I am finally able to take the black arm band off that indicates the mourning period over the Patriots Super Bowl loss to the Giants has ended. I am a bit surprised that I have recovered so quickly. It was at least ten years after events like the Bucky Dent home run and the Bill Buckner error before I could even mention their names. The Sugar Bear Hamilton roughing the passer call was finally mitigated by the tuck rule call against the Raiders.
Perhaps it is the wisdom of age that has enabled me to act in an adult manner over this sports trauma. More likely however, is that recent successes have blunted the disappointment of defeat. After all, we have been some what spoiled here in recent years with the Patriots previous three Super Bowl wins as well as two World Series titles for the Red Sox.
In addition is the residual affection for the New York football Giants. Growing up in this region in the fifties and sixties without a home town team forced us to adopt the Giants because that was the usual Sunday network feed. Watching the Giants meant that on Saturday when we played football in the neighborhood we took turns being Y.A. Tittle or Homer Jones or Frank Gifford.
So now that the veil of tears has been lifted and I can take an objective look at the game and make a few comments. The basic conclusion is that Bill Belechik was out coached in this one. A team noted for half time adjustments did not adjust. It could have a lot to do with the Giants of course but it also might be that Belechik simply did not believe that Eli Manning could beat him over the course of a 60 minute game and there fore would stick to what he thought would work.
He was almost right. As the game worn on and got into crunch time the team did what was expected. Brady drove them down the field in the waning minutes and scored to take the lead. The script soon departed from what we expected as the much maligned Eli then drove the Giants down the field for the winning score. It was a drive that wasn't without serendipity as Manning escaped from a pass rush and some guy named Tyree makes a catch on top of his helmet with Rodney Harrison draped on him like a cape on an opera singer. Lady luck continued on the Giants side when Asante Samuel allowed an easy interception to go through his hands in Buckneresque fashion.
No sense in rehashing painful moments. Better to be graceful in defeat and acknowledge Eli Manning for his achievement. Can you imagine that the best franchise in football has been thwarted in back to back seasons by the Manning brothers? What are the odds that two brothers would win back to back Super Bowls both playing quarterback? It is a heck of an achievement and should be acknowledged even by the losers.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Ditucci for Selectman
Unseating an incumbent in any contest is usually an extremely difficult task. This year's contest for the single seat on the Burlington Board of Selectmen is made even more difficult in that the single seat has not had a challenger win it in over 25 years. History, plus the fact that the incumbent is completing a fifth term and is pretty well liked by the community in general makes an upset against the odds.
The obvious being stated does not alter the fact that there are reasons for an upset. Those reasons can be symbolically seen in a small way in the center of town. At the moment there is a vacant lot across from the new CVS store. It is a lot strewn with trash and it appears as a big red pimple on the end of the nose of the community. The symbolism is revealed by the number of the incumbents political signs on the lot. If a politician was paying attention to detail and fully engaged in both his office and his campaign do you think he would allow his signs to be part of an eyesore?
There are other more obvious indications of a lack of energy, enthusiasm and engagement in the incumbents service. It should be expected that an elected officials attendance at public meetings should be at or near perfect. Such has not been the case in recent years. Simply because a candidate has occupied a seat for 15 years is not justification for a continuation of that service. An elected position is not one of entitlement or of seniority.
Town government like any organization is not driven by auto pilot. It needs a constant infusion of energy and ideas. There have been precious few initiatives from the incumbent in recent years. In fact, many issues have simply sat around without any proposed resolutions with the incumbent remaining detached.
Those issues are apparent to frequent voters who will be going to the polls on April 5th. The Grandview Farm, Wildwood School, water treatment plant and banner fiascoes as well as a number of other issues remain unresolved or previous resolutions looked sloppy and left residual anger amongst the electorate.
