Extravaganja 2010

I didn't have time yesterday to do more than a quick walkthrough at the 19th Annual Extravaganja rally for an end to the drug war. However, I saw plenty to take pictures of in my brief stay. That was unlike Amherst blogmaster Larry Kelley, who came by around noon, when it was raining and hardly anyone was there.



However, when I arrived around five o'clock the rain had stopped and the town common was packed with revelers.



To escape the crowd some people took to the trees.



While I was there a great local Irish band was playing called The Swaggering Growlers. Hey, I thought the Irish were known more as juicers than tokers!



All the crazies were out in full force.



Counterculture comedian Norman Bie was there doing the latest version of his routine Deviations from the Norm.



Event organizer and multi-media artist Heather McCormack getting down.



The tone overall was pretty mellow and everyone seemed well-behaved. Well, almost everyone.



Yet it was still the sort of scene where a guy could dance with his girl.



Tie-dye was everywhere, including attire for the psychedelic tot.



The icons of stoner culture were well represented, such as Pink Floyd.



The times they are a-changin' - Republican Grateful Dead shirts were for sale.



For the first time in Extravaganja history a candidate for governor campaigned at the event - Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein.



Despite less than perfect weather, the 2010 Extravaganja was a big success, especially for the downtown merchants like Subway, who cashed in royally on the munchy crazed crowd.



This eighteen minute documentary has surfaced about the Feder Fiasco over free speech at UMass in 2009. You can see me in it at several points if you look closely.

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My friend the nationally famous artist John Sendelbach made this video Friday while visiting the plaza he designed at UMass.



A psychedelic butt in the window of the UMass Student Union Art Gallery.

Partytime with Mike Albano

From the Ogulewicz Chronicles.



1988 was a presidential election year. As a life-long political junkie, Mitch Ogulewicz always participated on some level in presidential politics, dating back to his campaign work in Hungry Hill on the candidacy of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. However, 1988 was a special year, and in one respect it was special for the same reason as the JFK campaign of 1960. As in that election year, the Democrats nominated a candidate from Massachusetts as their presidential standard bearer - Governor Michael S. Dukakis.

Today, the name Dukakis is one of the most reviled in Massachusetts politics. His humiliating loss to George Bush Sr. followed by the deep recession (sometimes called “The Dukakis Depression”) which quickly followed left many Massachusetts residents with a very negative final appraisal of the former Governor. But in 1988 the ultimate disgrace of Dukakis was still in the unknowable future, and locally the Dukakis campaign was the focus of great enthusiasm. That was especially true among the politically connected, who had visions of Washington patronage plums dancing in their heads.



Mitch Ogulewicz wasn’t one of them, but he did have a strong interest in the Dukakis campaign. He had worked for Dukakis in the New Hampshire primary, along with his new friend, freshman School Committee member Michael J. Albano (above). Albano was quickly making a name for himself in the political scene as someone who was very ambitious. His Longmeadow based family was already well known in political circles, with his late father being a prominent labor leader. Meanwhile his mother was a popular behind the scenes activist in a variety of issues and organizations. Albano's Uncle Jim Grimaldi had served as a member of the Springfield City Council and for many years as a State Representative. Albano made no secret of the fact that he was interested in moving up from the School Committee to the City Council in the next election cycle. Eventually he would become Springfield's mayor, and a very controversial one. But in the late 80's Mitch found Albano to be a lively and fun loving companion who knew how to have a good time. As Mitch would soon learn, keeping up with Mike Albano in party mode could be quite a challenge.

Governor Dukakis was scheduled to accept the Democratic nomination in the southern city of Atlanta, Georgia. The official delegates to the convention from Springfield consisted of all of the big name office holders and political celebrities, which did not reach down to include City Councilors and School Committee members. Yet as the convention approached and the excitement rose Mitch and Albano decided that they would fly down to Atlanta anyway. They had no credentials or passes that would entitle them to attend a single convention function, but in the heady atmosphere of the moment they decided to head south anyway and at least try to enjoy the convention atmosphere.



