Sunday, November 6, 2011
The Return of Gossips
There's every indication that Gossips will be back tomorrow--in time for Election Day! I'll be happy to leave my vantage point here at the top of the city and be back where I belong, down by the river and South Bay, in the First Ward. I appreciate so very much all your expressions of concern and good wishes.
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Hurray! William will be overjoyed. Ed and I look forward to seeing you at the polls on Tuesday. We will both be at St. Mary's for the day.
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful to see your posting...just don't overdo and take good care of yourself...William will see to that, I am sure!
ReplyDeleteWelcome home Carole ... for that is where the heart is ... and William.
ReplyDeleteTo sum it up... you have been missed! So glad to hear you are to be back soon.
ReplyDeleteTake care of yourself! Glad you're back!
ReplyDeleteYeah! Sorely missed.
ReplyDeleteCarole, does William need a walker as you return? I will be pleased to assist in any way possible.
ReplyDeleteBob
We've been lost without you.So glad you are OK
ReplyDeleteand please don't do that again!
Prison Alley - talk to me.
ReplyDeleteTo south bay task force.
ReplyDeleteI hear you loud and clear and admire all you are trying to do and prevent.Unfortunately my dealings with Mayor,deputy mayor, Wuster,and Donald Moore have been one on one confrontations,right on my 2ND Ward doorstep. I haven't made it down to the Riverfront.My dealings with them are detailed on my Thurs.Feb.18th 2010 post,I mistakenly wrote on ,as it was linked from Gossips Thurs.Nov 3rd 2011 Blog about Orphan Asylum and I did not look at date.
I have spoken directly to Haddad and was disappointed.I watched him be photographed with Moore and current Treasurer in and outside City Hall,for campaign purposes.
Is he a magician?Can he wake up Moore from his conscienceless sleep,Can he make all the damage Atty.Roberts and Moore did disappear?Can he make all the people's money they spent reappear? Will he make Roberts disappear?Can he make Wurster do his job?Can he make all the incompetent ,apathetic city Officials appointed or not,do their job and care?
Or is he just the less of two evils?A democratic figurehead,where the underbelly will remain the same as it ever was?
I hope for the best ,but I live in what's real.
Hi Prison Alley,
ReplyDeleteI'm off to read your 2/18/10 post, but I don't imagine I'll find anything with which to take issue. So far, my own experiences have been exactly as you describe (including all of the above).
You may need to be a magician for some of those things on your list, but getting rid of a predecessor's staff is not among them.
As far as the Council President is concerned, we have a case of an emperor with no clothes. A large fellow with an authoritative and sometimes gruff demeanor, people still haven't figured out that his understanding of any issue is superficial at best. They are fooled by the delivery due to their own superficiality and unfamiliarity with the issues.
But watch closely and you'll see that he will blow wherever the executive blows, no matter who is in the Mayor's seat. His "principles" will mutate this way or that over time, depending on context and utility. (So until we know who won the Mayoral race, we won't really know who won as council President.)
Common sense tells me that the underbelly of Hudson is not only chronic but incorrigible, for which I blame residents themselves.
The situation here is exactly as John Lennon described it everywhere: a society of children looking for mommies and daddies. So who can blame spineless politicians for acting the part? It is perhaps the principle reason for these invariable mutations; I was warning of the same thing before there was ever a Mayor Dick Tracy.
At any time in the last few years people could have formed coalitions to send a definitive message to their representatives, but the fact is they did not and they will not. Somebody else is always going to take care of it (and then that group becomes the next parental imago, no questions asked).
Compared to other places I've lived, this place is really a herd of loners. We pride ourselves on being quirky misfits but maybe that's just a sad rationalization. The narrative disallows quirky and mature. (In my parlance, that makes us bad artists.)
So until Hudsonians confront this reality within, Hudson will never go anywhere.
More than anything Hudson needs a less flabby Common Council, and then they must be trained by us to become responsive. That would be like a revolution compared to the current leadership!
(All evidence to the contrary, the quotation in today's paper was gag-worthy: “I’ve always looked at the Common Council as a collaborative effort.”)
So you see that I'm not saying that there are no differences. For a pessimistic thought experiment, even if a Haddad administration accomplished nothing else it would invariably shape the legislative branch - the Common Council - for the better.
This is a good discussion, let's keep it going.
Yes, I remember that post of yours Prison Alley:
ReplyDeletehttp://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2010/02/unauthorized-demolition-in-hudson.html
I didn't doubt a word of it. In the event that Mr. Haddad wasn't just being necessarily diplomatic over a glass of wine, I think it is so important that you continue to remind people of what you witnessed in early 2010, and how business gets done here.
