Arturo Innocent

Activist Found Not Guilty

 

Arturo Castillion

The Northampton radical group Poverty is Not a Crime, the brainchild of activists Caty Simon and Ira McKinley, organized a number of rallies earlier this year to protest downtown economic development policies, in particular the proposed ordinance that would have all but banned panhandling for spare change on Main Street.

At one such event two prominent local activists, David Beyer and Arturo Castillion, were arrested for alleged rowdy misconduct during the demonstration. The charges against Beyer were eventually dismissed, but Arturo Castillion went to trial. Today he was found innocent when a video surfaced just before trial that appeared to show that police over-reacted in arresting him. The ever intrepid Caty Simon (below) sent me a previously unreleased photo of the arrest as well as an account of today's court proceedings:

Arturo Castillon was one of the founders of Poverty Is Not A Crime, and is a long time low income rights activist, as well as a former UMass student who has since transfered to Temple University.

He was charged with disorderly conduct & assault and battery on a police officer. The first charge was later dropped. Basically, the police officer claimed Arturo shoved him when he told Arturo to clear off the street, but in actual fact the cop shoved *him* and Arturo went quietly, which was later shown in a video taken from a cop car nearby, evidence that was wrangled last minute from the prosecution. (The Friday before the Monday of the trial!) Also, eyewitness and PINAC member/Umass student John Colvin testified to these facts as well. It seems the patrol officer lost his temper and covered up for it later with the charge, as ACLU lawyer Luke Ryan, Arturo's representation, theorized in his closing argument.

In a trial ruled by the judge (the right to a jury was waived) Arturo was found not guilty.

Here is a photo of Arturo in police custody.

Hopefully Arturo's acquittal will be a lesson that police should try to be more restrained at these kinds of events. Then again, maybe the protesters should show a little restraint as well. 

Two Cartoons

This cartoon is all too tragically true and self-evident.

This one is a little hard to figure. It came to me with the punchline, "So I said to him, "Barack, I know Abe Lincoln, and you ain't Abe Lincoln."

 



First of all, the joke is not very funny. Furthermore, to get the joke requires one to remember a similar line from the 1988 debate between Lloyd Bentson and Daniel Quayle, which not one in ten American's does. Besides that, it isn't clear who is saying the punchline. Lincoln himself in a fit of egomania? And look who is there among the GOP luminaries. Richard Nixon? Who would trust him in a card game? And Jerry Ford? Nice guy but no presidential giant. In fact the only two people at that gathering who might be considered historic giants are Ronald Reagan and Lincoln himself. 

The rest are lightweights: Eisenhower whose outstanding military career was certainly not surpassed by his political one, and Teddy Roosevelt, whom most Republicans consider to have been in many ways a closet Democrat. And what are the two Bushes doing there? They aren't even dead yet, and while the verdict of history is still out on their presidencies, few think they will rise to Lincolnian stature. And where is this ghostly card game taking place? Look at the background. You mean there are political conventions in heaven? If so that settles it - I'm hellbound and glad of it.

On Campus

The UMass Cannabis Club was holding its annual cookie and brownie sale today. Consume at your own risk. 

The Amherst College singing group that call themselves "The Route 9" perform at the school talent show. 

 

Me standing in the way of a view of paradise this afternoon at Amherst College. 

Today's Video

Just like you mistreat someone somebody's gonna mistreat you. 

 

Sunderland.

Post Turkey

Now On to Xmas!

Hey, hope you all had a nice holiday! The day before Thanksgiving the Amherst Survival Center put on a free holiday meal for the entire community at the Lutheran Church just down the road from UMass. 

Lots of folks from the community volunteer for that event, leaving regular volunteers like myself the freedom to do what we never get the chance to do - just show up, sit down and eat. My friend Damon Reeves entertained everyone on piano while we ate. 

Mary Carey of the Hampshire Gazette/Amherst Bulletin was there in her professional role of reporter. She took my photo....

And I took hers:

So now it's on to the next big holiday! Sure enough, by the library I ran into long time campus activist Ed Cutting, who was enroute to begin setting up the UMass Christmas tree.

 



Recently I've been going through some old photographs and I thought I'd show you a few. This is my family on Thanksgiving on Hood Street in ol' Pine Point in 1948. My father is the person on the far right. 

This is Wally's Fruits and Vegetables on Boston Road in Pine Point in 1954. Dig the five cent Cokes and Dreikorn's Bread sign!

