of Stephen Hawking. She was picked because she's a Hispanic woman and Barack Obama, who remains in perpetual campaign mode, is sufficiently brilliant to realize that he can have all the liberal sycophants his appetite desires if he picks the presently in fashion, once out of fashion, brand of color.
That's because anyone who opposes this new color du jour must be a racist.
If you bring up Sotomayor's almost surreal ruling in Ricci vs. DeStafano, where in a painfully oblique edict she obliterated the test results for a group of Connecticut firefighters because an insufficient number of minorities were able to score high on the test, you'll be branded a racist quicker than Keith Olberman and Rachel Maddow can coordinate their talking points with Rahm Emmanuel at the White House.
If you querie Sotomayor about her ruling that convicted felons should be able to vote, you'll definitely see Chris Matthews getting the wrong type of tingle up his leg and suddenly you're shish kabob on the Peacock Network.
If you dare to ask Sotomayor if she was being a little bit too polarizing when she said, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life", the Washington Post is going to call you Hispanic Hater of the month and quote an anonymous source that you use the "spik" word while imbibing at South Boston taverns.
So the nomination process will be as smooth as silk. We'll hear the usual suspects on the senate judiciary committee gush, with tear filled eyes, about Sotomayor's up from the boot straps story. That one always resonates when it's about a liberal nominee. Sadly, we can't talk about up from the boot straps stories of more conservative jurists like Clarence Thomas, who grew up in impoverished Pin Point Georgia and was homeless as a little boy after a fire burned down his family home.
And it's even a twofer. As political scientists on both sides of the aisle predict that the Hispanic vote will only continue to swell, a savvy politician like Mr. Obama is not going to be outflanked by Republicans, who have previously forged cordial relations with Hispanic Americans because of the G.O.P.'s historic position on Cuba. Those policies are as moribund as Fidel himself, and Obama knows that a quota system for Hispanics is the new route to that growing demographic and a key ingredient for his 2012 prospects.
Locally, the racial centric trend is no less intense and obvious than on the national stage. Carmen M. Ortiz has just received the papal blessing from Ted Kennedy and John Kerry to be the new U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. The panel that recommended her clearly intimated that Carmen, one of three finalists, was actually second in qualifications to prominent local jurists Michael Keating and Martin Murphy, but that her status as a Latina gave her the edge.
Atleast they were honest.
by Kevin Sowyrda
We're living in a crude time of racial centric politics. Nothing new, you say? Then check out the recent news concerning judiciary appointments in both Washington and Boston.
Everything is race. The only thing that matters in Obama era politics, in governing, in policy making, in political appointments and in the media is your race. And for the first time in history, it's not Caucasian imperialists who are directly reaping the benefits of their light skinned complexion. But in a more cunning, indirect way, it's the liberal establishment - the still mostly white, modern day power brokers - who are using the race of minorities to squelch the Conservative opposition and achieve the progressive agenda. It's as effective as it is Machiavellian.
Case in point, this week's presidential nomination of New York Judge Sonia Sotomayor for a seat on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor wasn't picked because she's the reincarnation, in female visage, of Justice Brandies or because her intellect overshadows that of Stephen Hawking. She was picked because she's a Hispanic woman and Barack Obama, who remains in perpetual campaign mode, is sufficiently brilliant to realize that he can have all the liberal sycophants his appetite desires if he picks the presently in fashion, once out of fashion, brand of color.
That's because anyone who opposes this new color du jour must be a racist.
If you bring up Sotomayor's almost surreal ruling in Ricci vs. DeStafano, where in a painfully oblique edict she obliterated the test results for a group of Connecticut firefighters because an insufficient number of minorities were able to score high on the test, you'll be branded a racist quicker than Keith Olberman and Rachel Maddow can coordinate their talking points with Rahm Emmanuel at the White House.
If you querie Sotomayor about her ruling that convicted felons should be able to vote, you'll definitely see Chris Matthews getting the wrong type of tingle up his leg and suddenly you're shish kabob on the Peacock Network.