While at Bradley airport awaiting their flight, Mitch was surprised to see Albano down three Bloody Marys in quick succession at the airport bar. While Albano was known to enjoy a drop or two on occasion, Mitch had never seen Albano drink so much so quickly. “What the hell are you doing?” Mitch asked. “We haven’t even got on the plane yet and you’ve already had three drinks!” It was then that Albano made a sheepish confession - he was terrified of flying! This surprised Mitch, in part because it clashed with the very macho attitude Albano assumed in most situations. Yet the flight went smoothly and Albano was able to contain his discomfort, although not without the help of several more drinks in-flight.

When they arrived in Atlanta, far from being dragged down by the alcohol and the flight, Albano seemed even more energized. They picked up some beer and a rental car and then headed to their hotel, a Holiday Inn far removed from the convention site. But Albano would have none of it, and told Mitch they were going to get a hotel closer to the action. Mitch didn’t see how that was possible. “Don’t worry about a thing.” Albano exclaimed. “Just take us to the Hyatt.” That was the hotel where Dukakis himself and his official entourage were staying. “They’ll never let us through the door!” Mitch protested.

“Leave it to me,” Albano confidently replied, “just drive us there.”

Ogulewicz did as he was told, but wondered whether the liquor was starting to affect Albano's judgement. It was ridiculous to think that they could even get past the doorman. Sure enough, as they reached the Hyatt and parked before the entrance, a doorman stepped forward and asked who they were. To Mitch’s amazement, Albano whipped out his wallet and flashed a badge. “Mike Albano and Mitch Ogulewicz,” he said. “Secret Service.”

Mitch was shocked and alarmed, he felt they couldn’t possibly get away with this! Yet to his amazement the doorman said, “Right this way officers,” and before he knew it they were being escorted through the door of the hotel while their car was being parked by a valet. At the desk, Albano again flashed his badge at the desk clerk. “Secret Service assigned to Governor Dukakis,” Albano said. “We’ll be needing a room for the duration of the convention.” The hotel clerk sputtered with apologetic embarrassment, “I’m terribly sorry officer, but every room in the hotel was booked solid months ago.”

“With no accommodations set aside for the secret service?” Albano exclaimed. “I demand to see the manager!” The nervous clerk disappeared while Mitch and Albano waited at the desk. “Have you lost your mind?” Mitch whispered. “Where did you get that badge?” Albano explained that it was given to him as a result of his job as a state parole officer. Had the doorman or the clerk bothered to look at the badge closely enough they would have seen that it had nothing to do with the secret service, but they had not done so. Soon the clerk returned with the manager in tow.



“I’m very sorry officers,” the manager pleaded, “but our facilities are completely filled. However, I do have a room available until tomorrow morning that is being held for a late arrival. Can I offer you that for now and then we can reappraise the situation in the morning?” Albano acted as though he was terribly put out by this turn of affairs, but said that he would reluctantly accept the temporary arrangement. A bellhop then led them to their room, which must have been originally reserved by someone very special, since it was a luxury suite with a fully stocked bar and a gorgeous view of downtown Atlanta.

That night Mitch and Albano made the rounds of Atlanta’s nightlife, and in the morning prepared to vacate their wonderful room. Mitch figured the jig was up, but Albano told him not to go anywhere, that he was going downstairs to talk to the manager. After several minutes, Albano returned with the bellhop and they were escorted once again to another luxurious room, this one just four floors below Dukakis himself! Once again Albano had parlayed his parole board badge into another suite. It was incredible, they had come to Atlanta at a time when people from all over the nation were congregating for the convention and fighting over hotel space, yet here were Mitch and Albano in the very same hotel as Dukakis himself, and just four floors below the private quarters the Governor and his family would use once they arrived!

Being in the same hotel as Dukakis meant that they were able to come into contact with some of the dignitaries and power players who were also staying at the Hyatt. Among them was Sen. John Kerry’s advisor Mike Whouley. Because of Mitch’s long relationship with Senator Kerry, Whouley gave Ogulewicz and Albano passes aboard one of the special buses that would take a crowd of supporters to greet the Governor at the airport when he arrived in Atlanta from Massachusetts. He also gave them passes to some of the events at the convention itself. When the time came to board the bus, Albano balked. “F*** the bus!” he said, and insisted that they take their car instead. Mitch figured that Albano must have something up his sleeve, but he was afraid to guess what.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the airport, Albano went into his secret service routine again, and it worked as well at the airport as it had at the hotel. Airport employees were only too eager to escort the two “secret servicemen” to the location where Dukakis and his wife were to arrive. It was then that Ogulewicz first realized with dismay that they had lied themselves into some serious danger. As they were being led toward the red carpet where Dukakis was to descend from the plane, two men with dark glasses and suits suddenly approached them.

