Left In Lowell

An astute reader caught Channel 7 quoting tomorrow’s Herald that Mayor Menino will be appointing Ed Davis as the new Boston Police Commissioner.

Obviously we wish him well in his new job; so where does this leave Lowell? Is the appointment of a new police chief left to the City Manager? (Honestly asking, I never thought to figure this out since I didn’t know this was coming.)

If so, frankly, I’m glad it happened on Lynch’s watch.

[Update: the Herald article in question.]

Though I’ll never expect WCAP to come into the internet age, WUML has, with the addition of archived podcasts of its radio show, Sunrise. There are downloadable podcasts of their radio essays and other features for your listening pleasure.

Of course, you can always stream WUML live whenever you like!

Tim Little in the comments of BMG pointed out this gem op-ed by Sam Harris at Boston.com, titled “Bad reasons to be good.” Of course, it will thoroughly offend some of you, but read on if you think you can take it (bold mine):

It is, of course, taboo to criticize a person’s religious beliefs. The problem, however, is that much of what people believe in the name of religion is intrinsically divisive, unreasonable, and incompatible with genuine morality. The truth is that the only rational basis for morality is a concern for the happiness and suffering of other conscious beings. This emphasis on the happiness and suffering of others explains why we don’t have moral obligations toward rocks. It also explains why (generally speaking) people deserve greater moral concern than animals, and why certain animals concern us more than others. If we show more sensitivity to the experience of chimpanzees than to the experience of crickets, we do so because there is a relationship between the size and complexity of a creature’s brain and its experience of the world.

Unfortunately, religion tends to separate questions of morality from the living reality of human and animal suffering. Consequently, religious people often devote immense energy to so-called “moral” questions — such as gay marriage — where no real suffering is at issue, and they will inflict terrible suffering in the service of their religious beliefs.
…
But the worst problem with religious morality is that it often causes good people to act immorally, even while they attempt to alleviate the suffering of others. In Africa, for instance, certain Christians preach against condom use in villages where AIDS is epidemic, and where the only information about condoms comes from the ministry.

The fact is, I frequently find myself acting more compassionate than some of my Christian counterparts. But I don’t gain my compassion from some flawed external source. I get it from a common ground of - as Harris puts it - the reality of human and animal suffering.

A true modern Christian would be anti-war, against the death penalty, and for large social programs, governmental or otherwise, to help the poor. Abortion is a weird one, as it’s not something that was really mentioned in the Bible, insofar as the concept didn’t exist as it does today. And yet Christians everywhere have apparently determined God’s feelings on that one as well, no matter what science says. And for centuries, adherents of the so-called compassionate monotheistic religions are responsible for much of the suffering through the centuries, whether that be leading men into brutal war against another religious group or persecuting homosexuals, women, or Jews.

I do understand that some people prefer a rigid set of rules and a structure to live by, and that they find this in religion. It is comforting for some people to have that external framework from which to relate to the world. This hierarchical authoritarian trait is exibited in a significant set of the human race, and not just the blind “far right” worshippers of George W. Bush. But knowledge is power…comprehending the basis for your own behavior is strangely freeing, and it doesn’t require you to reject your mindset; only expand and examine it, to reject it when it’s commonly destructive and embrace its strength when it’s productive.

Fact is, unless your brain is seriously malformed, humans of all personalities already have the tools within themselves to determine the scope of fairness in our laws, foreign and domestic priorities, and interpersonal relationships. We share ourselves through story and art and simple conversation; we know how to hurt feelings and we know how to heal wounds. We are an advanced society that has the capability to discuss morals on terms larger than any one religion, and to have certain universal concepts to guide our hand. Religion has long claimed to be the only realm of morality, but a deeper look shows that it has more often been wielded as a weapon against a person’s inner natural morality, which is to alleviate or prevent suffering in our fellow humans.

I am a moral creature, I know when I’ve committed right and I know when I’ve done something wrong. I don’t need books assumed to be inspired by any god or gods to tell me what my heart already knows.

