Saturday, January 23, 2010

Now you know why we're the People's Republic



The Boston Globe reports

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

More interestingly, I believe that the polling data also shows that the places where Hilary Clinton polled best against Barak Obama in the 2008 Mass Democratic Primary were the same places where Scott Brown did best against Martha Coakley. Clinton and Brown both picked up suburban and working-class voters and what is left of the old "Reagan Democrats" who also delivered Ed King to victory for Governor way back when.

The crucial line of comparison between the two candidates, therefore, was not liberal versus conservative but rather populist versus elitist, or outsider versus insider.

If Martha Coakley had run an old-fashioned working-class populist campaign, stressing her identification with the economic plight of working-class and middle-class people in Massachusetts, not entirely happy with the pace of change in Obama Year One, she would have been able to win, health care bill or no health-care bill.

But instead she ran as a honcho in some unwritten line of succession for higher office.

Rich Morse

Larry Kelley said...

And I believe Amherst was the only community in Mass to support Jesse Jackson in the 1988 Presidential primary--when even Cambridge supported Mike Dukakis (but that was before the Tank Driving or Willie Horton ads.)

Anonymous said...

"A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves."

Anonymous said...

"The ultimate decision about what is accepted as right and wrong will be made not by individual human wisdom but by the disappearance of the groups that have adhered to the "wrong" beliefs."

Anonymous said...

And there the difference ends.

Cambridge went bankrupt and Harvard stepped in.

Amherst is floating face down in the water and the Trustees of Amherst College gave us $90,000 -- to use for whatever we want!

Whoopee!

Larry Kelley said...

Yeah two years ago Harvard gave Cambridge $2.4 million and MIT kicked in $1.5 million.

Hey at least Amherst College gave us something, unlike Hampshire College.

Anonymous said...

Why do we have to beg for crumbs when they(private colleges) are allowed to amass huge sums tax free(endowements)? Between property tax,state income tax, federal income tax, social security,sales tax,and all the other hidden taxes it would be nice if they(private colleges)could lower the load on the private citizen. I know they took a good hit on their investments but so did everyone else. I also feel churches, temples,religous organizations should also pitch in. Any one that uses town services(police,fire,water,sewer,public schools, libraries should help pay for those services. The 90K that was given might cover the property tax on a few buildings. Do they pay property tax on faculty housing?

Larry Kelley said...

Yeah, they actually do pay on all the many houses they own in Amherst and rent to faculty.

Although in the past year one or two have been converted to office space and thus gone off the tax rolls.

About 15 years ago when I first started pressuring them to step up to the plate and not be such a freeloader their PR flacks would respond that they are the #1 taxpayer in town (because of those houses that they rent to faculty.)

And, unlike our municipal golf course, the Amherst Golf Course does pay taxes to the town (as does the Lord Jeff Inn.)

So all-in-all they are better than Umass and W-A-Y better than Hampshire College.

Anonymous said...

"Amherst is floating face down in the water and the Trustees of Amherst College gave us $90,000 -- to use for whatever we want!


Whoopee!"


Give them credit, they know ineptitude and/or corruption when they see it.


"to use for whatever we want!"


Don't believe that for a second. AC directs and will see how ~every single~ penny is spent, trust me...

Larry Kelley said...

Well...one of their higher ranked employees, Aaron Hayden, is on the illustrious Select Board.

Anonymous said...

Can you give a link, maybe to a map, showing town-by-town results, please? (The Healy-Patrick race was 2006, by the way.)

Larry Kelley said...

What the Hell am I, the Daily Hampshire Gazette?

Good catch on the date of the Healy/Patrick race however; I simply stole the chart from the Boston Globe (and they are usually pretty damn accurate!)

Anonymous said...

"Well...one of their higher ranked employees, Aaron Hayden, is on the illustrious Select Board."


"Capital projects manager"


Yep. EVERY single penny...

Anonymous said...

Hampshire is flat broke.

Larry Kelley said...

Then do what businesses in the private taxpaying world do: go out of business.

Sell off the property to somebody who will put it to good commercial use (thus generating tons of tax money.)

Anonymous said...

"Give them credit, they know ineptitude and/or corruption when they see it."