If you dare to ask Sotomayor if she was being a little bit too polarizing when she said, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life", the Washington Post is going to call you Hispanic Hater of the month and quote an anonymous source that you use the "spik" word while imbibing at South Boston taverns.
So the nomination process will be as smooth as silk. We'll hear the usual suspects on the senate judiciary committee gush, with tear filled eyes, about Sotomayor's up from the boot straps story. That one always resonates when it's about a liberal nominee. Sadly, we can't talk about up from the boot straps stories of more conservative jurists like Clarence Thomas, who grew up in impoverished Pin Point Georgia and was homeless as a little boy after a fire burned down his family home.
And it's even a twofer. As political scientists on both sides of the aisle predict that the Hispanic vote will only continue to swell, a savvy politician like Mr. Obama is not going to be outflanked by Republicans, who have previously forged cordial relations with Hispanic Americans because of the G.O.P.'s historic position on Cuba. Those policies are as moribund as Fidel himself, and Obama knows that a quota system for Hispanics is the new route to that growing demographic and a key ingredient for his 2012 prospects.
Locally, the racial centric trend is no less intense and obvious than on the national stage. Carmen M. Ortiz has just received the papal blessing from Ted Kennedy and John Kerry to be the new U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. The panel that recommended her clearly intimated that Carmen, one of three finalists, was actually second in qualifications to prominent local jurists Michael Keating and Martin Murphy, but that her status as a Latina gave her the edge.
Atleast they were honest.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
There's a more civil way to debate.
by Kevin Sowyrda
Miss California and Barack Obama have something interesting in common. They are both opposed to gay marriage. It didn't cost Obama the presidency, but it probably did cost Miss California two things; the bigger crown she was expecting at the recent Miss America contest and any hope for a decent dialogue on her position, with which I take strong exception.
The public pillaging Carrie Prejean has suffered at the hands of liberals who forget what the word really means has been painful to view. The lynching's been led by, among others, the insufferable duet of Village Voice gossip columnist Michael Musto and MSNBC democratic commentator Keith Olberman, who believe that when a woman disagrees with the gay boys and the not so gay boys she's to be shreded like so much bad pork. But first some background for those of you who've been underground, hiding from the Swine Flu that's going to end the world as we know it.
Miss California or Prejean was asked by Gay Blogger Perez Hilton, who was serving as a pageant judge at the April 19 Miss America contest, what her position was on Gay marriage. Prejean articulated this frank and diplomatic answer. "We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised." When you think about it, Prejean's response hardly differed from Obama's recent words on the subject, “marriage is only between a man and a woman.”
But Prejean doesn't have that Obama Teflon and now she knows what a fish feels like when being prepared as sushi. No sooner had the pageant concluded that Perez got the hate ball rolling by posting a Rosie O'Donnell like video on his web page where he called Prejian a "bitch" and some other childish derogatives, none of which should be flabbergasting given the source. Hilton's bite and infamy date back to before August 17, 2007 when he reported on his web page that Fidel Castro had died and further insisted that he was the first person in the world to report it. He's right. He's the only person to have reported that. Hilton is also nothing less than a lightening rod of controversy not just because he declares living people dead but also for outing notables in the world of pop culture gliteria, and not because they've ever lifted a finger against the Gay Community. There's no way Hilton has any anger issues going on, is there?
So not to be outdone in the category of venomous castigators, Keith Olberman invited his soul mate Michael Musto to his cave at MSNBC to dissect Prejean further; for her physique and a host of other taboo, personal issues. It's the type of commentary Rush Limbaugh would have shyed away from. Here's how the dyspeptic Musto described Prejean. "This is the kind of girl who sits on the TV and watches the sofa. You know, she thinks innuendo is a Italian suppository. Can I keep going? On the pageants now, they really should have easier questions, like what’s your middle name or what show was Seinfeld on. I mean, this girl’s a ding-dong. I didn’t even like her earrings." And it degenerated further. Said Musto, "they also paid for Carrie to cut off her penis, and sand her Adam’s Apple and get a head-to-toe waxing. I know for a fact that Carrie Prejean was Harry Prejean, a homophobic man, who liked marriage so much he did it three times. Now he’s a babe who needs a brain implant. Maybe they could inject some fat from her butt. Oh, they have?"
