Left In Lowell

We are not all created equal. So, when we argue in the public square, we should take care. It’s hard to promote small, efficient government without suggesting that government, itself, isn’t a bad thing. It isn’t. We are government! The folks in City Hall are our friends and loved ones. If they aren’t your’s, they are someone’s.

LOWELL — A 52-year-old Lowell woman is banned from Lowell City Manager Bernie Lynch’s office after she was accused of threatening to “shoot dead'’ a secretary in Lynch’s office.

I can’t in good conscience ask the “Bernie Bashers”, “Boo Birds” and other detractors of local, state, and federal government to STFU. Our Constitution compels us to guard against tyranny, large and small. (I hardly think despots reside in City Hall, btw) But, I can ask we keep things in context. Should you find yourself losing the arguement, especially in the outcomes of elections, please don’t ratchet up the rhetoric to the point where the weaker minds will start to put down pen and pickets; substituting a pistol in their place.

Some folks are broken. Hold their hands and talk them down. Otherwise, we risk the worst of outcomes.

As we head into the budget season, we are going to see more clearly what the tact and demeanor of our Councilors are. Simply, are they serious about governing? Or, are they focused on political brinksmanship?

Item #5 (6:27 - 52:51) Please spend the time watching this. I have my own thoughts, but would like to hear yours. We have a city to tend to. We do? Don’t we?

Feel free to comment on anything that you find noteworthy. This is an Open Thread.
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Do you, like me, find yourself muddled in prickly details, thinking sluggishly in gray matters?

I am fortunate to have a circle of musical friends that held me escape the doldrums of political quibbling. By association; wild, weird & wonderful apparitions come before me. Let me bring one to you:

Reggie Watts, the final performer on the PopTech 2011 stage, sends the audience off in style with his characteristic blend of wry improvisational humor and unpredictable musical riffs. Using only his microphone and a looping machine, Watts creates a brilliant pastiche of the conference and brings the conference attendees to their feet to dance.

In this clip, Reggie Watts flows in and out of spitting beats and lyrical vocal riffs, which are iconic to R&B and Blues music; while postulating with a keen eye on the absurd. His use of SAT vocab words affords him the luxury of being profound and nonsensical, concurrently.

Take a listen. At any given moment, he is saying nothing and everything. For older folks, the best analogy I can conjure is Norm Crosby.

Please riff on this Open Thread.

…coming out of a nail appointment onto a major street you encounter traffic being halted by three men in the middle of the road, and one is face down on the pavement. As the other men lift him up, you realize the man is cuffed and the other two are police. Then, one after another, about five-six cruisers come out of a side street, their work finished in this particular instance.

Wonder who they caught? Looked like quite a man hunt. Anyone who cares to find out from the city police logs, this one was on Chelmsford St and Doane (I think it was Doane).

Exciting city living! (This is not, mind you, a post about how dangerous Lowell is. It’s a city. To some extent, this is to be expected. It’s just weird seeing the end result happen right in front of you.)

This is your new open thread.

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I’m sure you have heard by now. (The Sun in its infinite incompetence likes to move their links around and let the previous one die. Link edited - Lynne)

Let’s all take a deep breath and consider our next steps carefully. The City has acted:

The challenge we face, as a community, is that events have been escalating and rhetoric is as heated, as the finger pointing. We have to be better going forward.

Starting with the residents of Lowell, we need to carefully craft a sustainable solution that all the stakeholders can find acceptable. No one “party” will get all that they desire, as we have several competing interests. It is upon our civic leaders to lead by example and gingerly walk this process to a fair outcome. So, as the Zen Master says, “Empty your cup.”

Please bring something to the table on this Open Thread

Even anonymous sockpuppets can troll this Open Thread.

For now….

This diary is a special shout out to Councilor Ed Kennedy. Sir, I’m wary of you and what, I think, you mean to municipal governance. You are an ol’ skool Democrat. The kind I’m not enamored with. But, thanks for your leadership, last night. I think you successfully “split the baby,” in such a way, that any reasonable person could accept. You provided a means for the Council to provide a type of oversight that fits squarely within the bounds of Plan E. Your motion allows ‘due diligence,’ while concurrently protecting privacy.

What I’m hoping is the intended consequence of your sitting in the front seat, last night, is that your peers see the significance of conducting themselves in a manner that is in keeping with proper decorum and comity. Your amendment asserted that the Council Chamber is not a Colosseum. That Councilors are not combatants. That the Court of Public opinion stops at the rail that lies between “We the People” and our duly elected officials and their appointees.

For those not in attendance, last night; it should be noted that Tim Green & Mickey O’Keefe, shook hands and walked out together. They are Union brothers and know solidarity is paramount. Our Councilors, and those surrounding them, would do well to heed their living example.

I’m hoping we have pressed, “Reset.”

Let’s resume making Lowell a better Lowell than the way we found it, on this Open Thread.

“Lowell Resident” has picked up the gauntlet.

“DON”T READ! or Write your own BLOG ! This one is mine and my opinion and I force no one to read or agree.” -Gerry Nutter, January 20, 2012

Well I finally went ahead and did it. After years of reading and commenting on Lowell area blogs, I have started one of my own* But to call this a real blog would be a disservice to the industry. I don’t intend to post all that often and certainly won’t be in the same league as leftinlowell or gerrynutter when it comes to my sources. I am, just an ordinary Lowell Resident, and my opinions are mine and mine alone. I have been called a coward by a 50-year-old man who acts like he’s in high school (and spells like he’s in 2nd grade) because I choose to let my observations and opinions stand for themselves by using a pseudonym. That gentleman said that if I don’t like his opinion I shouldn’t read and should start my own blog. So I’m taking him up on his challenge. …

I’m all for more bloggers. Also, if Gerry does fulfill a weekends only approach, we could use a hand keeping up with city events. “Lowell Resident” is quick to pick up the trail. The second diary is titled, The Character Assassination of Vesna Nuon.

I’m looking forward to more from “Lowell Resident.”

Please follow the links above and use your spell check on this Open Thread.

We’ve heard about this exchange between the City Manager and the Editor of the Blog of Record.

As Campi says, “Let the People decide.”

From WCAP’s website:

1/7/2012 City Manager Bernie Lynch Confronted by Sun Editor Jim Campanini
Lowell City Manager Bernie Lynch was a guest on Saturday Morning Live with Warren Shaw this week. They were discussing the Lowell Sun’s coverage of the Lowell Housing Authority permitting scandal when Sun Editor Jim Campanini called in to challenge the City Manager on his statements.

(h/t to Teddy Panos, Warren Shaw & Shawn Ashe)

Please confront this Open Thread.

Quick Update: A couple of clips from today’s proceedings. First, a clip (16:58) of the election of Patrick O. Murphy as Lowell’s Mayor, Murphy’s swearing in, the vote of unity by C.Elliott and the Mayor’s remarks.

There is a nice telling of the events over at richardhowe.com.

Next, a short clip (1:14) of the swearing in of the new School Committee.

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