My Uncle Wally was the proprietor, until he sold the business to a local vendor named Angelo, who developed it into one of Springfield's most popular fruit and vegetables stores. Today Angelo's is out of business and the building is vacant.

Here are my sisters outside the World Famous Thomas M. Balliet Elementary School in 1968. 

This is me at age 13 with my grandmother at the former Riverside Park (now Six Flags). I remember the day, dig that haircut and Star Trek shirt!

Like most observers, I was not surprised by the conviction of Jason Strickland in the child abuse trial regarding Holly Poutre, the poor child who was abused into a permanently brain damaged state. The evidence against him seemed overwhelming, although most of the abuse appears to have been carried out by his late wife.

I was sickened by some of the details of the case and the sheer evil of of the acts. For example Holly loved to dance, so they hit her on the knees with a hammer. The terrible cruelty of that fills me with hatred. I can forgive a lot in the way of human failings, but child abuse of any kind I have zero tolerance for. That is the lowest of the low, and I hope Jason Strickland gets the harshest possible sentence.

I am not a death penalty supporter, but I can't help but wish that Jason Strickland could somehow meet the same fate as his wife, who was shot in the head by her own mother (who then shot and killed herself) thereby thankfully imposing on her monster of a daughter the just punishment the courts could not.

Bill Dusty made this interesting video about Monday's panhandling rally in downtown Northampton. 

On the 2008 Election

Analysis of the vote.

 



Thank God the election that seemed like it would never end is finally over! Just one quick backward glance before we close the book on Election 2008 in order to examine the voting numbers which I ripped off from Masslive.com.

President

Obama Barack 1,840,848 62%
McCain John - 1,076,059 36%
Nader Ralph - 27,729 1%
Barr Bob - 12,627 0%
McKinney Cynthia - 6,354 0%
Baldwin Chuck - 4,884 0%

Unlike most presidential years, it was not considered impossible in 2008 for the Republicans to carry our state. Indeed, at one point this summer the polls suggested that the race was tightening here in Massachusetts. However, the selection of Sarah Palin seemed to permanently derail McCain's hopes in the Bay State, alienating the moderates who might otherwise have considered McCain.

U.S. Senate

Kerry John - 1,911,007 66%
Beatty Jeff - 899,378 31%
Underwood Bob - 92,485 3%

Beatty never laid a glove on Kerry, despite some high profile debates that gave him a chance to do so. The surprise is that nearly a hundred thousand people voted for Springfield's libertarian gadfly Bob Underwood. Who'd a thunk?

U.S. House - District 1

Olver, John - 211,802 73%
Bech Nate - 77,525 27%

John Olver deserved a bit of a scare this time out for his foolish votes in favor of the Wall Street bailout. Unfortunately, Nathan Bech was too poor a candidate to even serve as a vehicle for protest votes.

Question - 1-Income Tax Ban

No - 1,936,228 69%
Yes - 850,806 31%

The scary claims of opponents were a lot of hooey, since if passed this tax repeal would never have been instituted. After all, a much milder referendum that passed years ago lowering the tax rate to five percent still hasn't been implemented! Yet a yes vote would have shook up the stagnant and corrupt Massachusetts state government in a way that would have been healthy for the state and delightful to watch. Its defeat is a real missed opportunity.

Question - 2-Decriminalize Marijuana

Yes - 1,825,491 65%
No - 971,864 35%

It's shameful that in this day and age people are being arrested and punished for marijuana while far more deadly drugs like cigarettes and alcohol remain legal. Of course the ultimate goal is to legalize marijuana, but this is an important first step.

Question - 3-Dog Racing Ban

Yes - 1,545,167 56%
No - 1,206,153 44%

This question was a real coin flip - does the occasional abuse of dogs justify abolishing an entire industry? In the end kindness won over profits.

Governor's Councillor - District 8

Merrigan Thomas - 212,125 69%
Franco Michael - 93,110 31%

There is no excuse for the continuing existence of this useless legislative leftover from colonial times. At least Franco would have brought some balance to the all Democrat body as well as some entertainment. His far right-wing views might also have inspired the Democrats to finally take action to abolish the Council just to shut Franco up. Another missed opportunity.

State Senate - Hampshire & Franklin

Rosenberg Stanley - 61,790 84%
McCormic Keith - 12,037 16%

Whatever you think of the views of Keith McCormic he ran a totally idea and issue based campaign that was as sophisticated as any campaign against Rosenberg is ever likely to get. That Rosenberg swept him aside so easily is a pretty good indicator of how Stan is practically invincible and probably a future member of Congress when Olver retires.

