Now that was a big mistake!

Political theater, rejecting reality and poor scheduling

Just another morning at the Spa'aaaaaa

Does blogging make you a Member of the Press?

If so, where's my press pass for SPAC and track?


Sometimes it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed in the morning…especially a frigid Saturday morning in December.

But that I did this past weekend, rising out from the sheets without the benefit of an alarm clock and hustling down to the Saratoga Public Library without the benefit of a cup of coffee. Why? To exercise my civic duty and hometown pride, that’s why!

I’m not a morning person to begin with, but I was willing to mess up my weekend to attend a pow wow of the city’s local Democratic party. Given the animosity and interesting personalities that have been involved in the Great Divide which has doomed this organization from electoral success, I figured it would at least be an amusing passion play or maybe even something productive.

The scorecard: amusing=slightly; productive=not even close. Without going into the well-known troubles plaguing this group, let me just quote two popular phrases that apply to the Saratoga Democratic party, to a tee:

“The definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake over & over again and expecting a different result”

“Don’t piss on my leg and then tell me it’s raining.”

But again: it’s shouldn't (and didn’t) surprise me that the group of people currently in charge are hell bent on continuing their relentless drive to making this party politically irrelevant.

No, it was the additional baggage that I seem to have gained from that meeting with that leaves me in this “why did I even bother?” state of mind. For I also am now the proud owner of the following:
· Accusations of being “behind” some of the politically - oriented blogs in the city; which are generally critical of the party’s current leadership. The truth? I am not.

· Accusations of “having an agenda” designed to create a divide within the party that doesn’t really exist. The truth? I don’t need to create a divide; it’s already there in black & white. If someone can’t see it, they need a level of help that I surely can’t deliver.

· At least six phone calls from people that I have never engaged in a previous conversation with, letting me know their opinions of my opinions, as expressed in that public assembly. The pro/con split on that subject is roughly 50/50. My bigger concern is "where the hell did these people get my phone number?"

· At least 10 emails, mostly related to my eyewitness account of a temper-flared encounter between a current city commissioner and a gentleman who apparently has some sort of grudge against him. My take? I’m suddenly told not to comment on this because I might be called into a court of law to officially offer that account, for the public record and under oath. Now isn’t that just wonderful?

· At least 20 emails from various individuals (again: mostly strangers) offering suggestions, advice or pleas on “how to rid the party” of its current leadership; deemed by that group as being the proper course of action. My take? Pick up your swords and get ‘er going.

But, all of this is not my main reason for starting this particular entry. Rather, it is a single incoming email that poses a most interesting question. Here is a partial transcript:

“…As a member of the press, it is your obligation to identify yourself as such. An open floor inviting comments from enrolled voters that are registered Democrats to their party’s chair and executive committee is not the place for a member of the press to rise and speak…”

Now wait a minute here. But first, to be fair: this incoming message did not originate with the party chairman or any member of the executive committee. I don’t believe this is an issue with any of them. But is does create a dilemma for someone, does it not?

This person’s connecting-of-the-dots logic is based on the fact that I publish a blog, the very one you are now reading. It is the only blog that I publish. The reasoning then, is because I publish a blog, well, I am therefore a publisher -- a member of that gosh darn press! And that fact overrides the fact that I am also a registered Democrat with enough concern about the party’s direction that I got out of that warm bed I mentioned and drove downtown to talk things over with a bunch of equally concerned and motivated folks on a wintry Saturday morning. Without any coffee!

I was about to offer up to this person the proper response; you know:

“With today’s communication and internet technologies, with blogs, online ‘zines, Twitter Tweets, social networks and so forth, the truth is …… EVERYONE is a publisher!” Blah, blah, blah...

But after thinking about what this person would do with such an explanation, I instead wrote back with the following:

“I would recommend that you bring it up to your party chair at the next meeting.”

It’s now Mr Turkheimer’s task of explaining to his constituent how the world works in the new century. I’m told I need to do more of this thing called ‘delegating.’ Poor Al just caught the first whiff of that personal initiative of mine! Sorry, man.