"In the letter, Shea notes that Amherst College - which as a school is largely exempt from taxes -

~~~~~will try to continue making similar donations in the future and also wants to collaborate with the town on economic development initiatives.~~~~~~~~~~"


WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!


Little village, are you BLIND?!!?

Anonymous said...

Hey Rich Morse,


"And I challenge this statement: "The town has proven time and time again to be poor stewards of our money." I understand that you are preaching to the choir here on this blog, and you'll get away with it. But I don't think that it's true. I actually think that our Finance Committee does a pretty good job under the circumstances."


LOL!


"In the letter, Shea notes that Amherst College - which as a school is largely exempt from taxes -

~~~~~will try to continue making similar donations in the future and also wants to collaborate with the town on economic development initiatives.~~~~~~~~~~"



WAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!!

"pretty good job under the circumstances"

Tell that to AC...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!


Fail.

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking that according to the chart we should call it the "peoples democrat."

Anonymous said...

Are the faculty houses at Amherst College appraised at full market value? I remember when AC lost it's case to the IRS. They were renting the houses to faculty at way below market rate. The IRS considered the difference between the rental rate and market rate to be income. The IRS doesn't tolerate being short changed like the town of Amherst.

Anonymous said...

"Sell off the property to somebody who will put it to good commercial use (thus generating tons of tax money.)"

What do you think Veridian Village and Atkins corner are?

Larry Kelley said...

They are not selling off the property for Veridian Village they are leasing it.

And for the Atkins Corner project the town is giving them $300,000 in repaving in return for a small slice of property.

Anonymous said...

They don't have to sell land, your question was why don't they sell land. The answer is because it is better for them to n ot sell it, but that doesn't mean they aren't developing it.

They are not selling some of it because they can't sell it and have it under the planned usage.

For example, Veridian Village is actually zoned for educational use. It couldn't be built if they sold the land, therefore the lease.

Atkins Corner will include a commercial strip of shops owned by Hampshire.

Larry Kelley said...

I'm beginning to doubt whether Veridian Village will ever get built.

cinder joans axe mistress said...

me smells a bury robhurts

Anonymous said...

Probably won't because of the economy and probably shouldn't because it's a fraud. It's an attempt to do a stealth commercial high density real estate development under the guise of educational zoning which requires fewer permits and approvals.

Anonymous said...

"me smells a bury robhurts"

indeed

Anonymous said...

Funny that he owns a lot, 'bach owns nothing, and yet 'bach thinks he's the smarter.

Anonymous said...

possessions and intelligence are mutually exclusive.

Larry Kelley said...

Spoken like an Anon with pitiful possessions.

Anonymous said...

looks like you're in the minority Larry... in voting, politics and ideas. at least in amherst.

Anonymous said...

Agreed Larry, Barry Roberts works hard both in business and with all the volunteering he does for the town. Then again, he doesn't have a blog.

Larry Kelley said...

For sure. But if I had to guess, I'd say he stops by here once in a while.

Ed said...

Rich Morse: You gotta admit that the Fells Acre Day Care Case (Ameralts), the Woodward case, and then the one she *didn't* prosecute involving the child sodomized with the hot hair drier (ouch!) all sorta addressed issues of her fitness for office.

It wasn't out here, but in Boston, Gerald Ameralt was all over the air....

Anonymous said...

Ed,

I cannot comment on the latest sweeping conclusion you've made because I don't know enough about the incidents you cite.

I assume that she's a much better lawyer than I am, and leave it at that.

Rich Morse

Ed said...

Well Rich, you can read all about it in the archives of the Wall Street Journal:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=95000779

In fact, just google Fells Acres Coakley.

Out here in Amherst, 25.27 square miles surrounded by reality, we may not know of Coakley's deeds (while we protest the prosecution of Jason "knifeman" Vassell) but I really would be surprised to see her re-elected to the AG seat.

Too much of the Ameralt case is already out, and then there is the Woodward case too...

She may be a good lawyer but that doesn't mean she has good judgment. Or is able to deal with issues of manbashing....

Anonymous said...

Amherst is nothing if not consistent.

Ed said...

Globe (pro Coakley) on the curling iron rape case
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/01/06/some_saw_coakley_as_lax_on_05_rape_case/?page=1