Addicted To Fear

This has been a bad year for America. We've lost the ability to tune out. We no longer know how to calm down and appreciate what we have. Switch off the wi-fi for a few days, turn off the TV, and it's amazing how much more reasonable the world instantly seems.

Though our economy may not be what it was, we're actually safer and less susceptible to crime or war than at any time in our history. But in the same way retailers want us buying on Christmas, others want us scared to death and addicted to news of threats at home and from abroad. 

Racism, Misogyny and Privilege: The Basis Of Modern “Conservatism”

Ken O’Brien

The Dow Industrial Average is approaching 18,000. Job growth in November hit a fifteen year high. Unemployment is below 6%. Gasoline prices are approaching $2.50 per gallon. And we are finally making progress in achieving universal health care – first proposed by Harry Truman over 60 years ago.

By any objective measure the Obama Administration has been a success.

This is especially true by comparison to our sister economies of Western Europe, which have consistently teetered on the brink of resurgent recession. 

The Buzz Saw: Politics Tops Performance

Ken O’Brien

One element of the current job posting for a new principal at Southbridge Middle/High School that caught our attention was the line, “Southbridge Public Schools, under the leadership of Superintendent Buzz Nembirkow, has created an intensive and innovative plan to overhaul Southbridge education as he did with the Brockton Public Schools.”

We have heard repeatedly about Mr. Nembirkow’s transformative role in the Brockton school system. It is the foundation of the miracle he is expected to perform here in Southbridge. 

It was therefore with some surprise that I recently came across a 2012 article from the Boston Globe titled, “Sabis seeking charter school in Brockton”.

Why James T. Kirk Wouldn't Make It In Southbridge Politics

How Would You Answer O'Reilly?

You Are Being Exploited!

Ken O’Brien

 

Let’s say that oil was just discovered on your property. Even Jed Clampett was smart enough to know that you don’t just turn it over to Exxon-Mobil without getting something for it.

But, every day, we are proving that good ole Jed was a damn sight smarter than you or I.

The fact is that each and every one of us, to varying degrees, has become an essential source of raw materials in the new global economy. 

Mark Fiore Added To O’Zone’s “The Funnies” Links

Mark Fiore is an American political cartoonist specializing in Flash-animated editorial cartoons, whom the Wall Street Journal recently called the undisputed guru of the form.

Fiore lives in San Francisco, California, and his cartoons have appeared in numerous American papers and a number of websites. He studied political science at Colorado College and was a staff cartoonist for the San Jose Mercury News. He left newspapers for animated online comics in 2001. He is a member of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.

Chairman Resigns from Southbridge School Committee

Ken O’Brien

In an action that surprised most observers, School Committee Chairman Patricia Woodruff announced her resignation from the School Committee during tonight’s meeting.

Reading from a prepared statement during the Chairwoman’s Announcement segment of the meeting, she said; “It appears to me the politics of the school committee have overtaken the true mission of this committee.  There seems to be a prevailing opinion of the current majority of the school committee that this would be cured by my absence.  While I do not share this opinion, I feel it is only fair to our children, who should be the true focus of our actions, to allow the majority to have their way.  I therefore resign from the committee to be effective at the conclusion of this meeting. I hope that this gesture will encourage the remaining members to focus on what is important, the youth of our community.” 

The Core Of Contemporary American Conservatism

Ken O’Brien

Richard Hofstadter

There is a pronounced tendency to believe that the current gridlock in American politics is unique to our times.

Such a conviction is a vivid illustration of the truth of Santayana’s observation that “Those who cannot learn history are destined to repeat it”.

This November will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

It will also be the fiftieth anniversary of a lecture delivered at Oxford University by Richard Hofstadter.

While it is a reflection on recurrent historical trends in American political thought by those on the right, it speaks directly and with profound prescience to current circumstances.

I recommend it to those on the left and center of the current political spectrum as a means of understanding the genesis of current right wing hysteria.

Electile Dysfunction?

Ken O’Brien

The Urban Dictionary provides one definition of “electile dysfunction” as, “Failure of the general populace to vote in any given election.”

Apparently the results of last year’s town election are perceived by some as failing to provide a mandate when it comes to the conduct of the Southbridge school committee. 

Be Careful What You Wish For…

Ken O’Brien

Southbridge politics have forever been defined by coalitions sharing grudges and vendettas.

Last night’s meeting of the Southbridge school committee cemented in place a new brick in that relentlessly growing wall of infamy. 

