Ken O’Brien
His site, Speak Out Southbridge, became a mainstay of local life in the virtual world.
I can say without fear of contradiction that his presence on the web has served as an inspiration to me and as a guide to much of what has gone into the substance of this offering.
His presence will be missed by many and his departure welcomed by a few.
I am honored that he has chosen to direct his loyal followers here. I hope that, in some small way, I am able to provide you with at least a fraction of what will be missing as a result of Dennis’ absence.
I also hope that, from time to time, as the urge to “Speak Out” strikes him, he will offer his thoughts in this space. After all, old bloggers never die – in fact nothing on the internet ever really goes away.
So, Dennis, I wish you well in whatever you do next. I hope you will drop by here from time to time to keep me on the straight and narrow.
This is his 3rd time retiring! Is he trying to outdo Cher?
ReplyDeleteMore like Brett Favre. But this time is the charm, so good luck to Ken.
ReplyDeleteKen, can you put a picture of Brad Pitt in place of that awful one of me?
Thanks!
PS...and I'll sign off with this...
ReplyDeleteGreat musical choice (you and I know why!).
:)
Peace
Glad you like the music, but the picture?
ReplyDeleteThere are issues of journalistic integrity involved here. How about Herman Munster? I hear he's coming back too.
Well Dennis its been a great ride..I have enjoyed being able to keep up with issues now that I live in florida. Ken is a very capable to keep SOS going with issues effecting the residents of the community. Good luck
ReplyDeleteAs I have said before, writing for a blog is a monster that needs to be fed and no one did it better than Dennis. Just promise me you won't stop posting on this site Dennis. I don't want my girl Denise getting too comfortable.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that Dennis is going to be devoting his time to other activities. SpeakOutSouthbridge was an important resource especially since our local newspaper aspires to be nothing more than a church newsletter. Good luck with your next project Dennis! And, keep up the good work Ken! Your opinions and observations are always thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteDennis:
ReplyDeleteSorry to see you leaving the blogosphere. Over the last few years SpeakOutSouthbridge has been a catalyst for intellegent debate and discourse on many local issues and has served as a virtual pulpit for the citizens of Southbridge. All the best, my friend, in your future endeavors.
Personally I see Dennis as more as a Blogger, and Speak Out Southbridge was more than a Blog. I used the term "Clog" (Community Blog-so much for my wordsmith skills) on a few occasions to describe SOS in the past, and it was a compliment-Dennis allowed discourse from both sides-and by sharing his Blog, we had a community Blog. For example, George Chenier and I were able to share our diverse opinions.
ReplyDeleteLet's no forget that Dennis was put through the proverbial gauntlet by the Town on numerous occasions-the threat to ban the Blog, then Dennis graciously volunteering to withdraw and they banned him AND OTHERS anyway! And then two court actions! Yes, right here in America ! Freedom isn't free, and Dennis paid financially and was put through hell. If Dennis was litigious, the town might have to pay off his mortgage-it was an outrageous abuse of local political power.
Let's face it, Dennis and I have not always gotten along at times, even though we probably agree on 80% of the local issues, but I will tell you this-when Dennis was being treated poorly by our hometown, being drawn into Court not once or twice at a great financial expense, he was an example of a true hero. Most people would have cowered away, but Dennis Martinek fought the fight, stood up for right, and this is why even in the middle of a disagreement with Dennis I still respect him.
Amelia Peloquin stood up against political manipulations from outside groups over their effort to advocate and confuse the issue of mandatory ID at the voting booth, and earned a well deserved award from the ACLU for her efforts. I don't know who won the award that Amelia earned in 2009-2010, but I believe Dennis earned that honor and was inadvertently overlooked, but consider the poor press coverage of the issue. Shame on them.
Thank you, everyone, very kind of you...best of luck to all of you!
ReplyDeleteI never liked the guy, myself. Even though he was always right, he publicly made our foolish Town Council look...well, foolish.
ReplyDeleteNot even smart enough to rank number one on your top ten list...number five, please?!
It must be hard for him to be so smart and charming, and clever, all at the same time.
Boy, I miss him...
You'll be back.....
ReplyDeleteI will bet you $1,000 right now that I will never bring SOS back.
ReplyDeleteCare to wager?
Anyone, anyone? Bueller, Bueller. Bueller?
ReplyDeleteHey, Dennis, are you going to run for Town Council now that you're free of writing, and help this Godforsaken town?
ReplyDeleteIf something peaks your interest enough, you'll be back
ReplyDeleteWell, if you believe that, then why not take me up on my $1,000 bet? SOS is closed for good, which is why it's forwarding to Ken, and that's pretty much that.
ReplyDeleteI know you don't mean what you say in a bad way whatsoever...however, it's high time that a group of committed people pick up the slack and do something of their own.
For five years, I spent a lot of time, money and effort, and in hindsight, for what?
We have the crappiest bunch of Councilors, we've had groups that have tried to do something, but without leadership and direction, were doomed to fail, and came up with grandiose plans to turn the government back to the days that Joe was a Councilor.
There is no shortage of ideas, but most of them are long-term, long-shots, that will never pan out. There is not enough focus on the short-term (i.e. how do you win an election?).
When I offered some first-hand knowledge and insight a couple of months back, you know what happened? I was scorned as someone who was going to run and was looking for support.
Not even close.
As of today, I know of one very competent person running. So I'm letting others fight their own battles, and will comment, but nothing more.