April 15th, the due date for taxes, brought two statues of liberty onto the streets of Westfield to the rescue of late filers.
The real action however was in Boston, where the former Governor of Alaska was speaking.
You would think that Ms. Palin would have worn a different color outfit. Didn't the original tea party have something to do with being against the redcoats? Here a sign holder makes an election prediction.
This is Joe Ligotti, the fastest rising star of Boston media.
Another Tea Party protest was held in Worcester. Here Pat Gouin captures former Valley newsman Jim Polito being interviewed.
Dr. Jay Fleitman, who is running against Rep. Richard Neal, was also in Worcester, shown here posing with a sign waver.
There was also a Tea Party rally in Springfield, as seen in this photo by Sheila Pecor. That's Tom Wesley kneeling, who is also running for congress against Richie Neal.
Yesterday I went to Raos Coffee Shop in downtown Amherst. School had just gotten out, and kids were playing hacky-sack outside.
There are paintings on the outside wall of Raos, such as this portrait of the heroic Paul Revere.
There is also a coffee drinking Miss Emily.
Now they have added a new portrait, this one is of Amherst's other poetic superstar, Professor Robert Frost of Amherst College.
Cool bumper stickers on a car outside the Amherst Survival Center.
I just got back from the Amherst Commons, where the Extravaganja will be held this Saturday.
Meanwhile, a lot was going on this past weekend. Beatnik figure Amiri Baracka (Leroi Jones) spoke at Amherst College Saturday, as seen in this picture by S.P. Sullivan.
Sullivan also captured this classic image of Motown Bennie the Bucket Man performing at UMass yesterday in formal attire. Even his plastic bucket was painted formal black.
Northampton's David Pakman greets Governor Deval Patrick at Smith College Sunday.
The Republicans had a meet the candidates shindig at Storrowton Tavern in West Springfield, as shown in these pics by Sheila Pecor. The media was primarily interested in gubernatorial frontrunner Charlie Baker.
Congressional candidate Dr. Jay Fleitman, radio dude Adam Rivers and State Auditor candidate Kamal Jains.
Legislative candidates Tom McCarthy and Josh Carpenter.
Did anyone see any stranded looking rock stars in downtown Northampton Saturday night? A broke down limo across from the Iron Horse.
My friend Luke Averill and his band at Sam's.
An honest beggar in front of the Haymarket.
These bushes in big cement pots stand outside the UMass library.
The Huffington Post has declared Hampshire College as the #1 hipster school in America. Um, is that a complement? What is a hipster anyway? The Urban Dictionary defines it thusly:
Listens to bands that you have never heard of. Has hairstyle that can only be described as "complicated." (Most likely achieved by a minimum of one week not washing it.) Probably tattooed. Maybe gay. Definitely cooler than you. Reads Black Book, Nylon, and the Styles section of the New York Times. Drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon. Often. Complains. Always denies being a hipster. Hates the word. Probably living off parents money - and spends a great deal of it to look like they don't have any. Has friends and/or self cut hair. Dyes it frequently (black, white-blonde, etc. and until scalp bleeds). Has a closet full of clothing but usually wears same three things OVER AND OVER (most likely very tight black pants, scarf, and ironic tee-shirt). Chips off nail polish artfully after $50 manicure. Sleeps with everyone and talks about it at great volume in crowded coffee shops. Addicted to coffee, cigarettes (Parliaments, Kamel Reds, Lucky Strikes, etc.), and possibly cocaine. Claims to be in a band. Rehearsals consist of choosing outfits for next show and drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon. Always on the list. Majors or majored in art, writing, or queer studies. Name-drops. May go by "Penny Lane," "Eleanor Rigby," etc. when drunk. On Pabst Blue Ribbon. Which is usually.
Was I ever a hipster? Sort of. To be gay is perhaps in some sense to be instantly cool. However, Pabst Blue Ribbon was considered an old man's beer when I was in my twenties, the secretly cool uncool beer for us was Budweiser. It was considered uncool to smoke anything with a white filter, so Parliaments were out. I smoked Old Gold, which for some reason were cool for the same reason that Pabst was not - only old people smoked them. Never expect logic in fashion. Tom Devine in his 20's was most likely to be found wearing Converse sneakers, tight jeans, no shirt and a baseball cap, which was popular among queers long before the straights turned the baseball cap into our national hat.
Anyway, whatever a hipster is, apparently the Huffington Post considers our own Hampshire College to be its ultimate expression:
Typical Hampshire College students.
At Hampshire, anything goes. The alma mater of Ken Burns, Jon Krakauer and Elliott Smith is famous for its lassiez-faire approach to education -- students are not bound to a core curriculum; their main requirement for graduation is a year-long in-depth project on a subject of their choice. Popular campus activities include Students for Justice in Palestine and the radio station, which is housed in a building called "The Yurt."
The temptation of course is to laugh. However, in the comments section a former student named Julie Dole defended the Hampshire experience.
We used to call it Hamster College. I'm not an alum but I took a few classes there - I remember my physics prof used a clock that went backwards. Its stripped-down campus was a haven for rich kids, since (at least at that time) the school offered little financial aid.
But I think the real advantage Hampshire had over more conventional schools was that its lack of structure forced students to motivate themselves - no one else was making students meet deadlines. That's a much more realistic model of how life is, after graduation.