I admit a bias in supporting the challenger, Dan Ditucci for the position. I have known Dan for over 45 years and graduated from high school in the same class. In all those years he hasn't really changed to much. He has always been a hard worker who has succeeded in his business. He is a "townie" who I believe genuinely has the town's best interest at heart.
What ever the outcome of this race, the fact that Dan has chosen to run and to shake up the status quo is in the community's best interest. The message that is being sent to town hall by a strong challenge is that better performance is expected by the residents from its leaders. If Dan is elected I believe the community will get that, if he is not elected I believe the community will benefit from an incumbent who got a wake up call.
The obvious being stated does not alter the fact that there are reasons for an upset. Those reasons can be symbolically seen in a small way in the center of town. At the moment there is a vacant lot across from the new CVS store. It is a lot strewn with trash and it appears as a big red pimple on the end of the nose of the community. The symbolism is revealed by the number of the incumbents political signs on the lot. If a politician was paying attention to detail and fully engaged in both his office and his campaign do you think he would allow his signs to be part of an eyesore?
There are other more obvious indications of a lack of energy, enthusiasm and engagement in the incumbents service. It should be expected that an elected officials attendance at public meetings should be at or near perfect. Such has not been the case in recent years. Simply because a candidate has occupied a seat for 15 years is not justification for a continuation of that service. An elected position is not one of entitlement or of seniority.
Town government like any organization is not driven by auto pilot. It needs a constant infusion of energy and ideas. There have been precious few initiatives from the incumbent in recent years. In fact, many issues have simply sat around without any proposed resolutions with the incumbent remaining detached.
Those issues are apparent to frequent voters who will be going to the polls on April 5th. The Grandview Farm, Wildwood School, water treatment plant and banner fiascoes as well as a number of other issues remain unresolved or previous resolutions looked sloppy and left residual anger amongst the electorate.
I admit a bias in supporting the challenger, Dan Ditucci for the position. I have known Dan for over 45 years and graduated from high school in the same class. In all those years he hasn't really changed to much. He has always been a hard worker who has succeeded in his business. He is a "townie" who I believe genuinely has the town's best interest at heart.
What ever the outcome of this race, the fact that Dan has chosen to run and to shake up the status quo is in the community's best interest. The message that is being sent to town hall by a strong challenge is that better performance is expected by the residents from its leaders. If Dan is elected I believe the community will get that, if he is not elected I believe the community will benefit from an incumbent who got a wake up call.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
A Jonah
When I was real little I played various forms of card games with and against my grandmother. She was an unusually warm and caring nurturing type grammy, NOT! She had a very unflattering habit of calling various people around her Jonah if whatever game she was playing or watching went against her.
My first experience occurred when I sat down with her to watch the Sox one afternoon. I was about 8 or 9 and this day the Sox were up by 5 in the game. I was in the chair about five minutes and suddenly the Sox were now trailing by five. My grandmother being the kind forgiving understanding soul that she was suddenly announced that I was a Jonah and had caused the Sox to get behind. I complained of this designation to my mother who informed me that when it came to competition my grandmother basically had a screw loose and therefore I should disregard anything Grandma said no matter how insulting it might be.
As I got older I came to revel in the Jonah designation. When we played poker I would make sure I sat next to her or directly across the table so that I could good naturedly torment her by reminding her that I was her personal jinx and that she couldn't possibly beat me. I would say things like "that's the last hand you will win all night grandma cause you know who is here." I think that in later years she actually came to believe it because even in my early teens no matter what card game she had taught me I would soon consistently beat her.
Thoughts of this designation came to mind Friday night as I went into the Garden to watch the Celtics take on the Utah Jazz. The Celts were on a nice winning streak having won ten or so in a row as well as beating the Western Conference 11 times in a row.
The preivous night's game had the Celtics playing against Seatle giving 18 1/2 points. I placed a small theoretical adult wager on the Sonics thinking that nobody should give up 18 1/2. The Celtics killed them covering by almost double that amount.