Olberman revels in this potty mouth routine and chimed in with some old fashioned woman bashing typical for his caustic demeanor, including a stream of references to Prejean's breasts and the completely outlandish thought that Perez Hilton is now an "intellectual giant" for his performance as a hard hitting beauty pageant official.
It's disgusting. When men are allowed to pile on like this and eviscerate a woman whose crime against humanity is stating her opinion, the true meaning of liberal has been perverted by people who are no more liberal than was Jerry Falwell. All their doing is churning the pot of hate speak in an attempt to vilify anyone who dares to subscribe, however tactfully, to an opinion that differs from their own theology. Olberman preaches ad hominem that that's what the Republicans do. Clearly he's projecting. It's what he himself does as do so many of his liberal comrades who don't know what liberal really means and have spent the past days nailing Carrie Prejean to the cross.
Liberal means a woman should be allowed to freely and independently say what she thinks without men ridiculing and demeaning her to the point that the transcripts begin to read like sordid material written by Larry Flynt for Hustler Magazine. Liberal means people who disagree with you are your opponents, but not your enemies. To travel the other path is to go the way of Nixon.
For the life of me, I don't know why the Miss California-Prejeans of the world should be bothered if a Gay couple marries. It seems to me we've got ample supply of hate in this world and anything we can do to foster loving and committed relationships should be inviting to all. But there's something intellectually degenerate about countering those who dissent on the marriage issue by employing debating tactics from the Iranian Parliament.
We're better than that and any woman, even Miss California, should not suffer such violent, verbal abuse at the hands of the male dominated liberal establishment.
by Kevin Sowyrda
Miss California and Barack Obama have something interesting in common. They are both opposed to gay marriage. It didn't cost Obama the presidency, but it probably did cost Miss California two things; the bigger crown she was expecting at the recent Miss America contest and any hope for a decent dialogue on her position, with which I take strong exception.
The public pillaging Carrie Prejean has suffered at the hands of liberals who forget what the word really means has been painful to view. The lynching's been led by, among others, the insufferable duet of Village Voice gossip columnist Michael Musto and MSNBC democratic commentator Keith Olberman, who believe that when a woman disagrees with the gay boys and the not so gay boys she's to be shreded like so much bad pork. But first some background for those of you who've been underground, hiding from the Swine Flu that's going to end the world as we know it.
Miss California or Prejean was asked by Gay Blogger Perez Hilton, who was serving as a pageant judge at the April 19 Miss America contest, what her position was on Gay marriage. Prejean articulated this frank and diplomatic answer. "We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised." When you think about it, Prejean's response hardly differed from Obama's recent words on the subject, “marriage is only between a man and a woman.”
But Prejean doesn't have that Obama Teflon and now she knows what a fish feels like when being prepared as sushi. No sooner had the pageant concluded that Perez got the hate ball rolling by posting a Rosie O'Donnell like video on his web page where he called Prejian a "bitch" and some other childish derogatives, none of which should be flabbergasting given the source. Hilton's bite and infamy date back to before August 17, 2007 when he reported on his web page that Fidel Castro had died and further insisted that he was the first person in the world to report it. He's right. He's the only person to have reported that. Hilton is also nothing less than a lightening rod of controversy not just because he declares living people dead but also for outing notables in the world of pop culture gliteria, and not because they've ever lifted a finger against the Gay Community. There's no way Hilton has any anger issues going on, is there?