They were real life officers of the secret service.

“Excuse me gentlemen," one of them asked, "may I see some identification?”

Now it appeared that they were about to be unmasked! Ogulewicz could only imagine what terrible fine or even prison term awaited those who impersonated the secret service. Mitch was speechless with anxiety, but Albano never missed a beat. “Good morning officers,” he said, showing them his badge with perfect calm. “I’m Mike Albano, a parole officer from Massachusetts and this is Mitch Ogulewicz, an elected official from Springfield Massachusetts. We’re here among the dignitaries from Massachusetts to greet Governor Dukakis.”

Mitch expected the secret service to swarm over them like a SWAT team and to be dragged off to jail.

“Right this way gentlemen,” the secret serviceman commanded, and then led them to a roped off section where a few dignitaries and the press were waiting. It was beyond belief that after lying their way through up to that point, that they had escaped final disaster in the most unexpected way - by simply telling the truth.

But something was still wrong. Ogulewicz realized to his confusion that there was no one else present besides the press. Standing near Mitch was David Broder of the Washington Post. After a short while Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young arrived with his entourage, but beyond that, no one. Where were the busloads of supporters that Mike Whouley said had been arranged to arrive to create a cheering crowd for the TV cameras?



Little did Mitch and Albano know that the site of Dukakis’ arrival had been changed due to air traffic problems and that the busload of supporters had been sent to the wrong location. Soon the Governor’s flight arrived and Dukakis and his wife Kitty came down the steps of the plane. The press was there snapping pictures and yelling questions. Mayor Young greeted the candidate warmly and then, as Dukakis turned to greet his throng of admirers he encountered a crowd of only two people – Mitch Ogulewicz and Mike Albano. The Governor and his wife shook their hand, a slightly puzzled expression on their faces, and then entered their limousine. Mitch and Albano could only guess what Governor Dukakis must have thought to have found such a welcoming committee, consisting only of the Mayor of Atlanta, the press and two minor public officials from Western Mass!

Later back at the Hyatt, Mitch was surprised to run into another person from the Pioneer Valley. It was not someone he was particularly happy to meet - State Representative Ray Jordan, who was attending the convention in his role as Democrat State Committeeman. Mitch had fought some intense political battles in Springfield with Jordan over the years. One was over Jordan’s election campaign, in which Mitch had supported his opponent Frank Keough, and again when Mitch unsuccessfully tried to stop the Indian Motocycle Building apartment project in which Jordan had been a major player.

Yet so far from home, and in the context of the convention, Ogulewicz approached Jordan in a friendly manner. Jordan responded in kind, and before they knew it they were laughing together as friends instead of political adversaries. Mitch confessed to Jordan that he now felt that he had made a mistake in backing Keough, especially since after his defeat Keough appeared to have sold out completely to the city’s political establishment. In the course of the night Jordan asked Mitch if he was going to attend the speech the next day to be given by Jesse Jackson. When Mitch said he was not, Jordan asked if he could have his pass to give to a friend who wanted to go. Mitch was happy to do so, thereby showing that the battles of Valley politics could indeed be put aside in the name of friendship and co-operation, at least if you were hundreds of miles away.

The next night was the most dramatic of the convention, when Dukakis himself would accept the nomination for President of the United States. Donald Dowd had warned Ogulewicz and the others to get to the convention early, since they would shut the doors to all comers, even delegates, once the convention hall reached the maximum number of persons allowed inside by the fire marshall. Mitch followed Dowd’s advice, and was glad he did, since it enabled him to observe one of the most moving political events he had ever witnessed.

As Dukakis took the stage to the music of Neil Diamond’s “Coming to America,” the convention exploded into bedlam, with an incredible outpouring of emotion from the Massachusetts delegation. Mitch looked over and saw Jordan aide Henry Twiggs with tears pouring down his face. One would have thought that Twiggs, in his many years with Jordan, would have seen enough to make anyone a stone cold cynic. Yet the image of Twiggs, in tears of joy over the ascension of Dukakis, would stick in Mitch’s mind as one of the defining moments of the convention.