So when I met my friend Jay Trey and went in to the Garden Friday night I felt comfortable that I would see an efficient conquest. But noooo, it was a struggle all night and finally the game got completely away in the final minutes and the mighty Celtics playing wonderful ball prior to this game suddenly got smoked by 18.
My friend then proceeded to tell me that he had only watched about 7 games all season and the team that I had told him had championship potential had lost all the games he saw. It suddenly dawned on me that boy is a damned JONAH!
My first experience occurred when I sat down with her to watch the Sox one afternoon. I was about 8 or 9 and this day the Sox were up by 5 in the game. I was in the chair about five minutes and suddenly the Sox were now trailing by five. My grandmother being the kind forgiving understanding soul that she was suddenly announced that I was a Jonah and had caused the Sox to get behind. I complained of this designation to my mother who informed me that when it came to competition my grandmother basically had a screw loose and therefore I should disregard anything Grandma said no matter how insulting it might be.
As I got older I came to revel in the Jonah designation. When we played poker I would make sure I sat next to her or directly across the table so that I could good naturedly torment her by reminding her that I was her personal jinx and that she couldn't possibly beat me. I would say things like "that's the last hand you will win all night grandma cause you know who is here." I think that in later years she actually came to believe it because even in my early teens no matter what card game she had taught me I would soon consistently beat her.
Thoughts of this designation came to mind Friday night as I went into the Garden to watch the Celtics take on the Utah Jazz. The Celts were on a nice winning streak having won ten or so in a row as well as beating the Western Conference 11 times in a row.
The preivous night's game had the Celtics playing against Seatle giving 18 1/2 points. I placed a small theoretical adult wager on the Sonics thinking that nobody should give up 18 1/2. The Celtics killed them covering by almost double that amount.
So when I met my friend Jay Trey and went in to the Garden Friday night I felt comfortable that I would see an efficient conquest. But noooo, it was a struggle all night and finally the game got completely away in the final minutes and the mighty Celtics playing wonderful ball prior to this game suddenly got smoked by 18.
My friend then proceeded to tell me that he had only watched about 7 games all season and the team that I had told him had championship potential had lost all the games he saw. It suddenly dawned on me that boy is a damned JONAH!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Politically Ambitious Prosecutors
There is nothing more dangerous in America than a politically ambitious prosecutor. This has been demonstrated over and over again. A rising party star stuck in a mid level elected position just waiting for that one big indictment or case that will send his or her stock soaring.
The former governor of New York is one shining example. A zealot with high morals Hell bent on cleaning up everything and everyone. Spitzer found his cases and built his reputation by slapping around Wall Street and for my money some of those boys got what they deserved.
There were however, a lot of other cases including prostitution cases that the "steamroller" was involved in. Allegedly, during the time he was a moral crusader he also was spending outrageous sums on exactly the same "crime" he was trying to put other people behind bars for.
What the heck was this guy thinking? Eighteen and a half million people knew his face in New York and so did the Washington press corp, did he think he was that non descript? Or was he that much a risk taker?
The sheer embarrassment as well as a career left in ruins is enough public punishment for Spitzer. His real great personal punishment is this hypocrisy exposes the the man inside. He was made small by the fact that at his moment of national embarrassment he couldn't take the heat alone. You think he would have had enough integrity to spare his wife the glare of his public ridicule. No, instead he has her standing up at the podium as the dutiful political wife standing by her man. He could have handled a resignation by himself.
Beware the politician that rises to prominence by prosecuting others.
The former governor of New York is one shining example. A zealot with high morals Hell bent on cleaning up everything and everyone. Spitzer found his cases and built his reputation by slapping around Wall Street and for my money some of those boys got what they deserved.
There were however, a lot of other cases including prostitution cases that the "steamroller" was involved in. Allegedly, during the time he was a moral crusader he also was spending outrageous sums on exactly the same "crime" he was trying to put other people behind bars for.
