" THEM vs US "- or - "THE HATEFUL vs THE COY"

This morning I did my usual routine of rising between 2am or 3am or there abouts, let the dog out for her wizz-poop, (not to be confused with whizz-poop) put on the coffee, suck in my medication that allowes me to function somewhat all day, then settled down at the puter to check on the state of the world. (I gotta get a life?) Then after checking the news, which is usually all bad, I turn to browsing the Blogs.
What seems to have been a recurring theme and discussed a lot on many of the blogs is that the Arts Community or those that associate themselves with them and the non Arts Community, or us longtime locals, as apposed to the new comers, taking sides against each other. Seems the newbies having come from more progressive and liberal communities want to model their new found home after the one they just left. Forgetting that the progressiveness and liberalism was probably the reason they left in the first place! Now us locals somewhat resent being told that we are undereducated, dumb, anti-art, regressive in our thinking, and our school system sucks......we already know this! But what pisses us off most of all is the newbies want to cram their life style down our throats. Not liking or seeing any meaning in a bunch of crushed up garbage sitting on a stick seems to put us in the Neanderthal Man category in their eyes.
Now having said all that what is now understood by the Art Community is that the Arts are not the Save All that it was touted to be in the beginning. (we are not going to say "We Told You So" ) They now realize that you need a diverse community with each endeavor complimenting the other. The radical, something for everyone idea.
North Adams may not be Shangrala but it is, even with all its faults, a great place to live!

" JUST WONDERING? "

A Question to those that may know...Why aren't there any E-Mail addresses for City Departments listed on the Town Web Page? Telephone numbers are listed.....20th century communication device.....but as far as being interactive.....21st century communication device, the Web Page is sorely lacking. It was my understanding that the NEW WEB PAGE was going to be more interactive and allow the citizens greater access to City Hall? Granted there are a few things that you can do over the net but on the whole the web page reads more like a Telephone Directory (The Yellow Book) than a web page. There are no City documents available other than permits for this that and the other, and no way to contact a Department with a question over the net. The telephone only allows access during working hours and if there is someone available. I bring this up because in an earlier Blog we discussed electric generation and I was curious as to how much the City paid for electricity. I went to the City Web Page thinking that that sort of information would be available, The City does publish a yearly report, journal, whatever, listing all sorts of information from salaries to status of city vehicles. Why isn't that available on the net? The City Web Page should, as well as being a Travel Guide for the Chamber of Commerce and Telephone Directory, it should also be a portal to information for it's citizens. How much do we pay for Electricity anyway?

" WHAT's NEW PUSSYCAT "

After reading in today's Eagle http://www.berkshireeagle.com/editorials/ci_5423321 their editorial on the "BLUEPRINT FOR THE BERKSHIRES" I am almost inspired to give the Mayor an a-a-a-a-a-pology. Seems that this very expensive, highly touted cure all, is nothing more than a rehash of common knowledge, things everyone on the street already knew. They produced no answers other than to tell us that the things that are really needed to revitalize the area are to expensive, to elusive, or beyond the scope of reality, (the Bypass) Good job guys!.. So why do we keep paying these ripoff artist to study what doesn't need studying? They wrap it up in a pretty package with a ribbon, give it a technical sounding name, pat themselves on the back, then take the money and run! Hell, they don't even spend the profit here in the Berkshires. Screw all those studies. They are useless and don't solve squat, just waste time and money. What is needed is less Studying and more Doing!

" GOOD OLD NORTH ADAMS "

I had to laugh the other evening when I was reading the Transcript article about how John III got all bent out of shape because the "lets develop the area, gang" didn't show up at City Hall with an oak leaf cluster head ban and a marching band paying tribute to our own "decider". Seems if they don't check in with him first and get his stamp of approval then it is a no starter and can't possibly succeed, ergo the Town will not have anything to do with it, much less he give a speech and share his experiences to help out. All that being said"

What everyone else seems to understand is that this is "NORTH ADAMS! No matter how you flower it up, paint, sell $300,000 condos (I gotta get me one of those before the rush starts), advertise, try to make us look like Williamstown, or South County or some other ritzy neighborhood, the fact remains....we are who we are and we just don't fit in and never will. We should feel lucky that they were willing to include us at all,..... I guess we don't have to worry about that anymore!

