The Valley Advocate, no less, gave me a Halo as opposed to Horn (which Town Mgr Larry Shaffer earned):
Granted, we wouldn't relish the idea of having Amherst blogger-provocateur Larry Kelley (onlyintherepublicofamherst.blogspot.com) lurking around our fence, snapping shots as we yank dandelions from the garden. But that doesn't mean that Kelley wasn't well within his rights to raise questions, and do some investigative reporting, about how Select Board member Anne Awad planned to represent the town now that she was selling her Amherst home and moving to South Hadley. Awad and her sympathizers branded Kelley's reporting "harassment," obscuring the very legitimate issue he raised.
Hey Larry,
ReplyDeleteThe glare off that halo is blinding me!
Good job!
Well deserved! Happy New Year Larry.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Considering it is the uber-liberal Valley Advocate I would almost prefer a horn.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, at least THEY have some journalistic integrity (unlike their sister publications the Daily Hampshire Gazette and Amherst Bulletin)
LK4 got a halo 'cause the Ad-vocate is under new ownership - same folks who own the DH Gaz and the *erst Bull$#!+ and who think LK4 can help 'em run this valley for 9 more generations - "bless" 'em all!
ReplyDeleteActually you are mistaking me for Cinda and Evan Jones who are 9'th generation Amherst business owners (and had a prominent article in today's Gazette and this weeks Bulletin).
ReplyDeleteI'm just a lowly 5'th generation.
Aaah, sweet journalistic vindication. That's one small step for 'Only In the Republic Of Amherst', one giant leap for bloggerdom. Good job Larry...
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the old "proof is in the pudding" routine. All you need do is ask "where is she now?" (besides obscurity) and the answer is of course: "South Hadley"
Happy New Year, Saint Larry.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary. Now if I could just convince Donna of that...
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year don't let that halo go to your head hahahhaa.
ReplyDeleteThe Irish have a new patron saint?
ReplyDeleteNow you'll really be insufferable.
FELIZ AÑO NUEVO, Amigo!
Congrats Larry! It was well earned!
ReplyDeleteCinda Jones? There's a narcissistic, delusional whack-job if there ever was one. Have you ever had a conversation with her? It's impossible, since she spends the whole time looking at herself in a mirror.
ReplyDeleteThe genes must weaken with each generation.
Congratulations, Larry!
ReplyDeleteLarry,
ReplyDeleteMake the ground shake my friend!
Yeah, this blog now needs a theme song: Karen Carpenter's "We've only just begun"
ReplyDeleteI'll go with that theme. Congrats, Larry and Happy Nee Year.
ReplyDeleteUntil later...............
That's new, Larry, not nee. Sorry. lol
ReplyDeleteUntil later................
Enough with 5th generation crap.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
ReplyDeleteAll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. - XIV Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
ReplyDeleteN.B. Nothing about how many generations have lived in a state or are buried in a town cemetery.
See also:
ReplyDeletehttp://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/article04/13.html
for more on how Article 4 interprets state citizenship (and forbids the kind of chauvinism advocated by the "Townies" of whatever generations they may derive).
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/
ReplyDeletedata/constitution/article04/13.html
Here! Here!
ReplyDeleteI've lived here 40 years. Do I have a lesser voice because I'm first generation?
Enough of that provincial generations nonsense.
Larry, if your arguments aren't strong enough to stand up without invoking Crow Hill and the generations of Kellys that proceeded you than you better rethink them.
That state (or local) citizenship rights are independent of the length of residency in a particular state (or municipality) is settled Constitutional law:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/
ftrials/conlaw/newresidents.htm
In particular, see Zobel v. Williams:
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/
ftrials/conlaw/zobel.html
There the most salient holding of the 8-1 U.S. Supreme Court majority is that the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment expressly equates citizenship with residence, particularly:
"That Clause does not provide for, and does not allow for, degrees of citizenship based on length of residence."
Well, on this particular post I did not mention my 5'th generation residency (although I probably should have, because at one point Awad did mention she had been here for about 40 years).
ReplyDeleteWhen I do mention my longtime residency, I never suggest newcomers (25 years and under) should have less of a vote.
And I would be a lot more impressed with your nitwit, quibbling argument if Amherst had a half-way decent turnout for local elections.
So my legal Anon: why don't you spend your research time a tad more prductively.
What are the penalities for towns that ignore federal laws? What about Amherst ignoring basic common sense santiation laws?
Sanitation laws?
ReplyDeleteIt really doesn't have anything to do with sanitation, just comfort. Warm water in a school bathroom doesn't kill any germs it just makes you feel more comfortable. If it was hot enough to sterilize your hands you would be scalded.
As long as there is soap and water the kids are fine.
Why don't you try a less strident approach. Did you ever think of asking them why there is no hot water? Maybe it is so little used that the warm water hasn't made it through thr pipes?
Sanitation laws -- well, ok, we shouldn't ask the UMass Frats to observe them, either, should we?
ReplyDelete> Did you ever think of asking
> them why there is no hot water?
Asking someone is based on the belief that they will answer truthfully. And, well, one denying that a condition exists in the first place isn't going to be overly truthfull in then explaining why something already doesn't exist exists....
> Maybe it is so little used that
> the warm water hasn't made it
> through thr pipes?
Sorry, commercial buildings have different plumbing systems than a home. The hot water is CIRCULATED in a loop back to the boiler (or whatever) to be reheated so that there is always hot water in the line.
Oh, and one other thing -- soap works better at some temperatures than others. That is why you "waste" hot water to clean some clothes in your washing machine...
Is there anything wrong with wanting our "kids" and I might add, "staff", to be comfortable?
ReplyDeleteOr asking the town to obey the law? What is next, not bothering to put license plates on town vehicles because it is too much of a bother to get a screwdriver?
ReplyDelete