So congratulations Hampshire College, Home of the Hipsters!
Meanwhile in the land of politics the prestigious Rasmussen poll has its latest polling results out on the Massachusetts governor's race.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Massachusetts finds Patrick has gained some ground in his Job Approval ratings but his support for re-election remains in the mid-30s.
Patrick earns 35% of the vote when matched against former health care executive Charlie Baker. Baker attracts 27% while Democrat-turned-independent Tim Cahill runs third with 23% support. Fifteen percent (15%) are undecided. Baker’s support is down slightly from a month ago.
Patrick’s other prominent Republican opponent, businessman Christy Mihos, continues to struggle. Given that match-up, 38% of Massachusetts voters opt for Patrick, with Cahill a close second at 33% and Mihos a distant third at 15%. Undecideds total 14%.
Deval Patrick has been campaigning hard in recent weeks, apparently trying to remind voters one on one of why they used to like him in the first place. Charlie Baker is finding his past ties to the healthcare industry a burden, but Tim Cahill has revived his once flagging candidacy by becoming the anti-Obamacare candidate. Christy Mihos may yet make a comeback if Baker continues to fade.
However, not even registering one percent support in that poll was the Green Party candidate Jill Stein. I'll bet she would get at least that much in Western Mass, where Stein is shown below at a rally last month in downtown Northampton.
She also chose local left-wing activist Rick Purcell of Holyoke as her running mate. Here's Purcell in Holyoke at the announcement of his candidacy.
At the UMass library recently I ran into Kevin Noonan, whom I've known since the Dan Yorke Show days.
Danger Bird discussing Wilhelm Dafoe's dick in Northampton this week.
In the normal course of events, politicians are first elected to office and then they get arrested. But here in the bizarro world of Valley politics, first comes the perp walk, then comes the nomination papers.
Local Tea Party hero Bill Gunn
Yet an arrest record may actually work to the advantage of William Gunn of Ware, who will officially announce this weekend that he is running for U.S. Congress against incumbent John Olver. Gunn came to national attention last month when he was arrested in the balcony of the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. for yelling at the lawmakers below to "Kill the Bill" meaning the government healthcare takeover legislation which was under consideration at the time. Gunn and his companion in civil disobedience, Dave Sanders of Wilbraham, became instant folk heroes among the quite active Tea Party movement here in the Valley. Gunn summarizes his campaign platform as follows:
I am running for the position of United States Representative for the first district of Massachusetts. I am currently collecting signatures and I can use all the help I can get.
We are going to oust John Olver, and the PEOPLE are going to take back the house. The house of representatives is supposed to be comprised of CITIZEN REPRESENTATIVES; people like you and me. It is time to show a renewed reverence for the Constitution and bring spending under control and actually CUT SPENDING ON EVERY GOVERNMENT PROGRAM.
The tax burden needs to be reduced, and if any are going to pay an income tax, ALL must pay an income tax. Only then will the majority of the people start voting for fiscal restraint.
Can Gunn win? Olver has faced better known challengers in the past and won re-election handily, but this is an unpredictable year when the winds of change are blowing at gale force. Gunn will also get a ton of free publicity when his case goes to trial. However, former State Representative Christopher Asselin of Springfield is unlikely to be able to turn his former arrest record into a political plus, but that hasn't stopped him from announcing that he will be running to reclaim his old job. As explained by Masslive:
With 18 months in prison, $140,000 in restitution and one major corruption scandal behind him, former state Rep. Christopher P. Asselin is primed for a political comeback.
Breaking a long public silence, the 40-year old Democrat announced on Monday that he is considering running for his old seat in the 9th Hampden District, which straddles the Springfield and Chicopee border.
Asselin, the youngest son of a well-known political clan, won two terms on Beacon Hill before being named in a 122-count indictment accusing him, his father, mother, wife, four siblings and others of looting the taxpayer-financed Springfield Housing Authority for a decade.
After pleading guilty to bribery, theft and fraud conspiracy charges in 2007, Asselin was given an 18-month prison term. His father, Raymond, director of the authority until 2004, was ordered to serve 10 years behind bars.
Here is the first half of an interview with Asselin yesterday on the Bax and O'Brien Show, in which Asselin comes out swinging by essentially accusing incumbent Sean Curran of being a liar and a phony.
Here's the second half, where O'Brien asks Asselin about his alleged "mental issues":
Can Asselin rise from the ashes? Well, Springfield makes up most of the district, and Springfield voters are notorious for electing and re-electing bad guys, so it's impossible to say that Asselin has no chance. But incumbent Curran is popular, and is sure to remind voters of all the sordid details of the Asselin scandal. I would put Chris Asselin's chances at no better than one in three.
But to top it all off, after a sordid domestic scandal last year devolved into incidents of public violence that sank the re-election hopes of Agawam Mayor Susan Dawson, most observers thought that her political career was over. Not so, apparently, as Dawson is now running for State Senate! But hey, if Gunn can be arrested in the halls of Congress and run as a hero, and Asselin can walk out of prison and announce his own race, then why shouldn't Dawson run as well? Agawam voters delight in dirty politics and she was the mud-wrestling queen they loved to hate. The electorate may choose Dawson just for her future entertainment value.
I took these pictures in Northampton's Haymarket Cafe early this morning.
