With the advance of social media, you knew that is was only a matter time before social media like Facebook and politics would intermingle. Once you sign on to Facebook, it's easy to find political pages. Pages that are put out by for are supportive of a particular politician. Or Facebook pages put out in favor or against a particular point of view. As a matter in Egypt, Facebook and Twitter were essential to the protesters who eventually forced Hosni Murbarak from power.
But you don't need to overthrow an existing government in order to use Facebook to make a difference politically. It can be used effectively to make a difference in local issues. Case in point, a recent article by the Fall River Herald News columnist Marc Monroe Dion. A recent article by Dion was about a policy change by Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan, which was caused partially cause by negative feedback on Facebook.
While Dion does not mention the Facebook page in question, it appears that the page is Fall River City Pride, as activity went on to that page was similar to what Dion described in his article. Fall River City Pride is a Facebook page where local politics and current events are discussed. The page,s moderator is an anonymous individual known only as FRCP. FRCP will often post a "Question of the Day" or "Breaking News". What usually follows is a vigorous and often a heated debate over the issues of the day. Picture a cyber version of a town hall or neighborhood association meeting.
In this case, FRCP posted braking news that the Flanagan administration posted a gag order over his department heads. It required them to send information requests to the Mayor's office instead of talking to the media or the public. As expected, the response was overwhelmingly negative. Making things worse for Flanagan was that his predecessor, Bob Corriea, insinuated a similar gag order. To put things in perspective to those who are unfamiliar with Fall River politics: Corriea was an unpopular Mayor, and made very few friends during his reign.
It should also be noted that Flanagan visited a few area restaurants that night and also heard negative feedback there. So that, combined with the Facebook posts, Flanagan reversed his gag order as quickly as he instituted it.
Will Flanagan deserves credit for quickly admitting be made a mistake and fixing the error. The moderator and contributors of Fall River City Pride also deserve credit in playing a role in a mayoral policy change. Many politicians fear talk radio, but new media has emerged to keep them in line: Facebook.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Whitey Bulger, Barney Frank and Ron Paul
Whitey Bulger
In my last blog I wrote about the long awaited capture of former Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger. He, of course, was arrested after 16 years on the run. Much media attention have been put on Whitey Bulger over the years. People wondering about his where he was. The comparisons to his brother Billy Bulger, who at one time was a powerful politician in Massachusetts.
In some corners, there have been a fascination with mobsters. Hollywood has put out a lot of popular movies and television shows about mobsters. But in real life, mobsters like Whitey Bulger leaved behind a lot of death, bloodshed and hurt. The hurt going to the victims kin. This article in Fridays Boston Herald does a good job at illustrating the hurt that Bulger and his winter hill gang have done.
"I'd like to see him hanged," said Marion Hussey, who's daughter Deborah was strangled to death by Bulger and his henchman, Stephan "the Rifleman" Flemmi. Marion was the common law wife of Flemmi, until Deborah accused Flemmi of sexual molesting her when she was a girl. Sometime after, Flemmi lured Deborah to her mother's home where Bulger strangled her.
Deborah is one of 19 people who were believed to be killed at the hands of Bulger. Not all of them were seemingly as innocent as Deborah. Many of them were in or had connections to the criminal underworld. But they were still humans. They still had relationship with grieving family members who were left behind long after Bulger murdered them. Here's hoping the all of the voices of the victim's kin are heard.
Marijuana and the Political Odd Couple
They seem like the ultimate political odd couple. Reps. Barney Frank (D) of Massachusetts and Ron Paul (R) of Texas. Frank is one of the most outspoken liberals in the House of Representatives. Paul is one of the biggest advocates of small government and personal freedom. Paul is also running for the Republican nomination of the President of the United States. This week they introduced a bill that would take marijuana off the federal government's list of controlled substances and eliminate criminal penalty. The bill would leave marijuana enforcement and prosecution up to the states.
Ron Paul is one politician who I have a lot of respect for. More libertarian than conservative, he deserves credit of being consistent in his small government views (unlike many of his fellow Republicans who claim to be in favor of small government and personal freedom but are actually in favor of their own version of big government. One that is just as dangerous and restrictive on freedom as the most liberal of Democrats). I know Barney Frank well as he is one of my hometown's representatives in Congress. I have my fair share of differences with him as I find him to be too far to the left. That, and he comes on way too strong at times. But he also has an independent and has (dare I say it) a somewhat libertarian streak that makes me give him some grudging respect for him. For the second time in a number I find myself totally in favor of a Barney Fran initiative. First his efforts to legalize online poker and his criticism of the government crackdown of online poker (which caused a hopefully brief hiatus of my online poker career). Now this.
I do not equate marijuana with other drugs on the government's list of controlled substances (cocaine, heroin, etc). I put it more on the level of alcohol and gambling. Most people can smoke marijuana and it'll cause no harm in their life. Is there a number of people who can become addicted to it and have it cause harm to their live? Yes, but it's in the minority. Some people do great harm to their lives through alcohol and gambling. Does it mean that we should shut down all bar rooms, liquor stores and casinos? No. Medical marijuana should also be available to people that need it. Why the federal government continues to fight medical marijuana makes no sense to me. I rather see government resources to to more important things than the continued criminalization marijuana.
"Criminally prosecuting adults for making the choice to smoke marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources and an intrusion on personal freedom," said Frank.
"I do not advocate urging people to smoke marijuana, neither do I urge them to drink alcoholic beverages or smoke tobacco, but in none of theses cases do I think prohibition enforced by criminal sanctions is good public policy," Frank said.
I totally agree.
In my last blog I wrote about the long awaited capture of former Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger. He, of course, was arrested after 16 years on the run. Much media attention have been put on Whitey Bulger over the years. People wondering about his where he was. The comparisons to his brother Billy Bulger, who at one time was a powerful politician in Massachusetts.
In some corners, there have been a fascination with mobsters. Hollywood has put out a lot of popular movies and television shows about mobsters. But in real life, mobsters like Whitey Bulger leaved behind a lot of death, bloodshed and hurt. The hurt going to the victims kin. This article in Fridays Boston Herald does a good job at illustrating the hurt that Bulger and his winter hill gang have done.
"I'd like to see him hanged," said Marion Hussey, who's daughter Deborah was strangled to death by Bulger and his henchman, Stephan "the Rifleman" Flemmi. Marion was the common law wife of Flemmi, until Deborah accused Flemmi of sexual molesting her when she was a girl. Sometime after, Flemmi lured Deborah to her mother's home where Bulger strangled her.
Deborah is one of 19 people who were believed to be killed at the hands of Bulger. Not all of them were seemingly as innocent as Deborah. Many of them were in or had connections to the criminal underworld. But they were still humans. They still had relationship with grieving family members who were left behind long after Bulger murdered them. Here's hoping the all of the voices of the victim's kin are heard.
Marijuana and the Political Odd Couple
They seem like the ultimate political odd couple. Reps. Barney Frank (D) of Massachusetts and Ron Paul (R) of Texas. Frank is one of the most outspoken liberals in the House of Representatives. Paul is one of the biggest advocates of small government and personal freedom. Paul is also running for the Republican nomination of the President of the United States. This week they introduced a bill that would take marijuana off the federal government's list of controlled substances and eliminate criminal penalty. The bill would leave marijuana enforcement and prosecution up to the states.
Ron Paul is one politician who I have a lot of respect for. More libertarian than conservative, he deserves credit of being consistent in his small government views (unlike many of his fellow Republicans who claim to be in favor of small government and personal freedom but are actually in favor of their own version of big government. One that is just as dangerous and restrictive on freedom as the most liberal of Democrats). I know Barney Frank well as he is one of my hometown's representatives in Congress. I have my fair share of differences with him as I find him to be too far to the left. That, and he comes on way too strong at times. But he also has an independent and has (dare I say it) a somewhat libertarian streak that makes me give him some grudging respect for him. For the second time in a number I find myself totally in favor of a Barney Fran initiative. First his efforts to legalize online poker and his criticism of the government crackdown of online poker (which caused a hopefully brief hiatus of my online poker career). Now this.