" FREE POWER ,kinda"

Well ...Good Morning Populace of The World. First the good news.....my (S) key is working again, I know that just makes your day. On to the real important issue of the day. ENERGY!
Let us start our journey with our Federal Governments Energy Policy....... hold on just a minute,... I'm still looking for it?... Seems I am unable to find it... It must be in some committee waiting for further clearafacation?........No!....I found it..........It is in the Vice Presidents Pocket...He won't let us see it though because of "Natural Security Concerns" and the "War On Terror" thing, and after all how can he do his job if everyone knows everything!.....Hmmm, I'm going to have to think on that one.
OK, on to the State of Confusion, I mean Massachusetts. Seems their policy changes with the wind,... (I put that in for the professor, :~) ) Anyway at the present time they seem to want to turbineize the State with windmills, but not where any self-important persons, like Senators, can see them. It is not a good thing to ruin the beauty of the view, you know? (White man speak with forked tong)(White man has two faces) etc....
Locally how can we lower our energy costs? Notice I didn't say energy needs! We live in an energy demanding and consuming world so for (Them, the energy producing and supplying corporations) telling me to conserve as a way to energy independence, is kind of an oxymoron of sorts. Again I would like to ask why we can't put our water power back into service? Instead of tearing down the dams, why can't we fix um up and power up the hydro generators? I don't think that there was even a feasibility study done to see if it would be cost effective. You don't need an outside expensive private enterprise to do the preliminary work. Hell... send out the City Engineer and have him make few measurements and make some calculations. He is after all on the City payroll and he is an Engineer! Dam...even if we just power up the municipal needs it would be a big savings for the City. What do you think? Wind power or water power?

" TIME WARNER UPLOAD SPEED "

Does anyone have any update as to what is the current situation with the high speed "Road Runner" upload speed? Is Time Warner going to rebate us for a broken contract or just drop our rate? I lost over 200 KB/s upload speed and that is a lot, we are not getting the same as with our Adelphia contract, which seems to me to be illegal. Any one ?

" THE STINK POLICE? "

Now isn't that just so silly? Instead of welcoming a new business and being thankful that they decided to settle here and add to the economy of the town, the mayor has to do his "Gorilla Chest Beating Act" and start to threaten the people with his " STINK POLICE ", even before they open their door. Good God, this town has more stinky places than you could wave a stinkometer at. And who decides what is "stinky" and what ain't? One man's stink may be another man's rose! Is their such a thing as an odorometer with preset graduations, so we know for sure what smells and what doesn't? It wouldn't be very fair to just depend on one individuals nose, what if he has a cold? Who would calibrate his nostrils? Do restaurants and dinners have to block off their exhaust fans now or get a certificate of "stinky smell Compliance" from the city hall? How about the dump? With the High School being so close and down wind, the dump is surely not within the limits of the odorous compliance rule? What do you think?
Anyway, the rest of us would like to welcome you and wish you success in your endeavor.

" TAX TIME "

I'm all a dither this morning. There is so much stuff out there this morning to blog about. But unfortunately it is all a bunch of crap laced with bull shit PR, and most of it is frosted over - same old, same old - hog snot lies and purposely directed propaganda, all packaged up nice and pretty for our daily brain fix, to go along with our morning injection of caffeine! So.... after long and comprehensive deliberation with my undisclosed (for reasons of national security and self preservation--mine) informants, I decided to pick out the biggest lie of them all ---" TAXES "
We bantered about this topic last year but we didn't seem to have made much of an impression on any one because things have seem to have gotten worse, not better. Is it just my imagination or have the forms become even more complex and vague and dependent on even more complex forms, for their completion? In one such instance...." If you give the IRS $300 something dollars....they will fill out the form for you" Holy shit, what gives there? I find it very disturbing that it is getting to the point where you have to be a tax lawyer to be able to fill out your tax forms.
Who dreams up these forms? Aren't they all based on some percent of some number for the outcome? Why all the mumbo jumbo? I guess my question for discussion today is " Why are they so complicated and confusing? " Isn't simple better? You make $100, you pay a given percent? Everyone pays the same percent of their income, starting just above the poverty line. We are talking gainful income here, not welfare or ssi or income to the disabled. That would be dumb and counter productive. IT's YOUR DIME!

" CASINO NORTH ADAMS "

It's a Casino stupid! Want to cure our monetary problems...build a Casino in North Adams Stupid! Most people wouldn't cross the street to look at a broken bolder on a string, but they will travel multi miles to lay down a bet! Oh the evils of gambling...hog snot, everyone gambles in North Adams and to pretend that we are some sort of puritonian upholders of the high and mighty righteous right is bull shit. It's in our nature so why not make some money from it? Maybe it is asking a lot that our people in charge have a little common since and foresight. I fail to see Dan Bosleys steadfast resistance to Casinos, when it is obvious that our neighboring states are sucking away dollars, lots of dollars, that should be staying in the state, and North Adams. Seems that he is putting his personal feelings before the interests of the majority of the people. Get with the program and stop thinking small and start thinking like a visionary. Maybe the city council could set up an independent study group and get some truthful unbiased numbers and input. That would certainly be a refreshing blast of spring air for North Adams. It's a Casino Stupid!