Afterwards, there was a “Boston to Austin” reception for Dukakis and his running mate Texas Senator Lloyd Bentson, for which Mitch did have a pass. Yet somehow in all the convention hullabaloo he had lost it. Arriving without Albano, it was now Mitch’s turn to test his skills at getting past a skeptical doorman. When informed that he could not enter without a pass, Mitch said that he didn’t need one because his name could be found on the VIP list. “And your name is?” the doorman asked. To which Mitch replied, “State Representative Raymond Jordan.” He was then allowed to walk right in. He had a wonderful time partying while posing as the state representative from Winchester Square. The next morning Mitch ran into Jordan as he was preparing to leave. “By the way Ray,” Mitch said as Jordan was saying good-by, “if anyone calls you about attending the reception last night, pretend you’re white!”

With the convention over, Mitch and Albano did a little sight seeing before departing. They visited the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and the tomb of Rev. Martin Luther King. Albano appeared genuinely moved by the King memorial, but still had the presence of mind to say to Mitch, “Take my picture by the tomb will you? I can always use it in some future campaign!” Mitch obliged, but could only smile to himself. "That Albano," he thought, "always the political animal!" Indeed, seven years later, when Albano was running for Mayor, he remembered that photograph and asked Mitch to give it to him so that he could use it in his campaign brochure.



Campaign buttons courtesy of the Ogulewicz Collection

Beyond Feder



Until just recently, the only people to cover the free speech controversy at UMass has been myself and the trusty UMass Collegian. Happily, the Valley Advocate jumped into the fray recently by printing a commentary by Reason Magazine editor Cathy Young on last semester's "Feder Fiasco" in which former Boston Herald columnist Don Feder was heckled off the stage. Young gave this devasatingly concise summary of the incident:

A group of left-wing students announced their intent to protest Feder's appearance. The campus police then demanded the organizers pay an added $444 for security, nearly tripling the costs to the club.

It's bad enough to place a burden on unpopular views by requiring student organizations to shoulder extra costs for hosting controversial speakers. It's doubly outrageous when, even with the extra costs, the controversial speech is still silenced.

While Feder was not shouted down or physically threatened as some other speakers have been, the protesters were blatantly disruptive from the start. They laughed raucously when Feder was introduced as an "author and intellectual." The announcement that no protests or disruptions would be tolerated during the speech was greeted with open jeers.

As Feder began to speak, the protesters hissed and hooted. At one point, a group of them noisily turned around their chairs to face away from the podium. Finally, a woman in the audience interrupted Feder, rising to shout out a statement about the murder of a transgendered African-American woman. Feder asked the police to escort her out; she walked out on her own, to the cheers of her fellow protesters, and even paused to wave to her friends and yell a derogatory comment to Feder. As the disruptions continued, Feder cut his speech short and left the podium.

To read the entire essay click here. What I personally find disturbing about these incidents is that the people involved are the college educated people who will help determine the degree of free speech we have in the future. If they learn on campus that shouting down people you disagree with is not just permissable, but even admirable, what degree of freedom of expression can we expect to have in the future?



This week someone named Marlena Fontes wrote a letter to the Advocate that is probably as good an argument as can be made for the pro-disruption side:

Cathy Young's article "Intolerant of Dissent" [May 21, 2009; on the appearance of conservative columnist Don Feder at UMass] rests on the idea that all free speech should be protected and listened to politely. It seems she misunderstands the meaning of free speech, which is a protection from government intervention into that right rather than insulation from outspoken community dissent. Or rather she seems to understand that freedom of speech should be part of a large agreement, which is only kept by naive liberals, to listen politely and nicely to all people even if their speech is violence-inciting, hateful and racist. This is not say that Feder should not have been allowed to speak, but a community has the right to respond.

You can read the whole letter by clicking here. What Fontes fails to tell us is who are these wise people who can determine in advance for us whose speech is intolerable because it is "violence-inciting, hateful and racist" and therefore not protected? It is one thing to "respond" it is another to do so in such a way that your opponent is unable to speak at all. We should JUST LET EVERYONE SPEAK and let every listener judge the value of what they hear according to their own judgement. That is the only fair system.