Thank you for making some noise about it (and I hope you enjoyed my other long reply posted minutes ago).
South bay task force.I find alot of what you have to say very interesting,being so relatively new,I am not accustomed to much of what goes on here,except what I see and experience first hand.I was actually shocked,which is hard to do,by Register Star front page story
ReplyDeleteon Friday Nov 10,2011".Council Passes 2.13 Tax Hike,Cuts Youth",on Thursday Nov 9 ,2days after election.
So, Thank you Mr Moore and Ms Halloran.
Odd,neither of you or your Boss,mentioned any of this prior to election.
That would have made quite the campaign promise.
"We will raise your taxes immediately,raise your water bill,both significantly.Then we will cut youth and senior programs, so we will be able to pay Atty Roberts and GAR for assessing my home so I can pay
$1257,00 per 100k on top of what I pay plus school taxes, garbage bags that break, higher water rates and sewage". There is no Transit,paid Fire Dept.Cabs are few and unaffordable.Sidewalks are unwakeable.Drug dealing goes unchecked,and Trucks the size that are illegal in Manhattan,barrel through the streets of families of the least of us,the ones with no voices,or signage. Junked cars,rats, illegal demolition,city and DSS housing deals all behind closed doors.Have your Trucks go down Warren,or where ever it is that you live.Share and share alike.So smug in their win,Geotz,Wagoner,Sterling didn't even have the courtesy to attend.Thurs,to represent,these our civil servants?Who cares about Haddad,or Hallenbeck.They sound like Fish Specials. Will they give us our money back,supply the services we pay for?All the same players are in.There is an absolute lack of trust by everyone for anyone.Apathetic,inept,self serving and dangerous.I know of no joy in mudville.
I had no one even run in the Second Ward.
Am I part of the problem ?,if I do not get involved with this political mess?I came here as I was extremely ill and just wanted to recover as "one of your herd of loners"
I had no idea what I had stepped into.As I started to recover and look around,I was astounded by what I saw.I have a moral compass that I cannot ignore. I have reluctantly begun to get mad,speak out,take actions.
Be part of solution.That is not why I came here,so as my health returns,I see work I reluctantly must begin, the fate of my country ,starts right here,at my doorstep.I resent it and the last person who anyone would want to pursue this,is me
I am no politician nor could I be.I am a citizen of these United States,that happens to live in the dreaded 2ND Ward ,the Most American of 2ND Wards.That does not include the galleries,homes,boutiques,bakeries on the north side of Warren Street below 3RD,with their backs to us,who consider themselves an extension of the 1st Ward and not part of us.
I will get stronger and will be able to do more.I am someone,its better to stay friends with,in the long run,but not necessary.
I have been doing alot of reading to catch up on the politics of more recent years.When I was very ill,i read mostly history of Hudson and Nantucket and the Revolutionary war.It was much more engrossing and enjoyable,.
I may have many questions for you about the present and recent past, South Bay Task Force. I will try to contact you at your site.Thanks for responding
Hey Prison Alley,
ReplyDeleteI could easily have written every word of your last post.
There are a lot of things to get upset about in Hudson, but don't make yourself sick again!
If each caring person really focused on only one or two things, then coalitions might begin to form around small knots of intelligent people. Divisions of labor would be the next step, and so on.
There are always some beginnings of that going on, but there are too few venues for people to meet and talk, and I mean to really discuss things. Also, if a small group forms everyone else immediately assumes the group is exclusive. What's up with that?! It's the seventh grade all over again.
There aren't even places where people are speaking about art or poetry (not really), so by my estimate there are like three or four lost generations carrying on simultaneously in Hudson.
I had a friend who used to say that we've had a hundred years of psychotherapy and the world is getting worse! People are incorrigibly turned inwards.
A better motto is fix the world, fix the soul.
I've decided to remind people about the ecology of the South Bay, because losing this opportunity to set the stage for healing the bay may be to lose the treasure altogether.
It appears all but hopeless. People cannot get beyond their immediate comforts, though by the complaining you'd think every one was a revolutionist! The truth is, nobody will read any of the material they'd have to read to be able to make an informed decision. So the politicians (who also don't do their homework) can visit just about anything on us they please to.
Scalera understands this perfectly, which is why I don't really blame him. I don't usually agree with him, but I don't blame him if people freely give away their power. The herd of loners behaves stupidly, and that's that. It's an incurable psychology.
By the way, Moore's "boss" is not Scalera (or not officially anyway). His boss is you and me. And if you take the exceedingly rare opportunity to remind him of this you will quickly find yourself silenced.
He's got the mentality of an autocrat. He's bad news, but our neighbors just take it, and then reelect him.
