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Friday, August 3, 2012

Politics, Money and Speech

First thing for the morning is to note the need to do some more scrapping.  Yesterday's piece in part dealt with the wetlands violation and the issue of town counsel's services by Con Com.  I had gotten a heads up from someone relative to the status of the "road". In response to the same, I received two comment posts (really one, just in two parts).

The two best things I can do with the "wetlands" segment of the issue is to refer you again to the "update" and comments.  They are worth reading if for no other reason that you get the perspective from the writer.

I will note anyone with a different perspective is free to also comment.

Important issues and points are raised in the posted comments, especially as to whether the area affected was in fact a road, and as to the how and, as important as anything else, the "why" this is all in issue.

As another followup to something in yesterday's piece, Obama has picked up a percentage point in the polls as of updated info for this A.M.  The poll averages (9 of them) has widened a tad.  What I consider the top two though have the race a dead heat.  

Speaking of heat ...

Seems like it the the New Bedford Mayor and City Council got a hot one going.  The Standard Times reports today that the Mayor vetoed the Council's pay raise.  At least according to the council President and its attorney, the Mayor backed out of a deal to allow the raise.

The paper notes that the Mayor had previously stated there was no deal.

You need to read this article.  The council members should read this article.  

If you are a voter in New Bedford, you got to be shaking head.

If you are a political junkie like me, you got to be wondering just what benefit is there to be quoted saying such things.

Nothing good for the Council comes from this article.  It confirms that indeed there was a "deal", at least in the minds of the Council.  It sounds like a poorly veiled threat to the Mayor.  From this point forward, every time the Council goes against the Mayor, you have just provided a built in PR bonanza for him.  "It is nothing more than payback for vetoing a 44% pay raise".

I have yet to run into anyone who thinks a 44% raise, in one lump sum, no matter how underpaid you might be, was a smart idea.  

If the Mayor anticipated this reaction to a veto, and given past history it could have very well been calculated, it was a brilliant political stroke.   Deal or no deal, what people will remember in the end is that a 44% pay raised was vetoed, and what will be out there forever are the words in the article.

There are times when it is best to just keep quiet. 

Nice piece by Steve Urbon on the Chick-fil-A controversy addressing the free speech/boycott aspect.

Don't really get the boycott being against free speech argument.  Nobody denies the right to say what was said.  When you do say something, or do something, you got to understand there will be consequences.  

The only thing to that is I hope everyone remembers the concept when the right wingers boycotts the left wingers; and, the right wingers right now complaining about the boycotts should in fact remember that.  Been quite a few of those events organized from the right.

Memories must truly be like the corners of our mind, so cluttered that we forget what is packed away there.

Grammar.  Hot topic, at least for the blog.  Three people in one day have noted just how bad mine is.  In mitigation let me note as follows:

First, the software for the blog doesn't have a grammar check, or even grandma check.  Occasionally, using the spell check, I have hit the wrong correction for those boo boos and it makes it worse. Even worse than that, I forget the spell check at times.

While I make it a point to read over the articles, my primary intent is content.  At times the mind races a tad ahead of my editing skills.  The last two editors I hired quite, and I am down to "I".  

Yes, I do in fact know the difference between all most and almost; know and no; then and than.  Time becomes a premium in the mornings though.  I know, if you are going to do something, you should do it well.  My punctuation skills may not be the best; and, on occasion some of the misdeeds are intentional.

It is what it is folks.  Imperfect and a bit rushed.  A nightmare to all my past English teachers.

But hey, look at the silver lining ... proof positive that I am in fact not perfect.

1 comment:

  1. Michelle FurtadoFriday, August 03, 2012

    The fact that several people have expressed knowledge of your grammatical errors is proof positive that people are reading what you write. We all make mistakes, well some of us, but as long as the information is factual, and in most cases thought-provoking, we can overlook the rest. And perhaps your English teachers don't read your blog.

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