Sam Allis wrote an interesting piece that appeared on p. 2 of last Sunday's Boston Globe. Titled "Shelve the spam" with a sub-heading, "No way to stop the flood of unsolicited political e-mails," he devotes most of his article to complaining about the barrage of e-mails he receives from the communications director for MassGOP, Barney Keller, who, as Mr. Allis puts it, "can knock off five a day without breaking a sweat." (p.A2) Although based on the premise of annoyance, half-way through the article, one begins to suspect whether the author is truly annoyed over Keller's onslaught of correspondence or not. Having seen Mr. Keller at a recent GOP meeting, though not getting the chance to meet him, (I snuck out early) I noticed that humor seems to exude from him. My feelings were confirmed on both counts as I read on. Consider this e-mail. He sets it within the context of what he calls"Deval's 'Trivial' Pursuit" referring to Governor Patrick dismissing the cadillac and the drapes back when and more recently, the $175,000 patronage job. Under that umbrella, Keller presents a take-off of a MasterCard commercial. "'New hire Robert Rooney as assistant chief engineer - $122,000. Governor Patrick trying to use a traffic jam on the Turnpike to justify a massive gas tax hike? Priceless.'" (p.A2)
Lest the reader walk away with the idea that Mr. Allis is truly upset about Mr. Keller''s e-mails, he adds a twist at the end about what he hears from the Dems. "Proud of his output, Keller asks me when was the last time I got an e-mail from the state Democratic Party. I pause and realize I have never received anything from the Democrats. How restful. I assume I'm not on their mailing list, which must be a good thing." (p.A2) So I pose this question. Does the amount of communication put forth indicate a party's willingness to strive? Kudos, Barney Keller!
Boston Sunday Globe, April 19, 2009, "Shelve the spam" by Sam Allis, p.A2
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/04/19/shelve_the_spam/?page=1
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I am grateful for the watchdogs who keep an eye on the State House and check Governor Patrick's proclivity to tax the fruit of our labor. It's amazing that the Globe writer considers the receipt of a few messages about this to be a burden. How times have changed!
Our recent ice-storm provided an opportunity to contemplate the meaning of hard work. It resulted in the felling of a couple of large oaks on the Willard homestead. The tree-cutters left about three dozen trunk "rounds" -- sections cut to fireplace width. All that remains is to split them, and for that purpose the hardware store provides an axe-like implement called a "splitting maul", little changed over the last 300 years.
I am rarely confused with Paul Bunyan. My first swings of the 6-pound maul head bounced off the hardwood leaving nary a scratch. But as with most things, brute force is only part of the solution. Practice brings skill, which means leveraging the body to increase the speed of the maul head, and confidence in controlling the point of impact. In a few days I was able to penetrate the oak like a hot knife through butter. Well, …almost. With 30 minutes of strenuous effort I can split enough firewood for one cold January day. I hope my Worcester County ancestors would be proud. The exercise reminds me how hard they worked to eke out a living in the wilderness.
Most of us no longer need a fire to survive, but we face a thousand other challenges to provide for our families and support our towns. Ronald Reagan famously took time to split wood on his ranch during his presidential retreats. I wonder if it was his way to stay connected with the spirit of working people. Wouldn't it be nice if our current political leaders understood the labor of the taxpayers?
How about it, Governor Patrick?
Want to borrow a maul?
.
Post a Comment