Coming Full Circle

My 'Journalism Ethics' course just started, # three-of-five required for a Certificate of Journalism. I'm reminded of my first J course taken on campus 28 years ago, 'Newswriting and Reporting'--where our initial in-class assignment, tapped out on electric typewriters, was to compose your own obituary. Not much to say at age 27.

The Amherst Athletic Club, my life for all these years since, is now dead. And no, it's not a planned or even at this point well thought out process. I had planned to close the Club--but not until 1/30/2012, our 30th anniversary.

The last year of business would have been fun, hopefully with numerous former members returning for a "going away workout" and casual remembrances of our youth.

The last few years have been far from fun. Three years ago we were the lowest priced club in the Valley. Last year we looked downright expensive compared to Planet Fitness at a predatory $9.95 month. And the collateral damage was even worse, as other full service clubs lowered their prices to compete.

And of course, Umass opened the $50 million Recreation Center (I affectionately dubbed 'The Deathstar') free to Umass undergrads and fairly cheap to join for employees or alumni, a demographic category that probably encompasses about half the population of Amherst.

But the Martial Arts will continue at this location...retreating back to our roots, as that is how we debuted at 'The Dead Mall' back in 1982. And the new 'Karate Kid' remake will certainly boost the instruction school industry as it did back in 1984.

Like the typical disgraced politician I could always invoke the "wants-to-spend-more-time-with-the-family" spin, and that would not be untrue. Since the coming of daughter #2, Jada, my physical involvement at the Club lessened rather dramatically. Plus my wife's professional travels to Asia are increasing; we've decided never to part for more than three weeks, so now the entire family goes.

What the Hell, there's always my first love, journalism--and isn't that a wide open field for employment these days? (Yes, sarcasm needs a special font.)

The Bully reports

-30-

Remembering Misty

As millions of Americans from sea to shining sea marked the day with somber ceremonies commemorating those military men and women who gave up their lives in service to our country, the Ghost Bike reappeared for the one-year anniversary of the untimely demise of lone cyclist Misty Bassi, heading to work on a bright sunny Memorial Day morning only days after graduating from Umass (also her employer) unfortunately fated to interact with a distracted driver who fled the horrific scene.

The family recently endowed a scholarship to University Without Walls so others can pick up where Misty left off.

The Springfield Republican reported

But above all, she's remembered in the hearts and minds of friends, family and many who never met her: Misty is the Poster Child reminding us that those we hold most dear, without warning or regards to fairness, can be suddenly ripped away...forever.

History should always note and long remember...

As we prepare for this most memorable of solemn holidays to honor those who gave their "last measure of devotion" keeping us free--perhaps it is time we consider imbuing another day with this ritualistic reinforcement designed to make Americans momentarily pause and, hopefully, to remember.

Especially since the state is considering eliminating two hack holidays for some state employees--Evacuation Day and Bunker Hill Day.

How about remembering that stunning morning.

Yes perhaps for any of us alive of an age old enough to understand rudimentary communication, 9/11 is forever seared into memory; a combination of shock, horror or perhaps guilt over feeling relieved it was not you or a loved one aboard those airplanes or trapped in those burning buildings.

But time creeps forward, so someday 9/11 will be a distant memory. We pause now to remember all those who perished for their country over our entire history. A hundred years hence none of us will be around to remember.

Hopefully we will have passed it down to our children and told them to pass it down to their children the awful damage inflicted that otherwise gorgeous Tuesday morning in America.

Declaring 9/11 a national holiday will go a long way to ensure that. And what better state to start than Massachusetts, where half the four planes--the two that created the most carnage--debarked from?

Boycott Massachusetts?

So now that the Mass State Senate approved a law requiring proof of citizenship for receiving state benefits it will be interesting to see if we become a target of scorn and outrage like Arizona. Hey, maybe Cambridge will secede and join up with New Hampshire, the "live free or die" state. But with a motto like that, probably not.

The Republican reports

The WSJ reports (leave Dora out of this debate)

Don't mess with Mother Nature

Amherst College

So a powerful storm assaulted the Happy Valley late last night, felling trees, rattling windows, and scaring the Hell out of little kids and domestic pets. But today is a L-O-T cooler. A good thing--providing you have electricity.

"Watchdog" awakens!

From: amherstac@aol.com

To: Mdechiara@gmail.com; farshidhajir@gmail.com
Sent: Wed, May 26, 2010 10:18 pm
Subject: Public Documents Request

In the PDF of the letter signed by five School Committee Chairs sent to the DA requesting a ruling on public officials who have blogs posted on the Shutesbury internet listserve, under the "permissions attached" pages, Farshid Hajir reads: This letter to Cynthia Pepyne looks great; I would like to sign on. My comments:

But then after the colon there are no comments.

Could I please be provided with a copy of those comments which seemed to have disappeared.