"JOB WELL DONE"

I would like to give a "JOB WELL DONE" to the Mayor and all the personal that are responsible for the snow removal in the City (town). It is not an easy task to keep our roads and side streets open in the face of such a storm that we had. Long hours and a true since of dedication to their job makes for a part of our city services that we seldom stop to appreciate, but is such a needed service. Again "JOB WELL DONE" to John Barrett and the city crews, and Thank You!

"SAME-OLD-SAME-OLD"

I was very disappointed at the City council. I really thought that they had gotten over "BOBBLIAGE" and had become a body willing to "ASK QUESTIONS" of John Barrett when ever he brought something before them, and try and get some honest truthfully factual answers from him before deciding anything.... And to meet when the only descending voice was out of town......Slick!

But back to the issue. Even if we sell one of the properties we still have to maintain the other two. Heating them and a certain amount of maintenance must be done. All costly to the City (town). Remember John Barrett said, "We were not going to make any profit on this! " Something really stinks here. Sounds fiscally irresponsible to me. How about the other buildings John Barrett bought, that were going to be developed by unknown developers, they seem to have vanished into thin air!? We still have yet to see anyone doing anything yet!

Are we going to preserve the school records that are stored in the basement of the school? My father and his siblings went to the French School as did many of your family with French heritage. Shouldn't they be preserved at the library, for they are as much part of the heritage of the town as the steeples, even more so!

Ask the Questions....it's is your duty to this City... not John Barrett!

" NORTH ADAMS REAL ESTATE AGENCY "

"The North Adams Real Estate Agency, John Barrett lll your friendly sales agent! Gimmy a break! I just have a couple of questions to ask that seem to shout out at me on the issue:
1. If there is an interested party (who min"t that be?) why are we acting as an agent for the French church?
2. Did Mr. Alcombright excuse himself from the voting? A conflict of interest surely exists by his being on the finance committee for the catholic parishes?
3. As the planning board has the ultimate decision and they do what John Barrett says, then the City (town) has complete control over anything that is done with the property already, without having to purchase it, as has been shown with past City (town ) involvement in projects.
4. Are we also going to buy the other City (town) Churches when they come up for sale? The same arguments can be made for them also. They are all part of the heritage of the Town and are no less important than the French Church.

Personally, I think there is more going on here than John Barrett is willing to tell! Come on John, what's the real story?

The Huffington Post

The Huffington Post: "Not Only the Worst President, but the Worst Possible President
01.15.2007 Jane Smiley
Bush is the worst possible president because he is simultaneously unusually ignorant for a president and unusually shallow, as well as desperate for a success he can call his own.
READ POST comments (235) "

" EXTRA EXTRA "

Good Morning People........... I have some very scary news to report. My sources in the State House, who for reasons of National Security must remain anonymous, have reported that Massachusetts is running out of "alphabetical Letters" It is not the time to panic the young school children just yet but my sources have told me that some drastic changes are about to take effect! They have told me that there is going to be a law passed that prohibits the use of Silent Letters! I happen to agree with this, being the first thing coming out of the State House that makes sense and has any real meaning. My sources told me that they can stockpile enough silent letters to forfill the writing needs of Massachusetts People through 2012. ( the world is going to end on that date so who cares after that anyway. ) Letters will only be allowed to be used if they can be announced within a word. This is not a secret subversive war on any ethnic population living here.....Although it is strange that some languages need silent letters...why are they used if not for some hidden purpose. My sources told me that there may be some retraining camps set up to re-educate those that persist in using silent letters in their writings and especially in their names! We must understand that this is a WAR ON TERROR we are in and we all must do our part.

" I'M CONFUSED? "

They impeach this guy for getting a blow job.











They do nothing to this guy
for murder!

" SAME BULLSHIT.....DIFFERENT DAY! "

Desperate men do desperate deeds! And this is one desperate man. His whole life has been one failure after another, one calamity followed by another. What makes this latest folly any different? The man is a walking disaster that has dragged a whole country with him into a world wide boondoggle. But the most freighting part of the latest "new direction" is that it has nothing to do with the War on Terror or establishing Democracy in Iraq.......it all has to do with His LEGACY! He is petrified how negatively history will judge his reign, and he knows that this war is just another failure..........but this time there is no one to pull his ass outta the fire!
I don't think that throwing away the lives of our youth at the legacy alter of George Bush, so King George can look good in the history books, is the price we are willing to pay! It's time for the IRAQI to take over and manage their own affairs. We have given them everything they need to succeed, even the blood of our youth,.......... it's time we came home!