Hamp Sights

I never noticed before that the fountain in downtown Northampton's Coolidge Park is made of stones from each of the Pioneer Valley towns.



Dig this exotic plant in the window of Noodles.

Feder Finale

UMass Makes a Statement



When former Boston Herald columnist Don Feder (above) was heckled off the stage last March at UMass, the incident attracted national attention. However, locally there was the typical veil of silence from our local media and the University itself. Then in April an op-ed column appeared in the Boston Globe. An excerpt:

America's campuses are seeing a growing movement by students to shut off debate by organized groups and silence speakers with whom they disagree. Rather than engage in the give-and-take that should be characteristic of the university as a "marketplace of ideas," these students have decided that opposing views don't even bear hearing. And all too often they are aided by administrators whose policies reward hecklers rather than students who wish to engage in civil debate and dialogue.

UMass is one of those campuses. After word got out that students were planning to protest Feder's speech, the UMass-Amherst Police Department pressured Feder's hosts, the Republican Club, into paying nearly three times as much in security costs for the event as they had planned. Of course, the student hecklers disrupted the event anyway with no interference by the police.

Feder's hecklers were thereby handed a double victory by the university - not only did they manage to silence Feder, but they also succeeded in forcing their political enemies on campus to pay a huge security bill for little return. This tactic was so successful it's hard to imagine that the same UMass students won't do it again, and it's unlikely that the lesson has been lost on students who sympathize with Feder.

The real casualty of the heckling "arms race" fostered by such policies will be the possibility of getting a truly liberal education. The more violent and disruptive the threatened protest, the higher the security costs will be demanded of the host, giving those most willing to be violent the strongest veto over campus discourse.

At the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), where I work, we tell students that if they have gone through four years of college without ever being offended or having their beliefs challenged, they should ask for their money back. John Stuart Mill, in his 1859 treatise "On Liberty," observed that nobody is infallible, and that an opinion we detest might be right, or, even if wrong, might "contain a portion of truth" that we would otherwise have missed. Might Feder's opinions have contained that "portion of truth?" UMass students may never know.



Several days later the following letter appeared in the Globe:

PEOPLE FAMILIAR with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst know that it has a long tradition of fostering discourse and the open exchange of ideas, and that groups from the left, right, and in between vigorously exercise their free speech with great frequency.

Given this history, it was perplexing to read the April 9 op-ed by Robert Shibley of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education ("Why no one should be silenced on campus"). His interpretation of events misses the mark.

UMass-Amherst did not place a surcharge on the Republican Club because we anticipated protesters for a speech delivered by columnist Don Feder. Rather, the police increased the charge because the number of anticipated attendees changed, and because the Republican Club representative declined to move the event to a venue more suited to the presentation. While Feder was heckled, the police handled the situation in the room without difficulty, which included removing one person. Feder chose to discontinue his speech.

The figure in dispute is less than $500. The university does not wish to perpetuate the perception of a controversy. So, to emphasize our commitment to free and open debate, the university has decided to refund the difference between a fee for a 70-person event and a fee for a 150-person event.

Ed Blaguszewski
Executive director of news and media relations
University of Massachusetts at Amherst

I don't like the tone of that letter, which falsely implies that free speech is not an issue on campus and hasn't been in the past. It is also unfortunate that one must read out of town papers to discover these things. However, it is at least a formal, public commitment by the University to free speech, and more importantly they dropped the fee. In other encouraging news, controversial right-wing academic Mike Adams, who was heckled off the stage a few years ago, returned to UMass recently and spoke without being shouted into silence. So that's progress.



Laid Off



I'm saddened by the news that Hampshire Gazette/Amherst Bulletin reporter Mary Cary (above) has been laid off due to increasing budgetary pressures at those papers. But at least Carey is now free to dive unimpeded into the exciting new internet revolution, with all the economic opportunity and adventure that entails. The real sympathy should go out to Carey's former co-workers who are still stuck onboard a sinking ship. Unlike Carey, who has been blogging for years, most of them have failed to establish an independent online presence to serve as a cushion once their own inevitable pink slip arrives.

