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Saturday, November 13, 2004
Media Watch: The Medford Transcript - November 11, 2004
The Medford Transcript ran a round up of the three state representative races this week. They published an article
for each. I just can't figure out why they put the Paul Donato/John Carey story on the front page, and the Sciortino/Ciampa
story on page 10. The races for the 23rd (James Marzilli, 74% of the votes) and 35th districts (Paul Donato, 66% of
the votes) were never really in doubt. The article on the Sciortino/Ciampa race starts by talking about a, "campaign
that will go down in history as one of the most dramatic." Dramatic indeed, but controversial as well. The article
does not mention any of the details of Sciortino's primary win except the tally, doesn't talk about Ciampa's behavior after
losing, or the mention the ultra-negative hate mailings that were sent to voters in the 34th district. My prior experience
with the Transcript leads me to believe that they feel they've covered these stories already, and don't want to dig them up
again.
Still, it was a historic race for two important reasons:
- It was an incredibly divisive race, and turned quite negative between the primary and the general election.
- Although Sciortino didn't run on a platform that highlighted his sexual orientation, it did emerge as an issue, mostly
because Ciampa tried to peg him as a one-issue candidate. However, two of three Medford representatives now support
same-sex marriage rights. Paul Donato is the lone hold-out.
So why wasn't the Sciortino/Ciampa race on the front page?
No Significant Accumulation in the Greater Boston Area (NOT)
Well once again, the weatherman got it wrong. They said no significant accumulation, but as you can see, it was a bit
more than that. Usually, when they say this, it means a dusting. Loosly translated, that means I don't have to
shovel. We got about three to four inches of snow in Medford. As I reported recently, the first snowfall of the season was barely a trace. But this storm lasted about 24 hours. In Medford,
it snowed, then rained and sleeted for awhile, then snowed again. We'd had a few cold days, so the snow stuck.
In the meantime, if you live somewhere warm, like Florida or Texas or Southern California, enjoy a few shots of the winter
of 2004-2005.
My Car. Snow, then Leaves. A Real Fall Mess
The Upper Mystic Lake at the start of the storm
My Hedges, Suffering from Snow
Finally, a Chance to Blog
It's been super busy around here, especially with Katherine low on sleep for a few days. We had a party last night,
and she stayed up until almost 11 and then got up at 6. This morning, we had to run out to get some winter clothes (more
on that later), and she was an absolute wreck in the store. She's sleeping now, and we'll go out and play in the snow
later this afternoon.
On the Sciortino front, I'm making good progress. Most of the primary research is done, and I've drafted about
half the report. Stay tuned...
Thursday, November 11, 2004
DUA - Redefining Online Availability
As some of you know, I am currently on unemployment. I sign for my weekly benefits using the DUA online web site. But
this is really ridiculous. The online site has "working hours". They only offer the service during specific windows.
Most people, including myself, sign off on Sunday from 7AM to 7PM. The check arrives on Tuesday. Very convenient.
But this Sunday, the service was down, and I couldn't sign. I forgot about it until today, and just now went to sign.
I am greeted by this. Not only does the DUA site have "working hours", but apparently it observes holidays too.
I guess I have to respect that all those bits, bytes, and electrons can honor our veterans in their own way without having
to worry about my unemployment check.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
A Different Kind of Degrading
OK, let's take a break from the Sciortino story. Well, maybe I need to take a break from it. Here we have
a photo from a project I've been working on. It's informally entitled, "Pretty Pictures of Trash". But what it
really seeks to do is document through photography (hopefully as art, but I'll let you be the judge), the trash that is dumped
on a daily basis by the Mystic Lakes in Medford and Winchester along Mystic Valley Parkway. This is one of the better
pictures in the series, because it shows the beauty of the environment and the stark ugliness of the trash. I was standing
at the edge of the upper Mystic Lake when I took this picture yesterday.
Beer Trash & Beautiful Trees
Technical Data: Canon EOS 10D, ƒ8, 1/500 second
Canon 24-70mm ƒ2.8L @ 30mm (48mm effective)
White balance: daylight; RAW, ISO 100
Ironically, this is dumping that I can actually understand. As you will soon see, much of the dumping
defies logic. Actually, all littering of pretty public places defies logic in my mind, but at least this is biodegradable.
A Sciortino/wing-nut Update
I've talked back and forth with both the Sciortino camp as well as wing-nut, and although I haven't published any of
the details, I can tell you that it has boiled down to a few interesting issues. I need to do a bit more research and
write it up. I'm giving both sides a chance to look at the work before I publish, which will be late tomorrow at the
earliest.
What Is The Truth About Sciortino?
I've removed the comments in the below post after objections raised by Carl Sciortino's campaign manager. She strongly disagrees with the details of the allegations
made by my right-leaning friend (whom I'll call wing-nut), and has asked me to remove them. I agreed to pull them down
until I can provide a factual analysis of the events, and have offered to meet with her and Carl to start this process.
A lot of people share wing-nut's opinion about Carl Sciortino. I'm pretty familiar with both the accusations and
responses to the event in question and well as earlier allegations about Carl's activities at Tufts. My intent was not
to represent that Carl had actually done these things, but to provide an alternative opinion about Carl. I apologize
to my readers if I have offended, and I'll get to the bottom of it as soon as I can.
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Dissent on Sciortino From a Right-Leaning Friend
I take some personal pride that I can have an argument about politics or other matters without it affecting my personal
opinion of someone - even when the topics are near and dear to my heart. Witness this, a response from an old college
friend of mine who is a staunch republican, and not too moderate either. I think he makes some good points here, so
I'm going to publish his opinion verbatim and without additional comment. He has given me prior consent to publish his
writing.
Hey look. I really do not care if somebody is a homosexual or not. My by-far favorite
"political pundit" is David Brudnoy. In fact, I stood in line for 2 hours one time for him to sign a copy of his autobiography,
which by the way, went into gruesome detail regarding the sad circumstances which lead to his contracting AIDS. He is brilliant,
funny, and I care not one whit about his sexual practices.
What I do get upset about are homosexual "activists" who
degrade the religious services of faiths who for thousands of years taught the practice of homosexuality is sinful.
This
is where you and I differ on Screwy Sciortino.
[Section removed pending further research]
As far as Ciampa goes, like they say in the Godfather, he is small potatoes.
If he became out of touch with his constituency, became too comfortable, or was an ineffective representative, he should have
lost.
[Section removed pending further research]
PS Maybe if the left can tone down the Wehatebushheisadumbfuckthiscountryisabunchofidiots
shit, we can actually become more united.
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
Just for the record, I saw the first snowfall of the season last night. It was barely a trace, but it was snow.
Me thinks it's going to be a long winter.
Sunday, November 7, 2004
A Quote From George W. Bush
"Our nation must rise above a house divided. Americans share hopes and goals
and values far more important than any political disagreements. Republicans
want the best for our nation, and so do Democrats. Our votes may differ, but not our hopes. I know America wants reconciliation and unity. I know Americans want progress. And we must seize this moment and deliver.
Together, guided by a spirit of common sense, common courtesy and common
goals, we can unite and inspire the American citizens. ... Whether you voted for me or not, I will do my best to serve your interests and I will
work to earn your respect. I will be guided by President Jefferson's sense
of purpose, to stand for principle, to be reasonable in manner, and above all, to do great good for the cause of freedom and
harmony."
So here's the catch. This was Dubya's 2000 acceptance speech, after the
five weeks of Florida chad-haggling.
A Sciortino Update
There was a good article in the Boston Globe about the Ciampa/Sciortino race.
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