What the heck was this guy thinking? Eighteen and a half million people knew his face in New York and so did the Washington press corp, did he think he was that non descript? Or was he that much a risk taker?
The sheer embarrassment as well as a career left in ruins is enough public punishment for Spitzer. His real great personal punishment is this hypocrisy exposes the the man inside. He was made small by the fact that at his moment of national embarrassment he couldn't take the heat alone. You think he would have had enough integrity to spare his wife the glare of his public ridicule. No, instead he has her standing up at the podium as the dutiful political wife standing by her man. He could have handled a resignation by himself.
Beware the politician that rises to prominence by prosecuting others.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Vice President Hillary
There is one clear cut path to the return of dominance of the Democratic party in America. As strange as it seems one and only one person that can make the decision that would guarantee this. That person is Hillary Clinton and the decision would involve her controlling her ego and taking the second spot behind Barack Obama on the Democratic presidential ticket.
Despite her recent wins in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, Hillary is still a mathematical under dog to Obama in the delegate counts. Of course this could change with big swings in the super delegates or even later ballots at a deadlocked convention. The problem is that who ever comes out of a deadlocked Democratic convention will be so damaged and have alienated so many of the other contenders supporters that it is likely to make McCain a sure winner.
There is also the possibility that Clinton could steal the Florida and Michigan results but that seems highly unlikely. A do over in both states is a possibility but this will mean more time and huge resources and more back stabbing and biting criticism of one another.
The thing to do right now is to cut a deal for a united ticket. An Obama/Clinton ticket has been whispered about but not openly addressed in any polls. The ultimate political site at http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ has nothing at all on such speculation.
It would be the ultimate politically correct, all victim ticket. As Maureen Dowd wrote in the Times recently regarding Clinton against Obama, "People will have to choose which of America's sins are greater, and which stain will have to be removed first. Is misogyny worse than racism, or is racism worse than misogyny?" In Dowd's world an Obama/Clinton would cleanse both of America's "sins".
So can it happen and how does it happen? Well I guess somebody with some brains and influence would need to prevail upon Hillary to do what is in the best interest of the party as well as the country if your opinion is electing a Democrat is your definition of the country's best interest.
Why should Hillary take second place and not Obama? There is a pretty simple answer. She is in second place now and unlikely to win. In addition, all the Clinton baggage that makes her the candidate with the highest negative numbers is far less important when you put her in the VP slot.
What about who would you want answering that 3 a.m call? The truth of the matter is that between Hillary and Obama the question is irrelevant. Hillary has no more experience in such a situation than Obama does.
Is this scenario a possibility? I doubt it. The Clinton team is likely to follow a scorched earth policy right up until the election. They are calling him, a Muslim, Ken Starr, a Rezcko lackey, his followers are cultists, and have alluded to his drug use. Eventually Obama will have to respond in kind. The Clinton pardons, indictments, tax returns, unusual wealth and other items will all come into play. In the end hundreds of millions of dollars will be squandered and McCain will be waiting for a wounded nomination winner to match up against in the general election.
Despite her recent wins in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, Hillary is still a mathematical under dog to Obama in the delegate counts. Of course this could change with big swings in the super delegates or even later ballots at a deadlocked convention. The problem is that who ever comes out of a deadlocked Democratic convention will be so damaged and have alienated so many of the other contenders supporters that it is likely to make McCain a sure winner.
There is also the possibility that Clinton could steal the Florida and Michigan results but that seems highly unlikely. A do over in both states is a possibility but this will mean more time and huge resources and more back stabbing and biting criticism of one another.
The thing to do right now is to cut a deal for a united ticket. An Obama/Clinton ticket has been whispered about but not openly addressed in any polls. The ultimate political site at http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ has nothing at all on such speculation.