I do not equate marijuana with other drugs on the government's list of controlled substances (cocaine, heroin, etc). I put it more on the level of alcohol and gambling. Most people can smoke marijuana and it'll cause no harm in their life. Is there a number of people who can become addicted to it and have it cause harm to their live? Yes, but it's in the minority. Some people do great harm to their lives through alcohol and gambling. Does it mean that we should shut down all bar rooms, liquor stores and casinos? No. Medical marijuana should also be available to people that need it. Why the federal government continues to fight medical marijuana makes no sense to me. I rather see government resources to to more important things than the continued criminalization marijuana.
"Criminally prosecuting adults for making the choice to smoke marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources and an intrusion on personal freedom," said Frank.
"I do not advocate urging people to smoke marijuana, neither do I urge them to drink alcoholic beverages or smoke tobacco, but in none of theses cases do I think prohibition enforced by criminal sanctions is good public policy," Frank said.
I totally agree.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Justice Part 2
For those reading this blog for the first time., since this blog will be making it's debut on FRCP page, I pretty write about what's in the news or what's on my mind. Not just politics and current events, plus sports, pop culture, etc. Here are my thoughts for today.
Whitey Bulger
This one took a while. Like 16 years, but former Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger was finally captured along with his girlfriend Catherine Grieg. Bulger faces a laundry list of charges when he returns home including 19 counts of murder. Bulger and his Winter Hill Gang group of mobsters lead a reign of terror throughout Boston. The feds were about to close in on Bulger, but he was tipped off by corrupt retired FBI agent John Connolly that the FBI and Department of Justice was about to close in on him. Bulger and Grieg quickly left town.
What was a surprise was the location that Whitey Bulger was found. Thought by many to be overseas, Bulger was actually hiding away in Santa Monica, California. This case of course recieved much attention. He was on the FBI Ten Most Wanted List for a long time along with Osama bin-Laden. Something that attracted even more attention was the fact that Whitey Bulger's younger brother, Billy Bulger, was for a few years, one of the most powerful politicians in Massachusetts (who's political career was ofter marred with questions over ethics).
So there's no doubt that Bulger will finally face punishments for his sins. Including 19 murders, many of which were gruesome. I hope this brings some justice to the families of his victims. What I really wanted to know is where did he get his money from in order to be on the run for 16 years? Who (if anyone) funded him.?
Taunton Casanova
One of the funniest articles I read in the news as of late appeared in the online edition of my hometown paper the Fall River Herald News. The incident happened in Taunton, a city about 20 minutes north of Fall River. The Taunton police responded to a home expecting to find a gunshot victim. Instead, they found a man wearing boxer shorts. For discussion sakes, we'll call him Casanova. He called police that he needed to get his belongings from a nearby home of a woman who's house he was in earlier that night. We'll call her Juliette.
Casanova's and Juliette's stories differs at first. Casanova claims that he met Juliette at a bar. Juliet claims that she went to a concert with Casanova. It's after that where their stories agree with one another. Basically, the both of them got drunk and retired to her place. They were in the same bed until Juliette's other half came in and saw them in bed together.
Romeo must have been P.O.'ed because Casanova stormed out of the house. Without his shirt, pants, shoes and cell phone. He needed the police to get his belongings back.
So lesson learned for any Casanovas out there. If you meet a lady who might be interested for some late night extra curricular fun, it's a good idea to make sure she is single. It totally eliminate the chances of running into an angry boyfriend or husband. However, if it's something that you don't care about (Poets and Madmen does not condone sleeping with someone else's girlfriend. Just giving out some friendly advice) then make sure you do the following:
Whitey Bulger
This one took a while. Like 16 years, but former Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger was finally captured along with his girlfriend Catherine Grieg. Bulger faces a laundry list of charges when he returns home including 19 counts of murder. Bulger and his Winter Hill Gang group of mobsters lead a reign of terror throughout Boston. The feds were about to close in on Bulger, but he was tipped off by corrupt retired FBI agent John Connolly that the FBI and Department of Justice was about to close in on him. Bulger and Grieg quickly left town.
