Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie.

Unfortunate news

Jamesburg Borough Councilman Thomas Bodall was arrested yesterday and faces charges related to an investigation by the Bergen County prosecutor’s office. According to a release he allegedly

engaged in conversations via the Internet, specifically chat and instant messaging, with what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. During the course of those conversations Bodall initiated sexually explicit dialog. On several occasions, Bodall transmitted pictures of his exposed penis to the presumed child.

I don’t want to prejudge this, especially since we have not spoken to Mr. Bodall. But I would encourage Mr. Bodall to end his re-election bid and give the Democrats a chance to replace him on the ticket (they have until Sept. 14).

My reasoning in simple: It will keep the charges from being an issue in the campaign. This would allow Mr. Bodall and his family to deal with what has happened and allow borough residents to maintain their focus on that issues that are most important to them.

Brief thoughts on McCain’s speechthe morning after

The punditocrisy — or the portion that can be described as the purveyors of conventional wisdom — is gushing over John McCainls acceptance speech last night as if it erases the last eight years of his pandering to the rulers of his party.

The speech was a long — and rather tedious — exposition of cliches about his life, playing up his POW creds and revisiting the maverick motif. It was long on personality and short on substance– which makes sense, because personality is the turf on which he wants to battle for the White House.

This focus, of course, plays to the so-called McCain base (the media), which was the villain of Wednesday night's program.

But the base is fickle and only too glad to come home. So we get people like Chris Matthews gushing over the return of the maverick, convinced that McCain has now rewritten the campaign script, has transformed the political landscape and has taken the lead on points in what they are describing as a political boxing match.

I don't buy it. But then, I'm just one of those Eastern elitist Sarah Palin was railing against the other night.

(More on the speech later when I get the chance to digest it further — providing it doesn't give me indigestion.)

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Sent from my Verizon Wireless LGVX9900 device (while sitting in Small World Coffee in Princeton.).

Do good, but do it alone

This is from Micah Sifry, via Twitter, putting in words something I was thinking:

“comfort the oppressed” but don’t do it in an organized way, because that would make you a community organizer. #rnc08

You know, teach an illerate adult to read, join the military, etc., but don’t become a community organizer in a poor urban neighborhood.

Running away from their record

Someone understands what it is the Republicans have been doing.

President Bush canceled his trip here to supervise the response to Hurricane Gustav and addressed the delegates only by video hookup Tuesday, before the broadcast networks began their coverage for the night.

Heading into the final evening, Mr. Bush’s name had not passed the lips of any of the marquee speakers since his image faded from the screen. Indeed, a computer count showed that Democrats mentioned Mr. Bush’s name five times as often at their convention as the Republicans were doing at theirs. And delegates on Thursday were shown a video about the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that included a picture of Rudolph
W. Giuliani and Donald Rumsfeld but none of Mr. Bush, whose presidency was singularly shaped by that day.

Selfless public servant?

I’ve run out of things to say about this speech — but I have to remind everyone that McCain is not a saint just offering to do his selfless duty. He’s been running for president for eight-plus years and has shown himself willing to do or say almost anything to finally gain the keys to the White House.