Is there no hope for newspaper organizations? It depends upon whether they can re-invent themselves. As what? New Media visionary Jeff Jarvis recently made a list of what a newspaper is, what it is not and what it must become.



* Newspapers are no longer magnets that will draw people in. Newspapers must go to where the people are. Repeat after me: “If the news is that important, it will find me.” Think distributed.

* Newspapers online are still selling scarcity to advertisers: just so many banners presented to just so many eyeballs. Google instead sells performance and that is what motivated it to create AdSense and to get more and more targeted and efficient and relevant ads all around the web. Think abundance.

* Newspapers are inefficient. I spoke with an editor the other day who broke down the 300-person newsroom of yore and conceded that only 50 of those people created journalism. I would add that when working with a much larger network in a new news ecosystem, the news organization can be even smaller and still see as much news reported. That’s what no one ever talks about when whining about how to support news. Think efficiency.

* Newspapers are no longer monopolies. They have new competition. That’s why they can’t set the price for content or ads anymore. The market will. Get used to it. Think like capitalists.

* Newspapers are no longer factories. Not of paper, not of content. The new news organization will add value by organizing news, enabling it to be made elsewhere, helping it to be made better and bigger in a larger ecosystem. Think collaborative.

* Newspapers are stale. The minute - minute - they say anything, what they say can - if they’re lucky - become part of the conversation and then that knowledge is a commodity. The value to the old product disappears. It’s not the product that’s valuable. Think process.

* Newspapers aren’t conversations. And conversations are the new distribution. If you can’t be searched and linked - if you close up behind a wall - you won’t be found. Think open.

* Newspapers can no longer be about control. They have to be about enabling the community to share its own knowledge and succeed doing so. Think platform.

* Newspapers aren’t paper. That’s what’s killing them. Think digital.

Think. Just think.

Bike Week

When passing through downtown Northampton this morning I stumbled upon this rally for Bike Week. There were people giving earnest speeches in favor of biking.



Naturally many people attended by bicycle, creating a sort of bike parking crisis.



I will be joining the Valley biking brotherhood next month when I get my own bike! You can be sure to see many future posts about my biking adventures.

Balliet Archival Material

A prominent former classmate of mine at The World Famous Thomas M. Balliet Elementary School sent me this clipping from our third grade year. I refuse to figure out exactly what year that would be - it's too depressing.
(click to enlarge)



Today's Video

Grace Slick has been reclusive in recent years, but surfaced for an interview in which she discussed why she wrote songs such as "White Rabbit" which were based on the work of Lewis Carroll:



The thing I like about Alice is that she did what she wanted. When you get old it's not what you did that you regret - it's what you didn't do. Alice went for what she wanted and I like that about her. When we were kids our parents would sit there, reading Alice in Wonderland to us kids, with a glass of scotch in their hand. Then when we grew up they would say, "Why are you taking drugs? Where did you get that idea?"

Let's think about the books they read to us. In The Wizard of Oz they fall asleep in an opium field - and wake up to see an Emerald City! In Peter Pan, sprinkle a little white dust on you and suddenly you can fly! In Alice in Wonderland Alice takes at least four drugs - literally, it isn't even an illusion or anything. She takes a bite off a magic mushroom, smokes a hookah with the catepillar; she eats something that makes her literally high, and then has to take something else to come back down. When our parents used to read us these stories, were they even listening to what they were reading?

"White Rabbit" is a song that even after 40 years keeps resurfacing, like this techno version made for one of the Resident Evil films.

Feder Fallout

Other Perspectives

Did I say that yesterday's Nazi song was the last word on the UMass Feder Fiasco? Never mind, because since then some interesting stuff has come to my attention regarding the incident last week where UMass speaker Don Feder was unable to give his speech due to repeated audience outbursts.



First, something called Mass Resistance (which is where the above photo of a communist youth attending the event comes from) condemns everyone who disrupted Feder's speech as "homosexual activists." So what does that make me? Gay people can't be free speech supporters?

Also, the following video has surfaced of the event which I think is worth watching. It shows the highlights (lowlights?) of the night, and it is of better quality than other video that has surfaced. It attempts to put a positive spin on what happened, which I think is really impossible to do.



Hamp Law Library

I've often passed this door on the side of the front steps of the old Hampshire County courthouse in Northampton.



