Sunday Photo-'Toons 1.29

Ken O'Brien

Sunday Photo-'Toons 1.26

Ken O’Brien

As we enter the season where the leaves turn and begin to fall, we witness similar behavior among some of the denizens of town hall.

Concern as well as questions began to mount regarding the revelation that cell phones as well as police and fire department radios have less than reliable reception at the newly opened Middle/High School.

The town administration conceded a procedural lapse in the adoption of a motion seeking to change the terms of legislation relating to amending the town charter. 

Smoke Versus Clarity: Romney V. Obama Tax Plans

Ken O’Brien

It’s still the economy stupid.

In a run-up to Wednesday’s first Presidential debate it’s important to keep this in mind. And equally important, the issue is not the past but the future.

The core components of the economy issue are twofold – economic growth to provide jobs and the reduction in Federal indebtedness.

Trouble In The Romneyulan Empire?

Ken O’Brien

Gul Destench

Word is filtering out of growing tensions between the Republican running mates.

It was former political director of the Republican Party of Iowa Craig Robinson who said to the New York Times on Sunday, “I hate to say this, but if Ryan wants to run for national office again, he’ll probably have to wash the stench of Romney off of him.”

The remark has been taken up by Paul Ryan as an inside joke on the campaign trail. Politico‘s Roger Simon reported that while Ryan “had already decided to distance himself from the floundering Romney campaign, he now feels totally uninhibited. 

Sunday Photo-'Toons 1.21

Ken O’Brien

The political scene was dominated this last week by the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. On Wednesday night the Big Dawg, Bill Clinton, actually got better ratings than the opening game of the official NFL season where the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

On the local scene there were a couple of town council subcommittee events and the release of the agenda for next Monday’s town council meeting.

Finally there was the first day of school marking the opening of the new Southbridge Middle/High School. Aside from some to-be-expected opening day confusion on which buses students were to board at the end of the day, all apparently went relatively smoothly. Kudos to teachers and staff for a challenge well met.

With all that now behind us we sit down to a brunch of Eggs Florentine with a white wine spritzer and conjure up our own take on the week in review.

Romney Campaign Spreads ‘Mediscare’ Lie In Robocall

Ken O’Brien

The campaign of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan is running a deceptive ‘Mediscare’ robocall accusing President Barack Obama of "changing Medicare forever," according to audio obtained by ThinkProgress.

"Some think Obamacare is the same as free health care, but nothing is free," a voice says in the recorded message. "Obama is raiding $716 billion from Medicare, changing the program forever -- taxing wheel chairs and pacemakers, raising taxes on families making less than $120,000. Free health care comes at a very high price. The Romney-Ryan plan will restore Medicare funding, and protect and strengthen the program for the next generation."

Sunday Photo-‘Toons 1.20

Ken O’Brien

We closed last week looking forward to the week ahead.

Unlike most of you, my untempered anticipation resulted not from looking forward to an upcoming weekend of debauchery marking the traditional end of summer.

It certainly wasn’t marked by the fact that over that weekend I would be a virtual prisoner in my own home, unwilling to risk the prospect of going out and having to try to get home behind a caravan of vehicles heading to the Woodstock Fair given the detours on routes 131 and 169. 

Sunday Photo-‘Toons 1.19

Ken O’Brien

Without a town council or school committee meeting it’s been a pretty quiet week in dear old Southbridge. As the saying goes, these are the times that try a critic’s soul.

A couple of subcommittee developments have provided some saving fodder for the foolish.

In addition we always have the endless well of silliness provided by races for national office. 

Sunday Photo-‘Toons 1.18

Ken O’Brien

Here at The O’Zone we call these Sunday diversions Photo-‘Toons because they are usually variations (some would say corruptions) of photographs.

However, this week as we compiled our list of subjects, we found that a lot of so-called “real life” was, in fact, downright cartoonish. 

Obamacare Robs Medicare of $716 Billion – Mostly False - Politifact

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan say Barack Obama robs Medicare of more than $700 billion to pay for Obamacare

From Politifact

Over the last week the Republican candidates for President and Vice-President have been perpetuating a canard that Obamacare guts Medicare. Once again there are those who will believe whatever they want to believe, regardless of the facts.

However, in an effort to provide a counterpoint to this tactic of perpetuating misinformation through repetition, I am replicating the full analysis of this claim from Politifact. Anyone who is politically aware knows that this is a source that has been frequently criticized by Liberals and Progressives (google it).

I hope that this information will constitute an antidote to a developing pattern of spewing misinformation as fact in an unbridled effort at deception. 

Paul Ryan’s Core Values

Ken O’Brien

The right wing media mill was, and remains, relentless in its attempts to portray Barack Obama as a radical, anti-American, foreign philosophy-based outsider.

Guilt by association conspiracies were spun around his church affiliation with the Reverend Wright. His having met with radical Bill Ayers was considered proof of his fundamental desire to undermine America. His early work as a community organizer proved he had to be a devotee of Saul Alinsky.

Sunday Photo-‘Toons 1.17

Ken O’Brien

Well this has been a week where the political landscape has been changing at all levels – local, statewide and national.

Obviously the crowning event was the long-awaited announcement of Mitt’s running mutt. It was done with all the calculation of a late Friday night Washington document dump. 

How Republican Ryan's Budget Plan Will Affect YOU!

Kenneth M. O’Brien

Democratic members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce recently released an analysis by Congressional District of the impact of the Ryan budget plan passed by the Republican dominated U. S. House of Representatives.

For the Second Congressional District of Massachusetts (which includes Southbridge), represented by Congressman Richard Neal, the analysis shows that it will: