Ideology of a Pothole

Back in the early 1990's I attended some sort of public meeting devoted to changing the charter of Springfield in a number of ways, but primarily to allow for ward representation. Ward representation did indeed come to Springfield many years later, but not as the result of anything that happened at the dull affair I'm referring to. In fact, the only reason that I recall that meeting at all is because of an interesting exchange that took place between the then Mayor Robert T. Markel and a citizen (Fred Whitney?) who wanted a change in the charter to make the city's non-partisan elections reflect the political party the candidates belong to.

In response to that suggestion, Markel said that he felt it would be an unnecessary distraction to introduce party politics into municipal affairs, because he thought that there was no real philosophy of government behind most local issues. "There is no ideology to fixing potholes." Markel said.

I believe that the Mayor was wrong about that on several points. First, it is silly to say that because the city elections are officially non-partisan, that party affiliation doesn't matter. If you doubt that, ask anyone who ever tried to run for office or get a government job in Springfield who wasn't a part of Springfield's Democrat Party political machine.

But even in the specific context of what Markel referred to - the fixing of potholes in the streets - there are profound philosophical questions that must be answered before one can cast the first shovel of pitch into the hole. For example, whose responsibility is it to fix holes in the street? The public or the people who live on the street? Who should pay for it? Taxpayers in general or the people who drive on the road? Who should do the repair work? City workers or a private firm hired to fix it? There is even a moral dimension: Where does the city get the material to fix the pothole? From the lowest bidder or from a firm with political connections? Who will be hired to fix the pothole - the most qualified person or a politician's unemployable brother-in-law? All these questions and more, and how you answer them, are directly related to what political ideology you believe in.

So actually the reverse of what Markel suggested is true. Not only is there an ideological dimension to even the smallest matters of government, but the smaller the matter, the more clear the ideological issues are and therefore the more passionate the feelings of the electorate. It can be easy to get lost in the complexities of a big tax bill being debated in Washington D.C. but everybody knows what the issues are when a pothole is being repaired (or failing to be repaired) and the public reaction is likely to be much more robust.

Take for example the trash fee controversy in Springfield. It is hardly an issue of enormous importance in the range of Springfield's problems, but it has none the less been the subject of a long, bitter debate. The trash fee dates back to when Springfield was placed under a State Control Board. The Board's job was to sort out Springfield's finances after several decades of grossly incompetent management by a corrupt Democrat Party machine that had driven the city to the brink of bankruptcy. In trying to raise some desperately needed cash, the Control Board decided to temporarily charge an extra fee to residents to get their trash picked up.

The public was righteously pissed-off. For one thing, picking up the trash had always been just another public service included with the price of your property taxes. To suddenly treat it like a special service requiring a special fee felt to most citizens like an obvious rip-off. But more importantly, it was just plain wrong, after all the money that had been stolen by Springfield's political crooks, to then turn to the long-suffering taxpayers and demand that they cough up the cash to cover some of the resulting shortfall. Whatever Springfield's problems, none of them were in any way caused because the residents of Springfield were under-taxed. On the contrary, the struggling remnants of the city's business community were (and still are) the most highly taxed of any of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. To many observers, the trash fee seemed like a case of punishing the victims.

So is it any surprise that the public debate has been very heated over the years over the trash fee, in many ways more passionate and more personal than other, larger issues in Springfield?

 

Saulmon/Murray graphic

At UMass I noticed this fading fragment of a political sticker on a lamppost. I'll be damned if that isn't a leftover from the Vietnam War era! 

There's Waldo!

Unite? Behind what? 

Damon in Northampton. 

Sasquatch in Amherst 

Political Falls

The conventional wisdom on the street in that Northampton Mayor Clare Higgins is heading towards a fall in next months's election. In the meantime, the winner of last month's primary against Higgins, Michael Bardsley, has a big thank you sign on the front of his headquarters in Florence.

But the big news in local politics was yesterday's primary in Agawam where the scandal plagued Mayor Susan Dawson got bounced. Top vote getter Derek Benton will now face former Mayor Richard Cohen for the mayoralty in November. Cohen was a good mayor when he was in office, but he is a terrible campaigner whose dull speaking style makes even his supporters cringe. Benton on the other hand, a former aide to former State Senator Brian Lees, is Mr. Personality.