Thanks,

Larry Kelley

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From: amherstac@aol.com
To: newman@lnn-law.com; lesser@inn-law.com
Sent: Wed, May 26, 2010 3:02 pm
Subject: The First Amendment and Open Meeting Law in the modern age

I certainly hope the local ACLU will weigh in on this 'Only in Amherst' tempest in a teapot I first railed about on my blog 6 days ago but now prominently displayed on the Front Page of the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

As a long-time insider of all things politics in the People's Republic I can assure you this effort to involve the DA ruling about blogs is an orchestrated (local) government attempt to quash Catherine Sanderson's First Amendment rights simply because she (very publicly) "calls 'em as she sees 'em".

And is not that what the First Amendment is all about?

Larry Kelley (concerned that I will be next)

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So six days after it first hit the blogosphere (my piece of it anyway), the Daily Hampshire Gazette covers the story of five School Committee Chairs sending a letter of request to the District Attorney for legal clarification on blogs and the Open Meeting Law. Front Page. Above the fold no less.

The Gazette, finally, reports

And you would think, since that letter was instantly forwarded to the Gazette last week (in hopes of getting the headline they indeed got) with all this time to hash out the story, they could have done a better job.

Don't mind me, I'm just pissed off that I was referred to as "Larry Kelley, a Amherst watchdog blogger who posts frequently about "The Vagina Monlogues" and "West Side Story," is also a member of the town's Redevelopment Authority."

Besides misspelling "Monologues", the proper name for my committee is Amherst Redevelopment Authority, a quasi-state, independent body with four members elected by town voters and one appointed by the Governor. The only entity in town besides Town Meeting/Selectboard with the power of eminent domain.

And I have not posted about 'VM' or 'WSS' in over a year.

Details, details.

Obviously the problem, as the Old Guard sees it, is Catherine Sanderson and her School Committee blog. Because she is not afraid to speak her mind openly, in public, at all hours of the day and night. That should be encouraged, not threatened.

As the ACLU says about the First Amendment: The way to deal with bad speech is with more good speech--not censorship.

Mr Hood Commented on this blog a few days ago that his blog (still in its rookie year) garnered 129 unique visitors last week. This blog was almost 500. And Ms. Sanderson's open public sitemeter tells me she was about 33% over this blog last week, so I would guess her unique visitors were somewhere in the neighborhood of 700. Thus I would hardly lump Mr. Hood in the same category as Sanderson's "that see large volumes of web traffic."

Of course law is always going to lag behind technology. The Mass State Legislature recently tweaked a law to include text messages because some pedophile sending explicit messages to a minor got off because the original law talked dealt with graphic material being disseminated but did not clearly spell out "text messaging". Now it does. And of course we now have a law saying you can't text message while driving (who would have thought you need to make that a law.)

But what never changes is the intent/spirit of the law. And clearly the Open Meeting Law, enacted before the Internet revolution, simply wants to keep public matters kept public. And you don't get any more public than a blog.
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It will be interesting to see if the Gazette or Bulletin issues an editorial on this issue.

In the blink of an eye...

UPDATE: 2:00 PM (Tuesday). So the "chicken little" in me is even more aroused as North Korea just announced they were ejecting South Koreans from the industrial complex just inside their border operated by South Korean companies that employ 40,000 North Koreans.

Even the South did not go that far yesterday in announcing economic sanctions. Since the only other industry in North Korea is that relating to the military this is a classic case of biting off your nose to spite your face. Or: Pride goeth before the fall.

As the proud father of two girls originally born in China and aware of how very many girls have come to our country over the past 20 years via international adoption I always figure the Chinese government would at least think twice before going to war with us as collateral damage could include so many of their own (not to mention all the Chinese who have come here for education or employment purposes.)

Severing this last co-mingling of two people who should be one is a bad sign.

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Original Post: Yesterday
Having spent a week in Seoul last year getting to mix with the locals and taking a guided tour of the DMZ (which is a lot harder for the locals to do) I am frankly concerned about recent revelations that North Korea did indeed sink a South Korean warship.

Initially I figured the Cheonan inadvertently hit an underwater mine left over from the horrific war 57 years ago that, technically, has never ended. Mainly because North Korea actually seems proud of its belligerence, I also figured they would instantly take credit for scoring such a surprising blow on a highly trained military ship.

But considering the North never really acknowledged the secret "Tunnels of aggression" constructed under the DMZ and designed to deliver thousands of troops per hour into a sleeping Seoul I guess I should not be surprised.

So what is a concerned diplomat to do?

Box them into a corner and they will fight with the same tenacity exhibited so long ago only with more modern weapons of mass destruction. Let it slide and they will be encouraged to do it again.

Unlike our 9/11, all the causalities were military inflicted by another uniformed military in a disputed zone. More like Pearl Harbor, a dastardly act indeed, but if you believe "war is Hell" then certainly not something to start another war over, or maybe I should say a resumption of the war that never ended.

I'm reminded of what a US military officer told me when I was touring the furthermost military base on the DMZ (mainly staffed by South Korean military) that the 28,500 US troops stationed on the peninsula would merely act as a "speed bump" if the North decides to roll in force.

And then, President Obama--under terribly tense constantly shifting conditions--would face the same option presented to President Truman when the Chinese first entered the conflict in almost limitless waves: do we use nukes?

Either way, the slaughter will set a new standard for barbarism in the modern age.

How I spent my summer vacation in Korea