So not to be outdone in the category of venomous castigators, Keith Olberman invited his soul mate Michael Musto to his cave at MSNBC to dissect Prejean further; for her physique and a host of other taboo, personal issues. It's the type of commentary Rush Limbaugh would have shyed away from. Here's how the dyspeptic Musto described Prejean. "This is the kind of girl who sits on the TV and watches the sofa. You know, she thinks innuendo is a Italian suppository. Can I keep going? On the pageants now, they really should have easier questions, like what’s your middle name or what show was Seinfeld on. I mean, this girl’s a ding-dong. I didn’t even like her earrings." And it degenerated further. Said Musto, "they also paid for Carrie to cut off her penis, and sand her Adam’s Apple and get a head-to-toe waxing. I know for a fact that Carrie Prejean was Harry Prejean, a homophobic man, who liked marriage so much he did it three times. Now he’s a babe who needs a brain implant. Maybe they could inject some fat from her butt. Oh, they have?"
Olberman revels in this potty mouth routine and chimed in with some old fashioned woman bashing typical for his caustic demeanor, including a stream of references to Prejean's breasts and the completely outlandish thought that Perez Hilton is now an "intellectual giant" for his performance as a hard hitting beauty pageant official.
It's disgusting. When men are allowed to pile on like this and eviscerate a woman whose crime against humanity is stating her opinion, the true meaning of liberal has been perverted by people who are no more liberal than was Jerry Falwell. All their doing is churning the pot of hate speak in an attempt to vilify anyone who dares to subscribe, however tactfully, to an opinion that differs from their own theology. Olberman preaches ad hominem that that's what the Republicans do. Clearly he's projecting. It's what he himself does as do so many of his liberal comrades who don't know what liberal really means and have spent the past days nailing Carrie Prejean to the cross.
Liberal means a woman should be allowed to freely and independently say what she thinks without men ridiculing and demeaning her to the point that the transcripts begin to read like sordid material written by Larry Flynt for Hustler Magazine. Liberal means people who disagree with you are your opponents, but not your enemies. To travel the other path is to go the way of Nixon.
For the life of me, I don't know why the Miss California-Prejeans of the world should be bothered if a Gay couple marries. It seems to me we've got ample supply of hate in this world and anything we can do to foster loving and committed relationships should be inviting to all. But there's something intellectually degenerate about countering those who dissent on the marriage issue by employing debating tactics from the Iranian Parliament.
We're better than that and any woman, even Miss California, should not suffer such violent, verbal abuse at the hands of the male dominated liberal establishment.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Mayor's race.......
A personal bond, hard to break this November.
by Kevin Sowyrda
When I met Tom Menino for lunch, Friday last, at the Dry Dock Cafe in the ever transforming Southie Waterfront District I made two strategic decisions. The first, was that I would try the Haddock because my friend Susan told me it's the best in the Hub. She was right. The second was that I was not going to interview Mayor Menino. Instead, I decided to have a conversation with Tom Menino, and from the friendly and straight forward discussion that ensued I discovered a guy who is pretty hard not to like and will be very hard to beat in what will be the mayor's bid for a fifth term as the city's chief executive officer.
Tom Menino didn't tell me he's running for reelection and I didn't ask. Tom Menino didn't tell me that he's ready for a political fight, and I'm not so dumb that I needed to ask. He's always ready. But Tom Menino told me in so many words, and through gestures, inflections and other mannerisms that he loves the city so much that not being mayor is simply something Tom Menino's not able to do. And it's not a power trip. It's just a genuine love affair. The type of Frank Sinatra, might have written a song about.
It was days after our lunch, on Tuesday, that Menino did make his bid for an unprecedented fifth term official. No surprise there.
I think the surprise will be how Menino runs his campaign. In this modern-day pandemic of cyber personality - i.e. twitter, face book, IM's, text messaging, email and all the rest of the no real human contact - Menino, at first glance, is the old fashioned exception to the trends of the day. But it has nothing to do with being out dated. Instead, Menino strikes me as above the gadgetry gimmicks because they're beneath his unbeatable work ethic. As a veteran of city politics, known for rising well before dawn and burning enough midnight oil to dry out OPEC, Menino's a lot smarter than the Twitters. He's more sympathetic than the Face book crowd. He realizes that Joe and Mary Bostonian prefer the personal touch to the You Tube politicking any day of the week. It's even paid off in political dividends. A recent Boston Globe poll shows that more than half of city residents say they've actually met the mayor in person and His Honor's popularity ratings remain high, despite a foundering economy from which Boston has hardly been immune.