The Sum Of All Facts

Ken O’Brien

Back in April, after the hoopla regarding the O'Zone's publication of the Arbitration decision in the case of Jonathan Jacobson, I conducted a poll of readers regarding whether the current principal of Southbridge High should stay or go.

At the conclusion of the article reporting the results of the poll, I wrote the following; “My prediction; I’ll end up being the villain in this black comedy.”

Yesterday I encountered an old friend (I’m talking a friend of over 40 years). We share a number of friends, many of whom are intimately involved in this affair. 

Christian America? My Letter to the Editor

Ken O’Brien

The following letter appeared in today’s Southbridge Evening News:

To the Editor:

OK, Mr. Steeves, I hear you ranting.
 I hear you loud, but not clear.
 You have written two editorials within the last week that make loud and inflammatory statements. I am a dedicated local guy. I am trying to help the community in whatever way I can. People know me and know what kind of a citizen I am. I am also a devout Christian. I would love to address your concerns and misconceptions, but frankly I’m not wholly sure what they are.
 Please use your next editorial to explain, in better detail, what it is that you believe is the problem with this being a Christian nation — which, by the way, is exactly what our founding fathers established us to be.
 You are absolutely right that any religion that is used to coerce, manipulate and otherwise hinder freedom(s) is wrong.
 However, truth is truth. The truth must be acknowledged and adhered to, without overstepping boundaries of compassion, mercy, justice and inalienable rights. Please give me some examples, specifics, of this oppression and manipulation you vaguely refer to and I will gladly discuss them with you.

Bob Chernisky

As one who is becoming tired of the interminable injection of religion into politics at all levels, I could not resist the need to respond.

CREATIVE DESTRUCTION

Ken O’Brien

For forty years I have waited for the term “creative destruction” to enter the American political lexicon.

More than any other concept, this idea, first popularized in its contemporary form by the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter, clarifies the proper contemporary framework for government fiscal policies and intervention in the economy.

It is ironic that it has been raised as an issue by the Republican frontrunner for the Presidential nomination Mitt Romney.

The irony lies in the fact that someone posturing as a small government, free market conservative should advance a concept that, in the final analysis, provides the best justification for Progressive policies of government involvement in the economy and the existence of social safety nets.

“Creative destruction” addresses the historical tendency for new industries to supplant and gain dominance over an earlier pattern of production.

Wag The Dog?

Kenneth M. O’Brien

In the course of fast moving events one has to evaluate incoming information as judiciously as possible.

Certainly the latest information regarding political maneuverings regarding the Southbridge Board of Health calls for perspicacity.

However, the emergence of additional facts can be coupled with prior experience to formulate a reasonable opinion of the forces that may be at work.

The sudden emergence of charges against the entire Lazo family just prior to the last town election certainly falls within this realm.

“Gangster Government” Requires The “Constitutional Option”

Kenneth M. O’Brien

There’s a very old, and rather crude joke among campers who share a tent regarding the sudden nocturnal presence of unpleasant aromas. It begins with the observation, “He who say it….”.

The joke contains, however, as all jokes do, a fundamental truth about human behavior. In this case it demonstrates the presence of guilt and the immediate effort to escape such guilt and place the blame on others.

Breaking News: The Cart Monster Is Still Dead

Kenneth M. O'Brien

Contrary to all expectations, the Casellaburg Town Council last night overwhelmingly defeated an effort to revive the Smat Cart program.

By a vote of 7 to 1 the council voted down the agenda items that would have established the program. The sole vote in favor of the plan was cast by council vice chair Denise Clemence. Councilor Darlene Marcucci had been excused anf therefore was not present for the vote.

A large number of citizens braved the uncomfortable conditions in the council chamber and waited for several hours to speak on the subject.

Zero-Tolerance Lemon Laws

Kenneth M. O’Brien

I have made no secret of the fact that I am an outright liberal (or, in today’s micro-parsing of a once comprehensible language, a progressive).

In that regard I have argued for the need to regulate corporate, individual and political behavior that destabilizes society.

More Preble Piffle

Kenneth M. O’Brien

On Sunday, July 17, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette ran an article titled, “Priest’s account denied outright: Non-tornado charities got aid”.
I think that an objective reading of the article demonstrates that it more appropriately belongs in a gossip column rather than in a news story.

Update: Activist Group Schedules Its Next Meeting

Kenneth M. O’Brien

As we reported on June 15^th, a group of concerned Southbridge citizens congregated the following day, to address the issues confronting their town.

Of the almost 80 articles that we have posted since starting this blog, the report that this group was organizing has been the seventh most popular among readers for all time.

As a result of such public interest many others and I have wondered what would happen next.

Finally we have some insight.