What was a surprise was the location that Whitey Bulger was found. Thought by many to be overseas, Bulger was actually hiding away in Santa Monica, California. This case of course recieved much attention. He was on the FBI Ten Most Wanted List for a long time along with Osama bin-Laden. Something that attracted even more attention was the fact that Whitey Bulger's younger brother, Billy Bulger, was for a few years, one of the most powerful politicians in Massachusetts (who's political career was ofter marred with questions over ethics).
So there's no doubt that Bulger will finally face punishments for his sins. Including 19 murders, many of which were gruesome. I hope this brings some justice to the families of his victims. What I really wanted to know is where did he get his money from in order to be on the run for 16 years? Who (if anyone) funded him.?
Taunton Casanova
One of the funniest articles I read in the news as of late appeared in the online edition of my hometown paper the Fall River Herald News. The incident happened in Taunton, a city about 20 minutes north of Fall River. The Taunton police responded to a home expecting to find a gunshot victim. Instead, they found a man wearing boxer shorts. For discussion sakes, we'll call him Casanova. He called police that he needed to get his belongings from a nearby home of a woman who's house he was in earlier that night. We'll call her Juliette.
Casanova's and Juliette's stories differs at first. Casanova claims that he met Juliette at a bar. Juliet claims that she went to a concert with Casanova. It's after that where their stories agree with one another. Basically, the both of them got drunk and retired to her place. They were in the same bed until Juliette's other half came in and saw them in bed together.
Romeo must have been P.O.'ed because Casanova stormed out of the house. Without his shirt, pants, shoes and cell phone. He needed the police to get his belongings back.
So lesson learned for any Casanovas out there. If you meet a lady who might be interested for some late night extra curricular fun, it's a good idea to make sure she is single. It totally eliminate the chances of running into an angry boyfriend or husband. However, if it's something that you don't care about (Poets and Madmen does not condone sleeping with someone else's girlfriend. Just giving out some friendly advice) then make sure you do the following:
- Be in good shape. Do some cardio at the gym. Because you might have to run as fast as you can.
- Bring an extra set of clothes and hide an extra set of keys, just in case you leave your belongings behind.
- As always, in the name of safe sex, wear a condom.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
I'm Shipping Up to Boston
Bruins Win Stanley Cup
What a run that Boston sports have been going through. Since 2001 we've seen the Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics win championships. This week, the Bruins joined them by winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in 39 years. This team won in a similar matter to the other Boston sports teams. Through grit, determination and very hard work. Making less mistakes than your opponents. Like the 2004 Red Sox, they were on the ropes a few times and did not give up. Like the 2001 Patriots, they were going against an offensive juggernaut in the championship round and few people were picking them. But the Bruins shut down the Canucks offense in a similar matter the Patriots shut down the Rams offense in Super Bowl XXXVI.
When Zdeno Chara hoisted the Stanley Cup, it not only marked the Cup finally coming back to Boston. It made it that all four Boston based major professional sports teams have won titles in seven years. Nobody else have ever done that. Seven championships since 2001. This is a sharp contrast from what it was like previous to 2001. The Patriots were the laughing stock of the NFL. The Red Sox were a team that seemed curse. A team that had a knack to losing in the most painful way possible (Bucky Dent, Mookie Wilson, Aaron Boone). Even the Celtics, who won a few titles in the 1980's, suffered through a few lean years before re-emerging with the new big three and winning the long awaited 17'th banner.
The pre 2011 Bruins had a knack for Red Sox types looses in play off games. There was also a perception and ownership and management did not want to spend the money it would take to have a championship team. But a lot of that changed a few years back went Peter Chiarelli was hired to be the team general manager. He put together much the the team nucleus that enabled the 2011 Bruins to win the Stanley Cup. Much of the team is still very young, so the Bruins are in position to be contenders for years to come.
