Hey how about those Republicans! They sure are consistent. Lets watch this Comedy Central video and have Jules explain away the hilarious Republican inconsistencies highlighted by Jon Stewart. Great video. And I believe it was a Mr. B. Bunny who had it right when he said: “What a group of maroons”.
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 6, Section 6-23 of the Personnel Ordinance, the Mayor announces the following vacancy:
Title of Position: Historic Planner
Status of Position: Part Time (20 hours/week)
Duties:
The Historic Planner preserves and promotes Methuen’s historic assets and cultural heritage as liaison to the Methuen Historic District Commission and the Methuen Historical Commission. He/She provides preservation planning and technical assistance to the Historic District Commission, city officials, and the public; directs citywide preservation education initiatives; and promotes preservation through media outreach and local/regional partnerships. In his/her capacity as curator for the city’s archives and museum collection, the Planner works to inventory, catalog, preserve, and increase access to the collection; coordinates local history outreach and education activities; and organizes exhibits. He/she identifies grant opportunities and writes and administers grants from a variety of local, regional and national funders. The Planner provides administrative support for both commissions and prepares and files required state and federal reports.
Requirements:
Bachelors degree in History, Historic Preservation, Art History, Architectural History, Archaeology, Museum Studies or related field. Experience in historic preservation and collections management desired. Strong written and oral communications skills and computer literacy essential.
Last date for application: September 19, 2008
Please submit cover letter and resume to: City of Methuen, Human Resource Department, Room 313, 41 Pleasant Street, Methuen, MA 01844
The Obama campaign, after a week of taking some heavy incoming, fires back, showing McCain as out of touch and certainly no agent of change. I wonder who picks up the McCain email.
Charlie Gibson interviews Sarah Palin. Governor Palin, in two separate statements, clearly falls under the spell of the neo-cons. She raised the possibility of war with Russia over the nation of Georgia, indicating that she would be willing to give a war guarantee to Ukraine and Georgia via Nato membership. In an area of the world in which the United States has no overriding national interests she says war with Russia is possible.
When asked about a potential Israeli first strike to wipe out an Iranian nuclear capability she repeated three times that “We cannot second guess the steps that Israel has to take to defend itself”. Whether such a first strike served American interests in the region apparently would be irrelevant.
And notably she seemed to have little idea of what the “Bush Doctrine” was, and gave an answer that I think most would agree on, that faced with an imminent attack on America a President would have the right (and duty) to strike first. She dodged the question of preemptive strikes where no such imminent threat existed.
The Governor seemed to give tacit approval to the United States using cross border attacks into Pakistan without the permission of the Pakistani government. When Barack Obama indicated some months ago that he as President would authorize such raids McCain called his position “naive”. I guess now that President Bush has directly authorized such raids and the U.S. military has engaged in such tactics that position is no longer “naive”.
The McCain campaign continues in the attack mode, launching wave after wave of attacks. Want to talk education? No lets talk about sex education. Want to talk about economic policy? Lets talk about pigs wearing lipstick. The onslaught continued with female Republican Reps decrying the sexism of the Obama campaign over the lipstick remark as well as scolding him for not selecting Hillary or Governor Sebelius as his running mate. Ironic, because had he done so these same reps would be leading the charge to discredit them.
McCain’s complaint about opposition research has to be the single biggest piece of hypocrisy put out yet by his campaign. How about McCain’s full support for the army of Republican researchers sent to Little Rock to dig up dirt on Hillary Clinton and their attempts to destroy her. The Republicans wrote the book on opposition research, and now they complain?
New Hampshire, with four electoral votes, is a state that has been trending Democratic but that remains to close to call in the Presidential election. Our neighbor to the north has a very high profile Senate race this year, with former Governor Jeanne Shaheen poised to take out Republican incumbent John Sununu in a rematch of a contest Sununu won in 2002. In the Presidential race John McCain has closed an eleven point deficit from June, pulling to within one point of Obama in an August 18th survey by Rasmussen. This move by McCain contrasts with the double-digit lead that Jeanne Shaheen enjoys over Sununu. The latest Rasmussen survey shows Shaheen with a 51-40 lead over Sununu. McCain has traditionally done well in New Hampshire, but Obama should be ahead by Shaheen like numbers. New Hampshire went for John Kerry in 2004 by a single point, but voted for George Bush over Al Gore in 2000. My electoral map has given New Hampshire to Obama but that now is in serious doubt. This state is now a toss-up. The latest Jeanne Shaheen ad attacking Sununu for his proximity to George Bush is below.
An ad dealing with education by the Obama campaign, highlighting some differences between the candidates. Effective? Whether you like this ad or not Obama must go to the strength he has, and not allow this election to be fought out on terms favorable to Republicans. Education is one area where the public puts more faith in Democrats than Republicans. That is exactly the type of discussion Obama should be doing more of. And that type of discussion can arrest some of the gains McCain has made lately with some key demographic groups. Bring the fight to McCain and Palin, and bring it in areas where the country realizes (and trusts) Democrats more than Republicans.
Obama hits back on the change theme, pointing to the lobbyists working for the McCain campaign, as well as his solid record of support for George Bush. And Governor Palin will be dinged here as well, with the charge that she was “for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it”. Both campaigns see “change” as an important issue, and both want to hold that high ground. We see McCain making real progress on the issue. Can Obama turn it around?
I have been fortunate to have many great local artists hanging their wares in the waiting area of the Mayor’s office. This month I have the pleasure of having the photographs of Lynn Vidler on display, as she is Methuen’s Artist of the Month. If you are interested in contacting Lynn to purchase some of her outstanding work you can reach her at 978-361-5881 or lynnvidler@yahoo.com. The press release is below.
Mayor William M. Manzi has named Lynn Vidler as September’s Artist of the Month. Lynn has had formal training in the arts; however she is a self-taught photographer, working in both film and digital photography. She is inspired by the simplicity, color, emotion and feeling of movement in nature that is all around us along with “the magnitude and awe of some of the most common objects in our communities that can often be easily overlooked.”
Lynn works with seascapes, landscapes, nature, flora, and fauna. Currently, she is studying black and white photography, abstract art using realistic subjects and the human body and form with candid portraits. She entered her first art show in 2007, at the Nevins Library. The Art Institute of the Merrimack Valley sponsored the show. Her photograph “Taking a Break” won an award. She is now an active member of the Art Institute.
Mayor Manzi stated, “It is my pleasure to display Lynn’s work in my office. She is one of many talented citizens working and living in Methuen. I encourage the public to come by City Hall and view her fine work.”
The Methuen Artist of the Month Program was created by Mayor Manzi two years ago in order to give members of the Methuen Arts Community a forum to display their work and to encourage participation in Methuen’s growing creative economy. Methuen artists interested in being considered for Artist of the Month should contact the Mayor’s Office.