And here I am speaking the truth, which only encourages the louts. Oh dear.
Good health to you, sir or madame!
It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office. - H. L. Mencken
ReplyDeletePrison Alley,
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add another tidbit which would cheer a less civic-minded person than yourself.
I refer to the City of Hudson Charter §C12-13.
Because of the weighted vote, which favors some wards over others, the 2nd Ward is far better off than the 1st Ward for representation.
In a simple majority vote, a 1st Ward alderman gets 94 votes while her counterpart in the 2nd Ward gets 184.
(The Council President gets 188, while each 5th Ward alderman gets 278 votes!)
These ratios remain about the same for 2/3 or 3/4 majority decisions.
To make an analogy with the national stage, it's as if there was no US Senate to protect the interests of the smaller states against gigantic states with their gigantic majorities. Only after grasping the implications of that scenario, then you must factor in a popular vote for POTUS only, with no electoral college. Together these would add up to the proper analogy for Hudson.
If you consider that the "apportionment of the weighted vote" may no longer reflect Hudson's demographics, you are even further from the national scene, which is at least meant to reflect shifting populations.
The effects of this arrangement are unmistakable. Simply project Hudson's model onto the nation as a whole and it will immediately be clear why our City is led by an oligarchy primarily accountable to the 5th Ward.
The preference of 5th Ward residents for an oligarchy which invariably reflects their interests and values is enshrined in the City Charter.
All honest people should want to scrap the weighted voting system, but will the 5th Ward ever allow it? I guess that would depend on how civically inclined its residents are. In the meantime the rest of us are pretty much at the mercy of Aldermen Donahue and Goetz.
But for goodness sake, you should be taking pity on the 1st Ward, not resenting us!
South Bay Task Force,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry.I do not resent the 1st Ward.I first rented there when I came here,before I moved to 2ND Ward.It was much more pleasant to live in the 1st ward,for many reasons,and houses are much more expensive,regrettably. No,I resent the 2ND Ward residents of means and influence on the tonier side of North Warren,below Third, who's buildings are not of less value by being in the 2ND Ward, of pretending they are in the preferable 1st Ward,as what happens there,affects them more,than what happens in their own 2ND Ward.Or at best just ignoring they are in the 2ND ward.Socioeconomically speaking, there is no comparison to Union ST. below Third to Columbia St. below Third St.:or State ST below 3rd TO Allen ST below Third St.
There was no contest on who was representing 2ND Ward at this election.If representatives do not represent,do not show up to vote at council .I don't care if there are 10 of them.
Most people on N.Warren,below 3rd are unaware who represents them.Not all,but most.Most residence period of the 2ND Ward seem to be a bit cloudy on this issue.
When I had a dangerous situation that needed immediate attention,for the safety of school children.
I received only lip service from 2ND Ward Representation and it was 1st Ward Rep.Sterling that actually paid attention and got Mayor's attention and then Peter Meyer's.Moore just rudely dismissed situation outright. When I just flooded everyone with the photos ,that were undeniable,to all Agencies on City,County, State and Fed level,it was then ,and only then,action was taken immediately.And that was prompted more to cover their backsides, than preventing a tragedy.
I had gone right at Moore from the beginning and was dismissed to my face. I named him outright as the person ,who was dismissing what was happening ,8ft North of Warren,on N3rd St; The North gateway into Hudson.Moore stated in writing ,that upon his inspection ,there was no problem.
When the smoke cleared,but by no means is resolved,I received an insipide e-mail from Moore,stating there had been some misunderstanding.
Alderman Sterling said to me,"It's strange,you can walk right by something day after day and not notice."
It is strange.It's like we're invisible.
Funny, I recently used the word "insipid" to describe a typical excuse he'd made (and the rest of the council was grateful for the cover too).
ReplyDelete"Brusque dismissal" is another, and I've been the recipient of that more times than I can count. More often than not it cloaks a lack of knowledge on some topic, which is easy to provoke. Thin skin doesn't wear well on a politician, but there's a lot of thin skin around here.
The minute someone sits up in that chair they think they know something. The tragedy is, so does everyone else, and just like that!
That's never going to change, nor can you make people who don't care suddenly be concerned about who their representatives are. But perhaps we should leave people alone in that regard. They are free not to care, right? Whether it is respectable is another matter, but nobody HAS to care.
That means that you are free too, to try and change the system.
It seems you are understanding the lunacy of the weighted vote in Hudson. I don't suppose we'll ever change anything here without changing that first, but I don't suppose we'll ever change it either.
This is not what I'd call a healthy place. It will always look like it's about to happen for Hudson, but it's never going to happen. Sad.