So on this particular Friday, Menino does what he does best. While chatting with yours truly about everything from the failed lights-out policy at the Zakim Bridge to the recent Easter Weekend traffic debacle at the Mass. Turnpike Authority tolls, he smoothly takes time out here and there, between bites of the clams with bellies and sips of the ice tea with lemon, to warmly greet the regular constituents who come to our lunch table at a steady pace to pay their respects and share a musing or two. He knows each one by name and knows just what to ask. How did that situation work out, how is so and so, did my folks get back to you, etc. Menino may not speak like he's the Socrates of the day, but how he's able to brilliantly remember all these names and all their problems right off the cuff is impressive and would appear to be proof positive that Tom Menino is a smart guy who simply chooses not to use a lot of fifty cent words - and his particularly homespun style, even in the blackberry, techno age - has hardly hurt him since he assumed leadership of the city in the early nineties upon the resignation of then Mayor Raymond Flynn.
So what makes this guy tick? I think what we've overlooked - or at least I have on sufficient occasion - is that Tom Menino is a people guy and a people guy can't retire. Before he'd send you an email he'd prefer being at your local bakery at about five in the morning ready to hear what you have to say and then jumping back in his new Hybrid vehicle to call the right department head to fix the problem. I'm' willing to guess that about a thousand pot holes in this city have been promptly fixed simply because a constituent asked the mayor to do it, and then he did.
Imagine that. I'm sitting here with a politician who you can actually go up to and then get something done as a result of a quick dialogue. He might even be the last of his breed, and I don't sense any huge movement in the city to send Tom Menino to that place which I sense he may equate to Purgatory - i.e. retirement. Boca Raton might sound inviting to the rest of us, but not this guy. Menino isn't heading for Boca - he's marching forward to a reelection campaign against three contenders who may not even appreciate the juggernaut they're up against. "He has the most tireless work ethic of any official I've ever seen," said City Councilor Rob Consalvo. "He has a laser like focus on the job and what peoples' problems are. He's the ultimate grass roots mayor."
But back to the niceties of dining in Southie with the most recognizable politician in New England. Does Tom have any particular gripes on this beautiful Marathon weekend, as we break bread together for the first time in too long a time? Not really. He arrived with Dot Joyce, the best and most reliable press secretary he's ever had, and seems excited about the positive lime light on Boston, hopefully assuaging the tragic story of the past days concerning the Craigs list Killer, a case solved in record time by D.A. Conley and Boston Police. We're even introduced to a visiting foreign dignitary - I think it was the High Lord Mayor of London - whose taking in all things Boston before the start gun fires on Monday. The Mayor is pretty pumped. When he toiled for nine years as the district councilor from Boston's Hyde Park he probably didn't imagine all this - but fate works it's magic, doesn't it?
And Menino keeps working his magic - or maybe it's just a Midas touch he was destined to yield in the mayor's office. I ask him about the rather glaring juxtaposition between state and city government, of late. While Governor Deval Patrick has been having a less than marvelous time lately......being governor........Menino's principality has been relatively free from controversy. No state senators being offered silly job deals, no ludicrous trail of emails from staffers, and no hideous traffic jams triggered by any of the mayor's cabinet members. The mayor's not one to criticize the governor (I'm guessing he'll leave that to folks like me) but he makes it pretty clear that on his watch toll booths wouldn't be shut down so that people can admire, for hours, the beautiful pavement at the Mass Pike.