State House - 2nd Franklin

Donelan Christopher - 13,914 79%
Parks Robert - 3,682 21%

Shame on the local media for not paying more attention to this interesting race, which featured a black Republican against a white liberal.

State House - 2nd Hampden

Ashe Brian - 12,067 54%
Scibelli William - 10,102 46%

The pathetic decline of the Massachusetts Republican party continues relentlessly with the loss of this seat, which had been held by the GOP for over three decades. It would be laughable except we pay a high price in corruption and incompetence for having such a one-party state. Who is the watchdog when everybody's on the same team?

State House - 3rd Hampden

Sandlin Rosemary- 10,243 52%
Boldyga Nicholas - 9,457 48%

It would have been nice if the voters had given just one incumbent the boot, if only to keep the others in line. Boldyga would have been a great means of doing just that in yet another missed opportunity.

State House - 4th Hampden

Humason Donald - 11,482 69%
Hoose Brian - 5,071 31%

Controversial attorney Hoose never had a chance against the widely popular Humason in this Westfield district.

State House - 10th Hampden

Rivera Cheryl - 6,733 85%
Vazquez George - 1,165 15%

Fifteen percent for Vasquez is not a terrible total when you consider his court appearances received more attention than his campaign. There needs to be a new political alignment in Springfield's North End, but it ain't happening this time around.

Finally, a few words about the election of Barack Obama.

 



Ralph Nader, at his appearance in Northampton last week, did a pretty compelling job of deflating the image of Barack Obama as an agent of change. Reading aloud the corporate contributors that have bankrolled Obama's election - the most expensive in history - Nader asked whether Obama's corporate backers could really be throwing all that money at him because they are interested in "change."

Well, we now have four years to see. Although I was never convinced to support Obama, I was impressed by his ability to inspire idealism in his supporters, such as the ones I saw everywhere at UMass. The middle-aged cynic in me was tempted to inform these young people that politics always breaks your heart, but on the other hand the young idealist that still lives in me wanted to see their dream come true. If Obama fails like Nader predicted then there will be time enough to take him to task. But as for today, before all the politicking starts, let's latch on to some of that desire for reform and wish him well. Hope springs eternal and God bless America.

My picture is in the Hampshire Gazette this morning.

These posters are plastered all over downtown Northampton announcing the latest protest rally over the proposed restrictions against panhandling. I must have seen the poster a dozen times before it dawned on me that the photo on it was taken by me at the last rally. 

Of course I'm delighted to let them use it, or anything else of mine they think might help, but it just amused me that I didn't immediately recognize my own photograph because it was appearing in an unexpected context.

That's the crazy thing about the internet, you never know where things are going to end up. 

 

Hamp Panhandler Parade

Taking it to the streets.

Well, as I told you I would, I went downtown to the rally in Northampton last night opposing the anti-panhandling laws and against the new permits now needed to legally play music on the street. At the bus stop at UMass I came upon this UMass student who was also enroute to the demonstration.

 



When I got to City Hall a crowd had already formed.

Many were carrying handmade signs.

 





A reoccurring theme was outrage over the Wall Street bailout.

 



Why do foolish bankers and investors get multi-billion dollar bailouts while people begging in the streets get laws passed against them?

One of those attending was my friend the writer, photographer and radio personality Mary Serreze.

 



Before the march began blogger and community organizer David Beyer directed the protesters as to what to do.

However, the goals were pretty self-evident:

To play music without a permit....

and to legally beg for coins....

while in general trying to raise a ruckus. As I was talking to my friend about the cruelty of targeting people begging for spare change, a guy nearby with a grizzled beard who was nursing a bottle of Night Train interjected that the right word was "spange" - a contraction of the words spare and change. I apologized to the gentleman for not being familiar with the technical terms of the trade.

It was fun marching through downtown, not just for us protesters but for the onlookers who came flocking out of the bars and stores to see what all the uproar was about. Here a storekeeper who was having supper brings her meal outside to eat as she watches us go by.

 



We went down one side of Main Street all the way to the railroad trestle and then back up the other side, sometimes zig-zagging across the street at various crosswalks.

 



Finally we ended up back at City Hall, where we stood chanting outside as the Mayor and other officials arrived for a City Council meeting.

Nothing happened at the Council meeting as the result of the rally, but rest assured, we will return again to fight for free speech, free music, free spange and the American Way!

