Monthly Archives: March 2008

March 27, 2008 · 9:20 pm

Underwhelmed by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama

Hillary ClintonAre these two the best that the Democrats have?

Burger King should switch their headquarters from Fountainbleau (FL) to Chappaqua (NY).  After all, with Hillary Clinton in residence they truly are, “The Home of the Whopper.”

Hillary ClintonHillary has always had trouble telling the truth but in the past could count on many in the media to defend or ignore her actions.  Since Barack Obama has become the media darling the former first lady finds herself closely scrutinized after every utterance.

Therefore, she no longer gets a pass when she claims that she has experience in dealing with crises overseas – think Irish peace talks and Bosnian sniper.  Predictably, when the media does its homework and checks into her version of events they find irrefutable facts to disprove her stories.   Confronted with lies she answers with excuses.

Then there is Barack Obama. He went from prospect to suspect with his speech on March 18th.  You and I know that by not announcing that he was separating himself from Jeremiah Wright’s church he gave approval to what went on there. 

Barrack ObamaThe politically astute thing for Obama to do was to toss Reverend Wright and his church under the bus instead of his white grandmother.  Were his supporters then likely to switch over to Hillary or John McCain?  No chance!

Barack stayed with Trinity United Church of Christ even though it’s not politically advantageous because he doesn’t find Reverend Wright’s anti-American rhetoric as offensive as the rest of us do. 

Certainly, Reverend Wright’s rhetoric is indefensible and he should know better because he’s acquainted with the Bible.  Yes, there are places in the Bible where Jesus was angry at what he saw going on around him.  Reverend Wright seems to have this anger side covered but there are also places where Jesus insisted on the need to forgive others.  Somewhere during the 20+ years of listening to Reverend Wright, Barack should have clearly noted the imbalanced tone of Wright’s messages and moved elsewhere. 

There is an obvious shortage of bumper stickers for Obama or Hillary in Newburyport.  I guess that even the most ardent Democrat is in a quandary defending either of them.

George Bush leaves office on January 20, 2009.  Heaven help us if either Hillary or Barack is anywhere near the premises when it happens.

(Appeared in The Newburyport Daily News on April 2nd and Newburyport Current on April 4th)

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March 14, 2008 · 5:22 pm

Stephen Karp Woos Newburyport

President George Washington visited Newburyport in October of 1789 on a nationwide tour.  The purpose of all the travel? By visiting in person and conversing with the locals, the first president hoped to prevent sectionalism from dividing the new nation.

Stephen Karp 3-13-08Stephen Karp’s appearance in Newburyport at the crowded Rupert Nock Auditorium on March 13 had similar purposes.  He hoped to go from, “Stephen Karp the secretive billionaire who owns most of the waterfront,” to, “Stephen Karp a person who greeted you, answered questions, and gave glimpses of his development plans.”

Did he succeed?  I think so because even in the most dangerous of scenarios (question and answer period) he was able to give responses that seemed to, at least temporarily, satisfy the questioners.

The 600+ folks that showed up pleasantly surprised Newburyport Mayor John Moak.  “This is being well received by the community,” he said while watching Stephen Karp interact with many of us.  “There’s a good mix of people already here.”

The mayor had met with Stephen Karp earlier in the evening.  “I came away with the impressions that he is a good person, with a nice sense of humor, a good sense of family, and incredibly successful in business.”

During his presentation in the auditorium, the soft-spoken, 67-year-old Karp touched on several areas of concern in the region that brought people to the meeting – Waterfront West.

Why is it taking so long (three years) to get the development started?  “We’ve been developing properties for 35 years.  Planning and regulations are the things that take time.”

Are we trying to create another Nantucket (Karp is a major real estate owner there)?  “No, Newburyport is a different market.  Nantucket is seasonal.  We’re not foolish enough to try and force Nantucket on you.”

To the surprise of no one, the visitor from Weston brought up lack of downtown parking.  “You have to address it and it must be done soon.  Things will not work without this issue being taken care of.  We could help and have done so in other places we’ve developed.”

Much of what Stephen Karp had to say was short on specifics and long on optimism.  “We value Newburyport and think that it is a special place.  We believe that we can add to its vitality without taking away anything that is already here.”

Time will tell.  In the meantime, those attending the meeting now know him a lot better and that could ease some of the perils of developing such a significant eight acres of waterfront real estate.

President Washington visited Newburyport and rode off never to return.  That is not the way it will be with Stephen Karp. 

(Submitted to the Town Common – March 14th)

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March 11, 2008 · 2:29 am

Newburyport’s “Greatest” Woman Driver?