Mayor Dawson must in some ways be relieved to be forced out of the public spotlight, which was no doubt very uncomfortable for her over the past year because of a scandal involving another man's ex-wife. The hard part to bear is that she now has to accept the bitter truth that her enemies have succeeded in ruining her career.

Among the Dead

A cold rainy morning today along the woodland way leading to downtown Northampton.

A good day to poke around this little cemetery in the center of Florence.

There are lots of old graves dating back to the 1800's. 

This old monument is getting rather lopsided. 

Despite being reinforced by stones, this tower still looks like it will topple.



We yearn for worldly immortality, but eventually time is triumphant over us all. 

Today's Video

 



That's Lord Russ above in March playing the Northampton courthouse steps as Elvis. Here's a classic bit of video that has surfaced of him playing outdoors in Amherst way back in 1996. Did he have more fun as a blonde?

Happy Birthday Wavy Gravy

And Many More!

 



Psychedelic icon and former presidential candidate Wavy Gravy (above with Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy) turns 73 today. Not familiar with his political career?

It all began back in the 1960's when many people voted for Lyndon Baines Johnson over Barry Goldwater because they thought that Johnson was the peace candidate, only to discover later that, in Wavy's words, "LBJ teamed up with Bob McNamara to kill more people, more efficiently than anybody since Attila the Hun." In response, four years later Wavy Gravy countered the lack of good candidates by running a swine for president called Pigasus, "a Hampshire hog of great stature, and the first black and white female candidate."

In the next election cycle, Wavy Gravy decided to run a Rock n' Roll ticket, consisting of an actual stone for president and a jelly roll for vice-president. At campaign events they would pass out jelly rolls so that the audience could devour the vice-presidential candidate at each rally. The Rock n' Roll campaign came to an abrupt end however when Wavy Gravy (who used to be known as Hugh Romney, a friend and contemporary of Lenny Bruce, before he changed his name to Wavy Gravy after an LSD trip in which he experienced himself melting into an undulating pool of gravy) lost the rock he used as the presidential nominee by leaving the candidate behind in a taxi cab.

Totally frustrated by the political process, Wavy decided that Nobody should be President, declaring the office "an insult to the intelligence of a free people and a complete waste of money." At that point he decided to become Nobody's Fool and devote himself to campaign for abolishing the presidency by electing Nobody for President.

Indeed the more he thought about it, the more it became apparent that Nobody was really qualified for the presidency. After all, Nobody was president before George Washington, and of course Nobody can make apple pie better than Mom. In fact no matter what the issue was, it was obvious that Nobody has all the answers!

Who will keep their campaign promises?

Nobody!

Who will lower your taxes?

Nobody!

Who will bring peace in our time?

Nobody!

Who should be running your life?

Nobody!

Who should have that much power?

Nobody!

What can be done about apathy?

Nobody Cares!

And so ever since, in each presidential election year, Wavy Gravy works like Nobody's business to elect Nobody instead of somebody because Nobody is better than the candidates that are actually running.

In 2008 Wavy Gravy did not run Nobody for president. As you can see below, for once there was a mainstream candidate he could support.

There is an award winning documentary on Wavy Gravy you should make a point of seeing sometime. 

You can also buy some clown gear from Wavy Gravy for the next time you're in a funny mood. For example you could buy a clown nose. It looks really sharp with a tuxedo!

You might also want to buy some bubbles to blow at your next concert or protest rally.

How about this rainbow propeller beanie for the gay activist with a sense of humor?

Actually, hippies were using rainbow colors long before gay rights activists adopted it. Ken Babbs has written about how he sometimes gets mistaken for a gay activist when attired in full Prankster regalia.

You can get clown gear and other Wavy Gravy products by clicking here.

Among those other products is collage art that Wavy Gravy creates, such as this Beatnik Mount Rushmore with the presidents replaced by Corso, Cassady, Kerouac and Ginsberg.

Now that's a true Mount rush more!