Downtown fiber-arts retail and workshop business Friends, Fabric, Art is moving soon to Western Avenue Studios on November 1. They join the several fiber artists already working from Western Ave, which is fitting…Lowell’s history as a textile manufacturing center, continued in a new form in this transformed mill building. I’d like to take the moment to welcome them to their new studio space (floor three, unit 304)!

Friends, Fabric, Art have run great workshops for groups or individuals on creating wearable art for quite some time, and they bring this exciting public participation to WAS. I’m excited and can’t wait to check out their new space!

Murray delivers a great, succinct message to the central Mass peeps with this ad. (And yes, I saw it on Blue Mass Group first.)

Sometimes you gotta wonder if Healey’s any better at politics then self-wound-inflicting Tom Reilly…she just can’t seem to understand how much of a gaffe she’s making in insisting that only she and Patrick be part of the next debate (or at least, a debate sometime somewhere).

The fact is, this is such an easy challenge for Patrick to brush aside, no matter how shrill Healey whines, that it’s become silly. It’s both much more democratic, and also in Patrick’s favor, to have both Mihos and Ross at the rest of the debates. It’s true that it would be “disrespectful” as Patrick says to exclude them. Not only that, I’ve enjoyed having them there, and not just because they’re all fond of piling on Kerry Healey due to the fact all three of them have cause to be against her (Patrick and Ross because the Romney/Healey admin has been terrible for the working poor and middle class, and all three because of R/H’s record of incompetence). I really do think they’ve brought perspectives and issues into the debate that wouldn’t otherwise be there. I’ll admit, Mihos entertains me…but even he brings up a good point now and then. And Ross is an intelligent, articulate, passionate advocate for issues I care about.

For Patrick, to have both the truth and democracy on your side as well as political advantage means that Healey should be dropping this issue now before it makes her look like an anti-democratic, whiny, petulant teenager. Oops, probably too late.

[Link via Mass Marrier.]

If Healey is not going to condemn her supporters and tell them to knock off the dress-up-as-inmates crap they’ve been pulling since the last debate, then she is responsible for their behavior. So far, we’ve got nothing but “crickets” from her campaign, who says they have no control over their supporters.

(And what if Patrick supporters pulled this crap? You can bet Healey’d be on the horn screaming and yelling for Deval to denounce the tactic.)

Also, Healey’s doubling her ad buy on her really racist (yes, racist) ad with the black man stalking a poor white woman in a garage. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in Healey. I hoped to have better from her. Everyone expected her to fall back on typical Republican tactics - tax-and-spend attacks and the like. But she has run her campaign ever lower into the gutter, and it has been called the nastiest of the cycle. All this, and she refuses to say that Romney is wrong for using our state as the butt of his conservative jokes. Her campaign is over - Christy Mihos is right, Healey does not love Massachusetts.

I have final word on an exciting new event the Sunday before the election, November 5, from 2-3pm. The campaign will be hosting a Lowell Regional Community Meeting with Deval Patrick and Tim Murray at the Lowell High gym. This is a perfect opportunity to show your support and bring along your undecided friends and neighbors! For more info, please contact the Greater Lowell Regional Field Office (978.367.0280).

There will be an organizational meeting this Tuesday, Oct 24, 7:30pm at the regional office at 1 Central Square, Chelmsford to plan the event. Please join us!

Funniest. Sketch. Ever.

“And the Cave Troll…I guess that’s Ted Kennedy.” This is Geek Humor at it’s finest. [Via dKos.]

No word on how much except for Barney Frank (giving $253K or over 30% of cash on hand), but Chris Bowers reports that the entire Democratic MA Congressional delegation, most of whom do not have a challenger this cycle, are reportedly going to pitch in from their war chests to help us fight for a Democratic majority in races across the country. This, I would assume, includes our own US Rep Marty Meehan, who has the largest account of the group (or if I remember correctly, of any US Rep in the House).

In a Congressional race, $10,000 can make the hugest difference. This will help us earn a Democratic majority in Congress.

Now, if we can get specifics from Rep. Meehan’s office on his contribution, we’ll post it! Bowers is calling for 30% of each of these candidate’s extensive war chests.