Rachel Maddow Debunks Attacks on Elizabeth Warren’s Native American Ancestry

Ken O’Brien

Elizabeth Warren In Southbridge Tomorrow.

A week ago The O’Zone put forward an article titled “More Right Wing Filth”.                            

In the interim the Scott Brown campaign has focused increasingly on attacking Warren for references she has made in the past to her Native-American ancestry. In the meantime he has blithely gone about supporting the Republican agenda, most recently voting against efforts to prevent a doubling in interest rates on Federal student loans.

Last night, in her incomparable way, Rachel Maddow deflated this nonsensical focus by the Brown campaign and their right-wing talking head sycophants. Here’s the video from last night’s Rachel Maddow Show:

Exploiting The Victims

Ken O'Brien

Dan Butler, who has gained prominence as a voice of Southbridge tornado victims, posted the following on the Southbridge Tornado Relief FaceBook page on May 8.

UPDATE on the "Rebuild Western Mass" rebate crooks: about 3 weeks before the 1 year anniversary of the tornado and we have STILL yet to see a dime from this ripoff program and they just continue to give us excuse after excuse. today i got a phone call from them, and the guy told me that he received a call from Peter Durant's office claiming that we had issues with the program....

2nd Annual May Day Festival at QVCAH

The Quinebaug Valley Council for the Arts and Humanities (QVCAH) QVCAH celebrates their 2nd annual May Day Festival on the front lawn of the Arts Center at 111 Main Street in Southbridge, MA. Live music by Riverbend with roving Fiddlers. May Pole dance caller Bill Fischer will lead two May Pole Dances. The first May Pole dance at 1 pm. Deb Malouin talks about raising Monarch Butterflies and discusses the various pollinators of our region at 1:30 pm. Badger Meets the Fairies puppet show performed by Galapagos Puppet Theater at 2 pm. May Queen Pageant for girls ages 3-7 at 3:30 pm. Green Man mask making and flower tiara weaving throughout the day's festivities. Traditional Food, Wine & Beer Garden. Come celebrate the Spirit of Springtime at an event that's fun for the whole family . The Terra 25 recycled art exhibit will be open in the galleries throughout the day. Entrance to the festivities is free and open to the public. Refreshment will be available to purchase.

Damage Control

Ken O'Brien

On Thursday the Southbridge Town Hall house organ (the Southbridge Evening News) will carry an article titled, “Southbridge refunds 118 trash fines”.

In the article it is reported:

If you got ticketed for a first-time trash violation, you might have already received good news in the mail.
According to Health Director James Morin, 118 such residents will get refunds of their fines and/or letters this week informing them they don’t have to pay if they haven’t yet had hearings. That does not apply to 30 or so multiple-ticket recipients, who are still on the hook for the second or later fines.

Breaking News: Lazo, Martinek File Papers For Town Council

Ken O'Brien

Update: May 10, 1 pm - Both Steve Lazo and Dennis Martinek have had a sufficient number of signatures validated to appear on the June election ballot.

Former town councilor and town council chair Steve Lazo and Southbridge resident Dennis Martinek today filed papers before the deadline to be on the ballot as candidates for Southbridge town councilors in the June election.

We must await notification that a sufficient number of their signatures have been validated for them to qualify.

If that bar is met then we can say, in typical Southbridge fashion, the race is on!

UPDATE: Incumbent councilor David Livengood fails to return papers.

Bravo Butch!

Ken O'Brien

Monday's Southbridge Town Council meeting was a combination of laughable incompetence, amusing non-sequiturs and sinister despotism.

The incompetence was the repeated emergence of failures to proof read official town documents rife with typographical errors.

The agenda contained at least three. 

I Wish I Could Draw: Solo Exhibition by Phillip Browne

Ken O’Brien

The Quinebaug Valley Council for the Arts and Humanities (QVCAH) is proud to present the opening reception of I Wish I Could Draw by Connecticut artist, Phillip Browne. This multimedia exhibition will be on view through June 17th, 2012 at the Art Center, 111 Main Street, Southbridge, MA. QVCAH invites the public to attend the reception on Thursday, May 17th from 6-9 pm. The exhibition and reception are free to attend. 