A sign indicates it is a law library, and today I decided to stop in. I used to work for the Western New England College Law Library in Springfield. Here's a picture of me at my desk in 1989. Note the Dead stuff on the side.



However, the Hamp Law Library is not attached to an educational institution, but to the court system, and so has a high level of government paranoia.



The people who work there were very nice and helpful. Yet it is still the sort of place where no one but a lawyer would be interested in going. Nothing but a lot of musty old law books!



They may not be the most entertaining books, but they are the most powerful!

Promoting Paranoia

I came across this stuck to a Hamp mailbox.



I don't know what it's trying to say, but it doesn't seem very nice.

Persian Stoner Poem.

John Paul Maynard of Amherst passes along this 900 year old poem by Hafiz he translated from the Persian.



What heart-felt joy that the wine never leaves our sight.
Look, in every stall they're singing so as to not pass out.

Mere lust for hot sweet lips will not make you first.
Better to be like a fly with its feet stuck in syrup.

May the heart never be so frivolous and so scattered
That some work is done without the brain's skill

Those perfect circles inside the eyes - they're not drunk,
because the arch of the eyebrows upholds Divine Law.

I stand like a weeping willow, begging alertness
I'll not let go your belt except for silver and gold.

I don't see anyone quite so utterly wretched as myself.
In this state, my pen is just smoke from the heart.

Bring in more wine and give it first to Hafiz,
On condition that he does not stop this babbling.

Today's Video

Popular Amherst musician Damon Reeves was over yesterday so I made this video of him playing and singing in my TV room.

Shocking Video

What Really Went Down at the Feder Fiasco.



Yesterday I bemoaned the fact that I had no good video of last night's attempted speech by consultant and former Boston Herald writer Don Feder. It is one thing to read a written account of what happened (a more detailed written account than mine appears in today's UMass Collegian) but it is quite another to see and hear what happened for yourself.

Well, ask and you shall receive. Today a somewhat mysterious entity calling itself The Pioneer Truth Project has put the entire incident on YouTube, broken up into convenient snippets of various lengths. Here are what I think are the most compelling of the videos, with my own commentary on the action preceeding each video.

Video Number Two

This video shows the just introduced Feder walking to the forum to a chorus of boos. Only one minute and ten seconds into his speech, students stand up and turn their chairs around, sitting back down with their backs to Feder. This is generally considered the worst symbolic insult a public speaker can receive. What exactly he said in a minute and ten seconds to warrant such an insult is not clear.

In a pleading tone, Feder asks for permission to speak but the taunts continue. Now angry, Feder slams the podium and calls what is happening "fascistic!" The audience responds with ridiculing laughter. The video ends with Feder making yet another attempt to begin his speech.



Video Number Four

By the time this next excerpt begins things have deteriorated badly. Taunts from the audience, including personal ones concerning Feder's daughter, have caused him to fly into a rage. He throws down the microphone after shouting, "You've won! Hurray fo you, you goddamn Nazis!"

As you will see, the protesters cheer loudly as Feder attempts to leave the stage, but then is restrained by Republican Club members who beg him to reconsider. Returning to the podium Feder is still mad, saying he feels like he is at Boston University in 1969, which the audience takes as a complement. When Feder attempts to exit a second time, an older man in the audience begs Feder to return, and angrily denounces the police for "not doing your bloody job!" This seems to please Feder, who returns to the podium to make a third attempt to speak.



Video Number Five

Video Five begins by showing an exasperated Feder futilely trying to use logic to convince the protesters to back off and let him talk. When that too is greeted with taunts and catcalls, Feder exits the podium once again, while campus Republicans again attempt to get Feder to reconsider cancelling his speech.

While the audience waits to see if Feder will return, debates break out between those who approve and disapprove of what is happening. One such debate erupts right near the cameraman and provides fascinating insight into the mentality of both camps.



Video Number Seven

Finally Feder, making his fourth attempt, was allowed to speak for three minutes and forty-five seconds. That proved to be the longest amount of time he was ever allowed to speak. What's interesting from this brief glimpse of the speech he came hoping to give is how academic and statistics-filled Feder's talk was. He hardly appears the bombastic hate spewer his critics were accusing him of being. In fact, the speech is actually a little dull. But after speaking for less than four minutes, an audience member begins screaming at Feder something about "fag is not only a word" and is subsequently ejected by the police even as he hurls insults at Feder all the way out the door.