Speaking of the American Way in past years I always voted my heart, no matter what my head told me the pragmatic choice should be. This year if I had done so I would have supported Ron Paul, the libertarian congressman from Texas because I believe he was more right on more issues than any other candidate. However, I didn't end up supporting him for two reasons:

1. He advocated a quick and virtually unconditional withdrawal from Iraq, a policy I believe would have had negative consequences.

2. I didn't think he had a prayer of winning.

Yet in the past I have often supported candidates at all levels who were without any hope of winning, and I have always disapproved of people who chose their candidate on the basis of only one issue. However, I was so alarmed by the prospect of a President Obama or a President Hillary that I backed Senator John McCain because he seemed the most electable.

That has proven to be a mistake on my part. I no longer believe that McCain can win, and I'm not sure I care very much if I'm proven wrong. His campaign has simply reinforced all his negatives and diminished all that I hoped would be positive about him.

I promise never again to make the mistake of forgetting that in the long run the most idealistic course of action is always the most practical. Better to go after what you want and not obtain it, than to support what you don't want and get it. Once upon a time I knew that, and I won't forget it again.

I was reminded of what I foolishly rejected when I heard Rep. Paul say this on TV today:

Former Republican presidential hopeful and Republican congressman Ron Paul says when it comes to the bailout; John McCain and Barack Obama are virtually interchangeable. And both are wrong.

Speaking on CNN this morning, Paul said both presidential candidates voted for what he said will long term be a disaster for the economy.

“In time we’re all going to suffer and pay for this," said Paul, R-Texas. “You’re asking the poor people to bail out the rich. Economically it’s a disaster. It’s like a drug addict taking a strong fix. It feels better for a day or two but believe me we’re going to kill the patient."

Remember Austin St. John, the guy that played the Red Ranger on the popular kid action show Power Rangers?



Rumors are rampant online that he's resurfaced in gay porn. Is this him?

Only his true fans know for sure.

 

Pumpkins appeared on the windowsills this morning above the Old Book Store in Hamp.

 

Bohemian Without Bohemians

The war against panhandlers.

 



I can't believe this plan I read about in the paper to curtail panhandling on the streets of downtown Northampton. I almost never give to panhandlers, but only because I can rarely afford to. Towards the end of the month I'm pretty much just a step above them - and not a very far step.

The proposed restrictions sound quite severe as reported in the article:

Among other restrictions, panhandling would be prohibited within 15 feet of a bank, ATM, parking pay box, pay phone, public toilet or bus stop. Panhandlers would not be allowed to solicit from any park bench, in any public park or under any railroad or street overpass.

Panhandlers would also be barred from passively standing or sitting while asking for money.

Gee, where is there a space not within 15 feet of the things that are on that list? Three square feet near the curb somewhere that if you stand on one foot and lean to the left with one arm outstretched you won't be in violation? But of course they forbid "passively standing or sitting" which leaves you to do what? Levitate?

Obviously the real purpose of this ordinance is to make panhandling impossible on the streets of Northampton, only no one has the honesty to just come out and say so. Part of the reason for that has to do with free speech. The courts have ruled that you have a right to say what you want in public, including the words, "Hey buddy, got a quarter?" Therefore they're trying to put up all these silly restrictions so that arrests can be blamed on the proximity to bus stops, parks, pay phones, etc. and not on a desire to restrict anyone's First Amendment rights.

Which is bullshit. And expensive bullshit too if you get caught, according to the proposed penalties.

Another proposal accompanying the panhandling ordinance would allow police to fine people $50 for a first offense, $100 for second offense, $200 for a third offense and $300 for a fourth or subsequent offense.

Boy, you'd have to bum a lot of quarters to pay those fines!

Who are these uptight people who are bothered by panhandlers? Why not just ignore them if you don't want to give them anything. Is your conscience bothering you or something? You know, the people who are asking for money are the same ones playing guitar and flute and other instruments, that hang around keeping the place lively and that add so much to the ambiance of downtown Hamp. It is what makes Hamp unique from other communities where you don't see that sort of thing. People hanging on the street is part of what makes the downtown special and vibrant and conducive to attracting the sort of creative people who like and require that kind of loose environment.

But some people want a bohemian atmosphere without having to put up with any bohemians.

They are the one's trying to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. If they succeed in creating the sterile environment they desire, then the panhandlers will be gone, but soon so will everyone else.

Over the weekend I was walking past the Hotel Northampton when I saw a wedding party heading inside the banquet room.

Not a single panhandler was bothering them. 

Late Saturday night I was walking past the UMass library and took this pic:



Arty, eh?