Vancouver Fans
OK, it's not easy to see your team lose in the championship games. But rioting is totally unnecessary. But that is what some Vancouver Canucks fans did this week after thier team lost in game seven of the Stanley Cup finals. Come on what is this? Doing a bad impersonation on soccer hooligans? This makes your team and your city look bad. Vancouver deserves better.
Anthony Weiner Update
In my last blog I wrote about the self inflicted woes of Anthony Weiner. Since then, things have gotten worse for him. Still in the headlines and the fodder of late night comedians, Weiner was iceasingly becoming more and more of a distraction to Congress and the details were becoming increasingly sordid. It got to the point that many of his fellow Democrats were calling him to resign. This past week, Weiner resigned from Congress. Though he'll be gone for a while, this might not necessarily be the end for Weiner. Eliot Spitzer is doing well these days.
Day of Portugal 5K
This past Sunday, is just missed returning to the sub 20 minute mark in 5Ks, running the Day of Portugal 5K in 20:01. In my best running shape in years, I hit a nice burst of energy around the half way mark that carried me to the finish. Fairhaven Road Race tomorrow. Doing the 5K.
What a run that Boston sports have been going through. Since 2001 we've seen the Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics win championships. This week, the Bruins joined them by winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in 39 years. This team won in a similar matter to the other Boston sports teams. Through grit, determination and very hard work. Making less mistakes than your opponents. Like the 2004 Red Sox, they were on the ropes a few times and did not give up. Like the 2001 Patriots, they were going against an offensive juggernaut in the championship round and few people were picking them. But the Bruins shut down the Canucks offense in a similar matter the Patriots shut down the Rams offense in Super Bowl XXXVI.
When Zdeno Chara hoisted the Stanley Cup, it not only marked the Cup finally coming back to Boston. It made it that all four Boston based major professional sports teams have won titles in seven years. Nobody else have ever done that. Seven championships since 2001. This is a sharp contrast from what it was like previous to 2001. The Patriots were the laughing stock of the NFL. The Red Sox were a team that seemed curse. A team that had a knack to losing in the most painful way possible (Bucky Dent, Mookie Wilson, Aaron Boone). Even the Celtics, who won a few titles in the 1980's, suffered through a few lean years before re-emerging with the new big three and winning the long awaited 17'th banner.
The pre 2011 Bruins had a knack for Red Sox types looses in play off games. There was also a perception and ownership and management did not want to spend the money it would take to have a championship team. But a lot of that changed a few years back went Peter Chiarelli was hired to be the team general manager. He put together much the the team nucleus that enabled the 2011 Bruins to win the Stanley Cup. Much of the team is still very young, so the Bruins are in position to be contenders for years to come.
Vancouver Fans
OK, it's not easy to see your team lose in the championship games. But rioting is totally unnecessary. But that is what some Vancouver Canucks fans did this week after thier team lost in game seven of the Stanley Cup finals. Come on what is this? Doing a bad impersonation on soccer hooligans? This makes your team and your city look bad. Vancouver deserves better.
Anthony Weiner Update
In my last blog I wrote about the self inflicted woes of Anthony Weiner. Since then, things have gotten worse for him. Still in the headlines and the fodder of late night comedians, Weiner was iceasingly becoming more and more of a distraction to Congress and the details were becoming increasingly sordid. It got to the point that many of his fellow Democrats were calling him to resign. This past week, Weiner resigned from Congress. Though he'll be gone for a while, this might not necessarily be the end for Weiner. Eliot Spitzer is doing well these days.
Day of Portugal 5K
This past Sunday, is just missed returning to the sub 20 minute mark in 5Ks, running the Day of Portugal 5K in 20:01. In my best running shape in years, I hit a nice burst of energy around the half way mark that carried me to the finish. Fairhaven Road Race tomorrow. Doing the 5K.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Weiner Gets Exposed
To my readers, my apologies for not blogging much as of late. My schedule has been insane. I've been working 50 hours a week at my day job plus whatever I've been putting in at the liquor store. I requested and will soon get less hours at the liquor store. I've been doing two jobs for a long time and I needed a break. So hopefully in a few weeks, my schedule will calm down and I can blog more often.