The mayor pretty much brings the episode back home, and emphasis that his style of leadership is polar opposite that of some big time bureaucrats. It's anything but hands off. If he sees a problem he gets it fixed, and chances are there are plenty of department heads and their deputies and City Hall Plaza who have their early morning or late night call stories about a call to action from the boss. Sort of like what Hillary said. What will you do if the phone rings at three o'clock in the morning? I suspect the answer from city hall officials would be - do what he tells me to do because he doesn't suffer fools well.
But he does suffer atleast one slight with dignity. By the time I finished the perfectly cooked Haddock I asked Menino what he thought about a no lights policy at the Zakim; keeping in mind that I've always considered the spectacular array of blue lighting in the evening to be the one meritorious aspect of a bridge which should never win any architectural hurrahs. Believe it or not, the brain trust at the Turn Pike Authority never consulted with the mayor. "I learned about it by reading the paper," he said. But he wasn't angry nor thin skinned about it. It's as if the mayor has become used to a state government that often forgets the basic rules of protocol, and he's just happy the lights are back on, the way they should be.
Should this column leave any of your questions about Tom Menino unanswered, don't fret. Just keep your eyes open long enough and you'll see the Mayor pretty much everywhere in the city greeting pretty much everybody by name. His opponents will have the formidable task of competing with that personal bond. It took decades of hard work to build, and no one's likely to break it without a prolific message and a great deal of luck.
by Kevin Sowyrda
When I met Tom Menino for lunch, Friday last, at the Dry Dock Cafe in the ever transforming Southie Waterfront District I made two strategic decisions. The first, was that I would try the Haddock because my friend Susan told me it's the best in the Hub. She was right. The second was that I was not going to interview Mayor Menino. Instead, I decided to have a conversation with Tom Menino, and from the friendly and straight forward discussion that ensued I discovered a guy who is pretty hard not to like and will be very hard to beat in what will be the mayor's bid for a fifth term as the city's chief executive officer.
Tom Menino didn't tell me he's running for reelection and I didn't ask. Tom Menino didn't tell me that he's ready for a political fight, and I'm not so dumb that I needed to ask. He's always ready. But Tom Menino told me in so many words, and through gestures, inflections and other mannerisms that he loves the city so much that not being mayor is simply something Tom Menino's not able to do. And it's not a power trip. It's just a genuine love affair. The type of Frank Sinatra, might have written a song about.
It was days after our lunch, on Tuesday, that Menino did make his bid for an unprecedented fifth term official. No surprise there.
I think the surprise will be how Menino runs his campaign. In this modern-day pandemic of cyber personality - i.e. twitter, face book, IM's, text messaging, email and all the rest of the no real human contact - Menino, at first glance, is the old fashioned exception to the trends of the day. But it has nothing to do with being out dated. Instead, Menino strikes me as above the gadgetry gimmicks because they're beneath his unbeatable work ethic. As a veteran of city politics, known for rising well before dawn and burning enough midnight oil to dry out OPEC, Menino's a lot smarter than the Twitters. He's more sympathetic than the Face book crowd. He realizes that Joe and Mary Bostonian prefer the personal touch to the You Tube politicking any day of the week. It's even paid off in political dividends. A recent Boston Globe poll shows that more than half of city residents say they've actually met the mayor in person and His Honor's popularity ratings remain high, despite a foundering economy from which Boston has hardly been immune.
So on this particular Friday, Menino does what he does best. While chatting with yours truly about everything from the failed lights-out policy at the Zakim Bridge to the recent Easter Weekend traffic debacle at the Mass. Turnpike Authority tolls, he smoothly takes time out here and there, between bites of the clams with bellies and sips of the ice tea with lemon, to warmly greet the regular constituents who come to our lunch table at a steady pace to pay their respects and share a musing or two. He knows each one by name and knows just what to ask. How did that situation work out, how is so and so, did my folks get back to you, etc. Menino may not speak like he's the Socrates of the day, but how he's able to brilliantly remember all these names and all their problems right off the cuff is impressive and would appear to be proof positive that Tom Menino is a smart guy who simply chooses not to use a lot of fifty cent words - and his particularly homespun style, even in the blackberry, techno age - has hardly hurt him since he assumed leadership of the city in the early nineties upon the resignation of then Mayor Raymond Flynn.