For many years Republicans have been trying to get Ronald Reagan placed on Mount Rushmore. 

However Democrats have other ideas.

But Heavy Metal heads are holding out for Ozzy!

This Morning

How come I never noticed this weird sculpture beside the Hotel Northampton before?

Nearby is the courtyard leading to the courthouse. 

Few people enter those buildings with happiness. Generally, if you're hanging around courthouses it's because something in your life has gone wrong.

But such troubles are better than not being around at all, as these purple hoods all along the street reveal that someone has passed on.

 

Everyone's death is important to someone - at the very least to the person who died.

At UMass

Someone was doing equations on the wall of the Fine Arts Center.

As students complete each final exam, they rush to the campus center to exchange the books they never intend to open again.

Some of the money will be spent this weekend in downtown bars as Amherst braces itself for the last big party weekend of the semester.

 

Cleaning the House in Mass

Alison Lobron of CommonWealth Magazine has a great piece in the Boston Globe today about the corrupt one-party dictatorship we have in Massachusetts that has recently resulted in House Speaker Sal DiMasi (above with Dianne Wilkerson and Deval Patrick) joining his two predecessors in resigning from the state legislature in disgrace.

AFTER Massachusetts waved goodbye to its third consecutive ethically challenged speaker of the House last week, the spotlight is now on his successor. Will Robert DeLeo be next in line? Is there something in the water at the State House - say, a parasite that infects speakers with a bad mix of myopia and arrogance?

But even as we shake our heads at the repetitive nature of political scandals, we tend to see the Legislature the way we see winter weather: It's awful, isn't it, but what can you do?

A look beyond our own borders suggests there's a great deal we could do differently. Massachusetts voters are the most disenfranchised in the country - not because we can't vote, but because most of the time we don't have a choice in whom to vote for.

Last year, just 17 percent of House races here were contested, the lowest rate in the nation. Part of the problem is the lack of a two-party system: As Republicans have failed to win races here, they have also failed to field candidates. But there's not much competition among Democrats either. Just about 10 percent of Democratic incumbents in the Legislature faced a primary opponent in 2008 - meaning a lot of voters heard no airing of issues, no conversation, no "here's why I deserve this job."


Stoner

Nationally known artist (and Amherst resident) John Sendelbach is in Atlanta, Georgia these days doing some of his classic stonework. This is a picture he sent me of one of the kids in the house he's staying in. He ought to charge the parents a fee for it, no professional portrait artist could have gotten better results:

Sendelbach is best known locally for the majestic yet whimsical stone work he did at the Minuteman statue at UMass.

 

The Need for Speed

This truck filled with Monster energy drinks was at UMass today giving away free samples.

 



I could only drink half of mine. Maybe it's my age, but I don't like high doses of stimulants anymore. That wasn't always true. In the 70's and 80's there used to be little white pills called mini-whites available on the black market here in the Valley. There were also black capsules we used to call Black Beauties. They were amphetamines and they served as mood elevators that enabled you to stay up all night. The best of both worlds really, unlimited energy while in a good mood! Great for studying, and it was magical what you could do sexually on them. However if you took them regularly you would burn out and damage your health. I had some friends who did that, but somehow I escaped that fate myself. Now I just drink coffee, and if I have the choice, I'll sometimes take tea. 

Edible Books

The Friends of Forbes and Lilly Libraries will once again be having their edible book contest fundraiser! It's a contest where local cooks compete to see who can come up with the most creative recipes that also serve as a symbolic representation of a popular book. Take a gander at some of last year's entries.

Representing Richard Llewellyn's 1939 novel How Green Was My Valley is this veggy cake, hopefully made with Hadley grown broccoli. 

For J.D. Salinger's over-rated Catcher in the Rye is this dish featuring - what else? - a baseball catcher figurine standing on a loaf of rye bread! 

A red-splattered casserole captures this Truman Capote classic.

 



Perhaps somebody will come up with something to serve relating to Ken Kesey, like maybe a batch of real electric Kool-Ade for Tom Wolfe's biography of Kesey The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Now that would result in a very special event! This year's contest will be held on Sunday April 5, 2009 2-4 pm at the Forbes Library in Northampton.