Politicians Behaving Badly
So a U.S. Congressman named Mr. Weiner gets in trouble when he gets caught sending lewd emails and pictures over the internet. No, this isn't a Saturday Night Live skit or a plot to a B-grade porno flick. This is real. After repeated denials, Rep. Anthony Weiner admitted to inappropriate relationships with women he met over the internet, none of who were his wife. he then apologized for lying about the "Weinergate" allegations. Even when it looked liked he got caught with his pants down, Weiner continued his denials to the bitter end, even claiming that his twitter account got hacked. Now he's just the latest in a long line of politicians who let their reputations get tarnished by sheer stupidity.
Of course no politician in recent memory has had a more dramatic fall from grace than John Edwards. Not long ago, he was a U.S. Senator and came close to being elected Vice-President. But as we know, Edwards got himself involved in scandals involving his extramarital affairs. Now he could be facing prison time over allegations that he used campaign funds to cover up his extramarital affairs. It's just not Democrats who are getting in trouble. The list of Republican sex scandals is big and growing all the time.
Lessons of the Weiner and Edwards messes: (1) never put anything over the internet you wouldn't want the public or your wife to see and (2) if you want a career in politics, it's not a good idea to take part in extramarital affairs. You would think highly educated men would be smarter. But as long as they are politicians, they will be plenty of writing material for blogs.
Stanley Cup Finals
It's not too often in New England that the Red Sox and the Yankees are in the back seat. But our attention there days are focused toward hockey as the Boston Bruins continue to play the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals. After a pair of tough losses on the first two games, the Bruins came out firing in game three in a 8 - 1 thrashing of the Canucks. Much of it came after the Bruins lost Nathan Horton due to a cheap shot by Aaron Rome.
So Boston Bruin fever is pretty much gripping New England these days. Also, with their biting and cheap shots, the Canucks are playing a good role as hockey villains. Either way, come 8 PM tonight, a lot of us will be glued to out TVs watching game four of the Stanley Cup Finals. I will be one of them. Go Bruins!
Politicians Behaving Badly
So a U.S. Congressman named Mr. Weiner gets in trouble when he gets caught sending lewd emails and pictures over the internet. No, this isn't a Saturday Night Live skit or a plot to a B-grade porno flick. This is real. After repeated denials, Rep. Anthony Weiner admitted to inappropriate relationships with women he met over the internet, none of who were his wife. he then apologized for lying about the "Weinergate" allegations. Even when it looked liked he got caught with his pants down, Weiner continued his denials to the bitter end, even claiming that his twitter account got hacked. Now he's just the latest in a long line of politicians who let their reputations get tarnished by sheer stupidity.
Of course no politician in recent memory has had a more dramatic fall from grace than John Edwards. Not long ago, he was a U.S. Senator and came close to being elected Vice-President. But as we know, Edwards got himself involved in scandals involving his extramarital affairs. Now he could be facing prison time over allegations that he used campaign funds to cover up his extramarital affairs. It's just not Democrats who are getting in trouble. The list of Republican sex scandals is big and growing all the time.
Lessons of the Weiner and Edwards messes: (1) never put anything over the internet you wouldn't want the public or your wife to see and (2) if you want a career in politics, it's not a good idea to take part in extramarital affairs. You would think highly educated men would be smarter. But as long as they are politicians, they will be plenty of writing material for blogs.
Stanley Cup Finals
It's not too often in New England that the Red Sox and the Yankees are in the back seat. But our attention there days are focused toward hockey as the Boston Bruins continue to play the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals. After a pair of tough losses on the first two games, the Bruins came out firing in game three in a 8 - 1 thrashing of the Canucks. Much of it came after the Bruins lost Nathan Horton due to a cheap shot by Aaron Rome.
So Boston Bruin fever is pretty much gripping New England these days. Also, with their biting and cheap shots, the Canucks are playing a good role as hockey villains. Either way, come 8 PM tonight, a lot of us will be glued to out TVs watching game four of the Stanley Cup Finals. I will be one of them. Go Bruins!
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