$1/3 of a Million for What?

Ken O’Brien

I was sitting at home today semi-enjoying watching Baltimore against Boston at Fenway.

In the middle of the game I got a call from a friend of mine who knows far more about computer technology than I.

He asked me what was going on with one of the items on Monday night’s town council agenda.

Naturally I asked him which item.

He said item number ten, which reads as follows: 

Sunday Photo ‘Toons: The Next Generation

Ken O’Brien

Well, it’s Sunday again.

Once again I’ve taken up the challenge of trying to provide a little levity regarding the dire madness in which we are immersed. Heaven knows, the pressure is becoming intense.

I hope you won’t find the effort too disheartening.

Southbridge Town Council Agenda - May 7, 2012

TOWN OF SOUTHBRIDGE

SOUTHBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 01550-2638

TOWN COUNCIL MEETING        

MACKINNON COUNCIL CHAMBERS

MAY 7, 2012 – Immediately following the Planning & Development Subcommittee Meeting

********************

Southbridge Consultant and EDC Member Cite Greenfield and Northampton as Models - Both Have Mayors

Ken O’Brien

Today’s Southbridge Evening News features a front page article titled “‘Compelling story’ needed for downtown development”.

Ted Carman of Concord Square Development, recently hired with state grant funds to do strategic financial planning necessary to make the town’s long-term downtown redevelopment effort possible, told the new Economic Development Commission:

…he saw the same thing in Greenfield, where several landlords made no effort to maintain property and some sat vacant for many years. Over the last five [years] or so, though, the city has used a variety of funding sources and sometimes eminent domain to renovate and re-tenant five major buildings, with four more still somewhere in the “ridiculously complicated” funding process, he said. 

More Right Wing Filth

Ken O’Brien

Elizabeth Warren

I take pride in my Irish heritage. Many of my friends and acquaintances similarly take pride in their ethnic backgrounds, be it French-Canadian, Italian, Albanian, Hispanic etc.

Apparently, however, the right wing specialists in the politics of personal destruction find this offensive in some cases. Those cases apply when one’s heritage falls in a category officially recognized as a “minority”.

Barack Obama is castigated by many of these delusional haters as an obvious beneficiary of affirmative action whose current status is little more than the result of “reverse discrimination”. 

Now these fabulists have skulked out from under their mossy rocks to use the same tactics against Massachusetts Senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren.

Despicable

Ken O’Brien

UPDATE: May 4, 3:30 AM – China Announces Chen Guangcheng Can Apply To Study Abroad (NY Times). Offered fellowship at American university: can be accompanied by wife and children (BBC News, U.S. Dept. of State).

Mitt Romney proved today that he is not qualified to be President. In fact, he proved that he is not qualified to be a Presidential candidate for a major party.

In a totally indefensible effort to score political gains he interjected himself into an extremely delicate international matter.

That is the issue of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, who was jailed and beaten for his work against the government's coercive family planning policies.

Romney plainly admitted, as the video below shows, that the actual facts of the situation were not known. Nevertheless, he could not refrain from using this opportunity to launch a premature and potentially damaging attack. In essence, he may be throwing Mr. Chen under the bus for his own venal ambitions. 

Clerical Censorship

Ken O’Brien

I like to think of Fr. Peter Preble as a respected colleague.

As such, we should be able to disagree on certain points without rancor.

However, there appears to be one area where this is not possible.

That is the area of whether the Obama Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services are engaging in an assault on religious freedom through the Affordable Care Act.

Today he published a lengthy screed on his blog titled Courage in Leadership repeating all the same old attacks. I responded with the following comment. 

Caption Contest Results

Ken O’Brien

After three days of entries and two days of voting your verdict is in. The winner of the Billy Bishop Airport Picture Caption Contest is none other than that well-known O’Zone contributor Anonymous 4/27/12 11:36 PM.

We all know Anon as a person of indeterminate sex with a finely honed sense of humor. Their character is unquestionable because we have no idea who to question. Of course Anon’s political views are transparent, bordering on the invisible.

Thus, without further ado, The O’Zone is proud to present this award to Anonymous 4/27/12 11:36 PM