I saw the title in the letters to the editor in the March 6 issue of the Newburyport Daily News and prepared myself for some explosive reading.

The title?  “Seeking information about ‘World’s Greatest Woman Driver’ “

I felt let down when I learned in the article that a woman from London (Deborah Cherry) was actually searching for information about another woman (Fay Taylour) who drove in car races quite a while ago.

I was expecting, based on the title, that some gentleman from the area would pour out some negative references to some of the driving habits of women he had observed on the streets of Newburyport.  I guess it was the “greatest” part that sent me down the wrong road.

I was anticipating some mention of a woman at a traffic light in town using her mirror to rearrange her facial appearance.  When the light changed, she failed to notice and instead continued with her cosmetic surgery.  How thoughtful of someone woman driverto honk their horn in appreciation of her improved looks!

I was also guessing that the young mother with the cell phone on the ear in one hand, steering wheel in the other, young kid in the backseat, and dog further back might appear in the letter.  When the light changed, around the corner she went with a one-hand turn, no directional, and little interest in the rate of speed.  There was no way that she was paying sufficient attention to driving.  Dangerous?  You bet.

Not so long ago describing someone as a, “woman driver,” referred to a person who was uncertain or cautious behind the wheel and usually that “someone” was a woman.  Not anymore!  There’s not a whole lot of caution and uncertainty around anymore by anyone. 

Many men are too aggressive behind the wheel and many women are too distracted.  My concern level regarding bad driving has not reached my fear of the possibility of Hillary or Obama being President but it is getting there. 

(This was sent as a letter-to-the-editor of The Newburyport Daily News on 3-11-08.)

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March 5, 2008 · 12:58 am

Tim Holland Has Major League Aspirations

Most of us dream at night. 

Tim Holland 3-4-08

Tim Holland, pictured here, expanded his dreaming to full-time during his sophomore year at Georgetown High School.

“I started to think then that baseball might take me somewhere,” explained the 6-1/175 pound senior.  “It was my best year and I started to get mail from colleges and rumors began about teams being interested in me.”

Royals coach Mark Rowe realized that Tim was a talented player the year before.  “He was a starter for me as a freshman at second base.  We went to the Division 3 North finals that year with a team that was mostly seniors.  He fit right in.”

And even before witnessing Tim’s senior year the 10th year coach stated, “He’s the best baseball player to come through Georgetown since I’ve been coaching. He pretty much does it all.  I’ve heard from the White Sox, Cubs, and Indians about him.”

 “This year he’ll play shortstop when he’s not pitching,” said Coach Rowe of his 2-time Cape Ann League All-Star.  “We’ll go as far as he takes us.  We have a nice supporting cast but we need for him to have a big year for us.”

Next year Tim expects to attend Lake City Community Junior College (about 60 miles west of Jacksonville in northern Florida) on a baseball scholarship.  The fact that the Timberwolves’ baseball season starts on January 25th, and any cancellations will be for rain and not for that other stuff, would be incentive enough to go there. 

In addition to the favorable outdoor, workout weather, it was a couple of area baseball players – Matt Small (Ipswich) and Mike Gallo (Peabody) – who helped steer Tim to Lake City.  “I played on teams around here with both of them.  They were both very positive about the school. Mike pitches on this year’s team.”

At Lake City Tim will play in front of the folks (major league scouts) he needs to impress.  And who could blame the scouts for attending? Last year 15 former Lake City players were in the minors and two (Reggie Abercrombie and Heath Phillips) were in the majors.

“I look to do two years of real competitive baseball and then see where I am,” explained Tim. “I could be in the minors or maybe in a 4-year college.”

Tim’s favorite player is BJ Upton of Tampa Bay.  “He can do everything and that’s the kind of player that I think I am.  I’ve played the outfield, infield, and pitched.  And also, like BJ, I have speed.”

Tim wears #17.  “I wanted #5 (Nomar Garciaparra) but that number didn’t exist.  Since I joined the Georgetown varsity as the only freshman that meant that I got the last number available – #17.  Things went so well the first two years that I decided to stick with it.”

The Holland name probably won’t leave the area sports pages when Tim graduates in June thanks to his sisters.  “One of my sisters made the high school soccer varsity as an 8th grader and was the team’s leading scorer this season,” bragged Tim.  “My other sister is 12 and tells me that she’s going to be the first girl on the high school varsity baseball team.”

Keep an eye on Tim Holland of Georgetown.  He has a dream and he might just have what it takes to make that dream come true.

(Appeared in The Town Common in the issue dated March 12th)

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