" THE SKY IS FALLIN !, THE SKY IS FALLIN ! "

I have been reluctant to post anything on my Blog lately, mostly because I haven't found anything worth posting. It is a new year but the same old shit. Our insane King George is doing just what he wants to do, full steam ahead and the peoples wishes be damn! The man is really truly insane and should be committed......
Then we have the 400 Billion dollars spent in Iraq. How come we didn't have any money for domestic programs or for programs to get us off dependence on foreign oil, or for medical research to cure the nations ills, or for a national health program so everyone can have access to quality health care, as the politicians do, or a plethora of other programs that would have been for the good of the people? They told us their just wasn't any money and we would have to privatized all our domestic programs so they could continuous to give us the high degree of service we were accustomed to from our Federal Government. Hmmmmm, where did all this extra money come from?......
I am really tired and sick of the same old shit and hot air from our over worked and under paid politicians that sit on their fat asses and decry the ills of the people but do nothing to solve the problems unless their is something in it for them on the personal level, money - power - or glory ! Ya that's right, they are all whores for sale to the highest bidder! It is all about the personal money, power and the glory isn't it? The people be damned!.........
On a scarier note, and something for our History buffs out there to contemplate, what do you think would have been the out come of WWII if we had to fight it today? Lets see.....through a series of government initiatives fueled by the greedy and paid for by the working class, we have outsourcing our industrial base to foreign governments. Our steel mills are gone, we assemble cars now not build them, our stores are filled with items made in China not America, and our mills have all been turned into condos or lofts for the arts community. Hell.....if this situation had existed in 1940 we would all be speaking German and Jap. God forbid we have to gear up for another world war!
Then there is the morality of the Nation.....or should I say lack there of. We condone perversion, (queer rights) and immoral attitudes, hell... we go as far as to raise immorality to the lofty standards of our Constitution. I guess I was absent from class when they talked about allowing the same rights to perverts and criminals (it is or at least I thought it was against the law to butt fuck another person of the same sex) as are allowed to normal family oriented Christian thinking folk. Not to take a second place to perversion is Greed. The stampede to get all you can get as fast as you can get it, all bets are off. The new National God.....the dollar bill!
Along the same lines is gone from our Nation the moral pride, we use to hold in such high regards, in helping each other . We have become a Nation of .....Me - Me - Me... A self centered greedy inward thinking morons who's life ambition is to die with the greatest number of toys...... Way to go School System!
Should I, could I go on? No, Yes! I think you people all get the message. Remember "the stink starts at the head" we can thank our politicians, Local - State - Federal, for leading the way and showing us the light. Without their guidance who knows where we would find ourselves today? Hell.....We may have turned into a Nation the rest of the world would want to emulate.....GOD Forbid!!!

CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS Everyone and a Healthy NEW YEAR

" GRANTS "

Good Morning People!..........Do we, meaning the City (town) of North Adams have in their employ a person that does Grant research on a full time basis or do we just wing it, when we hear of something we go for it? A few links I came across that will be interesting reading for us non politico types that don't normally hear of these things or even know that they exist.
http://www.mass.gov/Aosc/docs/policies_procedures/contracts/po_procon_state_grants_fed_sub.pdf

http://www.mass.gov/portal/index.jsp?pageID=mg2searchlanding&sid=massgov2&query=grants

Just something to get the juices running for those interested in WI-FI and where it would fit into the Comunity Development Program in the City (town). There seems to be a lot out there in grant monies just for the asking!.......... So why arn't we asking?..... It's Your Dime!

" MUNI-WI-FI "

Good Morning People! ..... I have been doing a little surfing and looking at WI-FI. WOW.....I wasn't aware that just being able to connect to the internet was such a big deal. Like everything today it has come down to the greedy corporations facing off against the wishes of the people. We are talking, MUNI-WI-FI. Seems that, as usual, some of our public servants have been bought off by greedy corporations and have gone so far as to submitting legislation of behalf of corporations making it a crime to install a MUNI-WI-FI system in some places. Check out this link..... http://www.freepress.net/communityinternet/networks.php
Ok my opinion....MUNI-WI-FI is a good thing! I know just the mention of this makes some politicos break out in a sweat and their heart start palputating like crazy. The 21st century is not kind to regressive politicians that vote their pocket book rather than their duty to the people. MUNI-WI-FI is a reality who's time has come. Like other city services, water - sewerage (?) - trash pick up (?) - a dump (?) - schools - etc... MUNI-WI-FI is a staple of the 21st century. We are not talking of putting some local small internet provider out of business because they don't provide high speed access, we are talking having to compete with corporate giants that don't want the competition because that would mean lower profits for themselves and having to provide a better service. Heaven forbid! ...Checked your UP Load speed lately?
what we are going through now is liken to when OLD Ma BELL was the only telephone Company in town. Hell... if they had had their way we would still have to go through Geraldine to get our call through. (One Ringie Dingy - snuck,snuck,snuck ) OK, IT's YOUR DIME...VOTE