So what makes this guy tick? I think what we've overlooked - or at least I have on sufficient occasion - is that Tom Menino is a people guy and a people guy can't retire. Before he'd send you an email he'd prefer being at your local bakery at about five in the morning ready to hear what you have to say and then jumping back in his new Hybrid vehicle to call the right department head to fix the problem. I'm' willing to guess that about a thousand pot holes in this city have been promptly fixed simply because a constituent asked the mayor to do it, and then he did.
Imagine that. I'm sitting here with a politician who you can actually go up to and then get something done as a result of a quick dialogue. He might even be the last of his breed, and I don't sense any huge movement in the city to send Tom Menino to that place which I sense he may equate to Purgatory - i.e. retirement. Boca Raton might sound inviting to the rest of us, but not this guy. Menino isn't heading for Boca - he's marching forward to a reelection campaign against three contenders who may not even appreciate the juggernaut they're up against. "He has the most tireless work ethic of any official I've ever seen," said City Councilor Rob Consalvo. "He has a laser like focus on the job and what peoples' problems are. He's the ultimate grass roots mayor."
But back to the niceties of dining in Southie with the most recognizable politician in New England. Does Tom have any particular gripes on this beautiful Marathon weekend, as we break bread together for the first time in too long a time? Not really. He arrived with Dot Joyce, the best and most reliable press secretary he's ever had, and seems excited about the positive lime light on Boston, hopefully assuaging the tragic story of the past days concerning the Craigs list Killer, a case solved in record time by D.A. Conley and Boston Police. We're even introduced to a visiting foreign dignitary - I think it was the High Lord Mayor of London - whose taking in all things Boston before the start gun fires on Monday. The Mayor is pretty pumped. When he toiled for nine years as the district councilor from Boston's Hyde Park he probably didn't imagine all this - but fate works it's magic, doesn't it?
And Menino keeps working his magic - or maybe it's just a Midas touch he was destined to yield in the mayor's office. I ask him about the rather glaring juxtaposition between state and city government, of late. While Governor Deval Patrick has been having a less than marvelous time lately......being governor........Menino's principality has been relatively free from controversy. No state senators being offered silly job deals, no ludicrous trail of emails from staffers, and no hideous traffic jams triggered by any of the mayor's cabinet members. The mayor's not one to criticize the governor (I'm guessing he'll leave that to folks like me) but he makes it pretty clear that on his watch toll booths wouldn't be shut down so that people can admire, for hours, the beautiful pavement at the Mass Pike.
The mayor pretty much brings the episode back home, and emphasis that his style of leadership is polar opposite that of some big time bureaucrats. It's anything but hands off. If he sees a problem he gets it fixed, and chances are there are plenty of department heads and their deputies and City Hall Plaza who have their early morning or late night call stories about a call to action from the boss. Sort of like what Hillary said. What will you do if the phone rings at three o'clock in the morning? I suspect the answer from city hall officials would be - do what he tells me to do because he doesn't suffer fools well.
But he does suffer atleast one slight with dignity. By the time I finished the perfectly cooked Haddock I asked Menino what he thought about a no lights policy at the Zakim; keeping in mind that I've always considered the spectacular array of blue lighting in the evening to be the one meritorious aspect of a bridge which should never win any architectural hurrahs. Believe it or not, the brain trust at the Turn Pike Authority never consulted with the mayor. "I learned about it by reading the paper," he said. But he wasn't angry nor thin skinned about it. It's as if the mayor has become used to a state government that often forgets the basic rules of protocol, and he's just happy the lights are back on, the way they should be.
Should this column leave any of your questions about Tom Menino unanswered, don't fret. Just keep your eyes open long enough and you'll see the Mayor pretty much everywhere in the city greeting pretty much everybody by name. His opponents will have the formidable task of competing with that personal bond. It took decades of hard work to build, and no one's likely to break it without a prolific message and a great deal of luck.
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