It would be the ultimate politically correct, all victim ticket. As Maureen Dowd wrote in the Times recently regarding Clinton against Obama, "People will have to choose which of America's sins are greater, and which stain will have to be removed first. Is misogyny worse than racism, or is racism worse than misogyny?" In Dowd's world an Obama/Clinton would cleanse both of America's "sins".
So can it happen and how does it happen? Well I guess somebody with some brains and influence would need to prevail upon Hillary to do what is in the best interest of the party as well as the country if your opinion is electing a Democrat is your definition of the country's best interest.
Why should Hillary take second place and not Obama? There is a pretty simple answer. She is in second place now and unlikely to win. In addition, all the Clinton baggage that makes her the candidate with the highest negative numbers is far less important when you put her in the VP slot.
What about who would you want answering that 3 a.m call? The truth of the matter is that between Hillary and Obama the question is irrelevant. Hillary has no more experience in such a situation than Obama does.
Is this scenario a possibility? I doubt it. The Clinton team is likely to follow a scorched earth policy right up until the election. They are calling him, a Muslim, Ken Starr, a Rezcko lackey, his followers are cultists, and have alluded to his drug use. Eventually Obama will have to respond in kind. The Clinton pardons, indictments, tax returns, unusual wealth and other items will all come into play. In the end hundreds of millions of dollars will be squandered and McCain will be waiting for a wounded nomination winner to match up against in the general election.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Another look at the Wildwood
The Wildwood School was completed in 1958. It was the fourth major school building following the Union School, Center School and Memorial. The Union is now the police station, the center School is the Human Services Center and the Memorial has been slated to be taken out of service and knocked down and replaced with a new structure when the School Building Assistance Bureau approves the matching funding.
The Wildwood has been vacant for 11 years and during that time has been allowed to decay to the point that in the spring there is likely going to be an article to fund its demolition. The funding for the demolition is reported to come from the sale of several parts of the 12 acre property. This does not seem like a prudent course given the current state of the local real estate market. Why would the town sell property at the bottom of the real estate recession?
In the end this may be the best course however shouldn't other alternatives be exhausted first?
An example comes to mind in our recent history. The Meadowbrook School had been determined to be surplus and turned over to the board of selectmen in the early 80's. It laid fallow for a number of years and also fell into disrepair as vacant buildings do. A couple of proposals were made for the use of the property by private developers but none passed town meeting. Eventually a private Christian school came forward and a deal was stuck.
The basic components of the deal was that the town would allow a low/no rent period during which the school would spend money to refurbish the facility. At the conclusion of the lease the town and school would enter into a market relationship.
The end result is that 15 years later the town still owns the property with a building on it that is in very good condition and producing cash flow. Who knows what the future will bring but we do know that in the event the town does have need for a building and property we still have this as an available alternative. Shouldn't we make an effort to see what type of offers an RFP for a similar deal might produce?
The Wildwood has been vacant for 11 years and during that time has been allowed to decay to the point that in the spring there is likely going to be an article to fund its demolition. The funding for the demolition is reported to come from the sale of several parts of the 12 acre property. This does not seem like a prudent course given the current state of the local real estate market. Why would the town sell property at the bottom of the real estate recession?
In the end this may be the best course however shouldn't other alternatives be exhausted first?
An example comes to mind in our recent history. The Meadowbrook School had been determined to be surplus and turned over to the board of selectmen in the early 80's. It laid fallow for a number of years and also fell into disrepair as vacant buildings do. A couple of proposals were made for the use of the property by private developers but none passed town meeting. Eventually a private Christian school came forward and a deal was stuck.
The basic components of the deal was that the town would allow a low/no rent period during which the school would spend money to refurbish the facility. At the conclusion of the lease the town and school would enter into a market relationship.
The end result is that 15 years later the town still owns the property with a building on it that is in very good condition and producing cash flow. Who knows what the future will bring but we do know that in the event the town does have need for a building and property we still have this as an available alternative. Shouldn't we make an effort to see what type of offers an RFP for a similar deal might produce?
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