This outburst is the last straw for Feder, who leaves the podium for the fourth and final time, despite a final plea shouted from the audience that Feder not submit to "a heckler's veto."



You can see all of the Feder Fiasco tapes by clicking here. Beyond that I don't know what to say. The tapes speak for themselves, and they don't tell a happy story about the future of the First Amendment. Here's a scary final thought.

The people in these videos are tomorrow's leaders.

Art for Art's Sake

This picture I stumbled upon online has no other significance than that I like it.



My Life and Times

Wow, yesterday I got this notification that the recording of my life story by National Public Radio's StoryCorps has been placed in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress. If you're ever in Washington D.C and want to listen to it just give the librarian the numbers on the right. (click to enlarge)



Gee, that's so weird that people a hundred or two hundred years from now will be able to listen to me (and Amherst's Hwei-Ling Greeney) tell our life's story. I guess that means I'm immortal, for whatever that's worth. Hey Library of Congress, the immortality is nice, but can't it come with a little money?

Bad Beer

Today walking along the woodland way downtown I stumbled upon this empty can of Golden Anniversary Beer, to my knowledge the most vile tasting form of alcohol ever made.



I think alcohol does so much more harm than good that I would not oppose a movement (which is coming sooner than you think) to make it illegal. On the other hand, the libertarian in me might win and I'll end up tolerating alcohol's legality, but not if Golden Anniversary still exists. My experience with it was similar to this testimonial on a beer website:

Many moons ago when I was a freshman in college one of the local frat houses that I frequented ran out of money at the end of the semester. So they were unable to afford the pallets of beast and natty ice that they usually consumed. Now since having no beer was inconceivable they were forced to pick an even cheaper brand. The cheapest they could find at the local distributor was Golden Anniversary Ice. So they bought several pallets of it.

Now since we were freshman and weren't paying for the beer they were giving us we pretty much had to take what we could get. So we were among the first to have to make the switch from Natty Ice to Golden Anniversary. At this point I truly believed that Natty Ice was the best beer ever I loved the taste. But Golden Anniversary was just too much for me. I had to just grit my teeth and take it while I was drinking the first few cans. The taste was absolutely horrid. It was like they had a basin under the floor grate in the Natty Ice plant and collected all the beer that fell through and canned it.

I can't acurately recall the exact taste except to say it was horrid. If you ever have a chance to try a can I advise you pass, unless you're curious about what a truly shitty beer tastes like.

Very true! And what the hell is it a "golden anniversary" of anyway? Auschwitz? The rise of Stalin? The invention of telemarketing? I never knew, but assumed it must be something awful. Now thanks to the Wikipedia, I have at last discovered that it honors the golden anniversary of the John Koch Brewery that makes it.



During prohibition the brewery continued operation by producing "near-beer" under the Kobru label, along with various flavors of soda, and seltzer water. The brewery also bottled Orange Crush soda during this period.

In 1933, following the repeal of prohibition, the Fred Koch Brewery began to again produce beer and ale. Brands introduced after prohibition included Pale Lager Beer, Deer Run Ale, Koch's Holiday Beer, and Koch's Bock Beer. In 1938, Koch's Golden Anniversary Beer was introduced commemorating the 50th anniversary of the brewery.

I like Orange Crush, but not enough to forgive Koch for inventing the worst of all beers. It does have one use to me however, whenever I'm tempted to drink beer, I need only remember the taste of Golden Anniversary to kill the urge at once.

Spring Break

Today I was at the Black Sheep Deli in downtown Amherst.



I saw these young women with psychedelic hair, and asked them what was with the wigs.



They told me they were dressing up weird to celebrate the arrival of Spring Break, which is next week. We regular residents of the upper Valley will also enjoy a brief break from the students before they return and the academic year moves toward its always roaring finale.

Color Coded

Northampton is the only town in our Valley where you see lavender houses.



Today's Video

This song recommended to me by Tim is by a beloved Valley band and has references in it to Northampton such as the old Baystate Hotel on Strong Avenue.